The Oxford Starter German Dictionary: Help Every Step of the Way (Oxford Starter Dictionaries) [Paperback]

Neil Morris (Editor), Roswitha Morris (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 019860033X | ISBN-13: 978-0198600336 | Publication Date: November 6, 1997

This German dictionary from Oxford's "Starter" range has been specially designed for beginners and is not simply a scaled-down version of larger dictionaries. The symbols on the page provide a consistent structure for the information both in English and German and the subdivisions of text are indicated using bullet points and Arabic numerals. The move from one language to another is indicated in = signs. There are no abbreviations, and parts of speech, gender labels, regional markers and grammatical terms are all given in full with a glossary providing explanations and examples of different parts of speech in use. More complex grammatical issues are dealt with in short notes at appropriate points in the text or in the more detailed boxed grammar notes. The language used in examples and in sense indicators (or signposts to the correct translation) is screened to ensure clarity to guide the learner to the right translation. Points of basic grammar are reinforced and colloquial usage is marked for both English and German. Vocabulary relevant to areas such as days of the month, games and sports, and talking about time are given and there is an "Extra Help" section and a "Dictionary Skills" section to help learners to find their way around a dictionary in addition to building up their vocabulary.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, German

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (November 6, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 019860033X
• ISBN-13: 978-0198600336
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,508,268 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Could be a lot better, June 28, 2004

By 

Raymond McCollum (Redmond, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Oxford Starter German Dictionary: Help Every Step of the Way (Oxford Starter Dictionaries) (Paperback)

This dictionary is a mixed bag. As a beginner's dictionary, it has two serious defects. .

First, the stress of words is not marked at all. German is full of words (such as Matrose) which have stress in unusual places and the beginner gets no help here and could even learn to pronounce the word wrongly.

Second, non-standard pronunciation of words is not marked either (such as die Chance), so the beginner gets no help in how the word should sound.

Finally, many words have a single translation which leaves the beginner clueless as to what is really meant: Die Mündung=mouth, but what kind of mouth? Turns out this means the 'mouth of a river', not an animal mouth (Maul) or a human mouth (Mund).

The 'Oxford Color German Dictionary Plus' is a mutch better dictionary for a dollar more.

This dictionary is actually a 'word list', meaning a list of words that you can count on being more or less necessary to understand German. The editors have taken the trouble to present the reader with a list which, if entirely memorized, will make you fairly competent in terms of minimum vocabulary.

That is its main value. This dictionary is the first thing you should be memorizing if you are serious about German. But you'll need a second dictionary to make sense of this one.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Helpful for those who know little German, October 30, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Oxford Starter German Dictionary: Help Every Step of the Way (Oxford Starter Dictionaries) (Paperback)

All entries come with helpful tips: gender, example phrases, pluralization and the like. Nicely layed out with tutorial sections.