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The Firefly Five Language Visual Dictionary: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian

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35,000 entries and 6,000 color images from the arts, science, nature, industry and more. Do you know what that comb with the uneven teeth is called? Do you know the Spanish name for it? With The Firefly Five Language Visual Dictionary , finding and translating the names of thousands of objects, animals, and plants in five major languages is fast, simple and fun. The Firefly Five Language Visual Dictionary is an unparalleled reference to the world around us. Six thousand color illustrations are labeled in the five languages showing in color what other dictionaries can only describe in text. All the clear, concise illustrations are organized into a series of fully indexed sections. Each key word and phrase is connected to the detailed illustrations making identification and translations quick and accurate. The scope and depth of this reference are immense, covering an incredibly detailed range of terms This edition is ideal for anyone learning Spanish, French, German and Italian or those learning English as a second language.

1100 pages, Hardcover

First published August 7, 2004

60 people want to read

About the author

Jean-Claude Corbeil

136 books2 followers

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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
Profile Image for LINDA.
168 reviews7 followers
July 9, 2008
This is an excellent resource, I loved flipping through and seeing the words in all five languages. It is a great way to see the similarities between the languages for some words.

Very, very detailed. For example, it doesn't just give you the word for drumset, it breads down the drumset into components and gives you the word for each of those.

Hefty hardback book, it wouldn't be a good idea to try to lug this along while traveling.
Profile Image for Whole And.
979 reviews6 followers
July 3, 2018
An incredible resource with a remarkable amount of time and effort put into it.
Profile Image for Mycala.
551 reviews
May 30, 2016
I adore this book. I borrowed it from the library, but I will own it one day. Never mind if you're not learning any other languages -- just seeing this for the English language is a treat. There are very few things left out. My mom wanted to see if they had all the specific dog breeds, and while there are several it is by no means exhaustive. That being said, there are plenty of words in here, from costumes to the animal kingdom, medical illustrations to architecture, any sport I've been able to think of (and even cricket, which I had forgotten about) to musical instruments.. this is a fun book.

One reviewer mentioned this would be good for children. I suppose the pictures might keep them amused, although that's not really the purpose and I think the point was missed there.If you're looking for a ladder, this book offers the names of 12 specific kinds of ladders -- after all, ask someone for a ladder and you might get a different thing than you're thinking of. One person's ladder may be an extension ladder when another person might be looking for a stepladder. Did your doohickey on your bicycle break when you were biking across the German countryside? Well, now when you call the bike shop you can tell them the Kettenstrebe ist kaputt. Easy peasy. You'll be back on die Straße in no time.

I could go on and on about this book, but I think you get the idea. With the exception of our friend who mistook this for a children's book the reviewers all seem to be in agreement that this is a fun little book. If you like languages, pictures, and ways of organizing words, then I would imagine you could have hours of fun with this one.
17 reviews
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November 20, 2016
Corbeil, J. (2005). The Firefly Five Language Visual Dictionary English, Spanish, French, German, Italian. Ontario: Firefly.

Type of Reference: Dictionary

Call Number: REF 423 COR

Content/Scope: This reference has more than 6,000 detailed,colored images and 35,000 terms in the 5 languages. This is a very informative resource for those interested in learning or understanding another language.

Accuracy/Authority/Bias: Firefly is well-known for nonfiction publications for over 30 years. Children's reference books is one of their focus areas.

Arrangement/Presentation: Entries are organized by subject and theme. The themes have color coded tabs for easy access. Each image has the word or phrase in all 5 languages. Beyond the organized themes, there are 5 indexes-one for each language.

Relation to other works: The detail and depth of the entries in this resource are like no other. the five languages in one resource is a must for those in a multilingual environment.

Accessibility/Diversity: This resource is for the language learner for their own language or a second language or more. The detailed images reach the visual learner. The linguistic learner has a vast amount of knowledge with this resource. The themes bring in the various fields, concepts, and images for each entry to reach the diverse learners.

Cost: $49.95

Professional Review: Chylinski, M. (2005). The Firefly Five Language Visual Dictionary English, Spanish, French, German, Italian. Library Journal 130(3), 158.

Profile Image for Stuart Woolf.
156 reviews15 followers
July 12, 2015
This book is amazing. To think of all the time and effort it took to render all 6000 illustrations - and 6000 is probably an underestimate, because the book is 1000 pages long - only to translate each image and all of its components into five languages, well, it simply boggles the mind. The degree of specificity is overwhelming: even fluent speakers of English / Spanish / French / German / Italian will probably never use a significant portion of terms listed in this book, as there are full pages dedicated to Renaissance-era fashions and the various types of nuclear reactors.

Two thoughts come to mind when flipping through its pages: (A) how is this book not famous? And (B), what was the break-even price on the first edition of this book? Did the publisher go bankrupt?
Profile Image for Peter.
3 reviews
Want to read
March 22, 2007
This is the COOLEST book edifying in my own native language let alone the other four that I have dabbled in. Great illustrations.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews

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