Rosetta Stone for hindi

[bollywood_star]

has anyone used this, http://www.rosettastone.com/en/offer/googlepage/hin?a=b, if so how good was it. thanks

[Jeffers]

So so....  Not worth it at the price, really.

[latishya]

I disagree with Jeffers I think it was worth every penny, especially for the ability to measure your own pronunciation against native speakers. I wouldnt use it as the only tool for teaching yurself, but I think it was money very well spent.

[Jeffers]

Guess I'll explain what I didn't like about it. 

For one, there are some errors. 

Second, because it is supposed to be immersive, you look at a picture, and read/hear some Hindi.  It is often difficult to get what the picture is about, and you can't check the English for sure (is the boy throwing the ball, or catching the ball?)

Thirdly, it is very repetitive, which is both a strength and a weakness.  You won't forget what you do learn from it, anyway.

Fourthly, pronunciation is a bit odd.  I think the native speakers were trying too hard to pronounce everything exactly as written.  So यह (yah), which is normally pronouced "ye", is said "ya-huh" by the readers.

Finally, the program is made with a cut and paste system.  It is the same lessons in other languages.  So you learn such "useful" words as kangaroo (कंगारु) and strawberry (exactly the same as in English again).   And all the people and situations are viewed in an American context.  Not a single scene from India.  Cultural context is an important part of understanding a language (especially using immersion).

I do think it is a useful program.  However, the price is very high.  If you have $175 to spare, or if you can borrow a copy from a school or library, then go for it.  Otherwise, your money would be better spent on other material.

[omlick]

All these software programs can only take you so far.  They are very limited and are geared to a very narrow range of the language.  For the very first introduction they are okay, but when you consider the vastness of a language (being an ocean) the software is like a lake's worth of language.  What else can I say?

But if you only need limited language knowledge and a feel for how the language is pronounced, etc, then there is probably nothing wong with it.

[Aishwarya4eva]

I disagree with Jeffers I think it was worth every penny, especially for the ability to measure your own pronunciation against native speakers. I wouldnt use it as the only tool for teaching yurself, but I think it was money very well spent.

I agree with latishya...but then again i starting learning from a book before consulting Rosetta Stone.

Second, because it is supposed to be immersive, you look at a picture, and read/hear some Hindi.  It is often difficult to get what the picture is about, and you can't check the English for sure (is the boy throwing the ball, or catching the ball?)

Then again, I COMPLETELY agree with this. So true and ARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH! How exasperating! You get so many wrong as a result of this and it is a bit discouraging rather than teaching. Overall, though, the positives of RS for Hindi outweigh the negatives in my opinion and I'd go for it!

But Jeffers...
What errors did you notice? If there were any major ones I would like to know about them.

[Jeffers]

It's been a while since I used Rosetta Stone, so I can't remember all the errors.  I do remember that they gave "cheetah" चीता as the word for Tiger (it means "leopard", funnily enough).

I am not denying that RS is worthwhile.  It is a good program, and a useful supplement to other methods of study.  However, it is very expensive.  I do not think it is good value for money.  That's all.

[vijaya]

A similar program, which you can do on the internet for free, is LiveMocha: http://www.livemocha.com/

I've done the first few Hindi lessons just to see what it is like, and it drives me crazy for the same sort of reasons as Rosetta Stone; the standardisation of it, even when not appropriate, and the lack of explanation of important concepts.  Plus there are errors which are really annoying.

It has a standard set of pictures and sentences which it uses for various languages, but that is not the best way to do it.  For example, particularly in the section on plurals, the examples they have don't help you at all to understand Hindi plurals.  In English there is an obvious difference between "flower" and "flowers", but in Hindi phool is the same no matter how many of them there are. 

Within the first few lessons there has been no explanation of gender - and without that, how can you possibly work out why the plurals are formed the way they are?  You are left with just confusion - it looks as if there is no rhyme or reason to the pluralisation, because most of the examples they have use the same word, then there are one or two feminine words and a couple of masculine, but no-one who didn't already know how the plurals work in Hindi would be able to make any sense of it at all.

