The following is a very important message about DICTIONARIES.
A dictionary can be a wonderful friend--an ally--but be careful how you use it! If you are not careful when consulting a dictionary, you might select the wrong translation and end up writing a sentence that doesn't make sense (una frase sense sentit).
Let me show you a couple of true examples.
A student I had some time ago wrote this sentence while he reflected on why he was studying English:
“I finally undertake this subject that had slope.”
This student wanted to say “Finalment emprenc aquesta assignatura pendent.”
However, the word slope in English means pista d’esqui/ la vessant d’una muntanya/ una cosa que fa pendent o rampa…
So of course this sentence didn't make sense! (no tenia sentit)
What happened? In Catalan, pendent also means una cosa que encara s'ha de fer. In this example, the student probably used a dictionary to look up the word pendent or pendiente, and then chose an inadequate translation.
Here is an image taken from Word Reference, a great multilingual dictionary. Look at all the possibilities for the word pendiente. In red, I have circled the best option for the sentence that particular student wrote:
So the context of the sentence is very important. When you look up a word in the dictionary, you must understand what context you are writing in to choose the correct translation to English.
Let me give you one more real example:
The student wrote:
“When I was little my favourite toy was my wrist.”
She wanted to say:
“Quan era petita, la meva joguina preferida era la meva nina.”
Problem:
- wrist = canell (o, en castellà, “muñeca”)
Do you see what happened here?
The correct word is not wrist, it is doll. This is another example of a mistake caused by using a dictionary and not checking the context of the word.
So remember: CONTEXT! I recommend you use a dictionary to translate words you do not know, that is perfect! But please be careful and check (revisa) that the word you choose is correct for the CONTEXT. Whenever you look up a word in the dictionary, you should follow these steps:
1) What type of word do you need? A noun? An adjective? A verb? Think about this before you start.
2) Look up the translation in a bilingual dictionary. Pay close attention to the context of the word, and look at all the options the dictionary gives you--don't just select the first word you see!
3) Once you have your word, look it up in an English monolingual dictionary. Is the definition what you want? If not, start again at the beginning. If the definition is exactly what you want to say, you have found your word!
Advice (consell): si heu de buscar una paraula al diccionari, no us descuideu de revisar la traducció. La paraula en anglès ha d’encaixar en el context del que escriviu o dieu. Per això, no heu de triar la primera paraula que us aparegui al diccionari. Heu de mirar si necessiteu un adjectiu, un verb, una preposició... També heu de contrastar la paraula que trieu en un diccionari monolingüe anglès, per veure si la definició és la que busqueu.
Recommended Online Dictionaries
Here are some links to useful online dictionaries.
This is a very good bilingual dictionary. You can also ask a question in the forums if you can't find the translation you need.
This is a fabulous English dictionary. You can hear every word you look up, so it is very helpful for when you prepare your LANGblog contributions. This site also contains a fabulous
Thesaurus, where you can find synonyms and antonyms (very useful to add more variety to your texts!).
The Free Dictionary
This dictionary offers phrasal verbs and expressions, as well as the pronunciation of words both in American and British English!
Use the search box at the top of the website to look up a word. You can choose from several different dictionaries, all from Cambridge University Press.
Collins Dictionaries
This free resource also offers bilingual English to French, German, Italian and Spanish dictionaries. What's so great about this dictionary is that the bilingual version offers many examples of expressions in English.
Use these resources wisely! Feu servir aquests recursos amb seny!
What about you? Do you know of any other useful English dictionaries? If so, leave a link in the comments section below!
