Customer Reviews

The New Oxford Picture Dictionary: English-Cambodian Edition (Oxford American English)

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The book seems a good instrument in case a khmer person wants to learn English. Too bad it is not clearly indicated that you need to know how to read the khmer language, to use this book. As a metter of fact I will make it a gift for a child in Cambodia.

I can speak Thai and Laotian fairly well, but like many non-native speakers, I can not read the languages at all. I learned to speak by spending a lot of time in the region and by using CD language courses while in America.

But possibly the best adjunct to learning- while living in a foreign country or while at home- is a good phonetic dictionary: a dictionary that lists its words in English, but then gives the word in, say, Laotian, using the English alphabet.

I would select several words/day from a phonetic dictionary and try to use these in either invented conversation when in America or real conversation while overseas. Yes, you don't learn the language structure this way; yes, your pronunciation will often need be corrected by a native speaker [which is great fun in itself!]- BUT, using this method alone, you can talk to people. Clumsy at first, laden with accent and error- yet, you will be able to cummincate in a surpisingly short time. This, after all, is what most of us want to do- we don't need to write the language [at least, not at first], not do we need to speak the King's Cambodian- what we want to do is communicate.

And so, I bought this book, the New Oxford Dictionary: English-Cambodian, naively thinking it must be a phonetic dictionary. It is not.
It gives phrases in English. Then, it gives the same phrase in Cambodian-using the Cambodian alphabet only. So, unless you first know both the Cambodian and English alphabets, this book is absolutely worthless to you as a learning tool. You can not possibly learn anything from it.

Perhaps if you are a Cambodian who knows the English alphabet, this book can help you- but if you know the English alphabet well enough to read the English words, are you really still ignorant of how to say rudimentary phrases in English, such as, say, "what is your name?"

Unless you like bright pictures, don't buy this book. Save your money for a different book or a CD language course, or better yet, for an extended stay in another culture.

It does not say in the book description, but do not be mistaken: This book is meant for Cambodians to learn English, not for English speakers to learn Cambodian. It is however well presented with beautiful pictures. I just wish they had the equivalent for English speakers to learn Cambodian.

I brought the Picture Dictionary for my grandsons. They are Cambodian learning English. I am visiting them this summer and I only speak English!!!!!