Dictionary Reviews

Learning languages in a classroom is hard work. Just think how many problems you had grinding through diagramming English sentences in the 8th grade, and, if you are like me, English is your primary language. Now envision yourself in college, faced with two years of French, German, Russian, or Spanish. You spend, at most, five to six hours per week going over phonetics, grammar, vocabulary, and idioms of a language at lightening speed, without any means of significant outside reinforcement. What is worse, after one year of dipping your toe into the swamp that is a foreign language, the second year instructors expect you to speak, write, and read that language. Like most people, I started out studying French with a lot of vigor, flipping through flashcards faster than a gambler drops quarters in a slot machine. By the time I got to the second year, my early efforts rarely paid off: flashcards and random reading did help me to navigate written French fairly well, but speaking and listening to the language was still an excruciating task.

Unless you are majoring in a foreign language or have the means to live in a foreign country for at least six months, it is best to accept the fact that you will not speak a foreign language. What you can focus on is learning to read that language because it is much easier to recognize words on a written page than it is to pluck them from your brain in the course of a conversation. This is where a great dictionary comes into the picture. Not only will an excellent lexicon help get you through those daunting two years, it will also help you impress people when you read Baudelaire in the original. Certainly, you can be a cheapskate and pick up a five-dollar piece of crud that will get you through an introductory class. If you are like me, however, and love to use a sledgehammer when a tack hammer will do the job, welcome to the LaRousse Grand Dictionnaire. Sure, it is pricey, and you have a better chance of fitting a corpse in your backpack then this hernia inducing book, but if you want to actually use the scraps of French you learned in class (and even improve your reading skills) this is the dictionary for you.

I love this dictionary! First off, there are some great color maps of the world in here, with every place name clearly marked in French. Then it takes countries and breaks them down into "administrative districts" (read: states) and gives you those in French as well. But that's not all! Then we get maps of "patrimoine," or national heritage. Where the heck is "Mur d'Hadrien," you ask? Why, it is Hadrian's Wall, located in England! And as we all know, the Romans built Hadrian's Wall to keep obnoxious French waiters out of the empire. LaRousse even has a map of gay old Paris included, in case you want to see where all those protestors are marching. Seriously though-this dictionary has some great stuff between its covers.

Since this is an advanced dictionary, you will find many words that cruddy little paperback dictionaries do not include. Even better, after the phonetics and definition comes many helpful phrases that word appears in. A great example is the verb savoir, meaning "to know or to be aware of." What follows is an entire page of possible uses of savoir, such as "Je sais un moyen d'y parvenir," which translates as "I know a way to do it." The entries for common French words, such as etre, avoir, and faire, are just as comprehensive.

Also included is a table of 116 conjugated French verbs, which isn't too bad, although that number falls far short of what you would need to really read the language. As an added bonus, apparently for complete incompetents, is a list of irregular English verbs. Yep, this is a great dictionary.

I cracked a few jokes in this review about the French, but this really is a great addition to your library. This "Grand Dictionnaire" will speed you on the way to reading the language of a culture that produced some of the greatest literature, art, and cuisine in the history of the world. This dictionary will not only help you translate the words in a sentence, but also helps you achieve insight into what you are reading. There is no greater joy than getting the emotion behind the words ("Hey, not only do I know what that means, but the author is being sarcastic!"). LaRousse is the way to go.

This new, top-of-the-line Advanced Dictionary has been specially developed to become the dictionary of first resort for students, teachers, and serious general users. Distinctive panel entries and highlights have been added, along with 2,000 new words and meanings from everyday life, the Internet, and technology. It is highly recommended. Buy this book first!

This is the top selling dictionary in France... for a reason. It is an excellent resource, very informative. The best French-French dictionary around. It may be expensive, but it is worth for any serious student of French.

This dictionary is everything a dictionary should be, easy to search through, explains prononciation, contains famous French people as well, etc... Definately one to own if you are taking french and find English/French dictionaries too limited.

This is an excellent, versatile dictionary covering both Brazilian and European usage and spelling. It is very useful for the traveler in Portuguese speaking countries and communities. The dimensions are right, for a good size pocket or your suitcase. Entries are what you need. Translations are practical, to the point. I have always found the word I was looking for. In approach and coverage it will have a good partner in Manuela Cook's Teach Yourself Portuguese 2002 course. They both address the needs of today's modern world. An excellent buy!

This dctionary is the one that I have been looking for in time!I use to practice my Portuguese and Brazilians as well as Portuguese have told me how much I have been improving with my Portuguese since day one that I started to use this Larrouse Dictionary for English and Portugese speakers.It really does work and think that you should buy it definately!

Excellent book . . . maybe, too good! I became so distracted by all of the fascinating cultural and language information, immediately reading all of the side-bars and "cultural wisdom" parts cover to cover, that I forgot to learn any Latin in the process. This auxliary information alone is well worth the price I paid for the book.
As for learning Latin, if I fail, the fault will be in my lack of knowledge of English grammar. This barrier has prevented easy access to other languages in the past. Perhaps I should search Amazon for a "Latin for Dumber than Dummies" (or, at least, start with "English Grammar for Dummies").

I've always wanted to learn Latin so this is the first book I tried, as it looked fun and approachable. Well, I can tell you it does make Latin seem fun and an approachable language. I would recommend this book for the absolute beginner, who would otherwise not have access to Latin classes at school, university or otherwise, and wants to learn alone at home without feeling intimidated. Though presented in a light hearted way, the book's authors actually are Latin teachers in real life. While giving a basic and strong grounding in grammar and vocabulary, the humourous cartoons are hilariously funny and literary quotes and interesting snippets of historical information are included through the book. This book really makes you want to fall in love with Latin as a language. I'm very glad I picked this book as my starting point.

