Customer Reviews
learning bengali - By: J. Crozier, 01 Jan 2010 
The book relies too heavily on learning the cyrillic alphabet when what I wanted was to learn to speak the language not read & write it. the alphabet is really complicated & totally alien. The sounds on the CD sometimes do not match the wordsin the book which is confusing.
Teach yourself Bengali - Review - By: Mr. C. L. Grindley, 16 Jul 2008 
Started this book a few weeks ago.
I like the way that William Radice has started with the script which you can learnin small chunks.
My biggest problems however with the book are the following:
1) There is no transcription with the conversations of each chapter, meaning that you are forced to read the Bengali script only & you have to rely on the recordings to make sure you are pronouncing everything right. The problem is that sometimes it is difficult to hear the separate words on the recordings.
2) There is no "vocaubalary box" to learn the new vocabulary introduced so you keep having to guess the meaning of words & to lookin the dictionary at the back.
3) Some areas of grammar or vocabularyin the conversations is completely skipped, meaning that you have to guess the meaning by using just the translation.
In conclusion, well done William Radice for teaching the script...However please include a vocabulary box next time so that we can learn quickly & more effectively & a transcription would be much more helpful & especially for the first few chapters of the book to get us going!
I have used many books for learning a vast variety of languages & I would not recommend this book for someone who wished to learn Bengaliin a short period of time. However, if it is for the beginning of a journey to conquer Bengali language, then this may be a good choice!
Teach yourself Bengali - By: Ms. R. K. Platt, 29 Jun 2004 
I have only just bought this book (up to about unit 6in the first chapter) but already I am really enjoying it. The alphabet is explained very well & it seems so easy now to recognise Bengali characters. Willam Radice deserves a medal for what he's done, seeing as Bengali is still very much a minority languagein the UK. The only complaint I have is that without the CD's or cassettes it is very difficult to pronounce anything. So if you're going to buy this book, buy it with the CD's as well.
Review of Teach yourself Bengali - By: , 15 Oct 2003 This book & tape set is at the pinnacle of language teaching. The book is set into clear chapters that are backed up by the excellent audio tape that informs of correct pronounciation.
Vocabulary is built up at a steady pace without becoming tedious & you really feel as though you are achieving something as you progress through the book. Being white & English, Bengali initially appeared a very daunting launguage to learn but this set ensures you do not become overwhelmed.
After completing this course I have been able to communicate with Bengali natives with much more ease & truly understand their background, for which I am incredibly grateful. This set is a must for anyone wanting to be able to read & write or just speak Bengali.
Learning Bengali is FUN with This Book. - By: Dr. YK Chen (nhealth@tm.net.my), 23 Aug 2001 I ordered this book as I intend to travel (in two months time) to West Bengal for postgraduate medical training. Within two days of studying this book, I managed to write many Bengali words. This book makes identifying Bengali words & phrases quite simple & smooth. A very good self-taught book that reflects on the modern teaching techniques at the University of London.
