Customer Reviews

Bantam New College German/English Dictionary (Bantam New College Dictionary Series)

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

 

 

I am an American who lived and worked in Germany for six years and took a solid year of courses at Goethe Institut. Of all the manuals, workbooks, and language helps we used, the Bantam dictionary is the most helpful, most dog eared of all our reference books. I highly recommend it and came to Amazon today to find a replacement for our worn out copy!!

I first encountered this dictionary in a former printing back in my junior year of high school while in my second year of learning the German language. Being a teenager it tittilated me that all the adult words were included in it. It also, however, includes the tenses of irregular verbs, a COMPLETE declension of adjectives and indicative pronouns, and it's just a super dictionary. I've had mine since 1986, right after I graduated high school. I used it to study for a test to determine aptitude in the German language in the Air Force and got a decent score from it. It is useful both during and after learning German as a second language.

I am a ten-year teacher of German and we have ordered this dictionary as an inexpensive option for students to use in the past. You really do get what you pay for: most students outgrow this dictionary within one semester. It's main weakness is a lack of idiomatic expressions which most modern dictionaries, even pocket dictionaries, contain. I recommend the Collins Gem dictionary instead for a pocket-sized one and the Collins or the Langenscheidt for normal desk-sized dictionaries. Stay clear of this one.

I bought a copy of this dictionary and to my great disappointment, there are a number of errors which obviously are not typos. Check the word "exorbitant" on the English-German side and you will see the translation, "schwindelhaft", which actually means bogus, or fraudulent. This is only the tip of the iceberg.There may be a lot of similar mistakes we haven't found yet.

I am German and searched for a dictionary of the English language. Instead of buying expensive German dictionaries of the English tongue, I bought this English dictionary of the German tongue. It's the quarter of the standard price for such a dictionary in Germany (e.g. Langenscheidt) and it surely helps a lot. Buy it !

Though my 1986 copy of this dictionary has a few errors in it, none of them has ever gotten me into trouble. The dictionary is easy to use for anyone who doesn't have trouble with the small font, and the grammar section in the middle is unsurpassed for a small paperback dictionary. The physical size of the book is also convenient for students and travellers. My copy is a mess and has been taped and retaped, dogeared, and abused through the total 12 months I've spent in Germany over the last 6 years. I recommend it highly and will be buying myself a new copy for my next trip overseas.

Several months ago, I set out to teach myself German. I did a couple months of searching, going to book stores to actually examine and compare the materials before I spent my money. Out of several English & German dictionaries I looked at, the Bantam New College Dictionary is THE best. It is thorough and comprehensive, easy to use, and priced right too. An excellent resource to help with German language.

I agree with the German teacher who reviewed this dictionary below: this is a dictionary that doesn't grow with you. It is actually full of errors, is *extremely* weak in idiomatic expressions (which is the true measure of a good dictionary), and while the grammatical information is handy--it doesn't make up for weak lexicography. I *really* like the Collins Gem dictionary instead (also for sale here); it has all the grammatical information extras you'd want and is a far better example of dictionary writing.

The review from Taiwan refers to the translation of the word "exorbitant" as "schwindelhaft". Schwindelhaft is not incorrect. As "exorbitant" in the English dictionary refers to as "not coming within the scope of the law" which, therefore, makes the translation ok. We need to consider that many, many words have multiple meanings.

This bilingual dictionary's two greatest virtues are its compact yet readable format and its affordable price. And, as a bonus, there are brief summaries of German grammar, including common forms of articles, pronouns, and verbs. These reminders are packaged with the two-way translations for convenience, never meant as a substitute for a real grammar text.

This meets my limited needs, as someone who comes across the occasional German word in passing. Most high school language students will also find that it has all the vocabulary they need. This isn't a scholar's reference, though. Translated definitions tend towards the terse, so they won't cover all senses of a complex term. And, to keep cost down, it's printed on pulp stock, so it won't last forever even if handled gently. It offers plenty if you don't need much, and that's good enough for me right now.

//wiredweird