Latin: First Year by Henle will give you a solid base in the language. Even though it is titled First Year, the material may take over two years to cover. To use this book you must also have Henle's Latin Grammar book. The Latin Grammar is referred to throughout this book, right from the start.

This is an excellent first year Latin text, probably the best I've seen. The presentation of the rules of grammar and supporting examples is methodical--very old-school Jesuit. Unlike many modern Latin texts, Henle assumes that the student will learn how to write in Latin, as opposed to only reading for translation. The exercises are geared to developing an active mastery of Latin grammar.

This little book will save any student while studying for exams.

This is a good Law dictionary. Easier to find meaning and easier to use it.

I studied this text when I was 18. Moliere is witty and humorous, which actually made reading this text a pleasure. He has lovely usage of his language.

I read this in my French class... the play is hilarious, well worth reading, and if you can't read French, you should read a translation or go see the play! It's funny, and although it is like many of Molière's other plays, it's a nice deviation from the normal play.

Le Petit Robert's most helpful factor is its extensive use of example sentences in which the word being defined is used, allowing those with a weak sense of its meaning and nuance to know its proper use(s). I use it in conjunction with bilingual French/English dictionaries, partly to check whether that's how the French would really say something, and partly to refer to the example uses mentioned previously. That way I have two takes on a word: the corresponding English word, and the different meanings the word conveys in French. A truly invaluable resource for anyone wanting a trustworthy reference for the French language.

As a student of the French language and literature, I can only say that this book helped me a lot. Perhaps it's the easiest way to learn in the same time many new words, and to find out what are the differences between the meanings of the words which mean almost the same thing. I come from the country were we can only find it at the University, and it is still very expensive for an ordinary student. Anyway I am using it any time I can get a chance. In my opinion every student who is studying French language should have it. Congratulations to the authors!

The French really ought to declare this dictionary a national treasure. It is a monument of competent lexicography and contains a lot more information than the user suspects he or she might need some day. For each entry there is an etymology and date of first appearance in French; a vast cross-referencing network for synonyms, antonyms, analogues and homonyms; a complete definition covering social connotations; examples of how the word is actually used in diverse situations; and a phonetic transcription in IPA. Anyone with a serious interest in learning French will probably want to have this volume.

Once finished with the second semester French (or the latest, fourth semester, if you wait until you learn more about the subjunctive), one should primarily use this dictionary to find the meaning and etymology of the French vocabulary. One can still have a translational dictionary standing by, but by using le Petit Robert, one is forced to read the definition also in the same language, thus enforcing one's comprehension of the written language. As a companion to this dictionary, Le Petit Robert Des Noms Propres helps a lot once one starts to delve into the French literature, politic, and culture.

The Larousse version is better illustrated, if one prefers such.

For conjugation, I would recommend Bescherelle 1: La Conjugaison pour Tous, instead of the "501 French verbs." The former is logically arranged (and thinner and easier to carry!) by presenting one way of conjugating and then listing the rest of the words that fall into this category at the end-pages.

"Le Petit Larousse Illustré 2000" is the most recent editon of "un livre de mots mais aussi un livre d'images," which dates from 1905. "Le Petit" is written completely in French; thus, this reference book is best used by one with a basic understanding of the French language. At some point during one's study of French, one begins to be able to think in French. When one thinks in French and is able to read books written in French, it is best to have a dictionary that is french only. Then one is not constantly translating from one language to another, thus losing some of the "sense" of what one is reading. "Le Petit Larousse" is an excellent desk reference book, not only for looking up unfamiliar words, but also for cultural phenomena. The illustrations are in color and are quite beautiful; there are illustrations of words; photographs; botanical drawings; maps and atlases, both current and historical; tables of lists; and detailed schematics of medical, scientific, and technological terminologies.

The main organization of the book is divided into two parts: (1) "common" words, including all parts of speech, "current" vocabulary, specialized vocabulary, and encyclopedia entries; and (2) "proper" words (nouns) of people, countries, places, historical periods and events, institutions, titles of works, legendary and literary heroes, and celebrities. There is a small "pink" section in the middle of the book which contains Latin, Greek, and foreign sayings; and French proverbs. There is also an introductory section which has a French pronunciation guide; table of 95 French verb conjugations; and a review of participles, plurals of nouns, prefixes, suffixes, abbreviations, and headings.

There is a perduring philosophy which has guided the compilation and formation of this beautiful book through so many editions for almost one hundred years: "Aujourd'hui comme hier, le "Petit Larousse" propose à ceux qui ont la langue française en partage un savoir citoyen. C'est par la langue et à travers la mémoire collective que nous appartenons à une cité dans laquelle les mots ne sont ni abscons ni assassins, où l'on peut donner le meilleur de soi-même, recevoir sans méfiance la parole de l'autre et construire ensemble l'avenir." (Please forgive me for not translating this passage--it is so evocative, I feel to do so would be an injustice.)

Le Petit Larousse Illustre is the reference of french dictionaries. No other dictionary compares to the quantity of words and the quality of the word definitions in this one. This dictionary is an essential tool for any student of the French Language. This is the best selling dictionary in France and for good reasons. This is without a doubt a very good investment.