Customer Reviews

Dari: Dari-English English-Dari Dictionary & Phrasebook (Hippocrene Dictionary & Phrasebooks)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's easier to be a critic than an author; much easier in the case of "Dari Dictionary & Phrasebook." An internet search on "Nicholas Awad" introduces a true polyglot, from Hausa to Armenian, and it appears from the content of this work that Awad and his collaborators have a mastery of classical Persian -- and a very quirky understanding of Afghan Dari. It's an excellent phrase book, but many of the Dari terms used would raise eyebrows from Mazar to Kabul. If you don't mind occasionally being in the position of a guy walking into a biker bar and saying, "Ho, good innkeeper, willst thou draw me a draught of your finest ale?", this book provides an interesting, and indeed useful, introduction to Dari. Provided the barman gets beyond your initial, "Ho . . ." The pronounciations sometimes follow the Iranian more than the Afghan model, many of the words use the Iranian rather than the Afghan varient (q.y., beer, strawberry), many of the phrases are far more flowery than commonly used, and the pronunciation guide and the verb forms used -- well, an additional expression that could well have been used in the book is "be-resh" which literally means "beardless" but the metaphorical meaning transcends "campy." Go ahead and buy this book if you are heading toward Afghanistan; your ear will quickly atune you to the pronunciation and verb forms commonly used. Think of Dari as probably the easiest language for a native English speaker to learn, perhaps the second easiest after Malay, study the book, and be confident in your conversation with Afghans. Most of them are pretty forgiving in matters of language.

This is an excellant book for travel. The book gives you common pharses used for every day conversation and also an english to dari or dari to english dictionary.

It even has a special section for pharses used by aid workers.

As somebody who has not yet begun to seriously study Dari, I have found this to be a very helpful companion. It has helped me unravel the Dari words and phrases used in guide books and travelogues on Afghanistan, and the short guide to Afghan history is concise yet insightful.

The "Very Basic Grammar" and "Pronunciation Guide" provide key building blocks to understanding and speaking the language. The dictionary, at 87 pages, is by no means comprehensive, but covers simple vocabulary beginners need to know. And the phrase book pulls together basic words and phrases for a myriad of situations one is likely to face as a tourist in Afghanistan.

All in all, not bad for a book of a little more than 200 pages that can fit in your back pocket.

This book was quite useful. The only complaint I have is that the terms that are given, some are extremely proper. Which I guess is better than being too informal but you get some funny looks sometimes when you are having a casual conversation. Overall its a great book and I would recommend it to anyone that is traveling to Afghanistan or anyone that wants to learn this language.

I got this book for my dad and he likes it. Common phrases are in it and and having a dari-english/english-dari is wonderful and a great travel companion and is helpful whether you're studying Dari or just wanting to learn to make conversation or if you're going to a country that speaks it, it will come in handy. Good for beginners. My dad enjoys it.

The book Dari-English-Dari is exactly what I thought it would be and arrived 20 days after my paiement. So: everything perfect.

It's difficult to find good Dari language products. This book is not an English-Dari dictionary (nor is it intended to be), but it does contain a quite in-depth catalogue of common phrases, expressions, and situational requirements. I'm very happy with it for language purposes, and the book is well-manufactured. Definitely worth the money.

Great for everyday use and easy learning. My Afghani interpreters liked it. Only issue was the numbers had a mistake - the 90s were incorrect.

Initially I wasn't very impressed with this book, but, as I'm about halfway through an intensive Dari first-year course right now, I've come to appreciate it more for its easy use in conversation.

The first half of the book, as other users have mentioned, is a Dari-English and English-Dari set of brief dictionaries. The second half has topical vocabulary and phrases -- travel, shopping, education, relief & aid work, etc (As well as some less useful phrases - all the parts of a car?!).

My general sense is that I went through the phrases when I first got the book then found them to be less useful, but as I learn more grammar it's helpful to go back through the phrases and see how they're actually used. I'm required to write in Dari, so I would definitely have appreciated a book that had the script as well as the transliteration of sounds, but when I need a mental break from the Arabic script, working with the English is an easy way to absorb vocabulary. Bulkin's Dari-English/English-Dari Practical Dictionary is better for in-depth mastery, but for a good and portable way to learn some vocab, Awde's not a bad place to start.

This, for me, is better than the more advertised language learning product. It uses common language/ sentences used in normal conversation. Easy and fast and I can listen to it anytime of day, anywhere, safety permitting. Another Highly Recommended product!