Collins. Do more. (Collins Compact Italian Dictionary)

Member Name: saz_alicious

Product:	Collins Compact Italian Dictionary
Date:	12/08/09 (30 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great handy little dictionary which beats the pocket-sized versions

Disadvantages: obviously not as comprehensive as your gigantic dictionaries

The first thing we were told when we started our very first Italian lesson at uni was: DO NOT BUY A POCKET SIZED DICTIONARY. Instead we were ordered to invest in the big double-decker-sized multi-lingual dictionary as the other forbidden kind was too basic for our needs. So, I promptly purchased my big-sized dictionary from Amazon and was relatively happy.

However, when it comes to travelling home between term dates it is too difficult to lug a massive dictionary into a bag and onto the train only to be pushed under the bed to be used maybe once or twice for the odd Italian essay. Also, if you're lying in bed late at night and have a sudden urge to know the Italian for something like 'teacup' or 'insomnia' it can be quite cumbersome having to lift a heavy dictionary up to bed-level and flick through it. So I broke the rules and went on the hunt for a smaller pea-sized version to accompany what I already had.

I could have ordered off Amazon but I needed to use one asap, so I went to Waterstones as I had some vouchers. They do a range of books which are clumped together in make: Oxford, Collins, Paravia etc. I browsed through a number of the smaller dictionaries but for me, the Collins dictionary stood out.

Size matters
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The most appealing thing about the Collins dictionary is that it's not your average pocket-size, it's a 'compact edition' and is in length, somewhere between the big dictionary and the pocket sized dictionary- but a lot slimmer which makes it easier to carry around. It also means that the text is a little bit bigger than a pocket-sized one and the pages about twice as big which makes it easier when you're flicking through and looking for words.

Appearance
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The dictionary is very attractive with a bright, shiny green cover (replicating the green of the Italian flag I think). I've found that psychologically it also makes looking up the odd word a little less of a chore because you see the bright cover and the small size and know it will only take a few moments to find the relevant word. When I only had my big dictionary to hand I would sometimes just guess a word if I wasn't sure (very bad practice!) because I was pushed for time and didn't want to waste it ploughing through page after page.

Structure
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The dictionary has Italian-English at the front and English-Italian at the back. This is split up clearly with a single blank page in the middle.

Words
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Words are in two lists down each page. If you open out a double page, at the top of the left page is the first word on the page and at the top of the right page is the last word of the page which means to locate a word you can just simply skim over these two words to find out if the word will be on one of those two pages.

All of the words are in a bold blue which means they stand out. The translation is in black and any additional information such as example sentences in the required language are in bold. So aesthetically, the inside of the dictionary is as good as the outside. Also, I've also found that the colour helps your eyes to find a word.

Next to each word is a phonetic description of the word in brackets, an abbreviation (if it's a noun) to show whether its masculine/feminine and singular/plural and its definition. This is everything a language student needs to know.

e.g chitar'rista,-i,e [kitar'rista] sm/f guitarist, guitar player.

Price
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I paid £5.99 for mine in Waterstones although I'm positive you can bag yours a lot cheaper either new or second hand off Amazon.


The EXTRAS:
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Within the dictionary, now and then you'll come across the words: 'parole chiave' (for the Italian section) or 'key word' in the English section, which will identify for you if you've located a very useful or frequently used Italian/English word. When I see that label I always take a special note to make sure I remember what these words mean as I know they're likely to crop up again. Words like 'buono' (good) and 'ci' (us) get under the key word titles.

Here and there, the dictionary also includes snippets of background information on certain features important to Italian culture such as famous landmarks.

The first few pages of the dictionary also include:

1. A bit of background on William Collins- the founder of Collins' books.
2. Lists of abbreviations given in French and Italian
3. Phonetic transcription of Italian sounds (very useful for beginners)
4.Conjugation of lots of different Italian verbs (really useful for quick referencing)


I've used the dictionary umpteen times already and have only had to resort to my monster-sized dictionary once or twice for the odd word when it hasn't been quite as comprehensive as I needed. Yet, all in all- a great compact-edition dictionary with everything you'd expect plus a little bit extra!

Summary: A great buy!