This above all, to thine own self be true, And it must follow as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man. – Shakespeare [Polonius, in Hamlet, Act I Scene iii]
Mother tongue: Polish Joined: February 18, 2003 Location: Poland
Do you still use traditional dictionaries?
By "traditional" I mean published against payment, in any form, as opposed to free Internet resources. For options other than 1-3 feel free to elaborate.
To me, the future of the dictionary industry doesn't look much brighter than the future of the American auto industry. To be sure, people learning a language will continue to need dictionaries. And specialized dictionaries will remain useful. The Oxford English Dictionary, for a case in point, lays out the entire history of English before our eyes; it's a cultural treasure. (If, however, it were required to make money for its owners -- as most dictionaries now are -- not even the first volume of the first edition would have made it into print.)
In a recent thread, Jesse Sheidlower and I began discussing dictionaries and what they're good for. Jesse is editor at large at the Oxford English Dictionary, and as you might imagine, he considers dictionaries invaluable. My job includes fielding regular people's questions about language, so I'm constantly discovering new things that people wish dictionaries did, but they don't. I don't mean to suggest that lexicographers are particularly lazy or sloppy. But it seems to me that they invest a lot of hard work in things users don't need or want. ...
I really appreciate dictionaries. On a recent visit to CPH. I made the rounds of all the academic bookstores just to get two technical (legal and medical) dictionaries.
Unfortunately, without any luck
I also subscribe to an online dictionary, but there are many common mistakes in it and I don't trust it. I only use it when my memory (!) is playing tricks on me.
Mother tongue: Polish Joined: February 18, 2003 Location: Poland
RE: Do you still use traditional dictionaries?
Of course, I use a paper edition of OED and other dictionaries of English, etymology, foreign words, spelling, etc., but for my professional needs for the most recent specialized terminology in my combo Internet resources are unbeatable.
Let's take the example from Post #166945. Here is what I find in my paper dictionaries:
monetize - give a fixed value as currency; put (a metal) into circulation as money (Oxford Encyclopedic English)
monetization - sale of tresury bills to banks by the UK government to finance a budgetary deficit (The Oxford Dictionary for the Business World)
monetizzare (Italian) - to realize an investment at a profit (International Dictionary of the Securities Industry)
None of the above meanings coincides with what I found on the Web...
Originally written by Jacek Krankowski on January 15, 2009 2:22 PM
... for my professional needs for the most recent specialized terminology in my combo Internet resources are unbeatable.
Let's take the example from Post #166945. Here is what I find in my paper dictionaries:
monetize - give a fixed value as currency; put (a metal) into circulation as money (Oxford Encyclopedic English)
monetization - sale of tresury bills to banks by the UK government to finance a budgetary deficit (The Oxford Dictionary for the Business World)
monetizzare (Italian) - to realize an investment at a profit (International Dictionary of the Securities Industry)
None of the above meanings coincides with what I found on the Web...
Right!
A great way to bring home the point. It's true, the Internet is coming into its own. In 2001, it was very difficult to find a good ordinary online DA < > EN dictionary, let alone one with specialized terminology. Maybe it's time to exchange the cheap online one for something better.
Mother tongue: Polish Joined: February 18, 2003 Location: Poland
RE: Do you still use traditional dictionaries?
In any case, it is desirable that translators use dictionaries regardless of their form. The Financial Times has one of these silly stories that are usually titled "Lost in translation":
At issue was whether Cifa might move some functions to Russia. From his Italian vantage point, Mr Ferrari conceived of this as moving work away from Milan and therefore described the process as “delocalisation”.
In China, foreign investors describe a similar process – replacing expensive expatriate staff with Chinese employees in order to save costs – as “localisation”. What, Zoomlion executives wondered, was this “delocalisation”? The prefix “de” seemed to imply it was the opposite of localisation, and it took the two parties some time to figure out that they were talking about the same thing. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5c7c117c-e197-11dd-afa0-0000779fd2ac.html
The stupidity of such a "Lost in translation" column is borne out by the fact that any dictionary, whether paper or electronic, will contain the meaning of 'delocalize' as 'remove from the proper or usual locality' (wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn).
One logical conclusion is that this poll should contain not only a third but also a fourth option reading: 'No, I don't use any dictionaries at all.'
Mother tongue: Danish Posts: 15 Joined: March 10, 2008 Location: United States
RE: Do you still use traditional dictionaries?
Just a question regarding dictionaries, online or not. Can anyone recommend a good Italian/Danish?? I mainly use Cd Rom or subscribed online dictionaries (Dan/Eng and vice cersa)
Expert Mother tongues: English, German Posts: 7851 Joined: September 26, 2003 Location: Canada
RE: Do you still use traditional dictionaries?
My German / English specialized dictionaries are in paper format for the most part, while the French / English ones are electronic. I couldn't tell you why. It's what was available.
I must admit sometimes I use online dictionaries, but I don`t really trust those. Besides, an additional boon of some traditional dictionaries and especially encyclopedias is using them does good for ones muscles. One of those owned by me weighs more than 4 kg.
Originally written by Dodo Kaipdodo on January 18, 2009 10:37 PM
an additional boon of some traditional dictionaries and especially encyclopedias is using them does good for ones muscles. One of those owned by me weighs more than 4 kg.
Yes, I too have one of those. Over time, I've man-handled the hard-cover binding right off of it. No one knows how to fix this incredibly pricey dictionary so now I avoid using it.
Originally written by Nanna Mercer on January 18, 2009 4:46 PM No one knows how to fix this incredibly pricey dictionary so now I avoid using it.
You could try and do it yourself. You`ll need cardboard, three kinds of paper, two kinds of cotton material, good glue that makes things stick together but doesn`t soak, some velvet band (not necessary unless you want luxury), an iron, a press or a vice and lots of patience.
Translation Profession 
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