Customer Reviews

Tamil-English/English-Tamil Dictionary & Phrasebook: Romanized (Hippocrene Dictionary and Phrasebook) (Tamil Edition)

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There are limited Tamil resources available in the US, and this was the first dictionary/phrasebook I found. It does not use the Tamil script-- it only offers romanised words, which I find frustrating as a beginner trying to learn how to spell Tamil words. The phrases seem useful; the two-page cultural overviews and tourist tips are just half-hearted attempts. It's better than nothing, but not a substitute for a more complete dictionary.

As the other review points out, this dictionary only uses Romanized language and no Tamil script. In fairness, spoken Tamil and written Tamil are different which might account for not wanting to include it...

There are actually some decent online Tamil dictionaries which have both the Romanized and Tamil script. Google has scanned a few public domain dictionaries. Check out the Digital Dictionaries of South Asia put together by the University of Chicago: http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/

However, if you are looking at this page, you probably want something you can take with you and you will end up buying this item no matter what. Get it used if you can and know that it is very limited in number of entries.

this is a nice phrasebook for English speakers. If you are a reader of Tamil, this is not the best book. It does have helpful cultural information, and it helps English readers with Tamil pronunciation.

In my opinion, the book title should have been "Dictionary & Phrase Book For A Traveler"!
Otherwise the book is useful.