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Title: Teach Yourself Sanskrit Complete Course by Michael Coulson, Teach Yourself Publishing ISBN: 0844238252 Publisher: McGraw-Hill/Contemporary Books Pub. Date: 11 January, 1992 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.2
Rating: 4
Summary: An affordable start, but not a 'complete course'
Comment: This review is intended to supplement some of the other critiques I've read on this book; and it is not my intention to offer a thorough analysis of why this a 'great' or 'lousy' tool for learning Sanskrit. I simply don't know Sanskrit well enough to give an informed opinion as to whether or not this book has given me a sturdy ability in the language; I can, however, describe the book from the position I am at, an eager beginner who's making his way slowly through the text.
I'd read many of the negative reviews of this book and took them into careful consideration. Eventually, I did buy this book for one major reason: it was quite affordable. As my passion for learning Sanskrit hasn't grabbed hold of all of my being :), I thought it'd be wise to start with an inexpensive book and see how I got on with it, how my taking to the language developed.
First - and to address one common criticism of the book - I do have a strong background in Western 'classical' languages (Greek, Latin) and therefore I wasn't too put off by the heavy use of grammatical terminology in this book. In fact, I've come to expect that sort of thing, and so I wasn't surprised. There is an ever-decreasing emphasis on the study of grammar in the school systems of North America, and I really think many people would do well - especially if you're into languages - to learn the complementery jargon that goes with language study. It may seem tedious in Coulson's book if you're not prepared for it, but at the end of the day I think readers will benefit from equipping themselves with terms like 'locative' and 'feminine substantive'. They're words that'll help you find your way about in future language studies.
I approached this book as offering [a]...very introductory service: to give me a basic understanding of what Sanskrit is and how it behaves. For a [moderately priced] book , and only 500 or so pages, I would say it did the job quite well. At this stage, it surely hasn't given me a 'command' of Sanskrit, but it's given me various levels of foundations, to the point that I can understand to some extent Seargent's parsing in his masterfully annotated edition of the _Bhagavad Gita_.
There is not too much emphasis on the Devanagari script, as others have noted. The reader is introduced to it, and the reading texts are printed in it, but general vocabulary lists and grammatical notes are written in Roman transliteration. Personally, I'd prefer if I was given the Devangari the whole go, as I believe very much in immersion therapy when it comes to foreign scripts. However, it's certainly less intimidating to face verb-tables in Roman letters, rather than curling script - at least, when you're just very much beginning. Reading texts are sparse, but, again, this is very much suitable for a beginner's book. As for myself, I'd rather become comfortable with basic sentences than get lost in a swarm of poetry. The more complicated texts can come later, and there are many Sanskrit readers which will provide this service.
In summary, I gave this book four stars because it did what I expected of it, and more: I expected an inexpensive, elementary introduction to Sanskrit, as I was not a committed learner, and wanted a book that would get me started familiarising myself with the language. It's given me copious language notes, reasonably clear explanations, if not requiring some jumping about, and has earnestly inspired me to go further and deeper with more serious books on the subject. Sanskrit is a difficult language: I found it more difficult than Latin or Icelandic, and I don't think it's fair to expect an easy time of it from any book. This book got my feet wet for under a [moderate price], in a gradual but dense sea of explanations. Slow going, but rewarding, and it gave me the sufficient start I needed to get moving on to more thorough and serious primers.
Rating: 5
Summary: A great introduction to Sanskrit
Comment: This book was exactly what I was looking for when I ordered it. It covers all the essentials, and does a thorough job of it.
As you make progress with Sanskrit, you'll want to get other materials, doubtless. But for a price of ..., this may be all you ever need, if you just want a look into the language and a feeling for how it operates.
Many weeks of study material here! Very well done!
Rating: 1
Summary: Not a good teaching book
Comment: I bought this book when I was just beginning to learn Sanskrit because it was the cheapest thing on the market, and because I read that it had linguistic sidenotes in it (which, being something of a linguistics geek, appealed to me). While the book certainly makes interesting reading, and would probably be useful as a reference grammar for more advanced students, I found that this book was extremely unhelpful in trying to learn the language.
Most glaringly, there are only 15 chapters. This means that each chapter covers a huge amount of grammar. While it is not too much for a person to learn, there are not nearly enough excercises for one to practice sufficiently. The size of the vocabulary is more manageable, but this simply means that one doesn't get a very extensive vocabulary, and vocabulary is *very* important. Additionally, the author soon abandons teaching things to us. Instead of teaching the cases beyond the nominative and accusative, readers are encouraged to simply use the reference grammar. Yes, one can always go to the back of the book and learn it themselves, but the chapter excercises are not geared towards this, and do not reinforce the information.
Overall, I was left with the feeling that, while I would be able to learn Sanskrit from this back, I might as well just get a reference grammar. I am now using Egene's book and find it extremely helpful. I recommend this instead.
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Title: First Lessons in Sanskrit Grammar and Reading by Judith M. Tyberg ISBN: 093073601X Publisher: East West Cultural Ctr Pub. Date: March, 1977 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: The Concise Sanskrit-English Dictionary by Vasudeo Govind, Davidovic Mladen, V. G. Apte ISBN: 0781802032 Publisher: Hippocrene Books Pub. Date: October, 1996 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Samskrta-Subodhini: A Sanskrit Primer (Michigan Papers on South and Southeast Asia, 47) by Madhav M. Deshpande ISBN: 089148079X Publisher: University of Michigan Press Pub. Date: December, 1999 List Price(USD): $26.00 |
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Title: A Crash Course to Learn the Devanagari Script (For Hindi, Marathi and Sanskrit Languages) by Bharat S. Shah ISBN: 0962367451 Publisher: Setubandh Pubns Pub. Date: 01 January, 1999 List Price(USD): $3.00 |
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Title: Sanskrit Pronunciation by Bruce Cameron, Ph.D. Hall ISBN: 1557000212 Publisher: Theosophical Univ Pr Pub. Date: December, 1992 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
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