A Short Course in Reading French

by Celia Brickman

This textbook teaches the basics of French grammar, reinforcing its lessons with exercises and key practice translations. A systematic guide, the volume is a critical companion for university-level students learning to read and translate written French into English; for graduate scholars learning to do research in French or prepping for proficiency exams; and for any interested readers who want to improve their facility with the French language. In addition, A Short Course in Reading French exposes readers to a broad range of French texts from the humanities and social sciences, including writings by distinguished francophone authors from around the world.

The book begins with French pronunciation and cognates and moves through nouns, articles, and prepositions; verbs, adjectives, and adverbs; a graduated presentation of all the indicative and subjunctive tenses; object, relative, and other pronouns; the passive voice; common idiomatic constructions; and other fundamental building blocks of the French language. Chapters contain translation passages from such authors as Pascal, Montesquieu, Proust, Sartre, Bourdieu, Senghor, Césaire, de Certeau, de Beauvoir, Barthes, and Kristeva. Drawn from more than two decades of experience teaching French to students from academic and nonacademic backgrounds, Celia Brickman's clear, accessible, and time-tested format enables even beginners to develop a sophisticated grasp of the language and become adept readers of French.

There is an answer key for translation exercises and for non-copyrighted translation passages. Please contact the author at the webpage of the Hyde Park Language Program to get a copy.

Genres: Language, France, Reference

264 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2012

Reviews

[Kessia Reyne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have endured a great many language learning courses and suffered through several dreadful textbooks that were meant to help, but were foiled by poor layout, missing elements, or less-than-ideal organization. I was pleasantly surprised by this book, however.


I took a summer course with Celia Brickman in reading French for academia and this, naturally, was her textbook of choice. I'm sure that having the author as an instructor increased my appreciation for this volume, but honestly, compared with other volumes I've surveyed, this is clearly superior, with cogent explanations, many helpful exercises, a logical organization, and (important to me) a visually pleasant layout.

[nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used this book for a online reading & translation class that I took to fulfill my grad program’s language requirement. The overview of French grammar (especially the conjugation of different tenses) is thorough, but could be difficult if you haven’t already had significant immersion in studying the language. The passages selected for translation are excellent, covering a wide swath of major texts & thinkers in Francophone literature, anthropology, sociology, philosophy, and postcolonial theory. In just a few short months, I’ve greatly developed my skills in not only reading French, but also being able to (at least somewhat) artfully translate it into English.

[Canada Choate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazingly clear, very helpful, excellent selection of passages for translation, many of which are critical theory classics (Barthes, Bourdieu, etc). An intelligent introduction to university level translation.

[reveurdart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this very helpful and effective. I feel like I've gotten better at translating since I started it.

[Marsha Altman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as "French for Reading"

[Eddie Rosa Fuentes · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a good book to figure out how to pass a French Exam. You should have a person who knows french available to verify some of the exercise.

[Kat Zagaria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Invaluable for those of us who need to learn how to read French. Quick.

[Brian Fang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Used to help me remember the French I learned in high school - very effective for that. but it's not the best book for beginners.

[Eleanor!]

j’ai lu un livre, j’ai appris français

[T · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went from no French to translating with a dictionary in a month. This book rocks.

[Alicia]

my french textbook! lol

[hoffnarr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastically concise. Read this along with two other more detailed grammar books on French but found this one to hit just the right balance of useful vs. comprehensive. Great range of example sentences for each lesson.