NTC's American English Learner's Dictionary - Softcover

Spears, Richard A.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0844258601 ISBN 13: 9780844258607

Publisher: McGraw-Hill, 1998

Synopsis

This simplified dictionary of American English, containing over 22,000 words, phrases, and idioms, is an essential reference for English learners at all levels. Definitions are given in plain English, parts of speech are identified, and there is abundant cross-referencing.

About this title

About the Author

Richard A. Spears, Ph.D., is a reference editor and former linguistics professor who has written more than 30 dictionaries, including NTC's American Idioms Dictionary (ISBN: 0-8442-0273-8) and NTC's American English Learner's Dictionary (ISBN: 0-8442-5859-8).

Reviews

Intended primarily for adult and high school-level students of English as a second language (ESL), this simplified dictionary provides spellings, pronunciations, and definitions for 22,000 basic words. It does an especially good job of explaining irregular forms, common compounds, and idiomatic phrases; subsumed under the head word "heart," for instance, are 16 such entries (e.g., "die of a broken heart"). Abundant illustrative sentences enhance definitional comprehension, showing how words and phrases are used in context. On the other hand, the book lacks syllabication, etymologies, synonymies, usage notes, and pictorial illustrations, and it generally omits recent coinages and slang unless well established, as in the computer sense of "mouse" and "boot." In addition, vulgarities and street terms concerning sex, drugs, and more are prudishly excluded. Most ESL dictionaries originate in the UK?the excellent Cambridge International Dictionary of English (Cambridge Univ., 1995) is typical?and cover the vocabulary of both major branches of English, British and American, which can be confusing to learners on this side of the Atlantic. The NTC dictionary, however, is strictly a U.S. production devoted solely to American English. As such, it is recommended for all libraries with a significant ESL clientele.?Ken Kister, author of "Kister's Best Encyclopedias," Tampa, FL
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: McGraw-Hill
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0844258601
• ISBN 13: 9780844258607
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 1104