Catalan is a member of the Romance family of languages, which includes French, Castilian Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, and is the mother tongue of approximately 10.5 million people. In Spain, it is spoken in Catalonia, Valencian, the Balearic islands, the eastern part of Aragon and El Carxe (in Murcia). These areas are much-visited by English-speaking tourists and travellers, particularly Barcelona and the Balearic Islands. Within these Spanish territories, Catalan has joint official status with Castilian Spanish. Outside Spain, Catalan is spoken in Andorra, north Catalonia in the south of France and in L'Alguer in Sardinia. More people speak Catalan than speak Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Irish. The current edition of Teach Yourself Catalan has been completely rewritten and updated for beginners in Catalan who are planning to visit a Catalan-speaking area or who are starting a course in the language. New vocabulary and structures are introduced step by step through interesting dialogues which are also on the accompanying recording. There are plenty of exercises to practise each point as you learn it and to help reinforce your new language. The course covers all the language you will need for your next business trip or holiday, including getting to know people, making arrangements, shopping, ordering a meal, giving opinions and using the telephone. There are comprehensive bilingual vocabularies and a 'taking it further' section to direct you to further sources of Catalan. The accompanying recording consists over two hours of listening material on CD and contains all the dialogues from the book, exercises in listening and speaking, and a comprehensive pronunciation guide. The book (0340 870575) are also available separately. This course contains everything you need to start speaking Catalan with confidence and appreciate the culture of Catalan speakers.
Complete Catalan
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About the Author
Alan Yates is a former Lecturer in Catalan at the University of Sheffield and well-respected author of the current edition. He has recently received a prize for his services to the teaching of the Catalan. Anna Poch is a native speaker of Catalan and an experienced teacher of Catalan and Spanish. She has been teaching at universities and schools in France and England since 1996.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Having used "Teach Yourself Spanish" many years ago (in the month prior to visiting a friend in Asturias) I fully expected to do just as well with this book - especially as I'd been on a course for tourists going to the Costa Brava. So I knew the pronunciation and some basic usage and so on. Sadly, I found myself getting bogged down with dense grammar, when I wanted to feel how the language worked.
The worked examples are very good, and memorable; my friends and I are still enchanted with phrases like "estic disposat a sortejar la cabra" - which means "I am inclined to raffle the goat" (!)
On the whole, three stars - not for the faint-hearted, but still good solid stuff. Perhaps a little too solid.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book uses a classic approach to language teaching, what with pronunciation in IPA and good grammatical explanations.
If you're scared of grammar, this book is not for you.
If you're a trained linguist, on the other hand, this may be one of the very best self-study books you'll ever come across!
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By Emily Reader
Format:Paperback
This course, as with the other Teach Yourself courses that I know, is well designed, clear and user friendly. It assumes no knowledge of the Catalan language and guides you through a logical course, concentrating on the typical communicative aspects of the language (introductions, buying food, directions, booking a hotel room etc). The CD that accompanies the course is ideal for listening and pronunciation practice. In fact, I wouldnt recommend the book on its own. Catalan is a fascinating language, a mix of Spanish and French, and well worth the challenge!
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3.5 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
A lot of information here!
I have only just started so cannot say whether it will help me to become fluent in a short space of time but I am finding the explanation and practicing of pronunciation of... Read more
Published on 9 Dec 2009 by J. Quintrell
2.0 out of 5 stars
Lacking some essentials
The major deficiency of this book is the lack of help with pronunciation. Catalan is not phonetically written and the pronunciation is distinctly more complex than Spanish. Read more
Published on 7 July 2008 by Lycos Limited C. Jones
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good enough for most people
This book is good to an extent. I don't really think it covers an awful lot and there certainly seems to be more of an emphasis on grammar than practical vocabulary. Read more
Published on 11 Aug 2006 by JR Anderson
2.0 out of 5 stars
need the cd!!
there's nothing wrong with this teaching tool per se, but without the audio CD, you have little chance of success as the pronunciation of catalan is much more complex than spanish. Read more
Published on 21 Jun 2006 by Patsy
4.0 out of 5 stars
A textbook focusing on the mechanics of the language
Having read the generally negative reviews of this book, I approached it with trepidation. But, much to my surprise, for the first time in ages I was delighted to come across a... Read more
Published on 19 Oct 2003
1.0 out of 5 stars
So complicated even my Catalan girlfriend got confused...
If this is the best the Catalan academic world can produce, for us mere mortals to attempt to decipher and learn from, then don't expect the language to rocket in the popularity... Read more
Published on 4 July 2001
1.0 out of 5 stars
so this is catalan?
I've been trying unsucessfully to learn Catalan from this book for the past year and am surprised to find it still on sale. Read more
Published on 10 Feb 2001
1.0 out of 5 stars
Is "Too much sausage" a useful Catalanism?
Although the book is clearly set out and very useful in terms of pronunciation, etc. some of the phrases included are not particularly useful in terms of learning such a difficult... Read more
Published on 5 Feb 2001
3.0 out of 5 stars
You CAN Teach Yourself
After many years, I returned to Barcelona for a holiday only to find that my Spanish was not only very rusty but also not what the locals wanted to hear. Read more
Published on 2 Oct 2000 by pivot@lineone.net
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