Translation Matters - What Is The Best English Language Dictionary For A Translator?
By Thomas Mayhew
At the inception, let me issue a disclaimer. We sell some Merriam-Webster's dictionaries and other products, so my answer will naturally be biased in that direction. However, Oxford, Random-House, Hippocrene (my wife edited a great Albanian-English for Hippocrene) and others make truly wonderful dictionaries as well. If you need a dictionary, by all means, get the best possible one that you can, given your specific requirements. In the case of some language professionals, that could be several dictionaries (as my wife's bulging book shelf can attest).
Since you found the title intersting enough to continue reading to this point, I am assuming you are a language professional or are aspiring to be one or are otherwise looking to improve your translation capabilities. The resource you choose certainly matters in this regard.
We strongly suggest you obtain the most complete and extensive resource you need for your purposes. If you are a Professional Translator, you will want to have this one resource that my wife discovered a couple of years ago... the Webster's 3rd Unabridged Dictionary.
Anila simply would not be without this at this point in her career.
Why? Simply put, it is an exhaustive resource both in terms of the number of words and also in terms of the entries defining and otherwise supporting those words. The word etymology is especially helpful for the most delicate of translations. It is a major resource and a tremendous time saver. Hand's down, this is the that the most serious translators will acquire.
If you are a linguist or aspire to any of the language arts, such as fiction or non fiction writing, translating, copywriting, editing, proof reading...then go all the way for the best of resources. Spare no expense
New Mammal Discovered in TanzaniaRedOrbit, TX - 7 hours agoAlthough it has become a rare occurrence in the modern time, scientists recently reported the discovery of a new species of mammal in the Journal of Zoology ...New shrew-like mam
Nature.com (subscription), UK -The grey-faced sengi is so large, by elephant shrew standards, that it proved too big for the traps that Francesco Rovero, of the Trento Museum of Natural ...
Rare shrew-like mammal found in TanzaniaLIVENEWS.com.au, Australia - 37 minutes agoThe discovery would be formally announced in the February 4 issue of the Journal of Zoology. Scientists say discoveries of new mammals are rare and ...Hum
RedOrbit, TX -4 issue of the Journal of Zoology, suggests the new species is confined to two high-altitude forest blocks in the mountains of south-central Tanzania.
and go straight for the most exhaustive available.
The Webster's 3rd Unabridged is available both as a book for sale individually or also with a companion CD-ROM. Please note that the CD-ROM version, while a terrific resource in and of itself, is not nearly as complete as the actual hardback dictionary. While it is not nearly as complete as the hardback version, it is a necessity for all language professionals.
Finding the Webster's 3rd Unabridged is like striking the mother-lode of English Dictionaries.
Copyright 2007
Thomas Mayhew is the President of Thomas Mayhew & Associates, Inc. which is the parent company for Crimson Books and Albanian Language Translation Services. Thomas has been a purchaser and overseer of translation services. He also performs Albanian-English editing and proofing.
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