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Best Foreign Dictionaries & Thesauruses

GENKI I: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese (English and Japanese Edition)
Second edition of the most highly regarded teaching text book on the Japanese language, covering speaking, listening, reading, and writing to cultivate overall language ability.
Reviews
"I moved to Japan about 10 months ago and I needed a textbook to learn the language. That's true of any textbook, but with Genki it's even more so because the authors don't hold your hand and the book is written with the assumption that you are serious about learning Japanese. There is much to be gleaned from both, though the "useful expressions" sections are usually outstanding and provide supplementary words and sentences on a variety of common topics, such as counting, classroom vocabulary, train station expressions and doctor office visits. Then there are a few pages of practice, in which you will write the kanji you learned alone and in compounds, read various letters or stories and answer questions. 4) Meet with my Japanese teacher and do the conversation exercises (took 2-4 hours of class time per lesson). I feel quite comfortable in stores, restaurants, train stations, post offices, and the like. I can talk, to a limited extent, about the weather, my childhood, my job, my future plans, my schedule for tomorrow, and other common topics. Anyone serious about studying Japanese will get a lot out of this book, provided he or she is willing to put in the necessary work!"
"Don't stress too much though because there are plenty of sites to practice, such as lang-8, a free site where you help Japanese people learn English and they help you with Japanese in terms of writing, reading and speaking. This Second Edition comes with a CD, updated lessons, simpler ways of explaining grammar, and much more. If your'e grasp on English grammar is poor, well you might need to dedicate more hours into grammar, because it is DIFFICULT if you don't know what certain things are."
"Great textbook but it is made for a classroom setting and has group activities so if you are am independent learner you have to do things a little differently."
"I started with "Japanese for Busy People", but then I started a class that used this book."
"Got what I wanted 100% has great lessons and I think im going to learn a lot with this!"
"The Romanization threw me off....so much in fact that I had to go learn katakana (I already knew hiragana) before I continued past chapter two of the textbook."
"Learned a lot but it can be confusing so it is best to have a teacher to guide you since there re times were a character is not pronounced as written such as with a silent vowel or character can be pronounced differently depending on the content."
"I'm trying to teach my teenage daughter Japanese and tried other books and CD's."
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Japanese from Zero! 1: Proven Techniques to Learn Japanese for Students and Professionals (Volume 1)
Features of Book 1: * Integrated Workbook with Answer Key. * Over 800 New Words and Expressions. * Learn to Read and Write Hiragana. * Easy-to-Understand Example Dialogues. * Culture Points about Japan. * Bilingual Glossaries with Kana and Romaji. ...and much more! George Trombley is a professional Japanese interpreter who over the past 16 years has interpreted for corporations such as Microsoft, IBM, NTT DoCoMo, Lucent Technologies, and in countries throughout North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Reviews
"After reading the reviews I quickly purchased both Japanese from Zero 1 and 2 and it was one of the best decisions I ever made. In the past year I have attempted to learn Japanese I often memorized the sentences presented to me with very little understanding of why a certain particle was used and how the grammar worked(hence the wall I hit). I finally found myself capable of applying grammar to my own sentences rather than simply memorizing the one's presented to me. Nearly once every lesson I came across a hirigana letter that I didn't recognize and it would take me a good 5min each time before I realized that it was a mistake and we hadn't actually been introduced to the letter yet. I also wish there was an ending section to the book with 'extra practice problems' or 'put it all together' activities to apply everything you learned in the entirety of the book."
"Coupled with videos online, the material is properly paced to learn the right things in Japanese without burning you out. It's kind of addicting... Have fun and totally buy this book."
"One thing that I appreciate is that he gives you a quick rundown of the formal Japanese (so that you recognize it when it pops up), but then focuses on how you'll most hear / be using it. This is a wonderful mechanism for learning as he eases you into everything rather than having massive knowledge dumps which feel discouraging. However, I would appreciate having extra examples or additional explanation of nuances like that you would find on the website / youtube version. Again, I would recommend combining this with George Trombley's online resources so you can receive a few more helpful examples, pronunciation, and Japanese nuances. I definitely think you get a good deal for this as compared to other language learning programs (way better and cheaper than Rosetta Stone if that is on your mind). This book consists of 13 chapters and gives you the basic structure of the Japanese Language. "Even dust when piled up becomes a mountain". As a little bit of my personal background, I have learned Portuguese as a second language and lived their several years. My experience in learning it was horrible, solely because I did not have anyone take the time to give me that down-to-earth explanation of how Portuguese functioned. This friend transformed my Portuguese within a week so I sounded like a native and I could be considered "fluent"."
"This book is exactly what is says Japanese from Zero."
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Rick Steves' Italian Phrase Book & Dictionary
This handy guide provides key phrases for use in everyday circumstances, complete with phonetic spelling, an English-Italian and Italian-English dictionary, the latest information on European currency and rail transportation, and even a tear-out cheat sheet for continued language practice as you wait in line at the Sistine Chapel. With the help of his hardworking staff of 80 at Europe Through the Back Door—in Edmonds, Washington, just north of Seattle—Rick's mission is to make European travel fun, affordable, and culturally broadening for Americans.
Reviews
"My husband and I -- who travel frequently and rarely get sick -- contracted some kind of horrible flu/sinus infection/plague on the way out or Rome and needed to seek urgent medical consultation and care from a pharmacy on the Amalfi coast. The Rick Steves guide came to our rescue because it had more than three times the amount of health and medical vocabulary than the Lonely Planet book, which we desperately needed because we had a lot of specific symptoms to communicate and the pharmacist/doctor only spoke a few words of English."
"Very inclusive and informative."
"Love this little book."
"Came in handy many times for reference."
"Rick Steves does it again."
"Great when paired with his free audio guides (not to mention PBS specials)."
"Love this book."
"Book helped me with short phrases on first trip to Italy."
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Best English Dictionaries & Thesauruses

