Designed for complete beginners, and tested for years with real learners, Complete Babylonian offers a bridge from the textbook to the real world, enabling you to learn the grammar, understand the vocabulary and even how to translate the inscriptions and texts from this ancient cradle of civilization.

Structured around authentic material, and introducing cuneiform script for those who wish to take their understanding further, this course also features:

-47 short learning units plus glossary and reference section
-Authentic materials - language taught through key texts
-Teaches the key skills - reading and understanding Babylonian grammar and vocabulary
-Covers cuneiform script - one of the earliest written forms
-Self tests and learning activities - see and track your own progress

This journey to the heart of Babylonian takes the learner back four millennia to the societies of Mesopotamia (ancient Iraq), and an ancient language in which some of the world’s most enduring ideas and literature were written. In addition to giving some training in Assyrian, this course provides a solid, accessible foundation to the Babylonian language.

Complete Babylonian draws on a wealth of original textual material to teach the language in a way that assumes no prior knowledge on the part of the learner. All the exercises and readings are taken from original sources and the course introduces each new grammatical point systematically and thoroughly, ensuring complete understanding before progressing to the next stage. Throughout the book, grammar is explained and reinforced with a wide range of activities, including translation practice.

This course enables learners to unlock the cultural and historical treasure trove left behind by the Babylonians and Assyrians - including letters, omens, incantations, laws, royal inscriptions, and poems such as The Poor Man of Nippur and the Epic of Gilgamesh. Removing the barrier of translation, it helps learners to gain confidence in their ability to read the language and the cuneiform script, allowing them to appreciate ancient writings in their original words. This is an ideal language course for anyone interested in understanding Babylonian and Assyrian culture through its two-thousand-year history, with an enhanced appreciation of its significance, and is suitable for both self-study and classroom use.

You will be able to access this title online, or download it to the Teach Yourself Library app. Please note you will not be able to save the files to your computer.