In the United States, 20 percent of the adult population is marginally
literate. Of these roughly 30 million people, approximately 1.8 million
are enrolled in basic skills literacy programs. Webster's New World has
created a dictionary that is uniquely designed to help these beginning
readers.
Webster's New World Basic Dictionary of American English defines 49,000
of the most commonly used words in the American English lexicon. These
are the words adult readers are most likely to encounter in newspapers
and magazines, on job applications and product instructions, on
advertising billboards and their children's school progress reports. The
dictionary defines these words in clear, easy-to-understand language,
using only words that are themselves defined in the dictionary, but
never condescending to the adult reader. Definitions are liberally
supplemented with example phrases and sentences that put words in
context and help new readers understand meaning and usage. Special notes
on synonyms help new readers differentiate between words with similar
meanings. And selected illustrations help readers identify and remember
words.
This quality paperback book is designed for ease of reading and use, as
well as for durability. Primarily created for native English speakers,
it is also a valuable reference for more advanced readers of English as
a second language. From the editors of the prestigious Webster's New
World College Dictionary, the Basic Dictionary of American English
brings the full scholarship behind that work to this important new
offering in the field of literacy.
