1Spoken in Bangladesh and northeastern regions of India, Bengali/Bangla is the seventh most-widely-spoken language in the world. It is set apart from its sister tongues Hindi and Urdu by use of its own unique script. Beginner's Bengali utilizes Thompson's many years of teaching experience by introducing basic sounds and scripts, and building on them in a graded system. This methodology clearly introduces the basics of Bengali/Bangla sounds and script in Unit 1, which serve as a key building block for subsequent chapters. The most up-to-date and intuitive Bengali course on the market, Beginner s Bengali is ideal for classroom or self-study use. Includes: 14 carefully-paced units, each chapter including practical grammar lessons, exercises and vocabulary; Companion CD with dialogues spoken by native Bengali speakers; Answer key and helpful appendices including verb charts, numbers and kinship terms, and a Bengali-English and English-Bengali Glossary.