Product Description
With An Icelandic Reader, An Account Of The Norsk Poetry And The Sagas And A Modern Icelandic Vocabulary For Travelers. ... Read more

Product Description
Publisher: Cambridge, [Mass.] : Metcalf and companyPublication date: 1847Notes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be numerous typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
How did you learn to speak?

You probably don't even know. You listened to your parents, gradually understanding the meanings of sounds, words, and then whole sentences. Then, once you had absorbed or assimilated the meanings of the word associations, you began to link words and form your own sentences. Assimil applied this same natural process adapting it to the abilities of adults, young and old.

You assimilate in two phases:
The Passive Phase
The Active Phase

The first step is to familiarize yourself with the new language through daily sessions lasting 20 to 30 minutes. You listen and read and you understand what is being said through the translation provided. You repeat each sentence aloud to practice your pronunciation, with the help of easy phonetic spellings and, better still, recordings. During the Passive Phase you shouldn't try to form sentences. Just immerse yourself in the language. Every seventh lesson you'll find a review of all the points covered in the previous six lessons and a summary of the main grammar points learned during the week. The key to success is the daily routine.

The first two weeks are crucial. The rest will come naturally.

The Active Phase starts when you have acquired enough passive knowledge around Lesson 50.

This phase continues alongside passive learning, and involves revising Lesson 1, then Lesson 2 and so on, completing one active and one passive lesson each day.

In the Active Phase, you cover up the text in the target language and, using the translation on the opposite page, try to say it out loud or in writing if you wish. The Active Phase continues throughout the entire second half of the book. For most major languages, it takes about five months to assimilate a course of 100 lessons.

You'll be amazed at your results! During this second phase, you will be building sentences with ease and this encourages you to go on and complete your course.

A With Ease course will enable you to reach a level of fluent everyday conversation. ... Read more

Product Description
Compact and comprehensive, the Berlitz Pocket Dictionary is suitable for travellers, students or professionals. Blue headwords make entries acessible while its size makes the book handy and portable. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Excellent Dictionary For The Price
For the money, this is the best Danish-English dictionary that I could find. I bought a more comprehensive one (used) but it lacked any guide to Danish pronunciation, which this dictionary does have, such as it is. There are two drawbacks to its pronunciation guide: the introduction to pronunciation is not very complete and it's generally geared to UK English. I've found some outrageously expensive dictionaries but there seem to be none in the intermediate budget range. Having given the negatives about this dictionary, it's still a very good buy for the money. I have already bought three.
Hopefully, some Danish-English scholar will develop a good, moderately-priced dictionary comparable with those sold in other, more popular, languages.

Perfect for pocket
If you are looking for a pocket-size Danish-English dictionary, this is the one for you.I am able to comfortably bring it with me when I go to the libary to do geneology research.I like it. ... Read more

Product Description
Featuring pronunciation, a menu guide, a mini-dictionary, hotel information, and emergency phrases.

Whether you're trying to order dinner or get back to your hotel, you cannot make your way without knowing what to say, and the Eyewitness Travel Guide Phrase Books are the perfect guide for tongue-tied tourists. These compact, user-friendly books fit right into your pocket or purse, and meet the communications needs of the tourist and business traveler alike. Based on an innovative system of imitated pronunciation, phrases are organized into logical and practical divisions, including time; food and drink; air travel; bus, taxi, and subway information; shopping; health and medical care; and much more. Typical replies to questions you may be asked, as well as signs and instructions you're likely to see or hear, are also given. The guides also include a carefully selected mini-dictionary, and useful conversion tables translating distance, clothing sizes, and weight. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A compact & very helpful guidebook!
This is a great little book! Small enough to carry around on the streets with you and nicely broken down into areas of use; Air Travel, Restaurants, Shopping, Telephones, etc. VERY easy to use with LOTS of important information such as numbers, months, and time of day to name a few. Especially useful were the Conversion Tables in the back. Also includes a mini-dictionary. A great little book for the Danish traveler! ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Not Useful
A phrase book and tape, with no grammar or explanation. That would be OK if it were a good phrase book, but it is not. The Danish on the tape is spoken so fast that it is impossible to distinguish the individual words or even to hear what the phrase should sound like. A lot of words are being left out altogether. They are trying to pack as many phrases in one tape as possible and are talking even faster than one would in normal conversation. The written pronunciation guides are imprecise. The translations in the booklet are approximate, ideomatic expressions, so one does not learn the individual word meanings. Buy from the Hugo, Colloquial, or Berlitz series instead. ... Read more

