Mandarin: Lonely Planet Phrasebook

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 256 pages
• Published by: Lonely Planet
• Edition: 6th Edition September 1, 2006
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 1741042305
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-1741042306
• Book Dimensions: 5.4 x 3.8 x 0.6 inches
• Weighs: 5 ounces

Product Review
"Lonely Planet phrase books have long taken a hip, streetwise approach." -- Atlanta Journal-Constitution, May 27, 2004

"Lonely Planet Phrasebooks. Portable, pocket-size, cheap, and available for almost any country you might want to visit" -- National Geographic Traveler, September 2006

"Lonely Planet phrase books have long taken a hip, streetwise approach." -- Atlanta Journal-Constitution, May 27, 2004

"Lonely Planet Phrasebooks. Portable, pocket-size, cheap, and available for almost any country you might want to visit" -- National Geographic Traveler, September 2006

National Geographic Traveler, September 2006
'Lonely Planet Phrasebooks. Portable, pocket-size, cheap, and available for almost any country you might want to visit'


Product Description
Be a part of the world's most widely spoken language with this essential language tool for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Includes Pinyin phonetic system to help travelers translate Chinese characters into English, pronunciation guide, extensive two-way dictionary, easy to use sentence builder, and cultural tips.

Reader Reviews
This review is from: Mandarin: Lonely Planet Phrasebook (Paperback) I want to add my voice to the chorus who have bemoaned the move away from Pinyin in this edition. This system is anything but better. Because it's so un-intuitive, I found myself constantly having to refer to the table of sounds and spellings at the beginning the book to decipher the correct pronunciation of a word or phrase. In some cases, the transcriptions are inconsistent in that they don't follow the system described at the front of the book. For example, the spelling sequence 'ow' occurs several times throughout the book but is not in the reference table. Presumably, it represents the sound 'ao' as heard in the English word "couch", but that's only a guess. It could just as easily refer to the diphthong 'ou' as heard in the English word "dough". That said, a book like this is a useful one to have along when traveling in China. It contains a 40-page grammar section with lots of information about how Chinese works. In typical phrasebook fashion, it also contains several sections organized by subject where one can quickly locate specific words or phrases. It also contains a two-way dictionary, the Chinese-English section being ordered by number of strokes in the character so as to allow Chinese speakers to find English translations. But do get the previous edition if you can get your hands on it!