Harrap’s 2001 two‐volume bilingual Harrap French Dictionary: Unabridged Edition is an update of their well‐established product the Harrap Standard French Dictionary, previously in four volumes. The work’s release marked the company’s centenary in 2001 and their distinguished involvement in language publishing since their foundation. The product is designed for more advanced users and as an authoritative library reference source. Both the contents and the format have undergone a major overhaul to take in new words, phrases, concepts, fashions and technologies.
A very pleasing aspect is the inclusion of the titles of films as well as works of art and literature within the main body of the dictionary. Translations of such titles can often be very different. Think of Hitchcock’s North by Northwest, translated by La mort aux trousses, for example, or Peter Greenaway’s The Draughtsman’s Contract which becomes Meurtre dans un jardin anglais in French. I also like the way that certain concepts are picked out in boxes for further explanation such as the Algerian war, Highland Games, Carnaby Street, Alésia, fauves, Harkis, merguez and agrégation. This will prove a very useful feature. Similarly allusions, quotations and advertising slogans are explained with their origin and usage, for example, Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream”, or Apollo 13’s “Houston, we have a problem”, or Scrooge’s “Bah humbug!” Such coverage makes the new Harrap dictionary an extremely valuable reference tool for a wide range of library users.
Advocates of devolution in Britain will be pleased to see it represented and explained. Similarly Harrap have used Belgian, Canadian and Swiss French consultants to ensure coverage of linguistic variations in these countries. Extras include sample letters, faxes, e‐mails, adverts, and envelopes as well as tables of administrative divisions, military rank and, of course, the traditional verb conjugations. There is even a bilingual chronology of key events for the relevant anglophone and francophone countries.
If the content of the dictionary is impressive, it is all the more disappointing that the font is not easy to read because it is too faint and too small. The sample letters, e‐mails and CVs are the worst example, but the font used for the main body of lexis itself requires close scrutiny. A number of colleagues disliked this aspect when asked. Harrap, however, have obviously had to compromise to save space and avoid charging more money. I wonder what expressions and gesticulations Monsieur Pilards’ characters might use regarding the font. Nevertheless, this Harrap work can be recommended to relevant libraries.