Product Description
The third edition of this multilingual dictionary, specifically geared to yachtsmen, covers cruising terms in English, French, German, Dutch, Danish, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Turkish and Greek. It has been thoroughly revised and updated to cover all the subjects the boater might need, including words for several thousand onboard items as well as the latest developments in electronic and mechanical equipment and the patterns of charter and flotilla sailing. Arranged in helpful subject categories for easy use, it is a unique, comprehensive reference for any boatowner venturing abroad. 'This is the kind of book no-one going to sea should be without' Lloyds List'An invaluable aid for anyone cruising abroad' Kelvin Hughes'All the yachtie has to do is point and grunt' Water Craft"No boat heading north, east or south should be without it' Yachting Monthly ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Yachtsman's Ten Language Review
Excellent resource for Europe, The Mediterranean Sea, and the Pacific Coast.
I would have preferred Roman alphabet or a Roman phoenic respelling of the Greek and Turkish languages so that I could pronounce the expressions and words at least roughly.

No Clue, In A Foreign Port AndA Foreign Language
I have been cruising in many different areas around this beautiful globe and I find this dictionary to be one of the few available on the market. The book is divided up in to catagories such as the hull, deck, navigation, commands, refrigeration, engine etc., although I am fluent in French and German, this book aids me immensely to navigate through the seaman's language in 10 different toungues. Sailor's terminology can be ratherintimdating to some people in their own language, let alone in another foreign language. I you are planning a cruise around the Caribbean, Mediterranean, South America or Africa buy this dictionary. The only negative part about this book, is that it contains no middle eastern or far eastern languages such as Arabic, Persian, Thai, Chinese, Fiji or Indonesian. If they would have added these languages to the book, it would have been too combursome to use hold the dictionary. ... Read more

Product Description
Compact Danish, a stand-alone 10-lesson (5 hours) program, teaches beginning language strategies for essential communication and traveling needs, plus an introduction to reading. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Tedious way to learn Danish
I moved to Denmark for work and wanted to learn the language. I'd heard good things about this method of language learning, but was really surprised at how bad it was. The tape always assumed that I was a male American, but I'm a female Scot! The phrases were drilled so much that I found my mind often wandering, and the accent of the speaker is quite different to what I hear in the region I live in. It also doesn't give you a feeling of having learnt what you need to be able to survive.

The saving feature is the amount of Danish that you hear. It gets you more used to hearing Danish, and learning where the words start and end.

I have swapped over to using "Colloquial Danish" and practicing with Danish friends.

A very limited introduction to Danish
Thank you to the others who posted reviews! Your information was a huge help. Once I knew the male voice wasn't Danish, I was able to "model" the female speaker and resolve the aural discrepancy. There's a marked difference in the pronunciation between the male and female speakers.

A friend recommends the Rosetta Stone language learning series as very good. No "pick-up" lines. Honestly, what was the writer of the Danish series thinking?
It's a real shame because the Pimsleur teaching method is sound: I was very surprised at how much I am retaining from the Pimsleur lessons, not only the vocabulary but the rules that govern the Danish language.

Even I can learn Danish...
I have tried many language learning programs, and this is the only one that has worked for me. You can listen to it during you commute, for about a week and a half, and not once need to look at a text book. Yet you still retain the new words and phrases. Pimsleurs goes over words you have already learned, and integrates them into the next lesson, so even if you have not mastered a lesson 100%, you can still move on the next lesson, learn new words, and strengthen your vocabulary from the previous lesson. I only wish there was a second edition of Pimsleurs Danish. This edition goes over very basic words and phrases, but there is a whole language out there, and this doesn't cover it.

Oh, I so wish I could give this a better review.
I've previously (and very successfully) learned Spanish using the Pimsleur CDs, so when I was planning a trip to Copenhagen to visit a friend, I was happy to get a hold of the Pimsleur Danish CDs.

Unfortunately, while the Pimsleur method is by far the most effective I've found for learning to speak a language (as opposed to reading it), the execution of the Pimsleur Danish is CD is substandard. The dialogues are not of the same quality of those used in the Spanish lessons, and the male speaker has a markedly Swedish, not Danish accent.

If you do try to use these to augment your Danish instruction, model your responses on the female speaker, not the male.My friend in Copenhagen is still teasing me about my Swedish accent.

One of my friends at work, who is married to a Dane, recommends Colloquial Danish as the best Danish instruction CD/book combo she's been able to find.That's where I'll be headed next...

