Customer Reviews

The Oxford Starter Italian Dictionary

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

 

 

I carried this dictionary in Italy for three weeks last fall and used it constantly. My wife and I were travelling light so books were scrutinized before being included in my pack. We considered also taking a small phrase book and a more standard English/Italian dictionary and ended up taking only this one.

The Oxford Starter Dictionary does not take the place of a good phrase book because phrases are not arranged by topic. However, it has excellent sample phrases under alphabetical word entries in both the Italian-English and the English-Italian sections. This greatly improves its usefulness as a dictionary for beginners and even if you have some background in Italian (I had two years of Italian in University 20 years ago).

I like the clear, easy to read layout. There is good use of bold, italics, underlining, special symbols, and two ink colors (blue and black). The good quality bright white paper and reasonable point size is greatly appreciated in comparison with some language dictionaries which can be hard to read under marginal lighting (e.g. restaurants and train stations). I also like the physical dimensions - 5.5" x 7" and less than 3/4" thick. Much more convenient than the short, fat format of some dictionaries. It fit conveniently in my shoulder bag and is similar in size to guide books.

This is not a big dictionary, but its advantatges far outweigh this disadvantage. I would recommend this as the only dictionary you need while travelling unless you need a larger word list. This is the best travelling dictionary I have ever seen!

No bilingual dictionary by itself is sufficient to learn any meaningful foreign language usage. But this dictionary, in conjunction with a classroom course or a good set of CDs, is a superbly practical reference. It includes a good deal of common usage, idioms, and alternative phrasing. I thought it was great.

If you buy this book to help with a beginning italian class, you'll need some help with the helper!! This book is pathetic. Why? Well, for one reason, when they say a verb is in a table in the back, the casual reader might actually EXPECT to find it there. No such luck with this book. Take 'volare', a darn common verb. The square box means its in the verb tables in the back of the book, and the number 1 in that box says its verb #1. Surprise!! Verb #1 is parlare, not volare. In fact volare appears nowhere in the verb table. Take page 282 for another example. The text promises for the word 'your" that you can "see the boxed note on your for detailed informaton and examples". Well if you believe that the joke is on you, because there is NO boxed note with "your". Lets not forget to point out that the verb tables list conjugations of the verbs without once bothering to give a table explaining the format. Is it the 1st person, 2nd, or 3rd? Plural or singular? I guess it's obvious if you speak italian, but most people buy this book precisely because they DON'T speak italian and need a reference to help them. I could go on and on, but the basic truth is this book isn't going to help you very much.