Customer Reviews

The American Heritage Spanish Dictionary, Second Edition

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a professional Spanish translator, I do not find myself referring to this dictionary much, preferring instead the world's current best Spanish<>English dictionary, The HarperCollins Spanish Unabridged Dictionary, which is twice as heavy, twice as comprehensive, and often twice the price of this one. Still, for anyone who is not a professional translator, who does not want to cart around a dictionary weighing well over six pounds (this one weighs just under three), or who just wants the best dictionary possible on a budget, the American Heritage Spanish Dictionary is the best value out there.*

It is a better dictionary even than the Oxford Spanish Dictionary for the accuracy, precision, and variety of its translations. Unlike many of the Spanish dictionaries on the market, such as the Oxford and the HarperCollins, which are skewed toward European English and Spanish, the American Heritage emphasizes North-American English and Latin-American Spanish. Extremely well-edited, clear, and easy to use, it also has an excellent "Notes on Grammar and Usage" section. There are fewer usage examples in its entries than in the HarperCollins or the Oxford, but it very efficiently and clearly packs a lot of dictionary into a small volume.

Here, by way of example, is the entry for the word "leaf" (minus the pronunciations of "leaf" and "leaves," which use special characters I cannot type here):

leaf - I. s. [pl. leaves] BOT. hoja; (foliage) follaje m., hojas; (sheet of paper) hoja; (page) página; (folio) folio; (sheet of metal) lámina; (of table, door, shutter) hoja; AUTO. hoja * gold l. = pan de oro * in l. = con hojas * l. tobacco = tabaco en rama * to shake like a l. = temblar como un azogado * to turn over a new l. = empezar una nueva vida, hacer borrón y cuenta nueva II. intr. BOT. echar hojas -tr. hojear * to l. through = hojear

Where a lesser dictionary might say "leaf - hoja; follaje, hojas; página; folio; lámina" and send you scurrying to the Spanish side to find out which of these translations fits the particular meaning you want, the AH saves you valuable time by clearly differentiating, within its English entry, which translation refers to leaves of trees, which to leaves of paper, and which to leaves of metal. Notice also that in cases where the gender of the Spanish word might not be clear (such as "follaje" here), or might be different from what one would normally expect (such as "problema," for example), the AH includes an indication of the gender (m. or f.) within the English entry, unlike other dictionaries which, again, would force you to take the time to look up "follaje" or "problema" on the Spanish side to find this information. This fault is especially a problem with words like "problema" or "mano" where most students would not even think to take this extra step, thinking (incorrectly) that they already could tell the word's gender from its final vowel.

This second (2001) edition brings this dictionary more up to date by adding many current terms that were missing in the 1986 edition, but has not changed much else from the original. I am already looking forward to a third edition that might perhaps use current technology to rework this dictionary, based on an electronic corpus of the latest American usage in both languages. (It is a mystery to me why no one has yet decided to create such a truly comprehensive North-American-English<>Latin-American-Spanish dictionary, one along the lines of the HarperCollins Unabridged, but written and edited from the perspective of the Americas.) This dictionary is not as comprehensive as the HC Unabridged, but the American Heritage Spanish Dictionary (hardcover edition) would be my recommendation for students, teachers, and others looking for the best all-around value in the Spanish dictionary market. An excellent dictionary that won't bust your budget or your back.

(*Note: This review refers only to the full, hardcover version of the American Heritage, not the "concise" or paperback editions, which are different books entirely, and which I do not recommend to anyone because they tend to be mere shadows of this edition, both in the reduced number of words they cover and in the poor quality of their faded, microscopic print.)

When I want to buy a product I research it a great deal and that I did with the American Heritage Spanish Dictionary, 2nd Edition (Hardcover). I've had it for 3 days and it is indispensible if you want to learn Latin American Spanish, which most so-called good dictionaries do not concentrate on at all! It even had mofongo, a dish from the Dominican Republic, listed! All the other dictionaries I've had didn't even list foods, much less specialities from various Latin American countries.

Furthermore, the print is easy on the eyes and the covers appear strong, unlike the HarperCollins, which some people have complained about.

My advice: Get it (the hardcover version). It is so worth the price.

For beginning and intermediate students, this dictionary is excellent. I give it five stars for this audience. It is both useful and affordable. If you are an advanced high school student, an undergraduate or a member of the general public learning Spanish, the American Heritage Spanish Dictionary is at the top of my list of recommendations for you. (If you are getting into literature or professional areas that exceed the limits of this dictionary, you need to look at Oxford Spanish Dictionary, HarperCollins Spanish Unabridged Dictionary, 8th Edition, Simon & Schuster's International Spanish Dictionary, possibly Gran Dicionario Larousse Espanol-Ingles-Espanol, and the major monolingual Spanish dictionaries: El Pequeno Larousse Illustrado 2009, Diccionario de la Lengua Espanola.)

For an intermediate user of Spanish like me, this dictionary has anything I need, and more. It provides accurate definitions, explains the context, is easy to search, not too bulky, and durable (hardcover).

The American Heritage Spanish Dictionary is an exceptional book for those interested in the words used in the Americas. Highly Recomended! So good that I even purchased the electronic version for my Palm Treo. Other dictionaries that are as good is the "Larousse" Dictionary. But then agian this dictionary is based on the "Larousse" spanish dictionay.

As other reviewers have stated, this dictionary is quite comprehensive, and for that, it's well worth buying. It has a great section on the alphabet, pronounciations, and grammar. However, the English part of the dictionary shows how to pronounce each entry word, BUT THE SPANISH DICTIONARY DOES NOT!! This was something I was looking for, and I found it in NTC's Easy Spanish English Dictionary (sold by Amazon) and between them, they are great resources for learning Spanish.

I also recommend the Spanish-English, English-Spanish Dictionary by Carlos Castillo and Otto F. Bond (sold by Amazon). The 3rd edition has cultural notes that later editions omit, and the hardcover is great because the paperback has tiny text.

I would have given The American Heritage Spanish Dictionary, Second Edition 5 stars if it had the pronounciations for Spanish entry words.

Spanish is my native language but even so, there are those times where precision is important. I compared various dictionaries and have found this to be the best out there.

I needed a heavy duty Spanish-english dictionary that i could bring to my translation class everyday and this book fits the bill. the professor recommended the hardcover edition of this dictionary, but the hardcover is like a brick (bulky and heavy). When I discovered that there was a softcover edition with the same content but 1/4 the weight and much smaller, i couldn't turn it down.

I also like how this dictionary includes colloquial/slang terms from various Spanish speaking countries and is more up to date than other spanish-english dictionaries out there. The word selection is great for upper level Spanish Lit, culture, and translation courses.

I currently own four Spanish-English dictionaries, and this is the one I actually use the most. It is not as comprehensive or as easy on the eye as the Collins Unabridged, but it is much smaller and a lot easier to carry around the house. The last time I went to Latin America to live for a while, this was the one I took with me. I wouldn't recommend it for a traveler (it is still fairly heavy) or for a professional translator (too few entries) but for a student, I think it is just about perfect.

Came in perfect condition, wrapped in plastic. Very helpful! Suggested by the Spanish Department at the University of Maryland