Marathi Reading Course.

• Author: Feldhaus, Anne

This book is intended for "the adult research student in a hurry." Originally written in 1972, it was revised and refined over the decades that Raeside used it in teaching Marathi at S.O.A.S. Its compact format, its practical approach to grammar, its plentiful translation exercises and increasingly difficult reading passages (with all the translations provided later), and its thorough indexing will make the book extremely useful for experienced students of languages and for teachers looking for clear summaries and examples of the various contortions through which Marathi puts its verbs. For anyone else, the book will probably be too difficult.

For those in a position to enjoy them, the delights of the book are numerous. Many are found in the footnotes, which provide apt clarifications of fine points of grammar, spelling, and usage. Here, as well as in the systematic explanations of grammar, the authors use an unabashedly eclectic, common-sense mix of Latin, English, Sanskrit, and Marathi grammatical terms and categories. Generally the mix works quite well, providing succinct and clear descriptions, but it also allows for terms such as "pancaked" constructions (p. 101), or for the too-frequent use of the uneuphonic verb "adjectivise" (eg., on p. 75). Comparisons with French grammar provide helpful insights at several points, the summaries are useful, and there are a number of pleasant bits of pedagogical advice and encouragement. And the authors' wit...