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Around the World with 80 Words
s/t: The 80 Key Words You Need to Communicate in 25 Languages
From world-famous linguist Charles Berlitz, the only phrasebook you'll ever need! In this highly accessible volume, you'll find 80 key words you'll need to communicate in 25 languages, along with easy-to-understand explanations on how to pronounce them. Each language chapter offers the 80 key words; instructions on how to tell time; numbers from 1 to 1,000,000; and common colloquial expressions. Written in his inimitable style, Charles Berlitz's latest book will enable readers to speak Swedish in the morning and Swahili at night--and everything from Turkish to Thai in between. Around the World with 80 Words is a delightful and practical new language guide from the acknowledged international master--an absolute must for both the world and the armchair traveler.
From world-famous linguist Charles Berlitz, the only phrasebook you'll ever need! In this highly accessible volume, you'll find 80 key words you'll need to communicate in 25 languages, along with easy-to-understand explanations on how to pronounce them. Each language chapter offers the 80 key words; instructions on how to tell time; numbers from 1 to 1,000,000; and common colloquial expressions. Written in his inimitable style, Charles Berlitz's latest book will enable readers to speak Swedish in the morning and Swahili at night--and everything from Turkish to Thai in between. Around the World with 80 Words is a delightful and practical new language guide from the acknowledged international master--an absolute must for both the world and the armchair traveler.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1991
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39 people want to read
About the author
Charles Berlitz
119 books72 followersBorn in NYC, Berlitz was the grandson of Maximilien Berlitz, who founded the Berlitz Language Schools. As a child, Charles was raised in a household in which (by father's orders) every relative & servant spoke to Charles in a different language. He reached adolescence speaking eight languages fluently. In adulthood, he recalled having had the delusion that every human spoke a different language, & wondering why he didn't have his own like everyone else. His father spoke to him in German, his grandfather in Russian, his nanny in Spanish.
He began working for the family's Berlitz School of Languages, during college breaks. The publishing house, of which he was vice president, sold, among other things, tourist phrase books & pocket dictionaries, several of which he authored. He also played a key role in developing record & tape language courses. He left the company in the late 1960s, not long after he sold the company to publishing firm Crowell, Collier & Macmillan. He graduated magna cum laude from Yale Univ.
Berlitz was a writer on anomalous phenomena. He wrote a number of books on Atlantis. In his book The Mystery of Atlantis, he used evidence from geophysics, psychic studies, classical literature, tribal lore, archeology & mysteries & concluded that Atlantis was real. Berlitz also attempted to link the Bermuda Triangle to Atlantis. He claimed to have located Atlantis undersea in the area of the Bermuda Triangle. He was also an ancient astronaut proponent who believed that extraterrestrials had visited earth.
Berlitz spent 13 years on active duty in the US Army, mostly in intelligence. In 1950, he married Valerie Seary, with whom he had a daughter, Lynn. He died in 2003 at the age of 89 at University Hospital in Tamarac, FL.
He began working for the family's Berlitz School of Languages, during college breaks. The publishing house, of which he was vice president, sold, among other things, tourist phrase books & pocket dictionaries, several of which he authored. He also played a key role in developing record & tape language courses. He left the company in the late 1960s, not long after he sold the company to publishing firm Crowell, Collier & Macmillan. He graduated magna cum laude from Yale Univ.
Berlitz was a writer on anomalous phenomena. He wrote a number of books on Atlantis. In his book The Mystery of Atlantis, he used evidence from geophysics, psychic studies, classical literature, tribal lore, archeology & mysteries & concluded that Atlantis was real. Berlitz also attempted to link the Bermuda Triangle to Atlantis. He claimed to have located Atlantis undersea in the area of the Bermuda Triangle. He was also an ancient astronaut proponent who believed that extraterrestrials had visited earth.
Berlitz spent 13 years on active duty in the US Army, mostly in intelligence. In 1950, he married Valerie Seary, with whom he had a daughter, Lynn. He died in 2003 at the age of 89 at University Hospital in Tamarac, FL.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 22, 2016
I suppose I can't really put a 'finished' date for this book. This has to be one of the most resourceful books I have come across while mastering languages. I read this along with my German friend over a span of about two hours sitting in a garden on a cold evening. The fun part of discovering similar words between many languages and struggling, almost trembling over the pronunciations made this a memorable read for me. As Mr. Berlitz mentions, this is a good guidebook for travellers and language learners alike.
December 26, 2021
Has anyone else wrongly judged a book by its cover? My partner always tells me that I'm a "sucker" for marketing, but I've never felt it was true so strongly for so long! I am obviously addicted to travel and etymology/linguistics, but dang! I really judged this book poorly. Apparently, Paul Anthony Jones is some sort of linguistic genius, but he honestly put me to sleep.
I read this book for the linguistic perspectives. However, my expectations were not met! I thought that maybe Jones would choose interesting expressions, not necessarily only expressions that include 'place names', but this honestly constricted his choice to largely irrelevant and mostly extinct words and expressions.
Honestly, the entire book read like somewhat of a slightly more interesting dictionary... Not to mention, Jones may have a sophisticated linguistic background, but his worldliness leaves you wanting for more, as this book is largely ethnocentric, which did not have to be the case. Merely opting for expressions made up and popularized by British soldiers during periods of colonization felt like a betrayal of the richness that other cultures actually have loaned to the English language, and I would have expected to see more of these diverse expressions that truly demonstrate the world as it is, not just through a British soldier's eyes.
Would definitely recommend as a beautiful coffee table book but nothing more.
Favorite New Terms: Dutch symphony, Siege of Gibraltar, appointment in Samarra
I read this book for the linguistic perspectives. However, my expectations were not met! I thought that maybe Jones would choose interesting expressions, not necessarily only expressions that include 'place names', but this honestly constricted his choice to largely irrelevant and mostly extinct words and expressions.
Honestly, the entire book read like somewhat of a slightly more interesting dictionary... Not to mention, Jones may have a sophisticated linguistic background, but his worldliness leaves you wanting for more, as this book is largely ethnocentric, which did not have to be the case. Merely opting for expressions made up and popularized by British soldiers during periods of colonization felt like a betrayal of the richness that other cultures actually have loaned to the English language, and I would have expected to see more of these diverse expressions that truly demonstrate the world as it is, not just through a British soldier's eyes.
Would definitely recommend as a beautiful coffee table book but nothing more.
Favorite New Terms: Dutch symphony, Siege of Gibraltar, appointment in Samarra
January 30, 2020
Wow. What more can anyone say about Charles Berlitz and his contribution through language books?
September 4, 2012
I thought this book was well worth the effort and plan on getting a copy. It allows the traveler an opportunity to practice courtesy language prior to a trip, particularly one involving several countries. I still have a problem with the pronunciation guide but if you already know a few sounds in the language, it comes back really fast.
June 1, 2008
I love languages, and this one goes over most of the major languages in the world, touching on the words used the most. Great if you're traveling.
July 21, 2011
This is a really great book, but quite unpractical as a library book. I'd love to find my own copy though!
March 7, 2012
A must addition to your hand baggage during global travel.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews