Dictionaries; Polyglot Books

Merriam-Webster's Spanish-English Dictionary

Amazon Price: $6.50 List Price: $6.50 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Merriam-Webster Amazon Marketplace: 97 new & used starting at $2.50

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Subjects -> Reference -> Dictionaries & Thesauruses -> Foreign Language -> Spanish
Subjects -> Reference -> Dictionaries & Thesauruses -> Foreign Language -> General AAS
Subjects -> Reference -> Dictionaries & Thesauruses -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 48 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Good content but not the highest quality printing 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I use this dictionary quite a bit as it is small enough to be light and easy to carry and big enough to contain most everyday words. I think that the content is good but I compared to my other (larger) dictionary by Harper Collins the paper is somewhat gray and the words don't stand out as well. Also the ink is not the most permanent so if you are not careful you can end up with gray stains on your fingertips. I would recommend spending slightly more to get something with a higher quality of paper and printing.

For Spanish Language Dictionary 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Great little pocket dictionary for those who don't want to carry around a heavier full-sized eng/span diction. It's not 'quite' as complete, but it's about 99% there. It's going to have all of the important words

Editorial Review:

Merriam-WebsterÆs Spanish-English Dictionary is a completely new dictionary designed to meet the needs of English and Spanish speakers in a time of ever-expanding communication among the countries of the Western Hemisphere. It is intended for language learners, teachers, office workers, tourists, business travelersùanyone who needs to communicate effectively in the Spanish and English languages as they are spoken and written in the Americas.

First Spanish Reader: A Beginner's Dual-Language Book (Beginners' Guides)

Amazon Price: $7.95 List Price: $7.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Dover Publications Amazon Marketplace: 50 new & used starting at $4.00

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Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Foreign Language Fiction -> Spanish
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Short Stories -> General
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Short Stories -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 32 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

bilingual parables 1 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I was hoping for something different. The parables are not i nteresting for high school kids. The stories are not laid out for best bilingual appreciation.

Me gusto mucho este libro! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I found this book most helpful in reviewing my knowledge and understanding of Spanish. I could attempt to read the passages in Spanish and then seen if I had understood them correctly by then reading the English version. It is a wonderful resource for intermediate and advanced students of the Spanish language to help reinforce what they have learned, and also exposes non-native speakers to the rich Latino literary culture.

Helps extend your knowledge 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Great book with traditional stories that give you an insight into South American culture through language. What's best about this book is that it also has target questions about each of the stories that help you to extend your understanding of the text. There are a variety of stories of different lengths which means it's not too daunting. A great buy- I was more than impressed

Editorial Review:

Delightful stories, other material based on works of Don Juan Manuel, Luis Taboada, Ricardo Palma, other noted writers. Complete faithful English translations on facing pages. Exercises.

Oxford Picture Dictionary: English/Spanish (Oxford Picture Dictionary)

Jayme Adelson-Goldstein, Norma Shapiro

Amazon Price: $15.25 List Price: $16.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Oxford University Press, USA Amazon Marketplace: 25 new & used starting at $15.00

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Subjects -> Reference -> Foreign Languages -> Instruction -> English as a Foreign Language -> Coursebooks
Subjects -> Reference -> Foreign Languages -> Instruction -> English as a Foreign Language -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 18 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Primarily meant for those learning English 3 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This well-structured and nicely illustrated English/Spanish dictionary is a good resource which could easily have been made excellent. Where it comes up short is the lack of bilingual coverage for many entries.

Though the product description does flag the fact that the dictionary's purpose is to "meet the needs of today's English language learners," the layout of the dictionary gives the impression that it is for English speakers learning Spanish as the initial entries are given in English. However, many examples -- most notably the practice exercises -- are given in English only. This could prove frustrating for those wanting learn or expand their Spanish with it or vice versa.

Editorial Review:

The remarkable new edition of the best-selling Oxford Picture Dictionary, features over 4,000 words and phrases illustrated with all new vibrant, crystal-clear artwork. The topics, based on extensive input from teachers and students, have been thoroughly updated to meet the needs of today's English language learners. This English/Spanish Bilingual edition has complete second language indexes.

