Teach Yourself Complete Croatian Book and 2 Audio CDs
353 page Book and 2CDs
Teach Yourself Croatian starts with the basics but moves at a lively pace to give you a good level of understanding, speaking and writing. You will have lots of opportunity to practise the kind of language you will need to be able to communicate with confidence and understand Croatian culture.
Are you looking for a complete course in Croatian which takes you effortlessly from beginner to confident speaker? Whether you are starting from scratch, or are just out of practice, Complete Croatian will guarantee success! Now fully updated to make your language learning experience fun and interactive. You can still rely on the benefits of a top language teacher and our years of teaching experience, but now with added learning features within the course and online. The course is structured in thematic units and the emphasis is placed on communication, so that you effortlessly progress from introducing yourself and dealing with everyday situations, to using the phone and talking about work.By the end of this course, you will be at Level B2 of the Common European Framework for Languages: Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party.Learn effortlessly with a new easy-to-read page design and interactive features
Table of Contents:
Introduction
The Country
The Language
About the Book
How to Use the Book
Pronunciation and Reading
Stress in Croatian
Abbreviations and Symbols
In the hotel
In the café
In town
I want to buy...
In the restaurant
Come to my place
How old are you?
What kind of flat do you have?
I like swimming
On an excursion
Return tickets
I have the telephone number
On the beach
If it rains
How do you feel?
Business contract
In Osijek
Three letters
Key to the Exercises
Summary of Language Patterns
Croatian-English Vocabulary
English-Croatian Vocabulary
Glossary of Grammatical Terms
Grammatical Index
Taking it Further
Innovative exercises illustrate what you've learnt and how to use it.Enjoyable to use - cultural information sections give useful information about the culture of Croatian speakers.
Practise speaking and listening skills with two hours of accompanying recorded material available on CD.
The first widely available title on Croatian only
Comprehensive - covers a wide range of topics and language structures for learners who want to progress quickly beyond the basics to a level where they can communicate with confidence
Practice exercises in every unit help you remember what you've learnt
About the Author
David Norris, the author, has taught Serbian and Croatian Studies since 1980. He is currently Senior Lecturer at the University of Nottingham.
About the Croatian Language
Croatian is a Slavonic language written in the Latin alphabet, its spelling based on a simple phonetic principle: each letter represents one sound and each word is spelt as it is pronounced. It is not a difficult language to master and modern Croatian incorporates many words that will be familiar to English speakers, including taksi ( taxi ), kava ( coffee ) or auto ( car , automobile ; pronounced in Croatian with three syllables as written a-oo-to). It is also similar to the language spoken in Bosnia or Serbia, with many people regarding them as dialects of the same language.
The first Croatian kingdom disappeared in 1102, after which the country was ruled by Austrian, Hungarian and Venetian overlords. Much of the north of the country was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire for some 200 years, the result being a rich mix of all these cultural influences over the whole country. The capital, Zagreb, looks like a smaller version of a Central European city such as Prague, while, on the Dalmatian coast, the atmosphere is more Mediterranean with Italian influences in cuisine and in local dialects. For most of the 20th century the country was part of Yugoslavia and there are numerous reminders of this in monuments and sites recording the many achievements of the united state of the South Slavs, many of them celebrating Partisan victories in the Second World War.
The independent Republic of Croatia in the 21st century is a favourite tourist destination for many people travelling from Austria, Britain, Germany and other European countries. Such a small country is easy to get around whether using public transport or driving yourself. Independent travel is made all the more pleasurable with even slight knowledge of the language since locals respond warmly to visitors who have made the effort to speak their language with them. |
