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Rating: 
Summary: Good introduction to the Chinese language
Review: After completing this book you will have a very rudimentary understanding of the Chinese language. Your vocabulary will be limited, your aural comprehension will be weak at best, and only if you're very studious will you be able to properly pronunciate all the words that you do learn. That said, this is a good book especially when accompanied the audio cassettes. I had no previous knowledge of Mandarin Chinese before reading this book, although the little bit of Cantonese that I know helped somewhat. Now I can pick out a few words here and there when watching Chinese movies. Only with practice will I improve, although a vocabulary builder would be useful.
Rating:
Summary: Great for Newbies
Review: Good teaching for early beginners of the language. Well-organized & easy to learn.
Rating:
Summary: Important!
Review: I'm currently studying from this book, and it has been very helpful, and very thourough. However, I had a Mandarin speaking (yes, he's Chinese), friend of mine look at the book. He laughed. Most of the information is correct, but the usage of Ni and Nin (you informal and "formal") is very incorrect. My friend informed me that he has only using Nin once or twice with his parents, and only to suck up. Instead of being more formal, nin is more intimite. He showed me the difference in characters, and the only difference between the two is that nin has the symbol for the heart underneath! There are gross missuses of the word within the book, as in between a student and a teacher. My friend couldn't stop laughing! But other than that, the book is accurate...
Rating:
Summary: Important!
Review: I'm currently studying from this book, and it has been very helpful, and very thourough. However, I had a Mandarin speaking (yes, he's Chinese), friend of mine look at the book. He laughed. Most of the information is correct, but the usage of Ni and Nin (you informal and "formal") is very incorrect. My friend informed me that he has only using Nin once or twice with his parents, and only to suck up. Instead of being more formal, nin is more intimite. He showed me the difference in characters, and the only difference between the two is that nin has the symbol for the heart underneath! There are gross missuses of the word within the book, as in between a student and a teacher. My friend couldn't stop laughing! But other than that, the book is accurate...
Rating:
Summary: Great for Newbies
Review: I'm only about halfway (okay, not that far, even) through the book, and I've learned a lot. I've even had a couple of very short conversations with people in Chinese, and they've told me that I speak very well, so the book certainly does its job. The tapes are indispensible. The book covers pronunciation and the different tones very well. I've got a lot left to read, but I'm very, very happy with the course over all! I WOULDN'T buy it, though, as a new, updated version is coming out in the U.S. in January, I believe. For more information on that, go to: http://www.teachyourself.co.uk
Rating: 
Summary: Great book to begin with!
Review: I'm only about halfway (okay, not that far, even) through the book, and I've learned a lot. I've even had a couple of very short conversations with people in Chinese, and they've told me that I speak very well, so the book certainly does its job. The tapes are indispensible. The book covers pronunciation and the different tones very well. I've got a lot left to read, but I'm very, very happy with the course over all! I WOULDN'T buy it, though, as a new, updated version is coming out in the U.S. in January, I believe. For more information on that, go to: http://www.teachyourself.co.uk
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Introduction
Review: this book/tape, so far, beats all others that I have purchased. Besides all useful material, the completeness of the chinese instructions is what pleased me the most. I would recommend to all learners of Chinese Mandarin. In fact, it is better than the other version "Teach Yourself Chinese" by the same authors.
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