foreign languages

It's not easy finding in-print textbooks for learning Afrikaans, especially in the United States, and the fact that this course has audio cassettes is by itself a major advantage compared to the few other offerings. Although I already speak German and Dutch (and am interested in learning to read, not speak Afrikaans), I found the tapes invaluable, especially in identifying the relatively few (in my opinion) places that Afrikaans pronunciation differs substantially from Dutch.

Overall the textbook is very good and similar to the author's Colloquial Dutch course (including some of the same dialogs at that). The grammar descriptions, etc. are brief and to the point, the dialogs are also manageable, and there is sufficient review/exercise material as well.

The reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that there are a few words in each lesson that are neither defined in the lesson nor included with the glossary in the back of the book. If you're really interested in learning Afrikaans, I would recommend getting a decent dictionary like the Hippocrene A-E/E-A by Kromhaut or the very extensive (and very big) Reader's Digest dictionary, which you would have to order from South Africa. A final point is that the dialogs stop being translated after the first few lessons, and several times I would have liked to see an English translation of the later dialogs as a comprehension check.

Still, this is definitely the best book/course out there for learning Afrikaans, especially with the tapes and I would highly recommend it.

The quality of this cassette is marvelous and I felt like checking my ears for accumulated phlegm when I took off the headphones. Side one deals with the basics of conversational Afrikaans and side 2 sets out a variety of expressions of belligerent condemnation.

Professor Donaldson's COLLOQUIAL AFRIKAANS was a pleaure to study. His book includes many interesting dialogues using ordinary Afrikaans. The grammar sections are surprisingly easy to read. Donaldson also includes many short exercises which cover the material very nicely. For added interest, the book is sprinkled with cultural information. Finally, Donaldson includes generous glossaries, a key to the exercises, and an index.