German: Lonely Planet Phrasebook
by Gunter Muehl, Lonely Planet Phrasebooks
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Book Summary Information
Author: Gunter Muehl, Lonely Planet PhrasebooksEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); German (Original Language); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-03-01
ISBN: 1740599802
Number of pages: 260
Publisher: Lonely Planet
Book Reviews of German: Lonely Planet Phrasebook
Book Review: Useful but imperfect phrasebook
Summary: 4 Stars
Some other reviewers have rated this book poorly on the basis that it did not "save them" when they all of sudden needed a certain phrase. The problem with rating the book on that premise is that this is NOT what the book is designed to do. You use this book to learn basic phrases BEFORE you enter conversations, in most instances. From this perspective, it served me quite well as I traveled throughout Deutsch-speaking lands for 2 weeks. Granted, there are times when you might want to look up a phrase on the spot, but to think that this book is going to save you from that awkward situation is silly. You have to put some work into studying the book beforehand.
The other thing to realize is that most Germans do know English, at least the basics. And this is especially the case in tourist areas. So, yes, if you only use this book when you *need* it then you won't use it much. But some of us recognize that to know a culture is to know its language, so learning some German is not only useful but delightful.
As one person said, the sections are well-organized. I thought that the beginning tools section was excellent: it succinctly stated exactly what a traveler needs to know to form basic German sentences. I would have appreciated some more insight on verb conjugation (conversational past tenses are very easy to form), however, because otherwise you are left using un-conjugated verbs that you know will sound awkward. Still, if you're only intent is "get by" then this book serves just fine.
There are a few instances where the book is perhaps non-colloquial with regards to vocabulary. Germans say "Eis" in reference to ice cream, for example, not ice cubes, which is "Eiswürfel". This is very minor. What is unfortunate, however, is that the book presents the pronunciations in "Hochdeutsch" (high German), a "proper" dialect of German that Germans don't seem to use in conversation. The best example is "ich," which means "I". Germans pronounce this close to "ish" but the phrasebook presents it as "ikh". Likewise, many words with "ch" are rendered as hard k's and not as soft ch.
I write the above paragraph not because I am a German expert (far from it) but because I traveled with a friend who has lived in Germany for half of his life and is near-fluent if not fluent in German. He informed me of the aforementioned errors, and even told me to just ignore the pronunciation guide in the book because it was messing me up so bad.
Another random complaint: the section on romance is ridiculously long and stupid. I can't tell if this section was put in seriously or as a joke, especially the part on sex. Either way it is largely obnoxious and nothing more.
Overall, I did like this book mainly because it is well-organized and equipped me for basic conversation.
Summary of German: Lonely Planet Phrasebook
Three travelers walk into a Biergarten. One has a map, one has a Swiss army knife and one has a copy of this phrasebook. Guess who gets served first?Our phrasebooks give you a comprehensive mix of practical and social words and phrases in more than 120 languages. Chat with the locals and discover their culture - a guaranteed way to enrich your travel experience.
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