Customer Reviews

Norwegian-English Dictionary: A Pronouncing and Translating Dictionary of Modern Norwegian (Bokmal and Nynorsk) with a Historical and Grammatical Introduction

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a Scandinavian linguist and teacher of Norwegian, I highly recommend the Haugen Dictionary (known among Norwegian teachers and students as 'the green dictionary'). In this one compact volume, you'll find grammatical forms, both bokmål and nynorsk (and dialectal words), a summary of the history and morphology of Norwegian, idioms, pronunciation of almost all words, including vowel length and tonemes, usage examples from everyday speech as well as literary works, etc. etc. I've used the dictionary since I was in graduate school, and can't think of a time it failed to list a word I wanted to know.

As opposed to most other Scandinavian translating dictionaries, this one is aimed at Americans, rather than Scandinavians. Pronunciation guides are intended to help Americans. If you need to find Norwegian equivalents of English words, buy another dictionary. If you simply want the best for explaining Norwegian usage, this is the one to buy.

This book is for looking up the English meanings to Norwegian words. I'm in the process of helping someone translate a book he has written in Norway, and this book is PERFECT for the job. It contains both bokmål & nynorsk words, which is especially helpful to me because the book I'm trying to translate has both languages in it, too. There are many cross-references and examples of usage that are helpful in finding the best English equivalents of Norwegian words. There have been some words that the author I'm working with cannot translate into English, and I've found about 99% of those problem-words in this book. I don't really know very much Norwegian (yet!), and what knowledge I have is entirely self-taught. But this dictionary has made it possible for me to successfully do a good translation from Norwegian to English with a fair amount of ease, and to learn a LOT in the process! I would recommend it VERY highly! :-)

No question, absolutely the best dictionary I've seen for the English speaker learning Norwegian. The only Norwegian-English dictionary I know that indicates stress marks for each entry, notations for irregular noun and verb inflections, and also that includes Nynorsk entries along with Bokmål entries.

The lack of English to Norwegian is really not that important in that simpler bidirectional dictionaries or word lists will lead one to the target Norwegian word. It's how to USE that word that is important to language students -- Professor Haugen's dictionary does a great job in handling issues of stress and inflection.

I say again; absolutely invest in this dictionary!

Although this is only a norwegian-to-english dictionary, one strong feature of it is that it includes both Bokmal and Nynorsk, two types of written and spoken norwegian, both forms found in use today and in genealogical records. Excellent for the beginner or advanced student. Includes all variations of words as well as the root-word. Excellent introduction and reserach by Mr. Haugen.

I am an American from Southeast US now living in Norway. Impossible to find Norwegian Language course in southern US, and impossible to find Norsk/English Dictionary in bookstores in Norway that INCLUDE utale, or pronunciation. This book is so acclaimed in previous reviews, thought I found what I was looking for before my Norsk classes began this school year. Criticism is in regards to including Nynorsk/Bokmal, which many previous reviewers praised. I find it to be a waste of time and the utale (pronunciation) is terribly confusing. For those of you planning on visiting or moving to Norway, Nynorsk is spoken by a very small MINORITY of Norskmen in very few communities. I have wasted much time in class looking up a word only to be referred to the Nynorsk definition instead of the Bokmal definition. No criticism of Professor Haugen! Norwegian is a RARE language and I understand Haugen is brilliant and this book includes more information than any before it...but it is not for the beginner. Norsk schoolchildren here learn English from a yellow school book titled Norsk/Engelsk, English/Norwegian where you can look up either the English OR Norwegian word first and no Nynorsk included. There are only 30,000 words included (compared to 60,000 in Haugen's Dictionary), but is easier for quick referrence.....again I did not buy the schoolbook because there was no Norsk pronunciation. In closing, I am glad I have 'The Green Book' and will probably always keep it and refer back to it in future years.

This dictionary is as good as everyone else describes. I'm learning Norwegian, and it was definitly worth buying....
Later... I'm now fluent in Norwegian and still use this dictionary several times per week to better understand the nuances of new words. If you're interested in Norwegian, buy this dictionary.

I am in the process of translating a book written entirely in Norwegian and published in 1934 and this dictionary has been a lifesaver. It covers Bokmål and Nynorsk and gives a brief, interesting history of the changes the language has undergone. Superb.

I agree with Professor Janus. I've been teaching Norwegian in the Seattle area for the last 8 years and this is the dictionary I recommend to my students. It is also my own preferred dictionary. I've never seen another that came close to being as helpful as this one. For English to Norwegian, I recommend Willy Kirkeby's.

My use of Haugen was to translate an old letter my parents left me having lost track of its origins. Long story, but I eventually found that an ancestor had written it nearly 250 years ago in Old Norwegian. I'm still not certain that I've transcribed and translated it without error, but the overall continuity says that I have -- thanks to Haugen.
With my task, I found the book's thorough coverage of Bokmal, Nynorsk, common forms, and dialects, particularly Nynorsk, indispensible. The history of the language also was most helpful. With no prior knowlege of Norwegian, I found the dictionary difficult to use at first, but as it taught me more about the language and its forms, its methods and value became more than apparent. I did have to cross-reference other sources for some archaic word forms, but Haugen was my bedrock. My copy now is so well worn I couldn't give it away. I went with Haugen based on its superior reviews as a N-E dictionary, and I would add mine.

No question, absolutely the best dictionary I've seen for the English speaker learning Norwegian. The only Norwegian-English dictionary I know that indicates stress marks for each entry, notations for irregular noun and verb inflections, and also that includes Nynorsk entries along with Bokmål entries.

The lack of English to Norwegian is really not that important in that simpler bidirectional dictionaries or word lists will lead one to the target Norwegian word. It's how to USE that word that is important to language students -- Professor Haugen's dictionary does a great job in handling issues of stress and inflection.

I say again; absolutely invest in this dictionary!