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary
Special sections include: A Handbook of Style, Foreign Words & Phrases, Biographical Names and Geographical Names. The Merriam brothers desired a continuity of editorship that would link Noah Webster's efforts with their own editions, so they selected Chauncey A. Goodrich, Webster's son-in-law and literary heir, who had been trained in lexicography by Webster himself, to be their editor in chief. Assuming that a lower price would increase sales, the Merriams introduced the 1847 edition at $6, and although Webster's heirs initially questioned this move, extraordinary sales that brought them $250,000 in royalties over the ensuing 25 years convinced them that the Merriams' decision had been abundantly sound.
Reviews
"When using it as a writer (I know the word, but not its spelling, nor if I completely understand the word I seek to use) and not as a reader, I would have been more pleased if those who had added electronic usability had also made it more intuitive to those of us with poorer ability to spell by more simply allowing the browsing for a word as is done with a paper dictionary."
"Received what I ordered and needed."
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Best Dictionaries

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary
Special sections include: A Handbook of Style, Foreign Words & Phrases, Biographical Names and Geographical Names.
Reviews
"When using it as a writer (I know the word, but not its spelling, nor if I completely understand the word I seek to use) and not as a reader, I would have been more pleased if those who had added electronic usability had also made it more intuitive to those of us with poorer ability to spell by more simply allowing the browsing for a word as is done with a paper dictionary."
"The dictionary I recommend to my college composition classes."
"This was a gift."
"I bought this after being unhappy with some of the New Oxford definitions."
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Best Thesauruses

The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide To Character Expression
One of the biggest problem areas for writers is conveying a character's emotions to the reader in a unique, compelling way. Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi are bestselling authors, writing coaches, and international speakers.
Reviews
"In my opinion, this guide could be useful to both new and experienced writers of fiction. For the former, this is an amazing resource for learning how to write convincing characters and see how emotions translate into writing (then, hopefully, provoking sympathy, empathy, or whatever feeling you wish to evoke in the reader). For the latter, I would say that this can easily be a go-to reference for experienced writers to shake things up a bit and to avoid the long hours of research it would require to do the legwork already done in this guide."
"This book should be a must for every fiction author."
"An invaluable guide for novice writers and their endless struggle with the crucial "show, don't tell" dictum."
"It has suggestions for nearly every emotion you can think of."
"As a new writer, I have been using this with my current WIP, and it has helped when I am searching for the correct actions to describe a particular emotion my characters are feeling."
"An extremely helpful resource."
"An absolutely awesome reference book for those who are writing or acting."
"It digs deep by talking not only about external signs, but internal as well, giving writers significantly more to play with in the wording of their novels."
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Best Slang & Idiom Reference Books

Knickers in a Twist: A Dictionary of British Slang
Brits and Americans dress the same, eat at the same chain restaurants, pass music back and forth across the Atlantic, and our national leaders are practically conjoined twins.
Reviews
"I am finding the book interesting."
"I have to say this book has most of the slang, I was a little disappointed when reading the book from beginning to end to know that they didn't have some of the slang."
"Makes a change from the books that think all English people are living in cockney London in the 18 hundreds!"
"This is a gift for my husband... he originally grew up in the UK but moved to America at the age of 15. I snuck the book out of its hiding place for me and the kids to read and it made us laugh so much."
"the slang is so funny and I have used a few in conversations with friends( who look askance at me) a very funny addition to your library."
"Found out that our family is from Britain so I bought this book at a flag as a joke for my sister."
"This was a gift for my mother in law who was born and raised in England and came to the States at age 19."
"Unfortunately this "dictionary" is not arranged as a dictionary but as a series of articles."
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Best Synonym & Antonym Reference Books

Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words
With some one thousand entries, from “a, an” to “zoom,” that feature real-world examples of questionable usage from an international array of publications, and with a helpful glossary and guide to pronunciation, this precise, prescriptive, and–because it is written by Bill Bryson–often witty book belongs on the desk of every person who cares enough about the language not to maul or misuse or distort it. Fowler's A Dictionary of Modern English Usage as an authority, though he also makes a handful of references to recent texts, such as the Encarta World English Dictionary and Atlantic Monthly columnist Barbara Wallraff's "Word Court." Despite the revisions, the book often betrays its origins as a British text, as in citing words in common usage throughout the U.K. and British Commonwealth, but rarely used by American writers, such as Taoiseach, the Prime Minister of Ireland or City of London vs. city of London.
Reviews
"This was a gift."
"Fun to read, this is a great primer on the often subtle distinctions between words such as "gantlet" and "gauntlet.""
"And slightly disconcerting discoveries that you had previously totally not understood the true meaning, or for that matter had any idea what the word or phrase had meant."
"I won't remember all situations from the book, of course, but the book has planted a seed so I probably will remember to check in the future."
"The misused, the misunderstood and even the mis-spelled are treated with great humour and insight. Bryson is a highly observant wordsmith and his book should be read by all those who cherish English and its marvelous journey."
"I'm a sucker for reference books, and I've also started writing more."
"Rarely have I had this much fun from one book."
"SUCKS purchase Webster's spelling corrector cheap and promotes good vocabulari."
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Best Lexicography

Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries
Filled with fun facts—for example, the first documented usage of “OMG” was in a letter to Winston Churchill—and Stamper’s own stories from the linguistic front lines (including how she became America’s foremost “irregardless” apologist, despite loathing the word), Word by Word is an endlessly entertaining look at the wonderful complexities and eccentricities of the English language. An Amazon Best Book of March 2017: “We think of English as a fortress to be defended, but a better analogy is to think of English as a child,” writes Kory Stamper in her witty and surprising new book, Word by Word . And that’s why it flourishes.” Word by Word is part memoir, part history of dictionaries – in particular, those published by Stamper’s employer, Merriam Webster. The surprises come when she describes the difficulties of defining seemingly simple words like “nude” and “marriage.” Stamper and her fellow lexicographers work mostly in silence, but they can’t escape being drawn into our era’s vociferous political discourse. Along the way, there’s much pleasure to be had in Stamper’s down-to-earth, frequently ribald narrative style, which keeps Word by Word from feeling overly intellectual or highfalutin’. She has that special “feeling for language” she calls sprachgefühl: “the odd buzzing in your brain that tells you that ‘planting the lettuce’ and ‘planting misinformation’ are different uses of ‘plant.’” “Word by Word” offers laymen a glimpse into a crack lexicographer’s mind, and it turns out to be – definitively – a very entertaining place indeed. Stamper leads us through her own lexicographical bildungsroman, exploring how she fell in love with words and showing us how the dictionary works, and how it interacts with the world that it strives to reflect.” —Adrienne Raphel, The New Yorker “As a writer, Stamper can do anything with words. You will never take a dictionary entry for granted again.” —Mary Norris, best-selling author of Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen “A fascinating, even enthralling, examination of the way words actually work in our language, warts and all.” — The A.V. Stamper displays a contagious enthusiasm for words and a considerable talent for putting them together.” — The New Yorker “ Word by Word cherishes the dexterity involved in making dictionaries, and . Part of its quirky charm is a delight in the idiosyncrasies of others—not least Merriam-Webster’s many correspondents.” — The Wall Street Journal “Packed with the kind of word-lore that keeps readers and writers up late at night: Where do our words come from? An exuberant mash note to language.” — The Times Literary Supplement “[ Word by Word ] mixes memoiristic meditations on the lexicographic life along with a detailed description of the brain-twisting work of writing dictionaries.” — The New York Times “Anyone who loves words or has opinions about them will have fun in this sandbox of a book.” — The Washington Times “A delectable feast. [Stamper] declaims elegantly on the beauty and necessity of dialect, how to evaluate emerging words, and many other topics. [Stamper] presents passionate, precise, good-humored (and bad-humored) descriptions of every stage of the process that goes into making an entry.” — The Chronicle of Higher Education “[ Word by Word ] entertains as much as it instructs.” —Baltimore Sun “A captivating book.” — Lincoln Journal Star “Idiosyncratic and engaging.” — The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, IA). “A smart, sparkling and often hilarious valentine to the content and keepers of dictionaries. A paean to the craft of lexicography.’” — Shelf Awareness “A funny inside look at how new words make their way into dictionaries, an irreverent take on the history of English itself, and a memoir of [Stamper’s] own journey.” — Daily Hampshire Gazette “[A] marvelous insight into the messy world behind the tidy definitions on the page. It is perhaps unsurprising, given her line of work, that Stamper employs words with delightful precision in her writing.” — Booklist.
Reviews
"Stamper reminded my that my irritation over the use of "defense" as a verb or "irregardless" as a word is simply my peevishness over people not using language the way I think it should be used."
"I've owned printed dictionaries before (even had a copy of the venerable Encyclopedia Britannica once) but seldom used them for jobs other than holding doors open."
"Jealous as I am that Kory Stamper is PAID to research words, their usage, history, meanings, I am smitten by her good humor and good writing."
"Fascinating book about how dictionaries are made."
"For those who love the English language or wish to better understand it."
"A wonderful book, entertaining, instructing, and riveting, even to an Englishman who spells , and perhaps thinks, differently and would never end up with a preposition."
"Fascinating, the author, the subject."
"For anyone who loves the English language, this book is for you."
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