by 
Librarything…
- Intransitive Predication (Oxford Studies in Typology and Linguistic Theory) by Leon StassenOxford University Press, USA (1997), Hardcover, 800 pages
- Aspect and actionality in homeric Greek. A contrastive analysis by NapoliFranco Angeli (2006), Paperback
- Events as Grammatical Objects: The Converging Perspectives of Lexical Semantics and Syntax (Center for the Study of… by Carol TennyCenter for the Study of Language and Inf (2001), Edition: 0, Hardcover, 400 pages
- The Moods of Homeric Greek (Cambridge Classical Studies) by Jo WillmottCambridge University Press (2008), Edition: 1, Hardcover, 276 pages
- Foundations of Cognitive Grammar: Volume II: Descriptive Application by Ronald LangackerStanford University Press (1991), Edition: 1, Hardcover, 628 pages
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I would download Cook and Holmstedt’s grammar from Holmstedt’s U of Toronto homepage as a backup to the Yale volume.
But really, learning a language doesn’t have all that much to do with the grammar book one uses, unless one plans to filter one’s knowledge of the language to be acquired through the categories of the grammar book forever.
At some point, it’s important to just listen /read / speak a language, all tools set aside. It’s a living thing after all. I hope that doesn’t sound too mystical.
Thanks for the advise, John.
webster all the way
Rob, uhm, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but a person only gets to choose the textbooks for classes they themselves are teaching.
…and I’m not teaching my wife’s Hebrew class.
like John, I was suggesting a backup.
My Hebrew prof used that one originally, but when Robert Ray Ellis’ textbook came out that became his choice. It worked well for him.
Good question, glad you asked. “Biblical Hebrew” by Kittel, Hoffer & Wright is an excellent introductory grammar, and takes a different approach to a lot of other Hebrew grammars out there. Most traditional grammars take a methodical systematic approach to the grammar, building it up slowly, first the alphabet, then nouns, then masculine/fem, then singular & plural, and so on. By contrast, “Biblical Hebrew” by Kittel et al, takes an “intuitive” approach. They take real Hebrew sentences from the Hebrew Bible, starting with simple ones, analysing them, then systematically more complex ones, and so on. They are heavily into verbs from the beginning, while most grammars leave verbs til much later. You are let through the language at a much more intuitive level, trying to understand the Hebrew language from the inside out, rather than from the outside in, you might say.
Some people love this approach. Others will prefer the other academic approach to learning Hebrew. I have read all types of grammar, and “Biblical Hebrew” is very good. You feel like you are making progress with real Hebrew faster than other grammars.
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I started to write a comment, but it just became too long so I decided to turn it into a post on my blog. Therefore, feel free to read my thoughts
here!
Mike,
I would agree with Mandy (for the most part). Both Mandy and Calvin turned me onto this grammar, and I personally love it! I will also be teaching a Hebrew class in the fall, and this is the grammar that my students will be using.
I don’t think there is a perfect grammar for anyone, but if your wife likes learning languages w/a classic pedagogy, then she may not love this grammar. It is not classically systematic in its treatment of grammar, but that is why I personally love it.
I think it will be good for her then. We both hate traditional pedagogy.