Electronic dictionaries vs online dictionaries

[greytop]

.......I have tried using an electronic dictionary but on reflection realised that one of the advantage of a paper dictionary is all the things you discover by accident when looking something up. That does not happen with an electronic dictionary which simply focusses on the one word you are seeking. :rolleyes:
Have you tried wordreference (http://www.wordreference.com/) ? It may not be the ultimate dictionary but lists words "around" the one you look up on the left hand side. It also has links to other related words and finally links into the user forums. I frequently get several layers down and spend a happy ten minutes instead of doing what I set out to!

[Stu]

Thanks for that.

I was actually thinking about electronic dictionaries such as the hand-held Franklin Spanish Professor which I once bought for the convenience of both using in bed and getting very quick access to a word. But, as I said, I did not find the experience very exciting.

You are right about online dictionaries, quite a different matter. I use Word-Reference

http://www.wordreference.com/es/en/translation.asp?spen=aflojo&dict=esen&B=Buscar

all the time and, like you, when I do not find what I want in the main dictionary I usually find it in the forum and a lot more besides. The ability of online dictionaries to construct meaning by using online communities is hugely exciting.

Best wishes

Stu

[que]

I agree. Wordreference is my first stop.

The forum is huge. I did my first post on there the other day, and within one minute it was answered. 1,000's of people on there at any one time. I also use a search plugin for my firefox which is great.

[Ben]

For really really tricky or technical stuff, try www.proz.com (http://www.proz.com) - it's a translators website with an amazing online glossay which you can search along with several other resources at the same time, using their web term search (http://www.proz.com/wts) page.

They also have an amazing 'ask a pro' feature which I use a lot when I am translating, whereby if your term is not in their database, you can consult other translators. You fill in a form and an email is fired off to around 500 translators in your field around the world, and within minutes you have emails appearing in your inbox with suggested answers. It's for high-end and technical language really, but may come in useful some day!

Another very technical/professional translation resource is Eurodicautom (http://europa.eu.int/eurodicautom/Controller), which is also included in the 'web term search' facility I mention above (if you use it direct from this link, rather than via the web term search page, make sure you click 'All Fields' in the 'Display' setting when entering your query.)

For everything else and day to day stuff, I agree, Wordreference.

[Ben]

For the ultimate Spanish to Spanish on-line dictionary, you can't beat the La Real Academia Española (http://www.rae.es/)'s on-line Spanish dictionary (http://buscon.rae.es/diccionario/drae.htm).

[Edith]

Have you tried wordreference (http://www.wordreference.com/) ? It may not be the ultimate dictionary but lists words "around" the one you look up on the left hand side. It also has links to other related words and finally links into the user forums. I frequently get several layers down and spend a happy ten minutes instead of doing what I set out to!

I love Wordreference and I always use it when I am online, even though I have got several good dictionaries (Spanish-Dutch and Dutch-Spanish, Spanish-English and English-Spanish) at home.

[omeyas]

I love Wordreference and I always use it when I am online, even though I have got several good dictionaries (Spanish-Dutch and Dutch-Spanish, Spanish-English and English-Spanish) at home.

Ditto, I find it an excellent resource. Just out of curiosity I have just looked at the site and there are nearly 2,600 people viewing the site!

[omeyas]

Bought this (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/The-Pop-Up-Oxford-Spanish-Dictionary-New-Sealed_W0QQitemZ7226829188QQihZ015QQcategoryZ41932 QQssPageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)a few months back, and it works well. It sits on the top of your screen, and you simply right click on any word you want looking up, Spanish or English. For the price, it's a good resource.

[timg]

Bought this (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/The-Pop-Up-Oxford-Spanish-Dictionary-New-Sealed_W0QQitemZ7226829188QQihZ015QQcategoryZ41932 QQssPageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)a few months back, and it works well. It sits on the top of your screen, and you simply right click on any word you want looking up, Spanish or English. For the price, it's a good resource.

I agree. Cost me about 10 quid new in a UK bookshop. Bargain.

[greytop]

Does it find parts of verbs, plurals etc? I have a Cambridge dictionary that came with a CDROM version but it is a bit choosy about which words it will find, only the verb infinitive or singular nouns for example.
I also tried a dictionary extension to Firefox but it caused problems so I scrapped it. So far WordReference has been the least problematic, even if you do have to swap windows to use it.

[richardksa]

I think WordReference has it. Why go elsewhere, particularly now in many cases it will sound the word for you. That's brilliant when you are learning alone. I must be nuts. There are 14 languages spoken around me all day long and I'm learning the one that no one speaks!!

[Brian]

I would agree, definitely. You can now add Wordreference to your google homepage, and I think there's a toolbar, too.