Customer Reviews

Larousse College Dictionary: Spanish-English / Ingles-Espanol (Spanish and English Edition)

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4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
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My Master's thesis was a review and rating of large Spanish-English dictionaries. I find this dictionary, like all the other Larousse 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. Larousse 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." Larousse does a good job 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.

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.

Larousse offers a strong and affordable bilingual dictionary for persons who are studying Spanish--or even Spanish speakers studying English, for that matter. As dictionaries go, this IS one of the better ones and this edition of Larousse's Spanish-English/English-Spanish dictionary is bound to be a big help to many students.

People have noted that when Larousse updates their dictionaries they do more than window dressing--and they are right. You get great entries that reflect the changing times: the definitions of "software," "hostile takeover" and baby sitter" are all included in this latest edition of the dictionary. Moreover, you DO get words that reflect the different nuances of a word whenever necessary. I agree with the reviewer who writes that there are multiple translations for words like "loop;" this is the hallmark of a fine dictionary.

The dictionary even includes entries for "foul" language; this also helps the user. The 64 page guide to communication is very nicely done.

The pages are made of paper that is slightly thinner than I would like but it's more than sufficient for the student. This is a minor point, naturally. The typeface is easy to read and I like how you can use this dictionary to translate back and forth by looking up entries in either Spanish or English.

I recommend this dictionary for all students of Spanish or even Spanish speaking persons studying English. Not only will this satisfy students at the elementary level; it will also be most beneficial for students at the intermediate and advanced levels of study.

Even though this book says college--it's what's needed even for the beginner. I bought the Larousse student dictionary and hate it because most of the words I needed were not in there. The student dictionary is probably good for someone in 7th or 8th grade.

The College dictionary gives several uses of the word, which is extremely helpful to the beginner. I was able to write excellent papers in spanish early because use of this dictionary helped me to used the proper idiomatic expressions when reviewing the meaning of the words. This dictionary is a must for the serious spanish student.

I'm glad to add this book to my collection. It is a handy, clear reference book that contains more than just definitions; it also includes usage examples.

After extensively searching and reading reviews, I purchased this dictionary 2 years ago, after my second semester of college Spanish, before going onto 2 more semesters. This book has been reliable and accurate. The usage explanations and side bars are great. Often there are very different ways to render a particular idea or feeling and this dictionary does a great job of explaining the different options and why. I have depended on this book for many an essay or report and have never once been corrected by a professor when I used this book to guide my word choice. I can't recall ever seeking a word that wasn't there. I have watched other students struggle with other dictionaries and have never regretted this full sized dictionary, carrying it with me always despite the size.
In fact, when I found a dictionary/verb book for my iPhone (and now iPad), I continued to use this book to verify the info in the app for many months because I had come to trust this book so very much.
Don't waste your money on a concise dictionary if you plan to go beyond beginning Spanish, this book along with Barron's 501 verbs is all you will ever need, and well worth the cost.

esta casi perfecto me gustaria que tuviera mucho mas vocabulario y que le quitaran espanol a english

I bought this for Spanish scrabble trying to learn Spanish. It is sturdy and a good reference book for the family!~ Good price also.....

Nice and heavy, well laid out, gives context for definitions, helped me with spanish studies.

As a serious, but beginning Spanish student, I have been pleased with this dictionary. It has been helpful, useful, and interesting. But I have sometimes wondered if I should have purchased the larger version.

I have found this dictionary very useful in class and in general questions I have about Spanish. Good buy!