Teach Yourself Cantonese Complete Course

What is good about the book? 1. The 2 CDs that come with the book make learning much easier. In the beginning, I was not used to the Cantonese pronunciation, so it was very helpful to listen to the pronunciation guide section and the new words repeatedly. Once you master the pronunciation of the vowels and consonants from the first few lessons, you should be able to pronounce the new words correctly from its romanization. But if you still don't feel confident, you can always isolate individual words from the dialogue on the CD, and play those words over and over again (very easy with Cd on a computer). 2. The pronunciation on the CDs is authentic and realistic. 3. It uses the Yale system for romanization. Many other books and dictionaries use the Yale system. So, it would be easy for you to cross-reference. 4. Its explanation about grammar and cultural background is excellent. And it really captures the humor of Cantonese people. This is the only book that I have seen that manages to capture the real local flavor. 5. The conversations and new vocabulary are written out in Chinese characters, as well as romanization. Even if you don't read Chinese, this is still very helpful -- when you ask Cantonese people to practice the dialogue with you, it will be much easier for them to read off the Chinese characters than the romanization. And perhaps you will even learn to write Chinese some day. 6. Excellent exercises. What is bad about the book? 1. They only have English translation of the new vocabulary, but there is no English translation of the dialogue. That means you need to really remember the new vocabulary as well as the words you learned in earlier lessons before you can make sense of the conversation. (The vocabulary list at the back of the book is helpful if you no longer remember the vocabulary from an earlier lesson). 2 You do learn a lot about the cultural and humor, but that is not immediately useful in daily conversation. What is lacking is the practical vocabulary you would need in daily conversation. For example, in the lesson about eating out I learned how to say four foods -- beef, lobster, soup, and salad. I didn't learn how to say chicken, pork, lamb, fish, shrimp, vegetables, noodles, etc. Also, I did not learn how to say any of the fruits. The lesson on eating out would not be very helpful to me when I eat out. In my opinion, even if the authors could not cover those in the regular dialogue, they should have covered those in the vocabulary section or exercise section for eating out. Overall, I think the book (with CD) is excellent value for the price!

Among the few books and courses available for learning Cantonese, this one is will help you to develop a solid foundation of the language. If you are absolute beginner, you may want to get Pimsleur's Cantonese I and work with it before moving on to Teach Yourself Cantonese. This program does contain 2 tapes, but you'll find it easier to step into the waters of speaking Cantonese with confidence if you begin with Pimsleur's program. Learning Cantonese will be million times more easier and more fun, and then you'll find working with Teach Yourself Cantonese much more productive.

Among the few books and courses available for learning Cantonese, this one is will help you to develop a solid foundation of the language. If you are absolute beginner, you may want to get Pimsleur's Cantonese I and work with it before moving on to Teach Yourself Cantonese.This program does contain 2 tapes, but you'll find it easier to step into the waters of speaking Cantonese with confidence if you begin with Pimsleur's program. Learning Cantonese will be million times more easier and more fun, and then you'll find working with Teach Yourself Cantonese much more productive.

This is a really rewarding course to study. The authors have done a wonderful job of conveying what devotees of Cantonese (like this reviewer) love most about the language- its vigor and its humor. The tapes are very good to work from, also- the dialogues of the first two lessons are given in what might be called "classroom speed" and then as in the real world so that it's a gentle way for a beginner to get a "feel" for how Cantonese sounds without losing any self-confidence. There are lots of good exercises with each lesson, also, and the review lessons really do review.I cannot help but complain about one thing, however. The authors have invented a system of transcription that (for me at least) was difficult to learn, confusing, and totally different from any other Romanization of Cantonese that I've ever seen. I don't have any great feelings of loyalty to the Huang-Kok romanization (I'll spend the rest of my life trying to undo the damage by Huang's "Speak Cantonese", Books 2 and 3) but it is in wide use, it's not difficult to pick up, and most of the other books and courses about Cantonese use it (including the good ones). Going back and forth between different systems of transcription is one of the banes of the life of a student of Asian languages, but up until now it is not a problem that most learners of Cantonese have had to deal with. Even though this is a very complete, self-contained beginning course, it's always helpful to cross-reference and compare other material. What were you thinking of, guys?

I definitely recommend this book. It contains wide vocabulary and at the same time, does not overwhelm the reader. Exercises (and solutions) are provided to reinforce new learned concepts, grammar and vocabulary. Chinese characters are provided with the Cantonese romanisation and so the sounds between Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese can easily be compared. Best of all, the sample texts and conversations do attempt and succeed in capturing the wit of the Cantonese language. A great read!