Dictionary Amharic-English English-Amharic [Hardcover]

A. Zekaria (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1992 | ISBN-10: 078180115X | ISBN-13: 978-0781801157

More than 17 million people in Ethiopia speak Amharic, the official language of the country. Also called Abyssinian or Ethiopian, Amharic developed more than two thousand years ago and is considered one of the Semitic languages (with Arabic and Hebrew). This bilingual dictionary includes romanization of the Amharic-English portion for those unfamiliar with the Ethiopic script. With over 27,000 dictionary entries, this reference will prove crucial for individuals in seminary schools, as well as travelers, aid workers and those of Ethiopian descent.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 646 pages
• Publisher: Hippocrene Books (August 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078180115X
• ISBN-13: 978-0781801157
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.3 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,004,497 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #5 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Amharic

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Useful, but no different than Amsalu Aklilu's dictionary, February 26, 2002

By 

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

This review is from: Dictionary Amharic-English English-Amharic (Hardcover)

It must be said at the outset, this dictionary is not different than the fine one produced by Amsalu Aklilu (AA).

For those not acquainted with AA's dictionary, all entries are given in the traditional Ethiopian syllabary, with a phonetic pronunciation. Entries are alphabetized in a way that treats vowels and consonants as equally important, different than Leslau's or Kane's dictionaries, where vowels are taken into account only if there are words that have the same consonants.

The definitions are very brief and include very, very few secondary senses.

The book contains a number of entries not found in Leslau's dictionary. Those who want to work with Amharic will benefit from having a dictionary produced by an Ethiopian, but if they already possess a copy of AA's, they will not want to duplicate their purchase by buying a copy of both this one. If they do not have AA's yet (not readily available outside of Ethiopia), then this is a good choice.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not good for an Amharic speaker, January 11, 2010

By 

Haider A. Ali (Dubai) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dictionary Amharic-English English-Amharic (Hardcover)

This dictionary is good if you want to translate words from English to Amharic. Based on one of the reviews I was under the impression that it was the other way round.

It would have been better if there was an Amharic "transliteration" of the English words. For instance, an Amharic speaker should be able to look up for a word in Amharic, and that should be translated into English (in the English script) along with the transliteration (in the Amharic script). Basically the Ahmaric speaker should be able to state the English translation even if she/he cannot read English.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Amharic - English Dictionary, February 10, 2009

By 

M. Miles - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dictionary Amharic-English English-Amharic (Hardcover)

This is good for someone learning English that speaks Amharic already. This book is not recommended for someone learning Amharic. An English speaker is not going to be able to read the Amharic letters.