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23 of 24 found the following review helpful:
An academic approach Apr 22, 2000
By John Adams
I've been using this 294 page book in a class. Technically it seems to be good, but it is hard to learn from. (Maybe I'm just getting too old to have the language facility I once had?) The title is accurate it calling it an "outline;" the information is densely packed. It requires careful and repeated reading to understand. It illustrates each point by only a few short examples. It introduces and uses the devanagari script from the beginning, with transliterations. I think that one could learn everything else without learning the script. I am already familiar with the script, and want to improve my reading ability, so I am happy with the constant use of devanagari. Those who need to learn the script together with the vocabulary and grammar may find it more challenging. The text describes pronunciations in terms of the Queen's English, and it is confusing to those who don't speak that dialect. My teacher doesn't seem to pronounce everything the way it is described in the book. A tape is available, but I have not made much use of it yet, as it relates to specific exercises in the book. Studying with this book seems to be a slow start. It would be excellent for someone who wants to review and improve a language already partially acquired. I'm looking for something that makes the language feel more accessible.
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
Excellent summary of Hindi grammar May 27, 2007
By Peregrina
McGregor presents a really coherent summary of Hindi grammar, though it is a more formal grammar than most people actually speak. The approach is very academic, which means it wouldn't necessarily be the book for many people to start with. On the whole, however, I like it better than any of the other books I have used, including Landour.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
 Great Grammar/Reference Book Jan 05, 2009
By Shawn A. Palmer
This book is great for a reference grammar of Hindi. It covers most major grammar points covered in most 1st and 2nd year Hindi Courses. One thing I noticed about this book, is you should have another book thoroughly explaining all grammatical concetps and use this one merely for more examples and as a refernce. This book is somewhat dense and tries to briefly cover SEVERAL topics of Hindi grammar. Another great thing about this book is it is the ONLY book I know of that transliterates from Pg 1 and never stops. The entire book shows script and then the transliteration right beside it. This is especially good for someone who wants to pick up some grammar and/or vocabulary etc, but is having trouble with the script. Lastly if you are already well versed in Hindi grammar, as I am, then this book is a great addition to your Hindi Language materials collection :)
9 of 13 found the following review helpful:
 book for someone already familiar with hindi Sep 05, 2000
By Manoj Mohan
This book is very good for someone who is familiar with hindi, like who could read and understand a few simple words. I enjoyed reading this book since I consider my self belong to that category. I'm not sure howmuch someone, who is not exposed to hindi atall, will benefit from this book. Exercises and vocabulary sections are very good, as the title of the book says, the book focuses on the grammar part of the spoken and written hindi not for beginners who just want to learn to speak.
An excellent resource for experienced language learners Jan 13, 2011
By Eric Shuman
"Classics & Religious Studies Scholar"
I have successfully used this book to teach myself written and spoken Hindi, along with practical exercises such as conversational help from people who already speak the language, and a watching Hindi-language films.
This book is not for the faint of heart. It does not limit itself to introducing the reader to casual chatter in conversational Hindi -- my favourite example phrase translates as "I have burnt the house of my enemy," an utterance not likely to be very helpful while, for example, reserving a Second AC ticket on the Rajdhani Express.
Nevertheless the book's stated purpose is "to include most of what the student needs to know in the early stages of his study of Hindi and of what he needs to have accessible for easy reference while consolidating his grasp of the language." In this, McGregor's grammar has proven to me absolutely invaluable. Thanks in large part to this book, I have now successfully fended for myself in Hindi from Delhi to Kolkata, and what's more feel equipped to tackle Hindi literature.
To anyone who has studied, as I have, inflected languages such as Greek, Latin or German -- or anyone who has studied languages from an academic point of view -- McGregor's explanation will be concise, cogent and clear. I found myself able to begin assimilating the mechanics immediately, even before I had quite learnt the script, and bypassed all the usual nervous hand-wringing and hand-holding that usually accompany slower-paced elementary text books.
It does sacrifice somewhat to brevity with a paucity of examples (e.g. things can get a bit murky where one exemplum serves double-duty illustrating two points of grammar), but this is not a major obstacle when taken in combination with outside reading, speaking and listening. The only real addition I would hope for would be a more extensive index along with more thorough cross-referencing.
McGregor is a fantastic scholar. Along with this, his The Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary are monuments of scholarship.
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based on 5 reviews
