Oxford Fajar comes out with new English-Malay dictionary

THE Oxford Compact Advanced Learner’s English-Malay Dictionary meets the practical needs of advanced learners in English-Malay. 

The dictionary is a special Oxford Fajar Golden Jubilee publication corresponding with its 50-years in Malaysia. 

Oxford Fajar managing director Sharmini Nagulan said the company had been in the country since independence. 

“During this time we have published diverse educational materials ranging from textbooks and guidebooks to reference works and dictionaries. 

New: Nagulan and McCleary at thelaunch of the Oxford Compact AdvancedLearner’s English-Malay Dictionary.

“Oxford University Press is the custodian of the English language through its development of the Oxford Corpus, which is a large collection of written and spoken texts. 

“In line with this heritage, Oxford Fajar has also established itself as a leading publisher of dictionaries in Malaysia,” she said at the launch of the English-Malay dictionary at the residence of British High Commissioner to Malaysia William Boyd McCleary on April 26. 

McCleary and Nagulan jointly participated in the launch of the dictionary. 

Also present was Oxford University Press Dictionaries Publishing manager Judith Willis. 

Nagulan described Malaysia’s multicultural and multilingual society as having played a part in the development of the dictionary business. 

“This is possibly another reason that Malaysia is an excellent and lucrative dictionary market,” she said. 

Describing the English-Malay dictionary as a major undertaking, Nagulan said it took huge resources in terms of expertise, time and money. 

The dictionary has over 50,000 references covering current English and Malay words as well as general and specialist words and terminology used in different subjects such as sports, science, technology, geography, economics, history, language, literature and culture. 

There are an additional 1,000 new entries consisting mainly of ICT and Science and Mathematics terms, new words, phrases and expressions. 

It also has 330 attractive illustrations to help clarify meaning, including diagrams relating to technical subjects. 

The dictionary is also user friendly with accurate translation with proverbs and idioms related to specific root words to help increase the English and Malay vocabulary. 

“It has been translated from none other than the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (OALD) – the top selling dictionary in the world, with over 30 million copies sold worldwide,” she said, adding that the translation was carried out by Professor Datuk Dr Asmah Omar, a luminary in the fields of language, linguistics and lexicography. 

Nagulan said Dr Asmah had taken great pains to ensure the Malay language, as it is spoken, reflects the psycho cultural mapping of the Malay mind and was accurately documented. 

She said to compete in the world of science and technology, mastery of the English language was absolutely crucial. 

“The Government is determined that Malaysia should participate in the international arena and compete on equal terms with other countries. 

“To this end, Oxford Fajar has a role to play in bridging the gap between the Malay and English languages, through its bilingual dictionary programme. 

“The Oxford Compact Advanced Learner’s English-Malay Dictionary plays a key role in fulfilling this objective,” she added. 

Nagulan said the dictionary was suitable for students in secondary schools, institutions of higher learning, teachers and lecturers of English and Malay, personnel in the public and private sectors, staff of public and private libraries and the public.