Customer Reviews

The Pocket Modern Welsh Dictionary: A Guide to the Living Language

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
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Let me begin by stating that I write here as a student of Celtic languages, history, and culture.

This dictionary presents itself in a very comprehensive manner. It gives the word, whether it is a noun/verb/adjective/etc., the gender of the nouns, and throughout the course of the text there is a large quantity of grammatical reference material that is very helpful. It also places many entries within the bounds of an example sentence, so you can see how many words are actually used, which is especially helpful in understanding idioms, metaphors, and the like. My only complaint with this text is that, like most dictionaries, it does *not* include a phonetic transcription, either in syllables or phonetic notation. This sort of thing is enormously useful, and especially so when learning a language like Welsh, which is a very intimidating language initially to an English-speaker. I recommend acquiring this dictionary along with the 'Hugo Three-Month Language Course' offered by Phylip Brake, as it is the best I have seen in Welsh language aids. It *does* include the words in English syllables!

I've just started teaching myself Welsh, and this book has been so, so useful. It's clear and easy to understand, with mini-sections on mutations, pronounciation, the numbers, the common pronouns, how to say yes and no, a brief but helpful guide to Welsh grammar (for a more thorough guide see www.bbc.co.uk/wales/learnwelsh/grammar, an extremely helpful webside), how to say placenames in Welsh, etc etc etc.
The only thing it's missing are some verb tables!

The prolific Gareth King has contributed yet another opus to his set of aids for Welsh learners, to go along with his grammar, books of exercises, and introductory textbook (Colloquial Welsh), all published by Routledge. For the learner grappling with spoken Welsh, this is by far the best dictionary I have seen to date, and its price is very reasonable. The usage notes are tremendously helpful, and have illuminated some problems I have long wondered about. Be warned, though, that King's dictionary is a guide to spoken, not literary Welsh--the two are practically different languages, with many differences in grammar and vocabulary. If you plan to learn Welsh only for reading purposes, this book will be of limited use. As the previous reviewer noted, it is not comprehensive, but it doesn't aim to be. However,if you know all that's in this book, you are probably ready to move on to other dictionaries anyway. Spoken Welsh is a fluid entity, and King has made some decisions that other native speakers may not agree with. It would be nice to see some native speakers, especially teachers, review this book.

As a new learner of welsh, the strength of this dictionary is it is easy to use, highlights clearly where the mutations occur and is good on examples of usage. Ideal for learning, but falls short on the detailed coverage - I am still looking for a good advanced dictionary - the Welsh Academy English-Welsh dictionary seems the standard reference in that direction, but does not seem to be available for Welsh-English which is not a little frustrating!

I love this dictionary. The examples given are excellent and spot on 99% of the time. Information for South and North Walian dialectual differences are also provided. I've recommended it to my friends who are also learning the language and would highly recommend it to anyone wanting a excellent dictionary. The only complaint I have is the binding (paperback edition) doesn't hold up well and the pages will begin to fall out after a bit.

As a new learner of welsh, the strength of this dictionary is it is easy to use, highlights clearly where the mutations occur and is good on examples of usage. Ideal for learning, but falls short on the detailed coverage - I am still looking for a good advanced dictionary - the Welsh Academy English-Welsh dictionary seems the standard reference in that direction, but does not seem to be available for Welsh-English which is not a little frustrating!

I am very pleased with this dictionary! This dictionary goes beyond just listing vocabulary. It goes on to explain the syntax of many words which have numerous functions (eg, 'yn'). It is a cross between a dictionary and a reference grammar. This dictionary is undoubtedly for the beginning Welsh student.

As a new learner of welsh, the strength of this dictionary is it is easy to use, highlights clearly where the mutations occur and is good on examples of usage. Ideal for learning, but falls short on the detailed coverage - I am still looking for a good advanced dictionary - the Welsh Academy English-Welsh dictionary seems the standard reference in that direction, but does not seem to be available for Welsh-English which is not a little frustrating!