The Macmillan Visual Dictionary - español/inglés [Hardcover]

Jean-Claude Corbeil (Author), Ariane Archambault (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0028614348 | ISBN-13: 978-0028614342 | Publication Date: July 30, 1997 | Edition: 1

When you're learning a new language, how can you look up a new word quickly and easily? With the Spanish/English edition of The Macmillan Visual Dictionary, it's simple: just look for the picture, and there is the word in both Spanish and English, as well as any related terms for the object and its parts. Using the 3,500 precise, detailed illustrations that made the original Macmillan Visual Dictionary one of the most popular reference books available, the Spanish/English edition simplifies word searches in either language. Every word has been checked by experts in each field.

The Macmillan Visual Dictionary, Spanish/English Edition is the perfect resource for readers who want to:
-- learn the name of something they can only picture
-- learn what something looks like if they have a term they don't understand
-- build vocabulary
-- browse through a treasury of fascinating information

With 25,000 fully indexed terms, all carefully selected by specialists in both languages, this is an essential reference for the growing Spanish-language communities across the United States.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Visual foreign-language dictionaries are great tools for learning the names of the doohicky thingamajig part, the you-know, it-looks-like-this whatchamacallit. But not all visual dictionaries are created equal. You use them all, of course, for the words, to learn the language or the specific name for this and that, but the visual aspect of the visual dictionary should not be ignored. The pictures and pages in some dictionaries are so overwhelmingly busy, so noisily shouting with motorcycle parts and electrical hardware that the eye goes into overload shock. You get that glassy I'm-looking-but-I'm-not-seeing glaze, and the dictionary goes back on the shelf. Not so Macmillan's version. The color illustrations on each page are better than easy on the eye: they're engaging; they invite you. And each page holds a comfortable amount of information so the language center of your brain doesn't turn to mush. Pretty soon you're learning, just because you can't turn the page, that a lawn edger is a cuchilla para delimitar el césped and a hoe-fork is almocafre. And as it does for gardening tools, so it does for toilet parts and the sections of a diesel-electric locomotive, for items astronomical and geographical, items vegetable, animal, and mineral, for sports, music, health, weapons, and most anything else you can think of. It's nice enough for a student of Spanish or English to own a visual dictionary, but to have one that's done with such quality, style, and smarts is a real pleasure. --Stephanie Gold

Product Details

• Hardcover: 896 pages
• Publisher: Webster's New World; 1 edition (July 30, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0028614348
• ISBN-13: 978-0028614342
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #134,480 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent must-have for everyone with a love of language, June 12, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Atlantic City, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Macmillan Visual Dictionary - español/inglés (Hardcover)

I bought this book actually looking for another one which was unavailable. I was looking for a source to increase my Spanish vocabulary effectively. I have been thrilled with the book. Upon first glance, a Dominican friend demanded a copy for his wife(to whom English is a Second Language). There are more topics than I hope to understand in a lifetime and think that this is THE definitive source for vocabulary. It describes everything, from minute parts of the automobile, to clothing that I have never even seen, to cross-sections of coal mines. They have technical enough terms for any professional but simple enough terms for anyone else. I have found, however, that much of the language is written using quite formal terminology. A Mexican told me that it was written using Spanish from Spain. Much of the wording is universal, and, if used, would be understood, however, regional variations will definitely exist. I love the book in spite of not always giving me the exact word I need(I use mostly Western Hemisphere Spanish), but my audience understands and can then give me the more colloquial or the more widely understood term in this area. I rate it a must-buy in spite of its (extremely minor when compared to the tons of information and great illustrations) flaws. They've got EVERYTHING.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Extremely functional, though imperfect., September 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Macmillan Visual Dictionary - español/inglés (Hardcover)

This visual dictionary is an extremely useful, beautifully illustrated reference. It should serve any student of the language well. The minimal criticism I have is that it is definitely skewed towards Iberian Spanish, though this is often of little importance when looking for more technical terms. The one other criticism I have is that in terms of technical vocabulary, many of the more detailed terms have been dropped out, leaving the more general, probably more commonly sought, terms. Overall, a very useful reference.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome!!, February 9, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Macmillan Visual Dictionary - español/inglés (Hardcover)

This is the most amazing dictionary I've ever seen! I started learning Spanish 16 years ago and now have been teaching it for 7 years, and I have never seen a dictionary that is so comprehensive. The fact that it has pictures is wonderful! I have told all my teaching friends about it. Now for those words you don't know, you can look them up instead of having to laugh and say "la cosa."