A Pocket Dictionary of Cantonese

Book excerpt: While there are many Putonghua pocket dictionaries available on the market, there is a great dearth of Cantonese pocket dictionaries, and as the Rev. Roy T. Cowles wrote in the Foreword, ‘A convenient pocket dictionary of Cantonese is so evident a need that no apology is necessary for the presentation of this volume.’ The first section of the book is a Cantonese-English dictionary. Some 5300 characters, including duplicates pronounced variously, are listed, with about 4000 phrases. The second section consists of the English-Cantonese index. Cowles has made every endeavour to include every character in colloquial use, classified according to its use and frequency.