Customer Reviews

Pashto: Pashto-English, English-Pashto Dictionary & Phrasebook (Hippocrene Dictionary & Phrasebooks)

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

 

 

Very little information about Pashto is available for English speakers, and so it's great to see that this book doesn't have a slipshod, "better-anything-than-nothing" approach, as might be feared. Once you have learned some grammar elsewhere (e.g., in the great series of materials by the Center for Applied Linguistics in Washington, DC), this book will prove to be a useful, portable resource. With 232 pages and measuring only 3.75" x 7", there are 5000 word entries in both English-Pashto and Pashto-English directions; although the words are given only in a Romanized transcription (no Pashto script), this little book is packed with even more information, including sections on greetings, useful phrases, and travel tips.

This is an excellent dictionary and phrase book but I believe it can best be used by someone who already has a working knowldege of Pashto and not a beginner like myself.

This is a very helpful resource book for those learning the Pashto language, soldiers serving inside Afghanistan and civilians going to Afghanistan for work. The Pashto is romanized for easy non-native speaker's reading.

Besides the dictionary, the book has helpful phrases and other miscellaneous handy materials like numbers, Afghan calender months, week days, family members, etc.

I wish the author had published a separate version in which the Pashto was printed in its native script for better pronunciation and learning to those who can read the Arabic script languages.

Originally I bought this little dictionary because I had already invested a substantial sum in the Rosetta Stone Pashto course. Those familiar with Rosetta Stone will certainly understand why one would want a dictionary, since there are no glossaries (or grammar, for that matter). So this was some help.

This dictionary does offer a few amenities, however. There are some useful vocabulary lists and a thumbnail sketch of grammar. However, all entries are in a transliteration and the Pashto alphabet is not used at all. I can't imagine that an Afghani learning English would find an English-Pashto dictionary of much use if the English were only written in a phonetic transcription. Ideally a Pashto dictionary would cite the word in its authentic alphabet and then include a transcription as an aid to pronunciation as written Pashto is not very phonetic (and some of the letters are pronounced differently by speakers from different parts of the country). I'm sure that would have made this dictionary cost more, but you do get what you pay for.

Dictionary is a decent but is missing many pashto words and only has roman letters. The back section of the book is for tourists, not very helpful for anyone traveling to Afghanistan through the military. I'm still looking for a more practical dictionary, one with pashto script.

I bought this product thinking I would be able to use it and actually learn pashto being deployed to afghanistan but the only time I really see any locals is at the bazar and they mainly speak english to you and I tried speaking pashto to one of them and they said something and completely confused me...

The dictionary includes the most commonly used words, which is fine and helpful. What it does not include, however, is the Pashto word in actual Pashto script. The English word is included, as well as the phonetic version of the Pashto equivalent but no Pashto word written as a Pashto speaker would write it. For those of us trying to learn not only to speak Pashto but to write the langauage as well, this is a major deficiency of the dictionary.

Many of the books on the market today for English speakers learning Pashto/Pakhto are inadequate. If you are trying to learn some Pashto, but do not actually read the script this book can help you. However, if you are looking to communicate with others in written Pashto, then in my opinion this book will not help you very much. The Romanization used in this book does not always correspond with the way that Pashto is written.

This book has many of the necessary phrases covered. As you will find in Pashto speaking areas, the language differs greatly from one area or another. You may find that using a phrase in this book will work in one village, but in another you will only get blank stares. The best thing to do is use this book and cross-reference with a translator. You will find that you can get a good grasp on the phrases and then fine tune your ability to use them with correct local phrases.