Italian Language Learning Reviews

Score: 7/10

Pros:
tens of thousands of Italian & English translations of words and phrases packed into a somewhat small volume; parts of speech, key words to determine right translation and sample phrases/sentences are all here; dark orange color entry headwords stick out, making searches easier; regular and irregular Italian verb tables; useful center section with themed vocabulary lists, practice exercises and notes about Italy & Italian culture

Cons:
missing detailed Italian pronunciation info, such as how to pronounce long/short “e”/”o”, voicing of “s”, etc. (why IPA for English, but not Italian words?); Italian verb list is rather spartan & pronunciation guide is nothing special; some entries seem meager & some variant translations less well differentiated

The Oxford Color Italian Dictionary Plus is one of those concise (4 1/2″ x 7″, and 1″ thick) compact but not-quite-pocket dictionaries. The well-advertised “color” refers to the orange text that sets apart every main entry, making words you’re looking up easier to spot. Otherwise, this resource presents everything you’d expect from a student’s backpack Italian dictionary, and it does it rather well.

The dictionary size and scope works out a reasonable compromise for on-the-go Italian translation. While the number of words and example phrases is certainly meager compared to the unabridged Oxford-Paravia Italian Dictionary, you still have a rich array of Italian vocabulary at your fingertips.

Every “headword” entry, as mentioned, is given in orange text (blue in older editions) – both the Italian terms in the Italian-English section, and the English in the English-Italian. Stressed, or accented, syllables have an apostrophe before them, and removable suffixes are separated from the stem by a vertical bar. Notice that there’s IPA in the English section, but no such pronunciation help for Italian words. The part of speech is abbreviated and italicized, then translations are given.

Key words in parentheses help you narrow down which translation you’re after. This feature has become commonplace in dictionaries, and is used routinely here. Expressions and nuances can be tricky business. In those cases, the dictionary lists the word in the context of larger phrases. None of this is innovative, and the dictionary could have used these features better or more completely in some entries, but they work. Here’s a sample entry:

par‘la|re vt/i speak, talk; (confessare) talk; parlare bene/male di qcno speak well/ill of somebody; non parliamone più let’s forget about it; non se ne parla nemmeno! don’t even mention it!. ~to a {lingua} spoken.

The preface and introduction offer very quick tips on how to use the dictionary in both English and Italian. There’s also a one-page guide to Italian pronunciation, along with a list of abbreviations used in the dictionary (like “qcno” for qualcuno in the entry above).

Four pages of stripped-down verb tables end the book. In those charts, regular verb endings are given in a list, with verbs separated by commas. Irregular verbs only have their irregular forms listed.

The Oxford Color Italian Dictionary stands as a good, recommended, but imperfect Italian dictionary for study, classroom use or even a trip to Italy. It doesn’t have all the answers, but it will travel with you as a valuable Italian reference.

Score: 9/10

pros:
loads of usage examples show off modern Italian in context; grammar & explanations are descriptive and register sensitive; clear division between first half of the book, which discusses meaning, and second half, which discusses function; helps make sense of a complicated array of Italian words, phrases & expressions; examples really clarify grammar use; two great cross-referenced indexes make this book readily searchable

cons:
navigating the charts and info isn’t the most intuitive process; best if used by more advanced students; sometimes devolves into mere vocabulary lists

Kinder & Savini’s Using Italian: A Guide to Contemporary Usage noticeably separates itself from the majority of bookstore resources available to language learners. For starters, it’s aimed at late intermediate students, advanced students and teachers of Italian. Second, because it’s focused on use and function, it’s example heavy. In many ways, the book is a reference guide to Italian vocabulary and phrases, framed by explanations of their use, and topicalized based on meaning or function.

I read this book as if it has two parts. The first 200 pages discuss words and their meanings. There you’ll find lists of words including false friends, synonyms, idioms, proverbs, cities & countries, acronyms, names, political organizations, grammatical terms, numbers, weight and time. All lists are tabular, detailed and lengthy. They include Italian words in bold, English translations, and some indication of the function of each word or phrase. Take, for instance, this example from the “synonyms” section on page 128:

POLICEMAN

The list continues to give more general terms, specific terms for types of police, as well as derogatory terms. The R1-R3 allude to registers, which, as the introduction explains, rest on a scale of formal (R3) to familiar (R1) and even vulgar (R1*).

The second part of the book deals with language use as framed by grammar rather than meaning. Chapters and sections tackle topics like “pronouns and verbs”, “impersonal objects”, “noun and adjective” and loads of prepositions in Italian. You’ll read through more explanations in this part, but the authors still focus on sample Italian sentences and phrases.

The explanations in this grammar are descriptive, relating how Italian is used in Italy, and by modern Italians. The book ends with a list of interjections and filler words, and two great indices: an index of every Italian word discussed in the book, and an index of grammar topics.

Sophisticated and advanced language learners will find this Italian grammar refreshingly relevant. Linguists, even those with little knowledge of Italian, also stand to benefit. Using Italian puts so many examples of tricky Italian usage at your fingertips. It’s sound, pertinent, well organized, hard-hitting Italian. Highly recommended if you could use such a resource.

Score: 6/10

pros:
themed lists of thousands upon thousands of Italian words & phrases; good variety of topics; solid organization; can help students beef up vocab & tourists complement their travel phrasebooks; vocabulary lists included are up-to-date and pertinent

cons:
no index, no way to look up specific words!; must-know tips offer stingy and random advice about Italian grammar and culture; not basic enough for a phrase book, yet not organized like a dictionary; some more detail or info about certain entries is needed (such as the way dictionaries use key terms); no pronunciation help & no indication of how to pronounce any of these words

Daniella Gobetti’s Must-Know Italian: 4,000 Words that Give You the Power to Communicate is a compendium of words and phrases sorted by topic. This book’s format almost makes it a large Italian phrasebook, or an extensive themed vocabulary list. With that in mind, let’s see how it might help you learn the language.

