Romanian/English-English/Romanian Standard Dictionary (Hippocrene Standard Dictionary) [Paperback]

Mihai Miroiu (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1996 | ISBN-10: 0781804442 | ISBN-13: 978-0781804448

This dictionary contains multiple definitions for each entry and an appendix of geographical names. It also contains Romanian and English pronunciations. This dictionary is useful to the travellers, businesspeople and students.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: Romanian, English

About the Author

Mihai Miroiu

Product Details

• Paperback: 567 pages
• Publisher: Hippocrene Books (September 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0781804442
• ISBN-13: 978-0781804448
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 1.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #426,684 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #3 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Language Nonfiction > More Languages > Romanian
  • #4 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Romanian

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not even as mediocre as Bantas, just more portable, May 16, 2001

By 

Frank Sellin "political scientist" (Charlottesville, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Romanian/English-English/Romanian Standard Dictionary (Hippocrene Standard Dictionary) (Paperback)

See my other review of the NTC edition of Andrei Bantas' dictionary for a more detailed explanation of the substandard situation in Romanian-English dictionaries, and why you're better off buying a better (if still substandard) dictionary in Romania than in the US.

The Miroiu dictionary has fewer words than the NTC edition of Bantas, but unlike the latter, it is paperback, smaller, and thus more portable, which is why I also gave it two stars (though it really deserved 1.5). Both, however, lack any meaningful grammatical information beyond the gender of nouns (no verb conjugations, no plurals, no genitive case mutations, no adjective forms, no participle mutations, etc.). Both have short and not infrequently dubious translations with few synonyms, and both have a lousy printing/typeface. (If you're wondering, I've studied Romanian since 1993--in spite of the frustrating dictionary situation--and speak and read it very well despite being a non-native political scientist. :-).

Bottom line: you'll have to buy marginally better foreign language dictionaries in Romania, and learn the language off two or three of them, until someone writes a Romanian-English dictionary worth the name. Such dictionary gems exist in other Balkan languages, so why not Romanian?? Mai ales daca romanii vor sa-i invete pe strainii (ca mine) mai bine despre Romania si cultura romaneasca?!

41 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too simplistic for usage beyond general terms, June 25, 1999

By 

Romanian Translator ([e-mail]) (Santa Monica, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Romanian/English-English/Romanian Standard Dictionary (Hippocrene Standard Dictionary) (Paperback)

In my work as a translator I am always using my dictionary as a reference tool. Although this one is fairly new, it lacks a lot of the depth needed to truly understand a word or concept beyond extremely general words. The set up used by Oxford-Hachette with their French and Spanish dictionaries would be much more convenient (i.e. the addition of commonly used phrases and concept explanations) for anyone looking at this book. Unfortuantely, because Romanian is not one of the more popular languages out there, the amount of good reference material is quite limited.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Helpful for study., March 30, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Marietta, Georgia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Romanian/English-English/Romanian Standard Dictionary (Hippocrene Standard Dictionary) (Paperback)

This paperback book is a convenient size to carry. It includes pronunciation guide in the front for both English and Romanian readers which is very helpful. I just wish it included more words. There have been several words I've tried to look up that I've been unable to find.

I've only seen two Romanian-English English-Romanian dictionaries and this is the better of the two. But I do not think the value is as good with this book as with the other Romanian study books I've purchased. Still, if you need a Romanian-English dictionary, you will find this helpful.