Oxford Arabic dictionary : Arabic-English · English-Arabic /

This dictionary was designed to be multidirectional: equally useful for native speakers of English or Arabic and for translations from or into either language. Given the crucial role of globalization in today's world and the role of Arabs and Arabic, the need for a superb, up-to-date, traditional dictionary is obvious. With its rich selections of idioms and variant meanings, English pronunciations and Arabic vocalizations, and supporting grammatical material, such as lists of Arabic-derived conjugations and English irregular verbs, this volume is broadly useful. It will be a valuable addition to any library-individual, public, or academic. Offering more than 130,000 words and phrases and some 200,000 translations, this dictionary adds much that is lacking in computer dictionary programs or smaller volumes: full English grammar and pronunciation guides and comprehensive Arabic entries organized by root with "full" vocalization of short vowels. One curious difference between English and Arabic, noted by the editors, is that Arabic users typically would not render vulgarities in Standard Arabic but in dialects; for example, checking the adverbial use of a strong English vulgarity reveals the rather tame Arabic jiddan, "very." Though it avoids dialect, the dictionary documents regional literary Arabic variants. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above; general readers. --Seth Ward, University of Wyoming

Starred Review. Compiling a dictionary in which not only the scripts are different but also one language reads from left to right while the other reads from right to left is not easy. Arabic is a Semitic language while English is among the Indo-European family of languages, thus linguistic conventions of both are different adding to the complexity. This work is essentially an Arabic-English and English-Arabic language dictionary for Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). In recent times, Arabic has absorbed more colloquial words and the profusion of technology especially in communications has also contributed to our vocabulary in both languages. These developments highlight the need for a more current standard. The most used portion of the dictionary would be the English-Arabic and Arabic-English translations. To help users with correct pronunciation, Arabic words have the vowels added and phonetic pronunciation situated next to the English words. Arabic words rely on a three-consonant structure and modifiers to carry their appropriate meaning. Among the Arabic-English entries are lists of the words and also their roots. The dictionary's left-to-right organization and other supplements are useful for native English speakers, yet less helpful for native Arabic speakers. Another downside is the set's behemoth size, which makes it difficult to work with. The dictionary also assumes that readers are somewhat familiar with both languages, thus it is not suitable for beginners in either one. VERDICT Recommended for those who have a background in Arabic and English and work with both languages. Especially useful for scholars and interpreters. Muhammed Hassanali, Shaker Heights, OH (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.