The Primer of Modern Standard Hindi

Rating:
Summary: Excellent introduction to Hindi
Review: Professor Shapiro is a giant in the field of Indo-Aryan linguistics and his book is an excellent, if not essential, place to begin one's studies of Hindi. The virtue of the book is its rare ability to combine academic precision and detail with ease of use. With this in mind, I find this book provides the soundest overall introduction to Hindi - supplying both a complex beginner's understanding of the language and the best platform for further study. Other books that work especially well with this one, but would be incomplete without it, are Usha Jain's "Introduction to Hindi Grammar" (helpful for its very gradually approach) and "Teach Yourself Hindi" (excellent for its conversational emphasis and keyed exercises).