ENGLISH TRANSLATION COURSE

DICTIONARY 
Why use a dictionary? 

 to learn meanings of unfamiliar words

 to spell words correctly – incorrect spelling certainly gives a bad impression
 to find the pronunciation for a word
 to use words correctly so that you say what you mean and your writing is easy to
understand
 to find the correct spellings of derivatives (root words with suffixes or other
regular endings )
 build your vocabulary - looking up a word not only helps you understand and use
that word but the process of looking it up helps fix the word in your memory

Things to think about when choosing and using a dictionary

Choose a dictionary that’s fit for purpose

There are a number of different kinds of dictionaries depending on the word you’re
looking up and what you want to know about it. Choose from:

 Monolingual (one language), or explanatory dictionaries, e.g. English-English

dictionaries.
 Bilingual (two languages) dictionaries, e.g. English – Greek / Greek - English.
 Specialised dictionaries, e.g. dictionaries for specific subjects (such as maths,
biology, commerce, IT, etc.), technical terms, abbreviations, idioms, quotations,
slang or jargon, etc.
 Thesauruses, i.e. dictionaries of synonyms (words with the same meaning) and
antonyms (words with the opposite meaning).

Don’t look for new words in an old dictionary

For modern words and technical terms you’ll need a dictionary that’s not more than five
years old. If you have an older dictionary, it can still be useful, but remember that the
meanings of words change over time and new words are constantly being introduced -
maybe use an online dictionary for new words.

British vs. American English

Depending of our client, we may need to use British English in preference to American
English or vice versa, so choose an appropriate dictionary or one that presents both
languages (e.g. ‘colour’ and ‘lift’ rather than ‘color’ and ‘elevator’).

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Make sure you know how to use your dictionary

All dictionaries are slightly different so it’s worth spending a little time making sure you
know how to use your dictionary. For more information on this, please study the next file
(2_W1_How to use a dictionary_ref).

Using a spell checker

A spell checker, e.g. the MS Word spell checker, can be useful but there are a few things
you need to be aware of. Visit this page to read more on the use of spellchecker.

Free, online dictionaries

There are a number of good, free, online dictionaries - so have a look, explore the
various features, see which one suits your purpose.

Before you start using a dictionary, make sure you know how: this should be explained on
the home page or in the help page.

Here are some of the best online dictionaries:

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

Includes meanings, pronunciation, example sentences, usage, and collocations (words
that are used together). There's also a clear how-to-use section.

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Includes meanings, pronunciation, example sentences, collocations (words that are used
together), an academic word list, and good usage notes.

Cambridge Dictionaries Online

Includes a dictionary, thesaurus, word of the day, pronouncing dictionary and other
language resources; also includes a blog: About words.

Merriam-Webster
A good dictionary but note that it uses American spelling; includes a thesaurus, medical
dictionary, and a number of word games.

Your Dictionary.com
Provides links to a number of online dictionaries, including business and scientific
dictionaries; includes a grammar section, abbreviations, acronyms, quotations, and other
resources.

The Free Dictionary

Combines a number of dictionaries, including English, medical, legal and financial, a
thesaurus, acronyms and abbreviations, idioms, word games and other resources.

itools
Includes links to a number of dictionaries, thesauruses, online translators and other word
tools, such as a crossword solver and a scrabble solver.

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Note that most of these dictionaries include a thesaurus - very useful if you can't think of
exactly the right word, or want to avoid using the same word over and over.

Subject dictionaries

These are some online dictionaries containing subject-specific language, technical terms
and jargon.

Glossary of Business Terms - The Guardian

A list of business terms from A to Z.

Free On-line Dictionary of Computing - Denis Howe, editor

The Science Dictionary 

Searches multiple research sources for accurate scientific information.

NetLingo
Definitions that explain the online world of business, technology, and communication,
includes Internet acronyms and text messaging shorthand  

Psychology dictionary 
All Pscychology on line

Maths Words
Interactive maths dictionary: terms and formulas from beginning algebra to calculus.

Using Google

Did you know that you can also use Google as a dictionary?

Simply type 'define' and then your word in the search box, for example: define thesaurus.

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