Hans
Wehr is undoubtedly the best know
Arabic-English dictionary.
Now in its fourth edition, this is a comprehensive dictionary of
modern Arabic, up to
date and very well laid out.
Any
student, whatever his or her level, will find it sufficient if
he or she is interested solely in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), such
as is found in newspapers, the Arab media and most books by modern
authors.
As the title suggests however, it is
strictly a dictionary for modern Arabic, compiled from a large Arabic
source material of modern Arab newspapers, books etc. As such, a
student who wishes to make a serious study of classical Arabic will it
severely limiting.
Hans Wehr is replete with "errors" in
definition and usage from a classical Arabic viewpoint, omits
many
classical Arabic words which have fallen out of use and
includes (without comment) many neologisms not yet approved by
the Arabic Language Academies, and
even
what would once have been considered colloquial Arabic.
For example, the dictionary gives two broken plurals for the adjective
kathīr ('many'), namely
kithār
and
kuthur,
both of which are in fact colloquial - the only classical plural is the
Sound Masculine Plural
kathīrūna.
Again, the
dictionary gives 'yesterday' as one of the meanings of the Arabic word
al-bāriḥa. This is
again a colloquial usage, arising from the classical
al-bāriḥah, meaning
'last night.'
All
of this is perfectly in keeping with the dictionary's methodology, as
these words have become part of the standard, educated Arabic language,
and are therefore regarded by the dictionary as correct modern Arabic.
Nonetheless,
for the reasons outlined above, this is an essential dictionary for any
Arabic student, and he or she will continue to find it useful
throughout his or her Arabic education. Even if you are primarily
interested in classical Arabic, Hans Wehr, with its focus on
modern language, will often help you find just the right way to
translate a classical term, where Arabic-English dictionaries which
focus on classical Arabic might give arcane English translations.
