This is a complete course in understanding, speaking and writing Nepali, the lingua franca of the central and eastern Himalaya, and the national language of Nepal.

If you are a beginner, or if your Nepali just needs brushing up, this course will progress quickly beyond the basics to a level where you can communicate with confidence. The course has proved effective as teaching material for both class tuition and individual study.

The Nepali presented in the course is primarily colloquial and practical. The course is divided into 24 units, each of which is based on dialogues which exemplify and bring to life the new grammar introduced in that particular unit. Transliteration in the roman script is provided for the first four units and for all words in the English-Nepali glossary.

The grammatical explanations are intended to be as accessible and non-technical as possible. The main grammatical structures of Nepali are all presented. There are plenty of exercises for you to practise every new point and a key at the back so that you can check your answers.

The book is accompanied by 2 cassettes (0 340 867094) or 2 CDs (0 340 913851) containing approximately 2 hours of listening material. The audio can be purchased on its own or as packs with the book (book/cassette pack: 0 340 867086; book/CD pack: 0 340 913843).