Program is okay, don't expect too much.2 1/2 stars
The one thing that bugs me is that this program claims that after you go through these tapes you will "comfortably understand and speak at a beginner level."Now maybe they have much lower standards for their definition of "beginner level" but I definitely disagree with this statement-- you only really learn how to say a few sentences.Put it this way: after finishing these tapes I went and watched "Italian for Beginners" (Danish movie) and only understood ONE phrase without the subtitles (it was "I don't know").So, I definitely do not consider myself even at beginner level!The reason I gave it 3 stars is because yes, it does teach you good pronunciation (when they say the phrases one piece at a time especially), and gets you accustomed to listening to Danish at least.Here is another random thing that was kind of annoying though: the tapes totally assume you are a man.They have you try to ask a girl out to dinner, etc... every time you are talking to someone, it is a woman.Every time they play back what YOU were supposed to say to her, it is a man's voice.Don't know why but it got irksome after a while (me not being a guy).If I had to recommend a good beginner's program to Danish, it would actually be some of the software out there, not the Pimsleur method.Software on CD-ROM is way more fun, and the words stick in your head better because you have visual cues/reinforcement as well as audio.Do a search in the "software" section of Amazon and you will find some good stuff (I especially recommend "Talk Now!" by EuroTalk). ... Read more

Product Description
PREFACE. Foreign languages and their literatures are becoming, more and more. objects of study among the American people. This is a natural consequence of the travels of Americans in Europe and of the constantly increasing intercourse between them and the many foreign immigrants coming to this country. . Among these, there are about 160,000 Norwegians and 40,000 Danes, and the knowledge of their language may be of practical as well as literary value to many Americans. With the purpose of assisting them in acquiring this knowledge, I have written this Grammar and Reader with a Vocabulary, and added thereto Remarks on the history of the language and Notes on the authors from whom selections have been made. The Grammar presupposes, that its students know the various grammatical definitions, and it presents to them, not a General Grammar of what is cornnJon to the languages, but a Special Grammar of what is peculiar to the Norwegian-Danish language. By the help of this book the students will find their way into the literary treasures of those two nations, which, although not great in numbers, have a great literature, and have, from the times of the Sagas and the Scalds, produced men who have made their mark in the history of the world, and have presented to it works of lasting value. The Norwegians and Danes belong to the great Teutonic race but as their history in ancient times was interwoven with that of the Anglo-Saxons and the Normans, so their language is in many respects similar to the English, of which, also, this Grammar and Reader will give evidence. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
One of Scandinavia's most talented young authors follows an eccentric family as they try to cope with the transition of Denmark from medieval society to modern welfare state. By the author of Smilla's Sense of Snow. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

science fiction only obvious at end of book
very Danish characters. suspenseful, quick reading. This would make a good movie.
However, alot of words to look up in the dictionary, still worth it even if you don't know what all the words mean. I have read averything by Peter Hoeg, all were good-this is one of the better ones.

Painful to Read
The other reviews about this book appear to be mostly true, IMHO, but I do want to state clearly that if you are looking for another book as good as Smilla's Sense of Snow, this ain't it. Period. Read a lot more of these reviews if you are looking for more Smilla and think this book might be interesting.

I found this book painful to read and was relieved when I was done. It was an intellectual exercise and like most exercise, no pain - no gain. I am glad I read it. Its even possible I would read it again, but it is no where near the quality entertainment Smilla is.

I won a copy of Hoeg's Borderliners on a bet with a co-worker that I could not read it and summarize it in a way she would believe I had actually read the whole thing. Boarderliners hasn't got anything on this book when it comes to being a painful read.

Expect the unexpected
Danish author Peter Hoeg is best known for "Smilla's Sense of Snow," in which he took what could have been a tepid thriller and froze it into an icy sculpture. But his most outstanding work may be "History of Danish Dreams," a magnificently dreamlike novel -- not of Danish history, but Danish dreams.

The manipulative Carl Laurids was adopted by the steward of Morkhoj, a place where (the tyrannical Count has declared) time stands still. Elsewhere, little Amalie Teander is nearby when her fearsome grandmother dies; despite the fact that the old lady was illiterate, she somehow predicted the future in the newspapers... and then in her last will and testament, including how her daughter-in-law would die and how the house would be run.

And then there is the sweet, innocent Anna Bak, seemingly one of God's chosen, and Adonis, who turns away from thievery. Taking place in several generations over four centuries (16th to 20th), it shifts from surreal aristocratic realms to impoverished fishing villages, as the fates of the different people intertwine.

