| A native Turkish-language site visitor, studying English | | | | gathers dust." |
| as a foreign language in the UK, wrote us a while back | | | | But I'll go a bit further than John... |
| asking advice about which dictionary he should use | | | | The first Turkish-English-Turkish dictionary I ever |
| while studying for his English-language proficiency | | | | owned was the "Concise Oxford Turkish-English |
| exam. He indicated his personal preference for the | | | | Dictionary" by A.D. Alderson and Fahir Iz, published |
| Redhouse Dictionaries -- the Büyük El | | | | 1959 and reprinted several times up through 1985. And, |
| Sözlüğü in particular. But then, to | | | | I can't think of a worse foreign language dictionary. |
| our surprise, he told us that his foreign-language | | | | I tried using it for years as I struggled unsuccessfully to |
| examiner thought the Redhouse Dictionaries too | | | | get a handle on the Turkish-language. (I bought my first |
| Americanized. | | | | copy of the Oxford Dictionary for my work-area in |
| That rang my bell, and I replied... | | | | Ankara in 1976 and my second copy for my bedside |
| Quote> | | | | in 1987 -- also in Ankara.) And, except for my being |
| I'm sorry, but your foreign-language examiner is | | | | able to express and understand the standard |
| mistaken. The Redhouse Dictionaries go out of there | | | | 'amenities', I was absolutely befuddled by |
| way to include current British language usage. I quote, | | | | Turkish-language during the entire time. |
| "The dictionary reflects the American point of view of | | | | I only began to successfully understand and use |
| its editors; however British usages in vocabulary, | | | | Turkish-language after I dropped the Oxford Dictionary |
| meanings, spelling and pronunciation have usually been | | | | and began using the various editions of the Redhouse, |
| noted." | | | | the Langenscheidt, and selected local-specialty |
| And anyway, the Redhouse Dictionaries are by far the | | | | dictionaries -- like the Commercial and Technical |
| best of all the available ones on the market. I especially | | | | Dictionaries published by FONO. So I'm afraid I disagree |
| recommend the large 2-volume set, simply titled | | | | with your foreign-language examiner. Deeply. |
| Redhouse Sözlüğü. It's the next | | | | But, the largest Langenscheidt Dictionary is a passable |
| step up from the Büyük El | | | | second choice if your foreign-language examiner won't |
| Sözlüğü. Find more detail about | | | | let you use the Redhouse Dictionaries. Still, the |
| the 2-volume set on our 'Best Books for Turkish' page. | | | | Langenscheidt Dictionary is curiously weak in places. |
| Nothing else even comes close to the Redhouse | | | | And in comparison with the large 2-volume Redhouse |
| Dictionaries. My Redhouse Dictionary CD Edition is so | | | | Dictionary Set (which has 160,000 entries in each |
| useful that I leave it in one of my computer's CD-bays | | | | book), the Langenscheidt Dictionary is small (with only |
| all the time. | | | | 80,000 entries total). |
| Our friend John Ma, who got his Ancient Civilizations | | | | Nontheless... whatever you do, avoid the |
| Doctorate from Oxford University, explained it quite | | | | above-mentioned "Concise Oxford Turkish Language |
| well when he said, "I wish the world-famous Oxford | | | | Dictionary". It's terrible. |
| University Library had more copies of the Redhouse | | | | [Click following to access a fully illustrated HTML |
| Dictionaries. The students are always using them. And | | | | version of Worst and Best Dictionaries. |
| the Oxford Turkish-English-Turkish Dictionary just | | | | |