Customer Reviews

Dictionary of German Synonyms

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Detailed but very clear explanations describe to the nonnative speaker the subtleties of German synonyms (e.g., "schlecht" vs. "schlimm" vs. "böse"; "erinnern" vs. "gedenken" etc.). Each description includes at least one or two carefully chosen examples. The length of entries varies: INTERESTED IN is handled neatly in one paragraph, while MAY extends to four pages. Throughout the book, the reader is given helpful hints on the pitfalls of translating from English to German. ("If you wish to say [English] x, then it must be translated with German y, and not z.") Its design is simple: German synonyms are listed under English headwords. If you wish to find the difference between "Tatsache" and "Angabe", for example, you would look under the headword FACT, where the former is in paragraph number two, and the latter in number three. (My one [small] complaint is that the indexes of words treated is at the back of the book, when it might make it a bit easier for the reader to have them at the front.) Each synonym is usually given its own paragraph, though sometimes synonyms that are very close in meaning will be treated together. English headwords are printed in bold and in capital letters, while German equivalents are in bold with normal capitalization; terms are thus very easy to find and distinguish from one another. Though intended for serious endeavors by the advanced or semi-advanced student of German, Farrell's is one of those rare dictionaries that is fun to flip through even at one's leisure.

Recently in my German conversation class I remarked something to the effect that every time I make a presentation to a large group I am thankful that "am mindestens ist es auf Englisch" that is, "at least it's in English," my native tongue. My instructor, a native speaker of German, instinctively corrected my use of the term "am mindestens," saying that I should have said "am wenigstens ist es auf Englisch," but when asked, she realized that although she was sure "am wenigstens" would be correct, she couldn't really explain why.

I naturally turned my old reliable "Dictonary of German Synonyms", one of my favorite language books, for clarification. The distinction is apparently that "am mindestens" should be used primarily with precise numerical amounts, such as for example "I drank at least 2 liters of Gluhwein last night." I say "apparently" because the explanation in Farrell's book is actually a bit cryptic.

Much more clear is the more recent and larger (and more expensive) "A Practical Dictionary of German Usage" by K.B. Beaton. The two books are extremely similar. Farrell was a Professor of German at the University of Sydney and his book was published by Cambridge University Press. Beaton was a Senior Lecturer in German Studies at the University of Sydney and his book is published by Oxford University Press. Why the University of Sydney would be the center of English language research in German synonyms is a curiosity, but if not Sydney, Australia, where should they be studied?

Beaton acknowledges Farrell's pioneering work in the field but clearly believes it was already out of date by the 1960s. If you can only afford one book, I suppose I would recommend the more expensive Beaton, but despite the similarities I still find Farrell's older work more readable. If nothing else, Farrell's book is less unwieldy and easier to read for pleasure.