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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| Heinrich S. Groupie Germany Joined 6731 days ago 63 posts - 85 votes  Studies: French | Message 25 of 33 10 June 2011 at 12:16am | IP Logged | ||
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Thanks for the helpful replies!
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| Deji Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5235 days ago 116 posts - 182 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: Hindi, Bengali | Message 26 of 33 11 June 2011 at 8:48pm | IP Logged | ||
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Dont miss Radice's sound files for TY Bengali. Probably available online, too.
This is good--not a textbook, though: http://www.bengali-dictionary.com/english-bengali-words-phra ses-contents.html Another classic Bengali Book is Introduction to Bengali by Edward Dimock. You can download sound files here: http://home.uchicago.edu/~cbs2/banglainstruction.html. If you have a PC, that is. It is slower and more grammar oriented than Radice. Good luck. Enjoy some lal doi for us stuck here at home! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| unzum Diglot Senior Member United Kingdom soyouwanttolearnalan Joined 6709 days ago 371 posts - 478 votes Speaks: English*, Japanese Studies: Mandarin | Message 27 of 33 13 June 2011 at 12:11am | IP Logged | ||
Thanks for letting everyone know about the audio for Dimcock's Bengali course! I hadn't realised it had been made available, looks really useful! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Deji Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5235 days ago 116 posts - 182 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: Hindi, Bengali | Message 28 of 33 13 June 2011 at 1:46am | IP Logged | ||
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I hope this is more helpful for you than it was for me. (Mac, or browser issues) But I have most of the Dimock
sound files anyway. However! after that last post, as I was disconsolately trying to download some missing sound files from Dimock for the 65th time, I began wandering through other download sites and discovered among other things--a Bengali pdf dictionary from 1876 (?) For free, downloadable as a pdf !. Very nice clear printing too. http://www.archive.org/stream/companiontojohns00mendrich#pag e/n3/mode/2up That comes from the U of Iowa free book download site: http://www.archive.org/details/texts You can even turn the pages on the dictionary on the site! I have also put the pdf --a 500 page Bengali dictionary --in my iphone ! (Only navigating is a bit slow.) I should also mention that I listen to and download stories read by Gaurav Das from this site: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/bangla-golpo-bengali-stor ies/id306572046 I enjoy his readings VERY much. I have texts for many of them. I have to either read the story in class or buy the translation, or both, to get anywhere with it. But I have listened to his version of Sukumar Ray's "Dhrighanchu"-- probably close to 400 times, and I always enjoy it. Am slowly reading/digesting "Chander Pahar", a classic explorer/ adventure story which has two English translations available as well as the Bengali. The language is actually fairly simple. Only, of course the vocabulary is full of words like ""poisonous snake/ palm tree/ terrified/ lions' roar/ diamond mine, etc. It is by Bibhutibhusan Bandopadhaya, who wrote Pather Panchali and much else. The entire book is read by Gaurav Das. I have also gotten a lot from reading the English while listening to the Bengali, and also just playing the full story, even without following all that well. But I really like Gauravs' readings. Listening, I feel like a kid being told a great story once again. If I listen to Radice lesson cd's that intensely I get very aggravated after the 6th time. I go to Parabaas (on-line) in New Jersey (USA) for ordering books. Lots of books in both languages. Also, another great site is the student files in Bengali from the Univ. Michigan. Some of the 2nd year student projects are hilarious--like a Bengali language parody of a reality show--or a fake news broadcast. "The Michigan Communist Party announced a Hartal on tuesday.." And impressively well done. Lots more to explore here too. http://umbangla.typepad.com/um_bangla/2007/07/sasli-2007---s e.html 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Afgjasmine16 Triglot Newbie United States Joined 5801 days ago 29 posts - 55 votes Speaks: Pashto*, English, Hindi Studies: Bengali, Tamil, Indonesian, Turkish | Message 29 of 33 19 June 2011 at 8:28am | IP Logged | ||
Hello! I'm the unilanger Meera that unzum told you about. :D Sorry if this reply isn't soon engough. Anyway, I have both Teach yourself Bengali and Colliquial Bengali. If you are going to West Bengali I suggest getting Colliquial as it teaches spoken language, and while the writting and spoken languge does not differ to much, Teach Yourself Bengali isn't good when trying to learn fast. For Bengali, each day I would do one of the script lessons from teach yourself and then one chapter of Colliquail. It's a lot of work but it's effective. Also I recomend downloading byki for Bengali. There is a user named smita there who has uploaded all the vocabulary in the Teach Yourself. Its aviable here: http://www.byki.com/category/Bengali/a Lonely Planet also has a Bengali pharsebook you can use. I suggest watching some Bengali movies also so you can hear how Bengali's talk :) Also I want to point out that learning bengali script will help you get around West Bengal, as that is what most of the signs are written in. Bengali's will be very impressed that you even know a little of the language ;) Enjoy West Bengal! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Deji Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5235 days ago 116 posts - 182 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: Hindi, Bengali | Message 30 of 33 20 June 2011 at 2:09am | IP Logged | ||
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Update--the 500 page Bengali dictionary-pdf does NOT go on an iphone. I guess that was asking for a lot, anyway.
