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A pocket-sized dictionary with an excellent menu section
Review by Phil Stripling
We take this dictionary with us whenever we go to the French West Indies. We have lost copies on occasion and have looked at other French English dictionaries as replacements, but we have stuck with this slim volume that fits in a shirt pocket. It is very helpful, yet not at all obvious to take along with you where ever you go, even to restaurants.
The dictionary is divided into two main sections. The first is a list of French words. That main section has first a dictionary of words, their pronunciation, and brief definitions. There follows a subsection of menu items. This section is priceless for us, since translating menus is very difficult (how would you define blackeyed peas, cheese steaks, or shredded wheat to native English speakers who had never heard of them?). The definitions are definitely British, however, so sometimes the definition is as obscure as the word (potage soissonais -- haricot bean soup; goujon -- gudgeon). The menu reader is divided into food and drinks. It is followed by a listing of French verbs, French abbreviations, numbers (un, premiere), time (clocks, days of the week), conversions (temperature, volume, distance), and basic phrases. The second section is just like the first, except that the words are in English with definitions in French.
This book is recommended for beginners in French and for those familiar with French but wanting additional help with menu items.
Order Berlitz French Bilingual Dictionary.
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