Don't expect a taut thriller like "Smilla" or a chilly sociological study like "Borderliners." Hoeg's first novel is far more nuanced and rich, with a dark, weight atmosphere hanging over the ornate language. It's a social satire, but so subtle that it only dawns on readers gradually just what he's saying through his surreal stories.

This book is well-named -- "History of Danish Dreams" does, indeed, seem like a dream. It's a reflection of our own world, but twisted and darkened. At times, Hoeg lets the storyline run away from him, as if the many intricate storylines are spilling out of his hands. But he makes up for this with his outstanding, poetic descriptions of the decayed Count's lands, the dusty house of Amalie's family, and the stinking little village.

His characters tend to be rather distant; there are so many of them that it's a bit difficult to get attached to them. But they are definitely interesting, from the manipulative Carl to the observant Amalie to the sweet, innocent Anna. Somehow the nastiest characters are the most fascinating, such as the Count who declares time "a common, modern invention."

A strange and unique debut, "History of Danish Dreams" is Peter Hoeg's best novel to date. With its veiled social commentary and dreamlike language, it is a vivid experience in itself.

Dark, slow and poignantly surreal
.

This is one of the most captivating fiction I have read. It is a single story of a person and all the people who formed his heritage; an interweaving of surreal threads tracing characters across generations in a family tree.

Reality blurs at the edges of the collection of subplots that form the book, when people just happen to live across centuries, or sometimes just fade away into physical translucence, or when time comes to a halt with the construction of walls around an eccentric count's castle. The flavor attempted is one of the ephemereality of dreams and Hoeg is a tremendous at this. Each character's story is a dream, and you cannot tell where these really begin or where they end. Perhaps they never do end, as they are all buried somewhere in the past, real or imagined.

And this is a very dark read. You might be slow to warm to it, while it grows on you with a great aftertaste. It is a quest for the past when the facts aren't secure; when myths conspire with history to give you a sense of what it might have been.

Hoeg is all about amazingly memorable characters, and his obsession with time is well represented here, though not as imposingly as it was in Boderliners. The style must have lost a bit in the translation, but the poetry is still there with plenty happening between the lines as it was with Smilla's Sense of Snow. But if you liked that book, that tells you nothing about this one. The two are worlds apart and satisfying for different reasons. The History of Danish Dreams wraps up nicely at the end too (if you've wondered, given that Smilla's Sense of Snow, didn't)

A dreamy read
This book is a stunning literary accomplishment that should be much more widely known than it is. Peter Hoeg weaves this tale in a way that marries the magical realism of García Márquez with philosophical ruminations reminiscent of Kundera.

This is the history of Danish dreams in the sense of hopes, of aspirations: of discussing what Danes of different classes and generations have wanted in the past two hundred years, and how these aspirations contributed to building the Danish society of today. Hoeg achieves a rare and seemingly contradictory feat: he criticizes a great many aspects of his country and its society, yet does so in a way that makes his Denmark captivating to non-Danish readers. Hoeg tells his story in a series of seven segments which relate to each other, through the lives of a cast of recurring characters and their children and grandchildren, paradigmatic of Denmark's different social classes. Hoeg brings to life the foolish 18th-century Count of Morkhoj, who one day decrees that on his estate time shall stand still forever; he gives us the Teander Rabow family, owners of a provincial newspaper whose power over their fellow townspeople is such that they print the news first and the events actually happen later, precisely at the time and in the fashion dictated by the influential journal. In one segment, Hoeg includes a recurring device in which several of the most influential figures of 19th-century Denmark --- a business tycoon, an architect, a Socialist rabble-rouser --- are secretly all siblings who have conspired to obscure their shared past as the sons of a small-time crook and a circus performer. And at the beginning and end of the story he introduces us to the devious Carl Laurids, the millionaire rogue whose underhanded schemes and shady dealings so perfectly epitomize the financial world of the twentieth century.

The wisdom in Hoeg's book is not exclusive to Denmark: he speaks of the nature of "the twentieth century, where things change so rapidly that parents' experiences are totally and hopelessly outdated by the time their children have need of them." This book works on two levels, both as an entertaining family saga of men and women in their times, and as an embroidered parable of the forces behind national conscience. This is a dreamy read that will please anyone who's looking for unusual philosophical storytelling and who welcomes a book that fully engages one's mind. ... Read more