Customer Reviews

Twi/English-English/Twi Concise Dictionary (Hippocrene Concise Dictionary)

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

 

 

When there is such a dearth of materials for the learning of Twi, I am reluctant to criticise. However, a dictionary is a critical resource for a learner and should be reliable and educative. This dictionary is inaccurate and incomplete. I am working with two of the most widely used series of Twi learner's books available in Ghana, and a significant proportion of their vocabulary is missing from this dictionary, spelt differently from accepted usage, or given inaccurate meanings. Unfortunately, we still await a good modern Twi dictionary by a native speaker of the language.

WARNING! The most common Twi language that is spoken is NOT Akuapem Twi, which is the type of Twi that this dictionary is for. So if you want to learn Twi, chances are that you want to learn Asante Twi. So this is probably not what most of you are looking for.

I read the reviews and found a used copy at a good price and thought I would try it since there aren't many options for Twi dictionaries. I sat down with my wife who speaks fluent Twi and started reading words to her just for fun. We both became frustrated in that she only understood a handful of the words. I do understand that there are many dialects of Twi but I would ask her how to pronounce certain words and they weren't even close to the spellings in the book. In his acknowledgement, Mr. Kotey States that the dictionary is a by product of a research grant to create instructional materials for three Akan languages. He goes on to list many prominant Ghanaian collaborators but at the bottom of this extensive list he states that, "None of them however, participated in this dictionary project." If Mr. Kotey decides to re-write this in a more concise version, there is definately a need and a market for it. But next time, please run it by your collaborators.

A dictionary is essential when learning a language. This is a second copy for a friend, so I was not buying "blind." The service with Amazon is very good.

I love this dictionary It breaks it down in Twi and english. Thank You.

nasal vowels are not marked - pretty bad for a serious dictionary; or is it non-nasal dialect????

More review work needed for the dictionary to meet good standards.