Rick Steves' French Phrase Book & Dictionary

Rick Steves

List Price: $6.95 By: Avalon Travel Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 12 new & used starting at $0.30

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Subjects -> Reference -> Dictionaries & Thesauruses -> Foreign Language -> French
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 21 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A Little Book That Helped A Lot!! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Great book! Highly recommended. Easy to use, easy to find the topics you need when you need them. The phonetic words are easy to understand, and are spot on with the real corresponding word (with some other phrase books I have tried, the phonetics were not quite right). There are phrases for real situations, even some funny situations, covering everything from being pulled over by police in your rental car to dealing with pushy street venders (which are abundant in Paris! - which came in handy for us when at the Louvre!). There is a menu and food decoder which we referred to quite a bit so as to know what we were ordering to eat. With this book, we were able to communicate easily everywhere we went: the metro, the train station, eateries, museums, grocery store, and even in the countryside where hardly anyone speaks English.

My Spouse and I were in France last month and I had purchased this book weeks ahead of time and began reviewing the phrases inside. By the time we got to France, we both had learned enough to communicate nicely with the people. In Paris, there are a great many people that speak English, or at least understand it a bit, but it's still nice to be able to say something to them in French even if it's just a greeting. But we stayed in the countryside where English is rare, but we got on just fine at the grocery store, the villages, and the cafes with this little book in hand. The easy to use words and phrases are great in a pinch, but as a helpful tip: Don't just buy the book and wait to use it until your there standing at a ticket booth trying to figure what to say - familiarize yourself with the key phrases that are important to you, and where they are located in the book before you even get on the plane.

Editorial Review:

Useful and fun to read, this French phrasebook is the ideal way for travelers to communicate easily and naturally. The typical French dictionary won't show you how to tell the hotel manager "J'ai dormi comme un enfant" ("I slept like a baby") and certainly not "Je suis couvert de piqures des punaises!" ("I'm covered with bug bites!"). This one does!

Arabic-English Dictionary: The Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic

Hans Wehr

Amazon Price: $40.50 List Price: $45.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Spoken Language Services Amazon Marketplace: 43 new & used starting at $15.95

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Subjects -> Reference -> Dictionaries & Thesauruses -> Foreign Language -> Arabic
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Subjects -> Reference -> Foreign Languages -> Instruction -> Arabic

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 57 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

An outdated, frustrating reference book. 1 out of 5 stars.
1 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I was very excited about getting my Wehr dictionary having read so many good reviews about it, and was very disappointed when I began to use it. First of all I got the small 3rd edition, which uses size 5.5 print, which is small enough to give one a headache when reading. Also, the print process is obviously insufficient, as many pages are not printed evenly, which, when combined with the already tiny type, makes them almost impossible to read. Also, some of the pages in the "ya" section were blank; not just extra pages added in, but missing words.
As for the content, it is indeed comprehensive, but not very useful. Many modern terms are not included, and a large amount of the lexicon is extremely outdated and obscure. Very often I've found terms in my Awde & Smith Arabic Practical Dictionary which the Wehr won't have, which is surprising given the difference in number of words between the two. The simple fact is that this is an outdated book. I might recommend it for someone studying scholarly or Koranic Arabic, but for the modern student, I found it more frustrating than useful, and more trouble than it was worth.

Editorial Review:

Its scholarship, accuracy and reliability make it one of the most significant contributions to Arabic lexicography. It is hoped that this masterpiece will point the way ot wider use of modern lexicographical principles in the compilation of dictionaries for earlier periods of the Arabic language.

Rick Steves' Italian Phrase Book and Dictionary (Rick Steves)

Rick Steves

Amazon Price: $7.95 List Price: $7.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Avalon Travel Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 4 new & used starting at $7.16

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Subjects -> Reference -> Foreign Languages -> Instruction -> Dictionaries; Polyglot
Subjects -> Reference -> Foreign Languages -> Instruction -> Italian
Subjects -> Reference -> Foreign Languages -> Instruction -> Phrasebooks - General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 50 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Useful and amusing 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Rick Stevens has written a book with all kinds of useful phrases and lots you may never need but will laugh at while reading.

