Reviewed by: Saint Papa Molakeng
Source: REAL magazine
Author: A S Hornby
ISBN 13: 9780194316583

As an English language graduate and journalist for many years, English has been a daily working medium for me, with dictionaries my indispensable tools. But, wow, the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (OALD) is a cut above the countless wordbooks I’ve used!

That the dictionary is designed for learners of English makes it highly useful: it’s direct and lucid, informative and instructive. While dictionaries tend to be cumbersome, the OALD is portable as it’s an A5 paperback. So you can carry it around and page through with ease if you have doubts about your English competence or you want words explained without confusing you, the OALD does it with accessible language. There are no frills and no verbiage-things that cloud ease of understanding.

To clarify words, sentences are constructed to illustrate meanings. Then the dictionary lists synonyms and antonyms. As this is an international dictionary dealing with the language spoken globally in different dialects, there are World English words, South Africa contributes “indaba”, “kwaito”. “biltong”, and others. Then there are concepts from computing, science, literature, business and cultural domains.

More than 30 pages have colour illustrations of words. There are reference sections that teach language and grammar usage – tense, pronouns, idioms, etc. Another section contains tips on how to write CV’s, letters. e-mails, essays, and telephonic and electronic messages.

Link to online catalogue
Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary : International Student’s 7th Edition