The Oxford Starter Italian Dictionary

By: Colin McIntosh

Book Overview

Oxford's Starter dictionaries break fresh ground in language-learning, providing essential information in a completely unique way. Specially designed for beginners, this essential volume is not merely a scaled-down version of a larger Italian dictionary. Every effort has been made to approach Italian from the point of view of the beginning student who may be unfamiliar with the conventions of the more traditional bilingual dictionary, which presupposes a basic knowledge of the language. The Oxford Starter Italian Dictionary contains approximately 20,000 words covering everyday vocabulary and core survival phrases. From irregular verb forms to common idiomatic usage, the dictionary provides generous coverage of those aspects of Italian which are less easy to decode for English speakers. This innovative teaching tool is unparalleled as an accessible and user-friendly introductions to this foreign language.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 019860257X
• ISBN13: 9780198602576
• Release Date: December 1999
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.3" x 0.7" x 5.1"

Customer Reviews

Don't Leave Home Without it

No bilingual dictionary by itself is sufficient to learn any meaningful foreign language usage. But this dictionary, in conjunction with a classroom course or a good set of CDs, is a superbly practical reference. It includes a good deal of common usage, idioms, and alternative phrasing. I thought it was great.

Oxford Starter Italian

I carried this dictionary in Italy for three weeks last fall and used it constantly. My wife and I were travelling light so books were scrutinized before being included in my pack. We considered also taking a small phrase book and a more standard English/Italian dictionary and ended up taking only this one. The Oxford Starter Dictionary does not take the place of a good phrase book because phrases are not arranged by topic. However, it has excellent sample phrases under alphabetical word entries in both the Italian-English and the English-Italian sections. This greatly improves its usefulness as a dictionary for beginners and even if you have some background in Italian (I had two years of Italian in University 20 years ago). I like the clear, easy to read layout. There is good use of bold, italics, underlining, special symbols, and two ink colors (blue and black). The good quality bright white paper and reasonable point size is greatly appreciated in comparison with some language dictionaries which can be hard to read under marginal lighting (e.g. restaurants and train stations). I also like the physical dimensions - 5.5" x 7" and less than 3/4" thick. Much more convenient than the short, fat format of some dictionaries. It fit conveniently in my shoulder bag and is similar in size to guide books.This is not a big dictionary, but its advantatges far outweigh this disadvantage. I would recommend this as the only dictionary you need while travelling unless you need a larger word list. This is the best travelling dictionary I have ever seen!