Steves' fundamental phrases 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The hard to find words in the Italian vocabulary are presented here...there is something for everyone. If you are cussing out an Italian driver--ordering a meal--visiting a museum--or asking for directions--Steves provides phrases and words for you!

Editorial Review:

Buon giorno! From ordering calamari in Venice to making new friends in Tuscan hill towns, it helps to speak some of the native tongue. Rick Steves, bestselling author of travel guides to Europe, offers well-tested phrases and key words to cover every situation a traveler is likely to encounter. This handy guide provides key phrases for use in everyday circumstances, complete with phonetic spelling; an English-Italian and Italian-English dictionary; the latest information on European currency and rail transportation, and even a tear-out cheat sheet for continued language practice as you wait in line at the Sistine Chapel. Informative, concise, and practical, Rick Steves' Italian Phrase Book and Dictionary is an essential item for any traveler's zainetto.

English-Russian, Russian-English Dictionary

Kenneth Katzner

Amazon Price: $26.37 List Price: $39.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Wiley Amazon Marketplace: 61 new & used starting at $19.88

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Subjects -> Reference -> Dictionaries & Thesauruses -> Foreign Language -> Russian
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Subjects -> Reference -> Dictionaries & Thesauruses -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 66 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

THE standard in foreign language dictionaries 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Ideal for translating everything from "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" to contemporary colloquial Russian.

Unlike other dictionaries, Katzner's identifies literary obsolete, colloquial, and even vulgar words thus sparing the student of potentially embarrassing moments. Knowing the difference between "kushats" and "zhrats" might make for a more pleasant dining experience or the Russian equivalent of "breast" and "bosom" a more accurate reading of Lermontov.

Katzner also lists separately the perfective verb in the Russian to English half, meaning if while reading a Russian text you stumble across an unfamiliar perfective verb you don't have to guess it's imperfective form to locate its meaning. Other dictionaries fail miserably on this point. He also identifies the required case of certain verbs.

As for binding issues, yes, your dictionary will eventually fall apart because you'll use it so much and in so many different places (classroom, cafe, office, home, etc..). I have plenty of other dictionaries all inferior and seldom used which remain in perfectly wonderful shape. :-)

Editorial Review:

Based on American rather than British English, this is among the first Russian dictionaries revised for the post-Soviet era. Includes new political terminology, new Russian institutions, new countries and republics and new city names. Contains 26,000 entries in the English-Russian section and 40,000 words in the Russian-English section. Irregularities in Russian declensions and conjugations appear at the beginning of each entry.

Larousse Concise Dictionary: French-English/English-French (BookEdition 001)

Amazon Price: $10.36 List Price: $12.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Larousse Amazon Marketplace: 61 new & used starting at $2.25

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Subjects -> Reference -> Dictionaries & Thesauruses -> Foreign Language -> French
Subjects -> Reference -> Dictionaries & Thesauruses -> General
Subjects -> Reference -> Dictionaries & Thesauruses -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

You can't beat LAROUSSE 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

Now I have papa bear, momma bear, and baby bear. The three sizes of Larousse dictionaries. They are all superb. You can't lug the large Larousse around with you everywhere and the baby larousse won't cut it at times on a difficult translation. So, this is right in the middle of that range. There aren't many times when this won't cut it. Recommended.

good dictionary for French Learner 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I like using the dictionary because it's completed by words classifications and pronunciations. Also it provides conjugations which are very important in learning French. It also gives information about measurement that is used in economics and maths. So, if you are new learner of French, I suggest to use this dictionary.

Editorial Review:

The Larousse Concise Dictionary: French-English / English-French is the
ideal companion for anyone who wishes to learn or become more fluent
in contemporary French. This latest edition includes
• 100,000 entries and 130,000 translations
• revised cultural notes providing essential background information for
the American reader
• an improved page design that makes using the dictionary even easier
• French verb-conjugation tables
A user-friendly format and a rich array of features make this an essential
tool for reading and writing, translation and schoolwork.

