The Pocket Interpreter Chinese

A pocket interpreter is a wonderfully optimistic object: small enough to fit in your hand, yet apparently ready to stand between you and linguistic disaster.

The Pocket Interpreter Chinese by Yan Jing is a compact phrasebook-style guide for those brave moments when pointing, smiling, and hoping for the best no longer seem sufficient. It belongs to that noble tradition of travel books designed to rescue the visitor from menus, taxis, hotels, shops, introductions, directions, and the terrifying possibility of needing to ask a practical question out loud.

There is a lovely irony in calling any language guide “pocket” when the language in question is Chinese. The book may be small, but the task is enormous. Still, that is part of the charm: a little printed ally against one of the world’s great languages, ready to provide useful phrases, polite expressions, and a modest sense of control.

This good copy, as sold by Crappy Old Books, is ideal for travellers, language learners, collectors of phrasebooks, or anyone who enjoys the pre-smartphone confidence of carrying civilisation in paperback form. A handy little reminder that before translation apps, we relied on books, courage, and occasionally very elaborate hand gestures.

Keep browsing: See more Langauge books Other books by Yan Jing