The Concise Oxford English-Arabic Dictionary of Current Usage [Hardcover]

Safa Khulusi (Author), N. Shamaa (Author), W.K. Davin (Author), N.S. Doniach (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0198643217 | ISBN-13: 978-0198643210 | Publication Date: February 3, 1983

This convenient pocket dictionary--an abridged and updated edition of the acclaimed Oxford English-Arabic Dictionary of Current Usage--is designed for both the English speaker learning Arabic and the Arabic speaker learning English. It records the different levels of usage found in newspapers, radio, television, and films, providing major Arabic dialectal equivalents for familiar, colloquial, and slang words. Ideal for the student or traveler, the dictionary includes:


* Nearly 40,000 entries providing English headwords with multiple meanings and their nearest Arabic equivalent.

* For Arabic speakers: phonetic equivalents for headwords, phrases illustrating unexpected and alien idioms, and explanations of headwords denoting concepts new to the Arab world.

*For English speakers: vowels and diacritics included in the Arabic text, irregular plurals of nouns, and simple verb conjugations in the imperfect tense.
* Meticulously transcribed Arabic characters for easy
reading.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The most appropriate dictionary to recommend to English speaking students for Arabic composition--in terms of clarity, a reasonably comprehensive word list, and in terms of value for expenditure. I recommend it highly to my students."--Seth Ward, Yale University

"The best reference text available for English-Arabic usage."--Karen C. Ryding, U.S. Department of State

Language Notes

Text: English, Arabic

Product Details

• Hardcover: 472 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (February 3, 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198643217
• ISBN-13: 978-0198643210
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #110,794 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #13 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Language Nonfiction > Arabic
  • #33 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Arabic
  • #41 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > Arabic > Instruction

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A one sided dictionary that is too concise, September 30, 2000

By 

Rusty Keele (Salt Lake City, UT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Concise Oxford English-Arabic Dictionary of Current Usage (Hardcover)

Let me start off by saying that I used this dictionary for three years as a university student studying Arabic. It was the only English to Arabic dictionary that I could find. It was helpful, but there were many things that I did not like. Let me tell you of my experience using this book.

THE GOOD: 1) It is small and lightweight. This was invaluable for walking around campus, especially when it was only one of the ten books that I had to carry around! 2) It is a hardback book. This was quite nice because when it was one of many books that were constantly being loaded and unloaded from my backpack (not to mention the frequent usage) it was the only one that lasted for three years and still ended up in good shape.

THE BAD: 1) It is too concise. I have the 1982 edition (which I purchased in 1996), and the beginning of the book contains absolutely no information about entries, abbreviations or anything else. The concise nature of this dictionary also makes the Arabic script rather small, cramped and hard to read. 2) It is only English to Arabic. This means that you have to buy another dictionary if you need to have Arabic to English translations. 3) Sometimes there are multiple Arabic words for one English entry. No help is offered about which one would apply to a given situation. I found myself using the first word only, and then asking native speakers or my teacher if that was the right word. 4) There are no appendices. No tables, no charts, no help.

I had to have this dictionary. It proved useful at times, yet it also proved very frustrating. Hopefully Oxford takes (or has taken) the time to update and improve this dictionary. Until then - good luck.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good Eng-Arab dictionary, July 9, 2003

By 

Abdulqawi (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Concise Oxford English-Arabic Dictionary of Current Usage (Hardcover)

This is most likely the best English to Arabic dictionary on the market for native ENGLISH speakers. Most E-A dictionaries are made for native Arabic speakers, and assume you know what the Arabic that your reading is. This is more English-speaker friendly. Only downside of the book is that it is only in hardback, which makes it difficult to pull out of your pocket and flip through quickly. Highly recommend over most E-A dictionaries, unless you are a native ARABIC speaker.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Shell out a little more for a lot more quality, May 1, 2006

By 

hannah draper "hannahdraper" (Istanbul) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Concise Oxford English-Arabic Dictionary of Current Usage (Hardcover)

i'm very sorry i bought this book. It may be concise, and it may be cheaper, but one shouldn't sacrifice spelling for saving a few dollars! The concise edition drops the dots off many of the letters, thus either misspelling the word or creating letters that don't exist. i borrowed the full-sized edition and found it to be fine. Don't waste your money and your sanity on this version!