Gaelic Dictionary (Teach Yourself) [Paperback]

Boyd Robertson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 30, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0340753412 | ISBN-13: 978-0340753415

Students of Gaelic at all levels will consider this bilingual dictionary a welcome addition to their reference bookshelf. New to the Teach Yourself dictionary series, this title provides the user with a comprehensive vocabulary for working Gaelic, the Celtic language of Scotland. With more than 30,000 words from Gaelic to English and from English to Gaelic contained within its covers, this handy resource offers extensive coverage in a portable package. In addition to vocabulary, special sections round out language learning with concise overviews of grammar and idiomatic usage.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sandi Leir-Shuffrey is a Senior Lecturer in Galic at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.

Ian Mac Donald is Director of the Gaelic Book Council .

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Teach Yourself (April 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0340753412
• ISBN-13: 978-0340753415
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,527,276 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #32 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Celtic
  • #60 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Gaelic

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Teach Yourself Gaelic Dictionary, July 21, 2006

By 

Lewis Iona Skye (Earth) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Teach Yourself Gaelic Dictionary (TY: Dictionaries) (Paperback)

As a student of Celtic languages, I am the first to speak out against the Teach Yourself (TY) courses for Welsh, Irish, and Gaelic (Scottish). I have purchased all three of these courses, and I was disappointed to find them little more than glorifed "travel phrase" books with CD's.

If you are seriously wanting to learn one of these languages, you can save your time and money by purchasing something else...believe me, there are better courses out there. However, if reason you are learning these languages is you want some simple phrases and vocabulary for a trip or maybe some special event...then a TY course "might" be what you are looking for.

Now having said that...this is a positive review!!!

In fact, I feel that the TY dictionary might be one of the best Scottish Gaelic dictionaries on the market right now...and there are a lot out there.

I have a few of the most recently published dictionaries, and I can tell you that while they are nice to have...they were not designed for beginning students. It is easy to get lost, confused, and just plain upset with the mass volume of choices and examples given for the entries.

A student just starting out needs to be able to open a book, find the word in their language or the language they are learning, and have only a few options...

And that is exactly what TY has created...while the Amazon site says there are over 30,000 entries, the book itself only claims 24,000. However, that is more than enough for a beginner, and having gone through it...I know that the vocabulary is modern, numerous, and capable of covering any situation that even the most advanced speaker will find themselves in.

So while I may have a hard time giving a friend the TY Gaelic language learning course...I would have no hesitation in giving them the TY Gaelic Dictionary.

A dictionary can be your best friend or your worst enemey when you are learning a language. And TY has created a very friendly dictionary to help you.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely essential for every student of Scottish Gaelic., October 21, 2005

By 

T. Leigh "Gaelic teacher, MA in Gaelic Studie... (Connecticut, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Teach Yourself Gaelic Dictionary (TY: Dictionaries) (Paperback)

This is the best two-way Scottish Gaelic dictionary on the market, and the first dictionary that every student of the language should buy. Excellent coverage of vocabulary, including modern coinages, and contemporary usage. The appendices (grammar reference, personal and place names) are useful, though they could have been laid out better.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Okay for a start but quickly exhausts its usefulness, July 12, 2007

By 

Shayn Mccallum (Istanbul, Turkey) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Teach Yourself Gaelic Dictionary (TY: Dictionaries) (Paperback)

I am not, by any means, disappointed by this dictionary, as I bought it with the assumption that it would be just adequate for my needs. I very much needed a working Gaelic dictionary that was within a reasonable price-range and would serve my current (fairly elementary) level of Gaelic.

If my sole criterion were the number of headwords provided, I might actually be quite pleased with this dictionary- it covers quite a good range of vocabulary and functions well as a reading aid for intermediate texts. My biggest complaint however, is the lack of examples, guides to usage etc that would allow the user to: a) identify the correct translation of Gaelic lexis and b) correctly choose and be able to actively use the sought-after word in Gaelic. As it stands, there are just lists of translations with little or no indications of how to use the lexis presented in sentences nor any guide to the register, appropriacy etc.of items.

Of course, this is a beginner's dictionary- but in many ways that makes it all the more necessary to provide cues to assist the learner. I am a language teacher myself and know only too well the pitfalls of poor dictionary use and bad translations. Gaelic especially, is quite an idiomatic language and has a strong, structural orientation towards "lexical chunking". Boyd and Robertson's Teach Yourself Gaelic" textbook shows a high awareness of this aspect of the language- if only they'd applied the same diligence to this dictionary!