There are also a few mistakes I've found already, and that is extra annoying when you are marked incorrect because of their mistake.

However, having said all that, if you want to get a bit of an idea about how the Rosetta Stone might suit you without spending a heap of money, you could try out the Live Mocha program.

[daven1986]

ok time to save you some money

1) as above, sometimes the pictures are really hard to figure out
2) it doesn't really help you to LEARN stuff, you just remember certain sentences - to be fair I did it ages ago and still remember most of it, but it didn't teach me anything apart from sentences and words

a very similar program but MUCH cheaper (winter sale atm too) is before you know it

http://www.byki.com/fls/FLS_ga11.html?l=?engine=adwords!9236&keyword=before+you+know+it&match_type=&gclid=CPyu5eKBwpACFQ6hQwodrnQKXA

it is about £20, and does pretty much what rossetta stone does - including the pronunciation comparison. i find it very easy to use, a lot quicker than rosetta stone and you actually learn more.

a few problems with it:
1) they pronounce Z as J but as long as you know what the letter is meant to be that is ok
2) when writing the hindi, i have no idea how to write the compound symbols!! but not to worry you can tell it to accept an alternative spelling.

either way i am very happy with the software and highly recommend it over rossetta stone.

daven

[RosWool]

Its good that i didn't pay for Rosetta stone a friend had it and knew I was trying to learn and gave it to me. I also will look into the live mocha and Byki programs. I do agree about the pictures in RS, but i must say i can see how it can be part of the learning process.

I went to the library and got the beginners hindi script and a dictionary i have the snell teach yourself hindi that i purchase from a few recommendations here and i have a few indian friends that are willing to help me when possible....so know I just have to focus and learn me some hindi hee hee

Carolyn

[latishya]

There are also a few mistakes I've found already, and that is extra annoying when you are marked incorrect because of their mistake.

Yes! what is the difference between "nahi" and "nahin". They have "Main Boodhi Nahi Hoon. Main Jawan Hoon." and in devanagari "मैं बूढ़ी हनीं हूँ। मैं जवान हूँ।" When you do the 'magnet' and have to put the sentence together, they offer both "nahi" and "nahin" and mark you wrong if you choose "nahin". Also, I cant figure out why they have गाड़ी पीले रंग की है and बटुआ काले रंग का है - arent those the masculine plural forms of the adjectives being used with singular nouns. Plus they insist on आप हो which doesnt seem like good teaching to me.

[vijaya]

Yes, Latishya, that "nahi" / "nahin" is exactly the sort of thing that drove me crazy about it.  I was getting so annoyed by it, I ended up skipping the "magnet" section of each lesson, because there seemed to be mistakes all through it.  And then I stopped all together because it really was a waste of time.

[omlick]

Yes! what is the difference between "nahi" and "nahin". They have "Main Boodhi Nahi Hoon. Main Jawan Hoon." and in devanagari "मैं बूढ़ी हनीं हूँ। मैं जवान हूँ।" When you do the 'magnet' and have to put the sentence together, they offer both "nahi" and "nahin" and mark you wrong if you choose "nahin". Also, I cant figure out why they have गाड़ी पीले रंग की है and बटुआ काले रंग का है - arent those the masculine plural forms of the adjectives being used with singular nouns. Plus they insist on आप हो which doesnt seem like good teaching to me.

actually गाड़ी पीले रंग की है  is correct because the adjective is modifying रंग which is singular masculine and the की  is forcing the पीला to पीले

The other things you complain about, I agree with you. I have not used this software so I don't know how well they did with the hindi side of things.  I might try it for Spanish someday, maybe, but I am way to advanced to get much out of level 1 hindi now I think.

[latishya]

actually गाड़ी पीले रंग की है  is correct because the adjective is modifying रंग which is singular masculine and the की  is forcing the पीला to पीले

Thanks!

