Jiffy Phrasebook German
Langenscheidt Publishers, Inc.
ISBN: 0-88729-952-0
256 pages, vinyl cover, 4"x6"

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Many would argue that phrasebooks in general are rather useless. They never seem to have the phrase you need when you need it! And, sadly, that is often the case.

But Langenscheidt's Universal Phrasebook German is much more than a phrasebook. True, it offers some of the usual idiocies found in most phrasebooks: "Wie ist das Wetter in...?" = "How's the weather in...?" (Like you're going to understand the answer that will come back in a torrent of German!) However, these are at a minimum, and the Jiffy is really more of a phrase DICTIONARY that can be used to learn key universal phrases. Unlike some phrasebooks, this one has a 4000-word dictionary of everyday terms in a wide range of categories: Accommodations, Behavior, Currency, Eating and Drinking, Emergencies, Shopping, and so on. There's even a basic German grammar summary and a good pronunciation guide. Using the English-German dictionary section in the back, you can look up individual words and find the page(s) where they are discussed.

As with most phrasebooks, the Universal is aimed at travelers, but anyone who wants to learn practical, everyday German will find it helpful. I like how it categorizes common terms into useful groups – such as the body, the weather, at the barber, family, tools, camping, etc. Plus, each section has a collection of phrases that can be applied and adapted to various situations. For instance, in the "Barber" section (there's also a "Beauty Shop" section), you can figure out how to combine the phrases to tell the barber that you want a razor cut, your part is on the right, not too short in the front, and so on. (You'd want to do this in advance, and not while you're sitting in the barber's chair!) These are the kind of practical things that most German courses and textbooks rarely cover.

Although I like the Universal Phrasebook German, it is not without some weaknesses. Even the latest version does not use the new German spelling. That may not be vital in a phrasebook, but it would be nice to have more up-to-date German. The Jiffy tends to talk too much about telegrams while neglecting more current communication modes. If you want to send a fax, use a cell phone or talk about the Internet, this phrasebook won't help. Even non-business travelers may have occasion to use such vocabulary these days.

While the Jiffy offers a useful conversion chart for clothing sizes, measurements and even for tire pressure, it lacks a Celsius/Fahrenheit temperature conversion chart, merely offering the conversion formula for you to figure it out yourself.

But what the Jiffy Phrasebook does cover, it covers very well. The train section has illustrations of typical train station signage and it explains terms like Schlafwagen (Pullman car) and Nichtraucher (non-smoking car). There are very few missing items in the categorized vocabulary lists and the genders of nouns are always indicated. The weather section even warns you NOT to say "Ich bin kalt." - unless you really want to say "I'm frigid"!)

If you want a German phrasebook that is truly useful, despite a few minor lapses, I can recommend this one.

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