Arabicâ English Bilingual Visual Dictionary (DK Visual Dictionaries) [Paperback]

DK Publishing (Author)

Book Description

Series: DK Visual Dictionaries | Publication Date: April 20, 2009

The newest addition to the Bilingual Visual Dictionary series, this title will help the international visitor-whether business or recreational-absorb essential vocabulary in Arabic.

Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: DK ADULT; Bilingual edition (April 20, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0756649838
• ISBN-13: 978-0756649838
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #255,162 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #60 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Arabic
  • #79 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > Arabic > Instruction

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars don't bother getting this for a trip to the Middle East, July 20, 2009

By 

Carl W. Bergquist "Language Addict" (Sao Paulo, Brazil) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Arabicâ English Bilingual Visual Dictionary (DK Visual Dictionaries) (Paperback)

This dictionary might be quite good for an Arab visiting England, but for a Western tourist going to an Arab country it will be useful only for medical emergencies,etc. or for describing you own culture. It is just a rehash of the German, French, Spanish... dictionaries. That would be alright for a European culture but not for any Arab country that I have ever visited (5 in all). Where are all the things from the Arab's world? You can find everything from England of course, all the parts of a church but not even the word for minaret or the ababic "pulpit" (Minbar),etc. Lots of beatuiful northern landscapes (what about deserts?), all the games and sports which are not played, all the plants and trees which don't grow there (all the different types of English gardens!).All kinds of alcoholic beverages and all the food (cuts of pork) which you won't find in an Arabic country unless you just eat at the Hilton or Marriott (or, God forbid, Mac Donald's). Where are all the Arabic dishes: esfihas, chick pea spread, babghanouch, kibbe? Nothing! I wouldn't bother taking this on a trip to an Arabic country. I could probably get something more useful, even if less sofisticated, when I arrived there at the airport. With a culture so diferent the editors should have done a bit of research and editing/expansion before issuing a dictionary like this. Typical result of ignorance (arrogant lack of respect for?) of another culture!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Incorrect Transliterations Abound, April 21, 2011

By 

A.Z. (Dearborn, MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Arabicâ English Bilingual Visual Dictionary (DK Visual Dictionaries) (Paperback)

For anyone using this as part of their learning Arabic, be warned that the entire book is full of pooly done transliterations. Vowels are wrong in many cases (such as Katif being Kitif for example) or even consonants (all the instances of dhaal' are turned into z which will lead you to sound like an Egyptian instead of learning the correct standard pronuciation of dhaal' being as in the beginning of "that").

Additionally it seems as if all the pictures in the books correpond to a European/American world so maybe this is geared for someone coming from the Arabic world to here.

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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Complement for Modern Standard Arabic Courses, July 12, 2009

By 

George E. Stanley "Arabic Professor" (Lawton, OK USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Arabicâ English Bilingual Visual Dictionary (DK Visual Dictionaries) (Paperback)

DK's VISUAL ARABIC-ENGLISH BILINGUAL DICTIONARY is an excellent text to complement beginning Modern Standard Arabic courses. Not only is it visually attractive, but the up-to-date vocabulary, arranged by subjects (appearance, study, work, sports, etc.), has all the words that students want to know right away. I believe that it is absolutely essential, when learning new (concrete) words in a foreign language, that the student start right away to associate each word with an image. When a student looks at a door, for instance, he or she immediately thinks of the Arabic word for it. There is none of this "That's a door and the word for door in Arabic is...."