Customer Reviews:
 A good authority on the Ojibwe language July 13, 2008
This book lists english-ojibwe and ojibwe-english in two separate sections. It was an invaluable aid wheen I wrote Neitherworld, a science thriller featuring an Ojibwe girl and her family and ancestors. However, I found myself frustrated because the book was TOO concise and it was hard to make full ojibwe sentences without resorting to other sources.
 Excellent March 9, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I realy liked this book, because I use it for my Ojibwe Language Class and I had one copy but I sent it to my nephew in Kansas
Superb December 31, 2005
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
John Nichols and Earl Nyholm are two of the top linguistic experts on the Ojibwe language, and this dictionary is a collaboration between the two of them. It contains many words for parts of modern life (bemisemagak, "airplane," wiisiniwigamig, "restaurant," odaabaan, "car"), but also a wealth of terms for traditional aspects of Ojibwe life (zibaaska'iganagooday, "jingle dress," bagida'waa, "fish with a net," wiigwaasi-makak, "birch-bark basket"). It may not have 100,000 words like large dictionaries of well-studied languages like English, but it does have over 7,000 (which, for a language like Ojibwe, which has only recieved a lot of serious scholarship relatively recently, is quite impressive). Which may not sound like a lot, but I've found that, whenever I need to look something up, it's almost certain to be in there. The first few pages offer a (very brief) sketch of the phonology and a quick overview of some aspects of the grammar, although only enough to be used as a starting point for more detailed study using other resources. The book does not purport to be a grammar, however, but merely a dictionary, and a "concise" one at that. For a "concise" dictionary to nearly always have the word I'm looking up (I've been using it for about a year now, and there are still only a few words I've tried looking up that I haven't found) is a fairly impressive feat, at least in my mind. I'd highly recommend it to anyone interested in the Ojibwe people or the language.
Ojibwe Dictionary August 13, 2004
14 out of 15 found this review helpful
Given the price, I was not expecting this dictionary to be as long or as detailed as it is. Both the English-Ojibwe and the Ojibwe-English sections have multiple examples and word forms for each entry. There are 7000 words included here. I've bought $75 dictionaries with less material than this. An excellent value. Includes a pronunciation guide and a basic grammatical overview.
 This is a great informational book! April 20, 2002
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
As I am researching the Ojibwa peoples currently, I find myself pulling this book out 3-4 times a day, and it has not failed me yet. The vocabulary covered in this book is simply enormous, and if you're tired of looking at online dictionaries, pick up this book--well worth the cover price.My only complaint is that Ojibwe, being a 'verb-based' language rather than a noun-based like our own, is very hard to piece together in sentances. There is a tiny chapter at the beginning of this trying to explain it, but it doesn't do a very good job. Thus it's frustrating to look up one word and find 4 different spellings for it.
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