Oxford Starter Russian Dictionary (Oxford Starter Dictionaries)

Rating:
Summary: Accessible dictionary for beginnging students of Russian
Review: This dictionary has helped me get through the first few semester of Elementary Russian. It's not the usual scaled-down version of a larger dictionary because the editors kept in mind to include useful phrases that any beginning student of Russian would need to look up, and when you look up a word, it just doesn't give a list of ten possible translations, but it makes sure that you pick the one closest to your intended meaning.

Rating:
Summary: The most practical and useable dictionary in print!
Review: This is an outstanding resource with a unique format for improved user friendliness as compared to conventional dictionaries. The word content is free from esoteric and technical entries, but still relatively comprehensive. It is an essential reference for the beginner. The more advanced readers will also find it a convenient ready-reference tool as well, allowing the large bookshelf type dictionary to be reserved for occasional use. Although the dictionary is larger than pocket size, the ease of use and selected word content also makes this a very good selection for use as a travel dictionary.

Word entries have a larger font size and are blue, while the dictionary text is black and a smaller font, and spacing between entries is generous. These features make it much easier and faster to find a particular entry. For the beginner, even the basic usage of a dictionary is not necessarily a trivial task when it comes to the Russian language! This dictionary can be used with confidence, because another unique feature is a set of exercises to ensure the reader is using the dictionary effectively and correctly.

The only shortcoming of this dictionary is the absence of phonetic interpretations of Russian words. A brief pronunciation guide is included with the description of the Cyrillic alphabet, and the stressed syllable for each word is also indicated. Entire pronunciations for each word entry would be a valuable addition, however, because of the complex rules governing the pronunciation of Russian words.

Overall, this is an excellent resource!

Rating:
Summary: Perfect for the student
Review: This is more than a dictionary. This book contains all of the answers to the common grammatical questions concerning usage, declension, aspect and conjugation for each Russian entry. The English section contains full pages for broader topics, like colours, names and how to express possesion. I highly recommend this dictionary for the first or second year student.