Commonly
known as Lane's Lexicon, this is the most meticulous and thorough
Arabic-English dictionary ever produced. Because of its clarity and
logical structure, it is even used extensively by
serious
modern Arab linguists.
The English scholar Edward Lane spent decades collating, translating
and summarising material from classical Arabic dictionaries. He added
notations, references and comments which gives
modern students unparalleled access, in a single dictionary, to the
work of all the major classical lexicographers.
The clarity and logical structure of Lane's work can only fully
be appreciated by comparing it to the sources from which Lane
drew,
such as
Lisān al-'Arab
or
al-Qāmūs al-Muḥīṭ.
In many ways, Lane's Lexicon has made the use of classical Arabic
dictionaries almost obsolete for the English speaking student; almost,
but not quite.
For one thing, Lane's dictionary is incomplete. He died before he could
finish it, and so beyond the letter
qāf
there are incomplete notes only, which are nonetheless still of
considerable value. As well as this, some of the more obscure Arabic
words (even before the letter
qāf) are not
covered at all.
Also, it is very, very detailed! This is truly a dictionary for
the advanced student. A student who is not yet ready for it will simply
be overwhelmed, and it will hinder rather than aid his or her progress.
As a rule, don't start using Lane's Lexicon until you
are reasonably comfortable reading both modern and classical Arabic
texts, are able to use a basic classical
Arabic-Arabic
dictionary, and are finding that your understanding of
classical texts is hindered by your not having detailed enough
information about word usage.
Because this is a classical
multi-volume Arabic dictionary, it would be both impractical and
unhelpful to use it modern Arabic texts, such as newspapers - as with
Hava, you won't find the
words for 'car' or 'computer' in here.
Even if you have no real interest in modern Arabic, you will still need
a modern Arabic-English dictionary, such as
Hans
Wehr,
which, if used in conjunction with Lane's Lexicon, will alert you to
which words are more commonly used in Arabic today, and how, if at all,
their meanings have changed.
In conclusion, if used at the right stage of your Arabic education,
this dictionary will form an absolutely essential (if costly) accession
to you Arabic library.