The introduction explains how the book functions, and how to read each vocabulary entry. In each list of words, the author marks false friends with FF, includes definite articles with nouns, and gives verbal prepositions in brackets (like “occuparsi [di]“).

The book is divided into twelve chapters. Each chapter has an overarching theme, like “A Place to Live”, “Education” or “People and Relationships”. Within each chapter, sections tackle more specific topics, and these sections are dominated by word/phrase lists. “People and Relationships” has sections like “Physical Descriptions” (listing parts of the body) and “Family Relations” (I’ll let you guess what kind of words you’ll learn there…).

The word lists themselves take up the majority of the book. This is a reference guide with translations of Italian and English vocabulary, and no explanations or handholding.

These lists have two columns – English text on the left, Italian translation on the right. All the Italian words are bold, making them easy to spot. Here’s a sample pulled from page 82:

As you can see, words are the main focus, while phrases using certain words are secondary and given in italics beneath the word used.

Short, gray “Must Know Tip” boxes add some language and even culture advice, but they’re scattered and limited in appearance and scope.

The end of the book has a nice bonus: over 40 pages of exercises. While they’re mostly fill-in-the blank and multiple choice questions, these practice activities are numbered to correspond to the twelve chapters in the book. After that, you’ll find answers to the exercises.

Although the six-page table of contents lists every topic and subtopic in the book, it’s frustrating that this volume lacks any sort of index or cross-referencing of any kind. The back cover proclaims that “your search for the right word in Italian is over”. That’s only true if you can guess which words are organized into which categories/topics. There’s no way to search for specific words here.

If you’re a later beginner or intermediate student looking to expand your base in Italian vocabulary, Must-Know Italian has some word smarts for you. It’s well organized and covers a variety of topics, but it’s not without its faults. You’ll be better off if you come to this book looking to expand your ability to talk about certain topics, rather than searching for specific words and phrases.

A second group to benefit from this book, perhaps unintentionally, is the semi-informed business traveler or leisure tourist. If you’re planning a trip to Italy, and have some basic knowledge of Italian (or plan to buy simpler phrase books to back you up), this vocab builder could act as a great, robust conversation enhancer. It’s organized by theme, just like your average phrasebook, so it’s a worthy recommendation for your travels to Italy as well.

Score: 10/10

pros:
huge number of entries & translations; key words make choosing the right translation easy; example phrases & sentences clarify potentially troublesome translations; lots of depth on each word; IPA pronunciation for every Italian word; great formatting & organization; verb charts (irregular and regular); useful middle section gives tons of help on tough-to-translate Italianisms, sample letters & important expressions for written and spoken activities

cons:
this is BIG (a factor of how much material squeezed into it); perhaps better for later students, but anyone learning Italian can get a lot out of it

The Italian College Dictionary is a thick, hefty dictionary with hundreds of thousands of words and translations. You’re bound to find most any word you’re looking for translated from Italian to English or English to Italian.

The Eng-It section comes first, followed by It-Eng. In both, main entries are listed in bold text, followed by IPA pronunciation (Italian spelling is fairly transparent, but it’s nice to see how to pronounce your e’s and o’s, when to double the length of your consonants and where to stress each word). The part of speech is abbreviated, then translations are given.

Key words help you find the right translation when there’s more than one to chose. If you look up speak, perhaps you’re thinking of words or lines, in which case you’d say dire in Italian, or speaking a language, which is parlare. The dictionary presents such choices like this: (words, lines) dire; (language) parlare.

What’s more, any potentially confusing entry offers you the chance to read the word in context, with useful translations of functional language, not just individual words: she speaks Italian lei parla italiano; dire quello che si pensa to speak one’s mind.

Even though this dictionary confronts you with a monstrous number of words, these nice features make it hard to get lost or confused. Meaning helpers like (fam!) for slang/inappropriate, (fam) for familiar and (fig) for figurative cue you into how to use words.

Although the sheer number of words and translations here, combined with ease of search, are the star, this dictionary brings along some extras. The introduction has an irregular English verb chart, along with regular and irregular Italian verb tables. The gray-edged pages, smack dab in the center, demonstrate “language in use” with examples. Those examples include loads of tricky-to-translate phrases between English and Italian. These phrases cover topics like requests, suggestions, apologies, thanks, invitations, and more.

The editors also took the time to include samples of written Italian – typical letters, a resume and cover letter, commercial and personal correspondence, tips on essay writing. There’s even a page full of standard expressions for talking on the telephone in Italy. Rest assured, you won’t be at a loss for words in Italian.

The introduction does an excellent job of explaining how to use the dictionary – every last piece of it – including visual examples of dictionary sections.

You may not be ready for it yet, or you may be looking for something smaller and pocket-sized for now, but the Italian College Dictionary will kick your dictionary experience up a notch. Not only does it include words your current dictionary lacks, but it gives more and better translations of even the most basic words. Among the most highly recommended Italian dictionaries I’ve come across.

If you’re skeptical about this resource, or want to do some comparison shopping, check out Oxford-Paravia Italian Dictionary for a similarly weighty and lexically abundant tome. On the other hand, you might be considering a purchase in the exact opposite direction: check out my review of the Beginner’s Italian Dictionary.