Guarani-English/ English-Guarani Concise Dictionary [Paperback]

A. Scott Britton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 20, 2005

As one of the official languages of Paraguay and with roughly six million total speakers, Guarani is one of the only indigenous American languages to flourish alongside Spanish. Although Guarani is spoken primarily in Paraguay's more rural areas, visitors will find some knowledge of the language to be useful in urban centres like Asuncion, as well as some of the coastal communities of neighbouring Brazil. With over 7,000 entries, this is the most comprehensive bilingual Guarani/English dictionary available today. An exhaustive pronunciation and orthography section is supplied to ensure that users are understood when travelling. In addition, this volume provides parts of speech, illustrative examples, and etymological notes for words derived from Spanish. The book is primarily designed for travellers, but will also be a useful tool for linguists and South American scholars.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

A Scott Britton lived among Oaxaca's Zapotecs, where he studied their culture and learned the language. Originally from Florida, he now resides in Athens, Ohio, where he works as a writer, translator, researcher, and photographer.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Hippocrene Books; Bilingual edition (June 20, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0781810663
• ISBN-13: 978-0781810661
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 4.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #765,736 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Guarani: Ava ne'e, January 14, 2010

By 

R. H. Curtis "www.robertoshidokan.com" - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Guarani-English/ English-Guarani Concise Dictionary (Paperback)

If you don't speak Spanish, this is probably the dictionary you want to get. The Spanish-Guarani dictionaries are more complete, in-depth and yet like Guarani much harder to understand. (OK, so why don't I rate this higher?)

I bought this book while going through a bookstore in Asuncion. I didn't realize it was in English. I don't like it, yet I use it a lot. As I think about it, I usually find the words I'm looking for in it and the indicated Guarani pronounciation is usually pretty good. I have been able to generally find the words I was looking for. So why don't I like it? Maybe because it is a small book. Not the large volume I'm used to using done by Guasch so long ago.

Ha pue, e-jogua mi ko livro. Well, buy the book then!

If you are looking for an English-Guarani dictionary then this is probably the book for you. There aren't too many other versions available and this seems about the best. This sudden internal dialogue caused me to move the star rating up one, too.

[...]

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's Alright, October 24, 2008

By 

B. Wood (Provo, UT) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Guarani-English/ English-Guarani Concise Dictionary (Paperback)

I don't know if I would consider this dictionary the best. I like using it simply because it goes from Guarani to English. I have found quite a few words that aren't in this dictionary. I still have to occasionally look up words in my Ne'eryru dictionary from Paraguay.

Also, some of the words are translated weird, for example, mbo'ehara is translated in this dictionary as master, professor, educator, instructor. It nevers mentions teacher.

It's a good dictionary, but not great.

5.0 out of 5 stars Exactly as advertised, January 28, 2010

By 

M. Levenstein (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Guarani-English/ English-Guarani Concise Dictionary (Paperback)

I am about to leave for Paraguay with the Peace Corps in a matter of days and will have to learn the indigenous language of Guarani. There is very very little literature to help prepare your mind for this language. This book/seller was a lifesaver :)