Romanian English, English Romanian: Dictionary & Phrasebook (Hippocrene Dictionary & Phrasebooks) [Paperback]

Mihai Miroiu (Author)

Book Description

Series: Hippocrene Dictionary & Phrasebooks | Publication Date: November 1, 2002

From the monasteries of northern Moldovia to the Danube Delta to Dracula's homeland, Transylvania, Romania offers many activities to its visitors. The aim of this Dictionary and Phrasebook is to supply the tourist or businessperson with certain conversational formulas indispensable for starting a conversation and carrying it on in a natural manner. Includes 5,500 entries.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Romanian

About the Author

Mihai Miroiu

Product Details

• Paperback: 253 pages
• Publisher: Hippocrene Books; Bilingual edition (November 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0781809215
• ISBN-13: 978-0781809214
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 4.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #482,350 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #5 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Language Nonfiction > More Languages > Romanian
  • #7 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Romanian
  • #19 in Books > Travel > Europe > Romania & Moldova

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Handy Guide for Beginning to Intermediate Speakers, December 1, 2004

By 

Elisabeta Ioana (Timisoara, Romania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Romanian English, English Romanian: Dictionary & Phrasebook (Hippocrene Dictionary & Phrasebooks) (Paperback)

After living several years in Romania and studying the language and doing my best to get by each day, I have waded through many Romanian language texts and found most to be cumbersome and trying at the very best. I have encountered a number that were not written by native speakers of Romanian and thus contained numerous grammatical and spelling mistakes which could badly mislead an unsuspecting beginner. Most of the dictionaries I have seen are written for a speaker of Romanian who is studying English rather than vice versa and this makes a big difference when it comes to interpreting the definitions given. Many dictionaries are full of terms that are not applicable to everyday conversation and activity but were added just to impress the buyer with the broad scope (however irrelevant)of the text.

I cannot comment on how easy to understand the grammar and pronounciation guides are in this particular book because I found this book only after I already had a thorough understanding of those two things. I can say, however, that the phrases in this book are very accurate and very natural to Romanian conversation and will come in handy to any traveller whether you are in Romania for business or pleasure. I have shown this book to my Romanian friends for further confirmation and they have agreed with me in full. I still refer to this book myself from time to time when I am writing emails or letters and can't think of exactly the right way to put something. The dictionary may be small, but I think it is more than enough to provide an adequate beginner's vocabulary which you can build on as you learn more. For serious study of the language, this book is only a basic introduction and can never take the place of a real live instructor. But if you just want to know the basics before you step off the plane in Otopeni, I advise you to pick up a copy of this one.

But a couple more words of advice if you are planning a trip to Romania: Do NOT trust guide books or cab drivers. ;)

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice book!, October 31, 2005

By 

Zippy (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Romanian English, English Romanian: Dictionary & Phrasebook (Hippocrene Dictionary & Phrasebooks) (Paperback)

Although it may seem funny, I bought this book to improve my English (I am a native speaker of Romanian) and found it helpful. However, if you want more than elementary Romanian I would suggest to buy some English-Romanian/ Romanian-English dictionaries, phrase books, and grammar books published in Romania which are far more complete and accurate (there are now many Romanian online bookstores, just google "editura").

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Complicated, August 13, 2004

By 

Karla - See all my reviews

This review is from: Romanian English, English Romanian: Dictionary & Phrasebook (Hippocrene Dictionary & Phrasebooks) (Paperback)

I bought this book for an upcoming trip to Romania. It advertises itself as a grammar book, dictionary and phrase book.

The grammar section is overly complicated and not at all well-laid out. I became so frustrated that I could barely make my way through the section.

The dictionary part seems adequate.

The phrase section is handy but there are no pronounciation guides. The pronounciation was laid out in the beginning of the book, but I kept having to refer back which was annoying. Still, I am unsure of most of the pronounciation.

I got the feeling that this was based off of British guide book models from the 1960s. Very proper, overly complicated and not very well-laid out.