Russian Dictionaries

[Richard]

I'm interested in buying a Russian English / English Russian dictionary.   I searched the archives and came up with a recommendation of a dictionary by Kenneth Katzner over the Oxford Russian Dictionary.  Given that the recommendation is more than a year year old and the dicationary listed on Amazon is copyright 1994 (I think), does anybody have an opinion on what to buy?  Is the Katzner dictionary still the best choice?

Also, does anybody have any suggestions for learning Russian, other than Pimsleur?  My hearing is bad and I never know when I'm mishearing something when there is nobody to correct me.

[JohnG]

... in response to Russian  Dictionaries, posted by Richard on Apr 27, 2003

Olga and I have used the Oxford, both hardcover and the little paperback. We both prefer this version. Go to a bookstore like Barnes and Noble or Borders and check them out. Buy the one you think is best for you.

[oneiroknight]

... in response to Russian  Dictionaries, posted by Richard on Apr 27, 2003

For a Russian/English dictionary, I would say that Oxford is the best for both the comprehensive as well as the compact one.  However, if you happen to be a PDA user, then I would recommend purchasing the one from Penreader.com, which is large, and fits well on a PDA.  

For the language, though I am quite the amatuer, I fully believe that Pimsleur is the best.  I have books, I have tapes, I have software, and I have been through a college course...  and though I learned from each, the Pimsleur Program provided the most results in the amount of time spent.  If you can't use the Pimsleur CDs effectively, then you may consider getting CD set from transparent.com
They have a CD program that can be used with your microphone and computer that will give you a graphic display of your pronunciation, and compare it with the native speaker's inflections.  This might be helpful for you.

[John K]

... in response to Russian  Dictionaries, posted by Richard on Apr 27, 2003

Katzner is still the one that sits on our shelf.  I prefer it over others, as there is a better chance of finding what I want in there.

Marina likes a small pocket dictionary that I bought a few years ago.  It's small (but fat) and fits into a pants pocket.  It has a vinyl cover on it, which makes it wear nicely.  It has several thousand words in it, which makes it pretty complete for everyday conversations.  I wish I could tell you the name of it, but Marina keeps it with her when she travels back to Ukraine.  :-(

[davet]

... in response to Russian  Dictionaries, posted by Richard on Apr 27, 2003

We have Katzner as well as a couple of the small palm sized (1 inch thick) dictionaries.  The small ones always seem to be in the right place for checking a work.  The Katzner is good though.  No experience with the Oxford.  We got the Katzner on half.com for about $11.  Check eBay as well.

[wilmc]

... in response to Russian  Dictionaries, posted by Richard on Apr 27, 2003

The BBC produces three Russian language aids, "Russian Phrase Book," "Talk Russian," and "Russian Language and People."  They are all available with cassettes.  I bought mine in London but I believe that you can order them from the USA.  Check the BBC web site.  I also used the "Berlitz Russian Phrase Book and Dictionary."

My girl friend gave me a "The Pocket Oxford Russian Dictionary," it is helpful for translating written Russian.  

You might want to look for a local college that offers a course or two in Russian.  Urban and Community Colleges often have evening programs.  

I also find that the new Russian immigrants in my community are very happy to help me with translations and pronunciation.  Personal instruction is the best.

[Alfred]

... in response to Re: Russian  Dictionaries, posted by wilmc on Apr 28, 2003

There isn't much of an opportunity for formal russian education arround where I live. The local state university no longer teaces Russian.  The nearest state university offers 3 semesters, but it's an hour away and taught during the day.  

By the way, I live in South Florida.  I think I heard that there are some 5 million people between Miami and West Palm Beach. I geuss that they are too spread out to support evening school for all but the most popular subjects.

I have given some thought to hiring a tutor, but want to cover the basics on my own first.

[JohnG]

... in response to Re: Re: Russian  Dictionaries, posted by Alfred on Apr 28, 2003

Alfred, you are right. I live in Ft. Lauderdale and cannot find any of the schools teaching Russian. A Coral Springs HS used to have an evening class but I haven't seen it in some time.

[wilmc]

... in response to Re: Re: Russian  Dictionaries, posted by Alfred on Apr 28, 2003

S. FL, I bet there are lots of new Russian immigrant sun seekers in your neighborhood that would be happy to do some tutoring.  I found most of my new Russian friends at a Russian Deli that just opened in my town.
Worth a try.

[SteveM]

... in response to Russian  Dictionaries, posted by Richard on Apr 27, 2003

I don't tend to learn well off audio, even though my hearing is fine.  The book that helped me the most was Russian in Three Months, which is in the Hugo series.  Two years later, I still haven't finished it, but every time I master a chapter, my Russian gets better.

[RickM]

... in response to Russian  Dictionaries, posted by Richard on Apr 27, 2003

If you want a good dictionary for "writing" Russian and learning how to "pronounce" Russian you may consider the "Transliterated Dictionary of the Russian Language by Eugene Garfield.It is "not" in the cyrillic alphabet but rather in the "latin" form alphabet (same as English) and it makes the written words very phonetic and pronouncable.

"Again"...This is "not" cyrillic but in the "latin-type" of alphabet and good only for "writing" and not speaking.It would do you no good to learn this way of writing Russian if you went to Russia because all the signs would be in cyrillic however if you wanted to write something that any Russian would understand and have a chance of how to pronounce it at the same time it would be a wonderful help...

[Zink]

... in response to Russian  Dictionaries, posted by Richard on Apr 27, 2003

I'm not familiar with the Katzner dictionary. But I use the Oxford Intermediate dictionary and like it. It's also available in an advanced version. I have a Collins Gem dictionary that I used to carry with me. It's fairly large but will fit in a jacket pocket. I also have a made in Russia dictionary that's pocket size. At times I've needed to use all of them and even then not found the words I wanted.

As for learning aids I have Pinsluer II, Living Language Russian cassettes and books, New Penguin Russian Course book  and Teach Yourself Beginner's Russian Grammar book. The Teach Yourself series is by far the best in my opinion. I only have the grammar book(my weak spot) but they have books and cassettes on a variety of areas. I like being able to listen to the language being spoken but I learn much more quickly by reading. A tutor is best but that option isn't available to me except when I'm in Russia. And when I'm there I usually find other ways to occupy my time.

[JohnG]

... in response to Re: Russian  Dictionaries, posted by Zink on Apr 27, 2003

no matter how hard I try, I cannot say the Russian word for mouse, or their word for "you" either for that matter. I find that sound to be the most difficult! Maybe it's my NY accent screwing things up.

[Zink]

... in response to Re: Russian "mouse" or "y..., posted by JohnG on Apr 30, 2003

Û is a nasty letter. After almost 3 years of practice I can pronounce it right part of the time. There's many words that give me trouble. I was very proud when I was able to say ïðåïîäàâàòåëü. Ëóê and Ëþê sound the same the way I say them. I'm getting better but it's slow process.

[Richard]

... in response to Re: Russian  Dictionaries, posted by Zink on Apr 27, 2003

I agree with you about the tutor, but I haven't checked into that option yet.   I took Russian many years ago in college, but didn't keep up with it.  I would like to review what I learned before on my own instead of using a tutor for this.

Besides, right now, I am more concerned with written Russian: for reading personal adds and maybe trying to respond in Russian.  I also want to be able to understand what is being said arround me when I try again.