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Title: The dictionary I turn to first
Review: This slim dictionary succeeds nicely at providing concise but accurate and understandable definitions of linguistic terminology.Serious linguists will also want to own David Crystal's Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics. Crystal's dictionary is larger and more complete in most respects, especially with regard to phonetics. On the other hand, Matthews' dictionary, unlike Crystal's, has brief entries on individual linguists (Panini, Halliday) and specific languages (Etruscan, Pashto). Overall, I find Matthews' dictionary more "user-friendly": smaller, cheaper, and easier to read. I find myself consulting Matthews first, and then turning to Crystal for an alternative perspective.
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