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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the better Spanish-English dictionaries, September 9, 2006
This review is from: Harper Collins Spanish Dictionary: Spanish-English English-Spanish (Concise Edition) (Paperback)
My Master's thesis was a review and rating of Spanish-English dictionaries. I find this dictionary, like all the other Collins dictionaries, to be a good choice.
Here are a few of the factors which distinguish a good bilingual dictionary from a bad one.
To begin with, ignore certain publishers' marketing ploys such as entry and translation counts. They say nothing about the value of the words chosen.
The first valid factor to consider is lexicographic technique. A bad dictionary simply lists translations. Take, for example, the entry in the Cassell's Spanish Dictionary under the English headword loop: "lazo, gaza, nudo; ojal, presilla, alamar; anillo; recodo, comba, curva, vuelta," etc. For the English reader writing in Spanish, this is hopelessly inadequate, as the dictionary provides no clue as to which translation to use in which situation.
Compare the treatment of the same word in the far superior American Heritage Spanish Dictionary. "(length of line) lazo; (coil) vuelta; (bend) curva; (circular path) vuelta, circuito; (fastener) presilla" etc. Here, the user is given glosses in the native language to assist in identifying the right word for the context. Example sentences are also a tremendous help. Collins is excellent in this respect, presenting good information to guide users through the semantic and syntactic complexities.
Second, a good dictionary should maintain an up-to-date lexicon, including such cultural and technological additions to the language as "baby sitter," "hostile takeover," "software," "flash drive." Collins is a leader in this respect; its frequent revisions are more than mere window dressing and do a creditable job of covering the most recent additions to the language.
Third, idioms, slang, and cusswords can present real problems to the language learner, and a dictionary needs to handle them in a clear and frank fashion. This dictionary gets it right, giving stylistic equivalents for translations as well as clear advice to the user.
One complaint about Collins dictionaries is that they often presents Britishisms without labeling them as such. Revisions have only partially corrected the problem. For this reason, I would not recommend this dictionary to native Spanish speakers in the US.
Be careful when you choose a bilingual dictionary, as some of the choices--Cassell's and Vox, for example--are downright terrible. The field of large dictionaries stays relatively static over time, and the best choices in it by far are Oxford, Collins, and Larousse. The field of small dictionaries, on the other hand, has many more players. While not the only good choice, Collins is a dictionary most users would be pleased with.
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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A very thorough and usable dictionary, with grammar section., September 10, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Harper Collins Spanish Dictionary: Spanish-English English-Spanish (Concise Edition) (Paperback)
After looking over the unseemly number of spanish/english dictionaries that are out there, I finally decided to go with the Harper Collins Concise Spanish, and ever since I've been very happy with my choice. As is the case with all concise dictionaries, you're making certain tradeoffs when it comes to word inclusion, but compared to the competition at this size range, the selection seems very thorough. An additional (and not too common) feature is the fairly comprehensive (300 page) grammar section at the back of the book. The print & graphic presentation are both well thought out, & result in a dictionary that is easy to consult.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great learning tool, September 18, 2002
This review is from: Harper Collins Spanish Dictionary: Spanish-English English-Spanish (Concise Edition) (Paperback)
I got this book before school started; I'm taking Spanish III. So I needed a dictionary. I opted for this one because it looked hefty enough. I wasn't disappointed. This dictionary has enough words for any Spanish student. It even has modern words like "digital TV", "internet", and "MTV". It has easy to read print and is durable. Whether you want to browse or seriously study this dictionary is great. Aside from defining the word, examples are given in context. This dictionary also has a very extensive grammar section. This is a very important note. This section has everything you need to know Spanish grammar, which will help you in class much. It has all the common verbs, like hacer, ir, ser, dormir, etc. It also has sections devoted to translation problems, spelling, adjectives, pronouns, etc. I carry this dictionary to class every day. It is invaluable in the moment when you forgot the meaning of a word. And if you know the meaning in English only, you can flip quickly to the English-Spanish section. Some precautionary notes: This dictionary was made in Britain. Some English words are spelled differently from the American way (honour, colour, etc.). It also differs from most American dictionaries in that it contains vulgar words (I won't enumerate them, though). Also, this is a dictionary for Castillian Spanish. It probably won't have some Latin American terms. In conclusion, this dictionary is my new amigo. I was thinking of getting an electronic spanish dictionary, but now I know that this is better. I get to actually see the words and see surrounding ones too. It's an interesting, pithy, concise dictionary. If you need a Spanish dictionary this one won't let you down.
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