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5.0 out of 5 stars
Pimsleur Language Program - Hindi, April 6 2004
By A Customer
I used this CD set to prepare for a visit to India. I had zero knowledge of Hindi before this course and I listened to the whole set of CDs not quite three times (in the car while commuting) before my trip. The course covers a limited range of vocabulary and grammar at an elementary level; it did not make me fluent or even able to carry on a conversation. (I guess I could have conducted a very short conversation about whether or not I was Indian or American, or whether or not I spoke Hindi or English, but some things are just obvious.) However, it did give me enough knowledge to exchange pleasantries, handle basic directions and requests, and show interest in the language. The most important things that I got from the CDs was a feel for the language. I was shocked to be able to listen to Hindi conversations and be able to pick out bits and pieces that I understood - a few words here and a few words there. I was also able to recognize certain gramatical patterns (such as questions, first and third person references, small talk phrases, time, and numbers). I was identifying with the language if not quite understanding it! If only I could have stayed longer, I could have done better! And the pronunciation practice was invaluable. The Pimsleur repetitions really gave me an ear for the language - it no longer sounded so foreign. Because I could actually hear the language, I could remember a few additional words that I learned in India. I don't think that any other method could have given me a better start in the amount of time I invested in the Pimsleur course.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Hindi not as good as German, Japanese, Oct 25 2003
I am a big fan of Pimsleur, having purchased German (4), Japanese (3), Spanish, Hebrew, Mandarin, Russian, and Hindi. So, I have no axe to grind against Pimsleur when I say that this series is not on a par with some of the others. Why? Because the language used is archaic. The words for "Miss", "Please", and others are not a part of every day Hindi. I work with a couple of dozen native Hindi speakers and they agree, to a person, that some of the phrases that I have learned and repeated are comical. Of course it's not a total loss. I am able to speak Hindi and for the most part what I've learned is useful and fun to use. Pimsleur is a great system, the Hindi tapes are worth buying, but they are simply not as good as Pimsleur's other language products. The criticisms that I have read about the lack of grammer tutorials are specious. You and I and everyone else learned to speak long before we had any notion of grammer. If you want grammer go to school or buy a book, if you want to be fluent move to India. In the absence of that buy Pimsleur.
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2.0 out of 5 stars
Artificial Hindi, Aug 20 2003
By A Customer
The language presented on the Pimsleur Hindi tapes is not ordinary spoken Hindi. It is an artificial Sanskritized version. These tapes will teach you many words that Hindi speakers will recognize but would not normally use in their own every-day conversation. Very disappointing. It seems as though someone took the transcript of the Pimsleur French or Spanish tapes and attempted a word-for-word translation into Hindi. Hindi speakers do not normally use separate words for 'please,' 'thank you,' and 'excuse me.' These sentiments are normally conveyed in Hindi through the use of verb endings, particles, etc. Hopefully Pimsleur will produce another set of Hindi lessons using 'real' Hindi sometime soon. I have used the Pimsleur tapes for Spanish and thought that they were excellent. I would like to see the Pimsleur method applied to a 'complete' Hindi course that uses normal spoken Hindi.
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