[amit]

actually गाड़ी पीले रंग की है  is correct because the adjective is modifying रंग which is singular masculine and the की  is forcing the पीला to पीले

Hmm....isn't the गाड़ी that is feminine, hence की, and बटुआ that is masculine, hence का ? Or did I misinterpret the question here?

[AfgJasmine16]

Yes, Latishya, that "nahi" / "nahin" is exactly the sort of thing that drove me crazy about it.  I was getting so annoyed by it, I ended up skipping the "magnet" section of each lesson, because there seemed to be mistakes all through it.  And then I stopped all together because it really was a waste of time.

Live Mocha is horrible. I am a memeber there and use the hindi lessons but they have so many errors. They have errors in every Langauge they have, and I kind of wish they would offer more langauges then the ones they have. But Live Mocha is a good way to meet people to practice the langauge.

And About Rosetta Stone, it will help you understand Hindi but not speak very well. I don't think its worth the money. I've had rosetta stone for a year now and I am still can't hold a conversation in Hindi. But I can understand useaully what is being spoken. Also the pictures are so hard to make out, for example they have one picture of an elderly lady playing pool and her hair is grey and thats what the sentance is saying but if you know aboutsoutley no hindi you might interpuret that as "the woman is playing a game". Thats what i don't like about Rossetta Stone. And also their really aren't many lessons, only eight units and twelve lessons in each unit which is same amount of work probably in a textbook.

[vedic]

Latishya, what version of rosetta stone did you use? Version 2 or 3?

[latishya]

Latishya, what version of rosetta stone did you use? Version 2 or 3?

Version 2 - it was gift from a friend. Version 3 is far too expensive for my budget.

[irena sima]

I used version 2 in the past and found it very limited...it wasn't great.
I now use version 3(3 levels) and it is a lot better ..
I am learning a lot vocabulary,reading grammar and some conversation...but it can take you only so far.
It is  expensive (under 500 at Amazon) but, you can sell it and get some of the money back when you are done with it.
 I sold version 2 level 1 for $120 on Craig's' list,after using it for a year...I paid about $200 hundred for it.

[vedic]

^ You should so make a copy of all levels (1-3) and upload them :p

[irena sima]

You are right that you can copy the program and than sell it.
Rosseta's program allowed only two computers to use the programs ( 5 users  a computer).
Like in, itune, you can copy a purchased song , only  a few times ( I think 5 times).

[Aishwarya4eva]

^ You should so make a copy of all levels (1-3) and upload them :p

I agree with this. I was going to buy it but now hearing how everybody is saying how much it sucks, I'd rather just download it than pay the hundreds of dollars. And I can't find it anywhere else...

[vedic]

I agree with this. I was going to buy it but now hearing how everybody is saying how much it sucks, I'd rather just download it than pay the hundreds of dollars. And I can't find it anywhere else...

I searched all over and can't find version 3. All thats available is version 2 which only has one level.

[irena sima]

I searched all over and can't find version 3. All thats available is version 2 which only has one level.

Here is the site for on line learning; version 3 levels 1,2,3... instead of buying.
http://www.rosettastone.com/personal/languages/hindi/osub

[bollyking]

Just downloaded V3 and here's my thoughts after doing the first core lesson.

If anyone's ever used RS before, this program has one main advantage and one disadvantage. The advantage is that for anyone who has picked up hindi words through BW movies, it can help you clean out bombay BW slang words (which are appearing more and more nowdays in films and usually have roots in marathi) and clean up grammatical errors in your hindi since that is something which is hard to pick up through movies. If you're starting from total zero, you might struggle a bit.

the disadvantage is the same of all their programs as has been pointed out--sometimes you dont have a clue what is actually being done in a photo, what tense the verb is in (He eats or he is eating?), or if certain articles are implied. Also if you're hard up to learn the script, you're going to struggle. Then again, i could care less about the script and dont even know how to write my own name.

If you ask for my reccomendation, id say that if you know about 100-150 words in hindi already, this is good to help you build on it. But if you start from scratch, you're probably going to have to spend a lot of time frustrated before you get going...thats why you should ALWAYS watch BW movies with a pen and pad or Word open like me!