Celia Hawkesworth taught Serbian and Croatian, language and literature, at the University of London (School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London), 1971-2002, where my research was on literature with a particular focus on contemporary women's writing. Now working freelance as translator and language consultant.

Map of Croatia Learning Croatian Alphabet and pronunciation 1 Na putu On the way The verb biti (to be); personal pronouns: I, you, etc.; basic word order; formation of questions; introducing yourself; nationalities 2 Razgovor o putovanju Conversation about traveling Main conjugations of verbs; verbal aspect; reflexive verbs; adverbs 3 Dolazak u Zagreb Arrival in Zagreb Nouns: the nominative case, the vocative case; simple letters; adjectives from proper nouns; double negatives 4 Svatko ide na svoju stranu Each goes his own way Accusative case, accusative after certain prepositions; genitive case; questions and answers; sentence building with the genitive; prepositions 5 Dolazak u hotel Arrival at the hotel The dative case, the locative case; the instrumental case, a telephone conversation 6 Razgovor o stanu Conversation about a flat Adjectives; nominative case of adjectives; vocabulary about flats and furniture 7 Na popti At the post office Cardinal numbers 1, 2, 3, etc; use of verbs with numbers; telephone conversations 8 U restoranu In the restaurant Ordering meals; adjectives: genitive case, accusative case; food and drink 9 Na ulici In the street Street directions; adjectives: dative and instrumental; prepositions; reflexive verbs 10 Posjet prijateljima Visit to friends The past tense; word order; past tense questions; negative past tense; emphatic use of pronouns; use of verbs with numbers 11 Obiteljski odnosi Family relationships Personal pronoun declensions; vocabulary of family relationships; word order (3); use of pronouns 12 Putni planovi Travel plans The future tense; using the long form of the future auxiliary; structures with the future tense 13 U kazalip t u At the theatre Ordinal numbers: first, second, etc.; periods of time; dates; days of the week; time of day 14 Pakiranje Packing Comparative of adjectives; comparative of adverbs; structures with the comparative; the superlative; clothes, colours 15 Polazak Departure Demonstrative pronouns: 'this', 'that'; possessive adjectives; preparing for a car journey; driving, route planning 16 U kvaru Breakdown Possessive pronouns: my, your, etc.; future perfect tense; parts of a car 17 U kupnji Shopping Interrogative pronouns: 'who', 'what', etc.; relative pronouns: 'who', 'which', etc.; shopping for food; aspect 2; lost items, visiting a police station 18 Prometna nesreAea Road accident Imperative, negative imperatives; adjective phrases expressed by verbs; aspect 3; parts of the body 19 Razgovor o svakodnevnom a i v ot u Conversation about everyday life Conditional: 'I would', etc.; conditional clauses; reflexive phrases 20 Kraj The end Participles: 'being', 'having been', etc; verbal nouns Grammar summary Key to main exercises Translations of main texts Croatian-English glossary English-Croatian glossary Subject index

Colloquial Croatian provides a step-by-step course in Croatian as it is written and spoken today. Combining a user-friendly approach with a thorough treatment of the language, it equips learners with the essential skills needed to communicate confidently and effectively in Croatian in a broad range of situations. No prior knowledge of the language is required.
Key features include:
¿ progressive coverage of speaking, listening, reading and writing skills
¿ structured, jargon-free explanations of grammar
¿ an extensive range of focused and stimulating exercises
¿ realistic and entertaining dialogues covering a broad variety of scenarios
¿ useful vocabulary lists throughout the text
¿ additional resources available at the back of the book, including a full answer key, a grammar summary and bilingual glossaries
Balanced, comprehensive and rewarding, Colloquial Croatian will be an indispensable resource both for independent learners and students taking courses in Croatian.
Audio material to accompany the course is available to download free in MP3 format from www.routledge.com/cw/colloquials. Recorded by native speakers, the audio material features the dialogues and texts from the book and will help develop your listening and pronunciation skills.