91 of 93 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Basic Dictionary with One Small Caveat, December 20, 2002
This review is from: Webster's New World Italian Dictionary: Italian/English, English/Italian (Paperback)
I'm new to Italian. I'm studying the language in college. So I was looking for a good dictionary and this is a good one. It has quite a few idiomatic expressions in it as well as the standard definitions of words. My professor has had a few minor disagreements with the dictionary in regard to a couple of definitions. For example, her word for graceful is different than the one provided. But she didn't say the word the dictionary gave was wrong, just not as commonly used.
My one caveat is that this is actually a British-Italian dictionary; after all, it's printed in England. As an American, for the most part, that doesn't matter much. When you look up the Italian word, colore, you'll find the British spelling, colour. That's very minor. However, it does make a bit more different in the examples provided. Sometimes, when words are used in a sentence in this dictionary, the example is specific to England. For example, they'll use Pound Sterling in a sentence about money instead of dollars and Euros. Still not a big deal, but something you might want to be aware of. That may explain some of the differences my Italian professor had with the definitions of certain words.
But overall, a good basic Italian-English (with a British slant) dictionary.
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68 of 70 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Webster's New World Italian Dictionary: the "Rocky" of Italian-English portables, July 22, 2006
This review is from: Webster's New World Italian Dictionary: Italian/English, English/Italian (Paperback)
Webster's New World Italian Dictionary (Concise Ed. = ISBN 0139536396) was THE outstanding portable for many years, and though it has not been updated since 1985 (1992 date listed on amazon is the reprint date), I believe it is only surpassed in the abridged/concise/portable category by the
Concise Oxford-Paravia Italian Dictionary, a heavier, larger hardcover. I used the Webster's through my entire undergraduate program and was frequently asked to look up definitions that students with inferior portables could not find (I found nearly every word I searched). Though the Webster's lacks many neologisms of the past 20 years, the cultural notes, the keyword guides, the "Italian in Action" grammar guide, and the two-color format of the
Collins Italian Concise Dictionary, 4e (HarperCollins Concise Dictionaries), I still recommend it over the Collins. Though the number of entries for both concise dictionaries is advertised as roughly the same, and both feature excellent usage examples in phrases, the Webster's appears to remain the overall champ for detailed entries. Catherine E. Love is editor on both dictionaries (with others). I believe newbie Italian students may be tempted to buy the up-to-date Collins Italian Concise Dictionary over the 23-yr. old Webster's, but I recommend the Webster's over Collins Concise and the
Pocket Oxford Italian Dictionary (NOT truly a "pocket" or mini-dictionary), which also has added features (you can read similar notes I've posted at the Pocket Oxford link above).
A note on pronunciation guidelines in Webster's and Collins:
The Webster's lists the syllabic stress within an IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) form of the entry word in brackets, after the initial headword. Because Italian pronunciation is generally straightforward, this means that the word in brackets often matches the exact spelling of the headword, though with the stress notation added. The Collins Concise avoids what some may consider redundancy by noting IPA translation only for those Italian words it considers more difficult to pronounce -- i.e., those which require the use of IPA symbols that don't correspond to the standard roman alphabet.
P.S. Only those students who are just trying to get through their language requirement will be interested in lower-priced (retail approx. $4.95 to 9.95 or so), bilingual (newsprint -- uffa!) dictionaries. Oxford, Collins/HarperCollins, and others publish these inferior, if lower-priced dictionaries, in addition to the excellent concise dictionaries in the approx. $12-16 price range, of which the Webster's featured here is the old favorite. I suspect that the newsprint cheapos are manufactured primarily to provide a lower-priced dictionary to bundle with school textbooks. Note that newsprint often triggers allergies (migraines, etc.) and is quick to deteriorate. If you feel that you are a somewhat disinterested student, keep in mind that you just may fall in love with the language you're studying and wish you had invested in the mid-level, excellent concise dictionary from the start, instead of throwing away $10 on a stinky newsprint job with brief entries.
If you're a lukewarm student and feel you just do not want to put out more than $10, or must have something lighter in your backpack, then go for the
Oxford Italian Mini Dictionary or the
Collins Gem Italian, 6th Edition. Both of these minis have durable flexi-covers, blue headwords, and: ***phrasebooks for travelers!*** The cover of the Oxford Mini states "100,000 entries and translations." The Collins Gem appears to have approx. as many entries as the Oxford Mini. Either one of these is an excellent choice for travelers as vocabulary is almost always a concern, and standard phrasebooks have much more limited dictionaries within. Both minis appear to have as many entries as the higher-priced "newsprints," are certainly more durable, portable (smaller, if chubby), and are printed on better paper!
P.P.S. For those American students who think they SHOULD be studying Spanish ("instead"), keep in mind that INTERNAL motivation is one of the best predictors for success in any field or area of study. If you want to study Italian (or an obscure, "dying" language/dialect, for that matter), then go for Italian and don't look back. The discipline gained from mastering Italian is an award in itself, and mastery of this beautiful language will greatly aide you with Spanish and other romance languages -- and indeed any future language study.
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37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best Italian dictionary on the market!, October 3, 2004
This review is from: Webster's New World Italian Dictionary: Italian/English, English/Italian (Paperback)
In the three years that I have been studying and speaking Italian, this is the single best dictionary that I have come across. I have several others (Oxford, Langenscheidt's, etc.) which are all fine, but don't come close to the Websters. The Websters includes practical examples, idioms, verb conjugation and several other useful tools that really make it top notch.
I spent the better part of a year at a language school in Italy, and the Websters was invaluable. When I was preparing to return to the U.S., my instructors asked if I would leave them my copy!
I will concede that the Websters is too big for carrying on your travels, but if you are studying or corresponding with Italians, you simply cannot find a better dictionary.
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