I have a 5,000 word-list in pdf form that I have put together--actually two of them--in Bengali sort order and English sort order. The Bengali is written in Bangla, and the order is the Bangla order. These words include all of the Radice glossary, words from Tuntunir Boi, other assorted short stories, Lonely Planet, U of Michigan- Newspaper words, If anyone wants a copy, message me and I'll send you the pdf. I have not been able to get byki Bengali with the mac but I can read smita's Radice material and I like it a lot for pronunciation. Smita, thanks! খুবই ভােলা ! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Heinrich S. Groupie Germany Joined 6731 days ago 63 posts - 85 votes Studies: French | Message 31 of 33 27 June 2011 at 8:12am | IP Logged | ||
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Excellent, thank you all! I'll definitely check out Colloquial Bengali; I strongly prefer audio type learning materials to get started in a language.
Speaking of audio, the pop-up window at http://home.uchicago.edu/~cbs2/banglainstruction.html when you try to download the files is empty on my computer. Is it just my computer or others having the problem as well? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Deji Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5235 days ago 116 posts - 182 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: Hindi, Bengali | Message 32 of 33 21 July 2011 at 8:28pm | IP Logged | ||
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I had this problem too, but I thought it was because I had a mac or my browser didn't work with that system.
They do have a note about which browsers work or don't work. I suggest you try to contact them. If you have no success with that send me a personal message. Colloquial Bengali is a good series too. The pronunciation is a bit more Bangladeshi. It is slower and more visitor/ tourist oriented than Radice's Teach-Yourself Bengali. It IS colloquial, which is nice. Just one thing-- (rant alert) - -try to read a page of the Bengali transliterations before buying it. Why does every Bengali textbook writer have to invent a completely different transliteration system? It is useable but will take a little effort to become comfortable with it. And if you try to use these books (Colloquial, Teach Your-Self and even Dimock) with a Bengali tutor, they will read one page and back away. I just bought Hanne-Ruth Thompson's book Bengali / Dictionary and Phrasebook and am very impressed with it. The grammar explanations are very clear, short, and easy to understand, also easy to look up when you forget them. She uses a lot of grammatical terms but even if you fog out reading "the verbal noun can be used as the subject in equational sentences" the examples make it clear what this is about. The English transliteration of Bengali words is clear and intuitive. I also particularly like the choice of phrases in the phrasebook, as well as the organization. We learn not only how to meet and greet, eat or not eat, introductions, travel, etc. etc. but also the answers to the usual flood of family- type questions, AND a special section on how much Bengali you do or don't speak, ranging from "I can't understand anything" to "I have come here to learn Bangla "/ 'Don't speak English with me" (Good luck with that). Another section deals with Problems with a subsection dealing with how to tell someone to get lost. It is also a small-sized book, and relatively inexpensive. ($15). Only no audio, alas. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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