Customer Reviews

Somali-English, English-Somali Dictionary and Phrasebook (Hippocrene Dictionary & Phrasebook)

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

 

 

I'm learning Somali in order to better communicate with recently arrived refugees in the US, most of whom are from southern Somalia. Many of the entries in this dictionary are words used in the north of Somalia and are not understood by many from the south. People from Mogadishu, Kismayo, Jilib, and Galkaayo have told me this. That said, I have found the dictionary to be useful at times and is just about the only printed Somali-English/Eng-Som dictionary I have found.

As an English teacher for Somali refugees this has been of great help. It doesn't always have all the words that we use in the US, but it does help me get the message accross. It has also has helped me understand their problems without having to always go to an interperter. It has alowed me to teach some difficult concepts when you are only panamiming. The students have really enjoyed me learnign their language. It gets me close enough to the correct pronunciation that they can correct me.

I purchased this small book for a refugee I am sponsering from Somalia. He was very excited to get this book and told me this is an excellent reference he can keep with him in his pocket while he is learning english and starting to work in america.

Of course, when I bought this dictionary, there were no others on the market at all. There are still only a few Somali language resources, but this one packs a punch. For a small book (176 pages), it covers a lot of ground. The first 80 pages are straight dictionary pages. (English to Somali and Somali to English). The remaining pages are organized like a phrase book, ordered by category. The book also covers how to read and pronounce Somali. (Though it's written in Roman characters, there are some pronunciation guidelines, like Pinyin for Mandarin).

I'm just a Somali language enthusiast and not fluent by any stretch, but this book is great. I've worked with and been around a lot of Somalis (in the Minneapolis area) and they are always shocked and thrilled to encounter a non-Somali speaking Somali.

I bought two copies of this book.

I work with children from all over the world, and I've encountered many speakers of Somali. They love that I'm attempting to speak their language, and I've been told this is the very same book that some parents are using to improve their English. It's extremely useful, but the pronunciation guide is a little cryptic, and it lacks the international phonetic spelling. That would be a 5-star improvement, but I'm giving it 4 stars because it's a great introduction to the Somali language, and I'm learning. Thanks for reading.

This dictionary was written for the tourist rather than for a culturist but contains a good introduction to Somalian grammer, prounciation, travel phrases.