Cassell's Latin Dictionary: Latin-English, English-Latin

D. P. Simpson

Amazon Price: $16.47 List Price: $24.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Cassell's Amazon Marketplace: 70 new & used starting at $7.56

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Subjects -> Reference -> Dictionaries & Thesauruses -> General
Subjects -> Reference -> Dictionaries & Thesauruses -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 24 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

An Amazing Dictionary 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

This is a very inexpensive and indispensable dictionary for those who have more than a rudimentary understanding of Latin. The binding is very solid so the ugly yellow and orange cover can be tossed. The dictionary lays flat on the table for easy consultation. What I found most useful (so far I have been translating Vergil and Suetonius extensively) is that after the common definition of the word, the dictionary lists the meaning and words that normally accompany it for specific Roman authors.

For example:
largus -a -um, adj. (with compar. and superl.) (1) of things, abundant, plentiful, numerous, copious: cum sol terras larga luce compleverit, Cicero. etc... (and then the way that Vergil, Tacitus, Horace and others use largus -a-um)

The listing of how important authors commonly use the word is very helpful since words can have so many different meanings and this feature often makes comprehension of a difficult passage MUCH easier. Also, the volume has a Roman calender that is useful in figuring out Roman dates. I have not used the English to Latin section since I have not had to do any composition so please consult other reviewers on that aspect. This dictionary will last a lifetime. An amazing buy.

Editorial Review:

Since its first appearance in 1854 and through many revisions this dictionary has remained constant in its appeal to scholars.

This new and revised Latin Dictionary is among the best of its kind, being reliable, compact and adequate for the needs of all save the specialist. He has produced what is in effect a new book, typographically easy to consult and combining elegance with utility. -The Times Literary Supplement

This edition

• Incorporates modern English idiom and current Latin spelling.
• Includes general classical information where appropriate.
• Shows long and short vowels where not immediately apparent.
• Indicates irregular plural forms.
• Cites and quotes ancient classical authors.
• Suggests paraphrases to express modern English in classical Latin form.

The New World Spanish/English, English/Spanish Dictionary (El New World Diccionario español/inglés, inglés/español)

Salvatore Ramondino

Amazon Price: $7.99 List Price: $7.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Signet Amazon Marketplace: 63 new & used starting at $1.41

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Subjects -> Reference -> Dictionaries & Thesauruses -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 22 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Best Buy 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I have been teaching English as a Second Language for many years and I have become fluent in Spanish. This dictionary for Americans (North and South) is the best for the money. It has many words that are American Spanish and American English whereas many other more expensive dictionaries use European words and sometimes spellings. It is not a good dictionary for travel but then I don't think most are. I don't use a dictionary when on the road. The paper editions wear out rapidly with moderate use but they are cheap enough. Do not waste time and money on smaller dictionaries such as the Chicago. This one not only has American language, it has many idioms, and a reasonable grammar section. I hope this little gem never goes out of print.

great for high school ESL teacher 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I am a high school ESL teacher for new immigrants to the U.S. Our school buys the Merriam-Webster English-Spanish in bulk so each student has one that is easy to carry around, and because they are cheaper. But after experimenting with various dictionaries, I find that I much prefer to keep The New World dictionary right beside me at my desk, when I'm standing at the overhead projector, when I am circulating around the room to help students. I find The New World easier to read and easier to use. For example, when looking at multiple meaning words such as plot or setting, it is easier to pick out the language arts/literary definition in The New World dictionary. It also offers more in the way of support for people learning English or Spanish -- for example the section that helps Spanish speakers understand English prefix/root/suffix is very useful to ESL students and teachers in a high school setting. This year we are going to buy several for each classroom that has ESL students in it.

Editorial Review:

The largest mass market Spanish/English, English/Spanish dictionary available 3.3 million Signet copies in print Includes over 70,000 entries More thatn 3,000 entries have been addes, expanded, or rewritten to reflect contemporary Spanish vocabulary