Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, a Textbook: With Exercises and Basic Grammar

I was very satisfied with this book. I bought it at the last minute before my trip so only had time to work through 2 chapters, but even those set me in really good stead. I now have every confidence that what I learn as I continue to work through the book before my next trip will be accurate and valuable. Even the vocabulary which seemed a bit obscure to be introduced so early in the book proved very useful - the authors obviously really applied their knowledge of the language(s) well in structuring the lessons.

The book appeared to be geared more to classes or small groups, but as long as you are prepared to put in the effort I think anyone trying to learn independently (like I am) will find it fine. The little explanations of points of grammar were clearly explained and helped me communicate much more easily than if I had relied on a phrasebook or dictionary alone. Having said that, the glossary in the back of the book is in itself surprisingly extensive - in some instances providing more information than my dictionary.

If I were to make a small criticism it would be that the book could be improved by explaining what the different "cases" (e.g. genitive, accusative etc) all meant in the English language before discussing how they are formed in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian; it was to some extent assumed that the reader was already familiar with these terms, which English schooling has failed us on! However, once I found out what these terms meant (good old mum!), the way the B/C/S was presented in the book all made sense. It is a very good buy, and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to learn these languages!

PROS:
- Comprehensive and designed specifically for English-speaking users.
- Plenty of exercises and explanations of grammar.
- Gives equal treatment to Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian standards.
- Chapters use dialogues and literary excerpts.

CON:
- No answer key

I wish that I had used this course when I was learning Croatian. In a way I look at this new course by Alexander and Elias-Bursac as an unofficial upgrade on Thomas Magner's course, "Introduction to the Croatian and Serbian Language" which I was using. They apply the ideas of balancing the standards, showing accentuation patterns of words, excellent coverage of grammatical topics and useful glossaries. Alexander and Elias-Bursac have necessarily added modern touches by extending the exposure to Bosnian and updating the dialogues to reflect life in the early 21st century.

If you're serious about learning from scratch Bosnian / Croatian / Serbian / Serbo-Croatian / whatever you want to call it, this is THE course that you should use if you can get help from a native Bosnian / Croat / Serb to correct your exercises and check your progress. Unlike courses such as "Teach Yourself Serbian" or "Colloquial Croatian" for example, the authors here have truly designed this course with English-speakers in mind. Not only does the textbook indicate the patterns of accentuation and tone of every word, but it also gives in-depth grammatical explanations that often use English as a reference/point of comparison. In addition, the appendices have charts that show declensional and conjugational patterns while the glossary shows the aspectual pairs of verbs - something that some courses and dictionaries fail to do.

It is also noteworthy and praiseworthy that the standard variants of BCS are presented equally along with the distinctions between "(i)jekavski" and "ekavski". All of these help to give a sense to the user of the "fuzziness" of what some people insist as constituting "proper Bosnian", "proper Croatian" or "proper Serbian". The juxtaposition of texts in all three variants was indeed instructive and made me realize how parochial are some "debates" about Serbo-Croatian vs. Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian (which reflect more the political situation).

It is well worth the money to buy the CDs that have the dialogues and readings of the textbook so that you may get some audio exposure to the language. The reference manual of grammar that corresponds to this textbook is in my view not required as the textbook's explanations are sufficient. However, I do recommend that reference book if you want to go into detail on the grammatical explanations of the textbook or get a readable and balanced survey of the sociolinguistic topics regarding "Serbo-Croatian" and now "BCS".

I found this book very informative....and it made me want the sister book - 'Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, a Grammar". I've ordered it so i can have an even better understanding of this beautiful language. I've purchased 2 other Serbian books and this is by far the most helpful of them all. I bought the teach yourself series - and it was good, more along the lines of tourism but helpful in staring out, my second book i bought was Serbian Grammar (red cover) and it covers everything (I guess since i haven't read it all) but not very helpful in putting sentences together and learning in a 'learning' way.
-----> This book here though is very, very good. Don't waste your time or money.....get this one. <-----

This is a great book! I have been looking for a really long time for a textbook for Serbian language. I am so glad to have found this one. It discusses the different dialects and other differences between Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian, and in doing so is really a three-for-one language book. Mind you, there are subtle differences between the languages (as they are really just different dialects) but they are there all the same. I think it is about time someone does a book on Serbian language - one which goes well beyong the basics (travel books, etc.) and really delves into the complex grammar with examples. First-rate book! Oh, and I highly recommend the sister book - BCS Grammar. You can find it online too - great book which go in depth into the complicated grammar (and reasons why it is what it is based on the different regions of the former Yugoslavaia.) Beneficial to have this book also, if you need more explanations on grammar. I have them both, and they are both superlative.