Colloquial Basque: A Complete Language Course (Colloquial Series (Book Only))

By Begotxu Olaizola Elordi and Alan R. King

Book Overview

Colloquial Basque: The Complete Course for Beginners has been carefully developed by an experienced teacher to provide a step-by-step course to Basque as it is written and spoken today. Combining a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0415121094
• ISBN13: 9780415121095
• Release Date: May 1996
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.78 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

The most practical Basque course available

[Thoroughly revised on 2008-05-15] This course is designed for anyone who wishes to learn the basics of Basque for travel or further study. It is both practical, with broad coverage of basic grammar and expressions you would be likely to need, and at the same time linguistically sound, with clear explanations of the grammar. And it's got tapes. There are twelve units in the book, most of which begin with a dialogue and a list of vocabulary used in the dialogue. These are followed by sections entitled "Doing things with words", "Saying what you mean", "Grammatical nuts and bolts" and similar headings, and containing a mixture of useful structures and vocabulary. Many of these also have short exercises, the answers to which are in the back of the book. A second dialogue is followed by similar grammar and vocabulary sections, and finally a culture section ("Language and Life") with more, slightly less useful vocabulary. The dialogue follows the story of Elin, from Wales, who is visiting the Basque Country. Thankfully for the reader she is treated as nearly Basque, so we are spared the excesses found in some language courses. However, there is still a strong emphasis on topics such as travelling around and meeting people. The dialogues appear to be relatively natural, but they do seem to lack many useful phrases. Unit 8 replaces the dialogue with a longer text, which seems a little out of place. There are also no lists of the vocabulary used in the text of Unit 8 or of any dialogues in the latter part of the book, which makes looking up vocabulary rather more tiresome. Those following this course will probably want to purchase a dictionary, since much of the vocabulary isn't listed in the vocabulary section at the back of the book either. (I would somewhat cautiously suggest buying the more expensive Basque-English dictionary by Aulestia and White, and perhaps its English-Basque counterpart, rather than the cheap and nasty two-in-one dictionary I opted for. There is also a good online Morris Student Plus dictionary at [...] For people wishing to learn Basque, especially outside the Basque country, the options are limited. Basque is not an easy language for English speakers to learn, but those wishing to come to grips with the language will find that Alan King and Begotxu Olaizola Elordi's course provides a practical introduction to the language.

Very practical

I recently bought this book and tape to prepare for my trip to the Basque Country. I read the book a few times and listened to the tape in the background at work and home. For every bit of effort I put into learning Basque, the reward was 100%.When I got to San Sebastian, I found that people spoke very much like they did on the tapes. Even though I had never studied Basque or Spanish prior to buying the tapes I was able to get around. I was able to ask for directions, greet and introduce myself, and buy food. By the time I arrived, I had heard the tapes so much that little phrases kept popping out.Having this as a base I was able to begin speaking to people both quicker and at a deeper level. It was amazing how far I could stretch a conversation based on simple grammar and vocabulary. Once I became to speak some of their language, the Basque people really opened up to me. They really appreciated the effort I made to learn their language. And now is a great time to learn Basque. It is undergoing a revival so both kids and adults are going to school to learn Basque.This book and tape helped me a lot! Now that I am home I still listen to the tapes to refresh my memory. To the authors I say eskerrik asko!!

A practical guide for survival in the Basque Country

I recently bought this book and tape to prepare for my trip to Euskal Herria. I read the book a few times and listened to the tape when I was at work or around the house. For every bit of effort I put into learning, my reward was 100%. Although I had never studied Spanish or Euskera before, these tapes helped me get by. When I arrived in San Sebastian, I found that the tape was extremely accurate in the way people spoke. I kept popping out little phrases I had memorized from the tape. These helped me with the necessities, like greetings, asking directions, and finding what I needed in San Sebastian. It's amazing how far I was able to stretch a conversation just by knowing the basics and the functional words. Once I got past the day-to-day survival, I really began to learn the language. Once I began to learn the language, people opened up to me in a way they never would have to an English- or Spanish-speaker. Euskera is undergoing a huge revival and it is exciting to be a part of that. And the Basque people will love you for showing them the respect to try to learn their language.I highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in the language or is planning on visiting Euskal Herria. It will give you the base to begin communicating much sooner and at a deeper level.

Best manual I've ever had

Alan King made a very good manual, it is hard to make something like this for the language that is not similar to anything we know, but however it is really easy to learn basque with his book.