Customer Reviews

Concise Esperanto and English Dictionary: Esperanto-English, English-Esperanto (Teach Yourself Books)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This dictionary serves well as a standard reference work. The grammar at the beginning is surprisingly useful. However, one major problem is that it often fails to explain the differences between Esperanto words which translate different senses of English words. This makes life difficult for a learner. It is also a bit dated. Also, advanced translators may wish to avail themselves of the more unabridged Comprehensive English-Esperanto Dictionary, by Benson.

Chi tiu vortaro servas bone kiel baza kontrolverko. La gramatiko en la komenco de la libro estas surprize utila. Tamen, unu grava misajho estas ke ghi ofte mankas eksplikon de la malsamoj inter Esperantaj vortoj kiuj tradukas malsamajn sencojn de anglaj vortoj. Tiu chi komplikas la vivon de lernanto. Ghi ankau estas iom ekstermoda. Ankau, pli antauenighintaj tradukistoj vershajne volos uzi la pli vastan Comprehensive English-Esperanto Dictionary, de Benson.

This dictionary is one of the most helpful guides to any language that I have ever read. The Advice to the Student of Esperanto section was very helpful as were the lists of correlatives, prefixes, and suffixes; I often find myself referring to them. Overall, this is a wonderful guide, no one studying Esperanto should be without one.

This dictionary has been around for a while. It is what introduced me to Esperanto over 20 years ago.

When I first received it (as a gift), I noticed that it had a grammar section in the front. The explanations were good enough that I was able to make basic sentences almost immediately! When I finally decided to learn a little more formally, the grammar summary was an awesome reference.

The Dictionary itself is very good. My only problem with this and all two-way dictionaries is that sometimes a translation of a word is not enough... you need an actual definition. For that, I'm afraid one would have to use an actual Esperanto (only) dictionary with word and definition in Esperanto, such as "Plena Ilustrita Vortaro" or better yet, "Plena Vortaro de Esperanto Kun Suplemento".

I believe this to be the best two way Esperanto and English dictionary.

Every Esperanto textbook that I have read has been extremely useful to me. However, the book that tops them all is the Teach Yourself Esperanto Dictionary by J.C. Wells. It is the most user-friendly dictionary I have ever come across. You could almost learn the language from this book alone!

This dictionary, in the form available in the US and in Canada, is still the best general English and Esperanto dictionary available, however, because there has not been an update since 1954, (don't be fooled by the copyright dates!), it has fallen behind times. Don't expect to find such words as videorecorder, modem, disk drive or any other high-tech vocabulary here.

I understand that there is a updated version available in the United Kingdom, however, because of some copyright problem it is not available in North America. Let's hope the problem can be resolved soon.

This is still the best buy in bilingual Epseranto dictionaries, but IMO the best part is the short introductory "Advice to the Student of Esperanto". Wells is not only an expert Esperantist, but also a trained professional linguist (specializing in English phonetics) with an international reputation, and it shows in his intelligent and commonsense approach. One can only hope that, if a revised edition ever appears, it will have room for a condensed version of at least some of the material from his excellent _Lingvistikaj Aspektoj de Esperanto_ ("Linguistic Aspects of Esperanto") which AFAIK has yet to be translated into English.

Yes, this was the dictionary that first got me started in Esperanto, and I still occasionally use it for looking up Esperanto words I don't understand-- which isn't that often since getting the basics of Esperanto is so easy and context can help so much with the rest.

The little grammar in the beginning is a gem that can help the beginner grasp the essentials of the language almost immediately.

The fault lies with the English-Esperanto section, which is bound to be where most users will be looking 90% of the time. As so many English words have multiple meanings, it's important to have clear means of distinguishing the meanings. Wells often provides no such means at all, leaving it to the student's own knowledge of Esperanto!

For example, the definition for "tan" says: tan-i, -kolora; (sun)brunigi, -igxi, -o. So what's the word for "tan" as in tanning a hide? Only the process of elimination or knowledge of Esperanto could lead you to "tani."

However, this is a mere inconvenience compared to the far worse problem of words that feel made-up and which have virtually no use in real Esperanto. Consider the simple word "to hug": Wells expects us to "cxirkauxpremi" (around-press) our friends and loved ones. What Esperantists really do is "brakumi" (doing the arm thing). Cxirkauxpremi is only a useful word for when pressure and enclosure are being stressed, as in a bear-hug. There are many other cases where Well's word seems more theoretical than anything resembling colloquial Esperanto.

In addition, the dictionary is quite dated, and anything not in common use by the late 60s will be absent.

Don't get me wrong: this book definitely has its uses, but in my opinion, the English half is frustrating at best, and misleading at worst.

Whether or not you buy this book, you should definitely get the Comprehensive English-Esperanto Dictionary by Peter Benson.

This is a very good Esperanto dictionary to have. In addition to definitions, it lays out Esperanto grammar in the front of the book. I use it constantly for translation.

This book has been invaluable in my quest to learn Esperanto. When coupled with a good course in Esperanto, this book can help expand the students vocabulary, and help get them through more advanced texts by providing translations when you find a word you haven't seen before.

While there aren't many Esperanto dictionaries to choose from in most areas, this is a good dictionary to use. Esperanto is worth learning, and with this dictionary and the Teach Yourself Esperanto introductory text you can't go wrong!