Georgian-English English-Georgian Dictionary (Language Dictionaries Series) [Paperback]

John J. Tarikashvili (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 346 pages
• Publisher: Hippocrene Books; First Edition edition (August 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870521217
• ISBN-13: 978-0870521218
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 1.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,092,564 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Appalling ... but what else is there?, September 2, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Georgian-English English-Georgian Dictionary (Language Dictionaries Series) (Paperback)

Unfortunately, Mr. Torikashvili's dictionary is woefully inadequate for filling the needs of the English-speaking learner of Georgian, or indeed vice versa.

The dictionary gets off to a particularly bad start with the Georgian alphabet. Instead of having a table of the letters of the alphabet, as might have been expected, showing their order and sound, a simple list of only 12 of the 33 letters of the alphabet is presented. Would it have been so difficult to include the other 21?

The dictionary purports to offer an imitated pronunciation for Georgian words; in reality, though, it is particularly misleading. For instance, the Georgian letter `pari' (p') is transliterated as `pf'. It is suggested that the reader pronounce it as the `ph' in the word `phantom' - a totally wrong and misleading pronunciation.

Furthermore, when the dictionary shows the stressed syllable, in most cases, the wrong syllable is stressed. In particular, when words are stressed on the antepenultimate syllable, the dictionary invariable shows them as stressed on the following syllable. For example, frog is shown as "ba-QA-qi" when in fact it is "BA-qa-qi", one of the first things any learner of Georgian learns!

Incorrect and feeble definitions abound in this work. The Georgian word `tsami', meaning second, is translated as `minute'. The English word `naughty' is mistaken for the word `naught' and translated `nuli' (zero). Some words don't even exist, such as the word `tsisartqeli' (rainbow), which should in fact be `tsisartqela'.

The typeface used is dreadful and totally inappropriate for those new to the Georgian script. The Georgian letters `sani' (s) and `hani' (a voiced h sound) are printed exactly the same and are totally indistinguishable in both the Georgian-English and English-Georgian sections. (See for instance `face'. You really can't tell if it's sahhe or hhase.)

The back cover of the book proudly boasts that it is `ideal for English speaking travelers and scholars, as well as for Georgians living in North America'. This could not be further from the truth, unless of course, the definition of `ideal' in Mr. Torikashvili's dictionary is `mediocre, misleading and difficult to use.' In fact, the book's single redeeming factor is also stated on the dust jacket: It is the only Georgian-English/English - Georgian dictionary published in North America.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Better than nothing..., September 5, 2003

By 

Akanke (Lagos, Nigeria) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Georgian-English English-Georgian Dictionary (Language Dictionaries Series) (Paperback)

I believe that the reader from Greece summed this feeble attempt at a Georgian-English/English-Georgian lexicon quite well. As with most attempts, this one is bad. I suggest looking for the late Thamar and Isidore Gvarjaladze's dictionary. It is very rare, perhaps only 10,000 copies were made back in the 70s, but believe it or not, I have seen a new 2003 edition. Some things are inevitably wrong, but I believe this was a valiant attempt by the authors.