Concise Amharic Dictionary [Paperback]

Wolf Leslau (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0520205014 | ISBN-13: 978-0520205017 | Publication Date: February 1, 1996

Although Amharic is the national language of Ethiopia and English its international language, until publication of this book in hardcover there was no concise Amharic-English, English-Amharic dictionary. Students of Amharic as well as visitors to Ethiopia and foreign workers will benefit from this concise dictionary with phonetic transcriptions that allow for its use by those unfamiliar with Amharic script.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

"A language learning book that has taught and will continue to teach generations of Peace Corps volunteers, and other English-speaking students, workers, and visitors to Ethiopia."--Harold G. Marcus, author of A History of Ethiopia

About the Author

Wolf Leslau is Professor of Near Eastern Languages Emeritus at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the author of Amharic Textbook.

Product Details

• Paperback: 538 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press (February 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520205014
• ISBN-13: 978-0520205017
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #271,861 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #1 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Amharic
  • #31 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > African > Instruction

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best widely available Amharic - English - Amharic dictionary, August 25, 2001

By 

Pete Unseth (Duncanville, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Concise Amharic Dictionary (Paperback)

Leslau's dictionary has been the standard for years, and deservedly so. He not only has thousands of entries in each half of the dictionary (English-Amharic, Amharic-English), he also gives extensive notes on grammatical usage, such as whether an Amharic verb takes a direct object suffix, or an indirect object suffix. The entries cover a wide variety of topics: tools, holidays, body parts, etc. There are other dictionaries available, but they are very difficult to find in most countries: Dr. Amsalu Aklilu's excellent work published in Ethiopia and Ahmed Zekaria's published in India. Kane's 2 vol. Amharic- English dictionary is too expensive for most people, and has no English-Amharic section. If you need an Amharic-English-Amharic dictionary, this is a fine book. The University of California paperback edition is much, much cheaper than the hardback Harrassowitz edition from Germany, no difference in contents.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Adopting made easier, September 2, 2000

By 

Vicki J Lynar (Orange, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Concise Amharic Dictionary (Paperback)

We've recently adopted two Ethiopian children who spoke only Amharic when they first came to us. We searched for ages to find a dictionary that would suit our needs for communicating with them and also for teaching them English. After using a tiny phrasebook with limited words and only English-Amharic (one of our children could read well in Amharic) we needed a better way. And after looking through the internet for a while, a found this book and bought it. It's explained many things that before would not have been possible, and made the necessary communication all the easier. It is also helping the kids greatly in their English and understanding of things around them. Thanks heaps!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Adopting made easier, September 2, 2000

By 

Vicki J Lynar (Orange, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Concise Amharic Dictionary (Paperback)

We've recently adopted two Ethiopian children who spoke only Amharic when they first came to us. We searched for ages to find a dictionary that would suit our needs for communicating with them and also for teaching them English. After using a tiny phrasebook with limited words and only English-Amharic (one of our children could read well in Amharic) we needed a better way. And after looking through the internet for a while, I found this book and bought it. It's explained many things that before would not have been possible, and made the necessary communication all the easier. It is also helping the kids greatly in their English and understanding of things around them. Thanks heaps!