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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Steer clear if you're a beginner, 23 Feb 2003
It says on the back of this book that it's "invaluable both to the absolute beginner and the student of Icelandic literature and its culture."But a quick read of the first couple of pages of lesson one will tell you that this simply is NOT TRUE. I'm an absolute beginner and this book baffles me. Lesson one, page two: "Within this declension we note these variations, which may be looked up in the section called Appendixes: SM 1d; SM 2b..." How is this helping us learn a language? Right from the start, you are drowned in an impenetrable soup of grammatical terms and it never lets up until you get to the idiom section where you will be thrilled to commit to memory such useful phrases as, "To steer between Scylla and Charybdis." You won't be able to ask for a cup of coffee yet, but at least you'll be able to impress the locals with your classical education while you gesture at the menu. Instead of grinding through this, I would recommend Daisy Neimann's "Colloquial Icelandic" which is a much more friendly and accessible introduction to this difficult language, especially if you get the accompanying CD. "Teach Yourself Icelandic" is not for beginners, it's written in a very formal, academic style, and I'd say is only useful once you're well on the way to grasping Icelandic.
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by Anthony Faulkes
![101 Reykjavik [DVD] [2001]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51B9MMT57BL._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
DVD ~ Hilmir Snær Guðnason
