| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Poll: How often do you consult paper dictionaries, as opposed to online ones? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "How often do you consult paper dictionaries, as opposed to online ones?".
View the poll results »
| | | | Diana Coada (X) 
United Kingdom
Local time: 17:01
Portuguese to English
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I work mostly in the legal field and I have a few dictionaries that I consult quite frequently.
| | | | Nicole Schnell
United States
Local time: 09:01
English to German
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In memoriam | Monolingual dictionaries | May 2, 2014 |
Diana Coada, PGDip DPSI NRPSI wrote:
I work mostly in the legal field and I have a few dictionaries that I consult quite frequently.
I usually don't work in the legal field but when the situation occurs, I pull my monolingual Black's Law Dictionary because I need to know what this is all about, before I can look up the appropriate translated term online.
| | | | | I don't use any dictionaries much for work, except some monolingual dictionaries. | May 2, 2014 |
I love paper dictionaries, though. I used to read them like novels. Just for fun.
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| Frequently, but not every day | May 2, 2014 |
Some specialized dictionaries, especially monolingual, are not online, others have clunkly lookup algorithms and it's faster to check the hard copy.
Nothing beats a hardcopy version of Roget's Thesaurus. The online version is totally shallow.
On the other hand, I have Merriam-Webster's unabridged International edition installed on my computer, and my go-to site for most bilingual questions is the Linguée site.
So it depends entirely on what I happen to n... See more Some specialized dictionaries, especially monolingual, are not online, others have clunkly lookup algorithms and it's faster to check the hard copy.
Nothing beats a hardcopy version of Roget's Thesaurus. The online version is totally shallow.
On the other hand, I have Merriam-Webster's unabridged International edition installed on my computer, and my go-to site for most bilingual questions is the Linguée site.
So it depends entirely on what I happen to need on a given day. ▲ Collapse
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Whenever I need! It depends, for some texts frequently, for others not all. Personally, I prefer paper dictionaries to online versions: they have been my faithful companions for long and they tend to be more reliable...
| | | | | Finnish-Spanish dictionaries | May 2, 2014 |
I haven't found a good enough online/electronic dictionary for Finnish-Spanish, so I have to use paper.
| | | | Lifeng Yang (X)
China
Local time: 00:01
English to Chinese
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In some linguist's avatar, there's a shelf with dictionaries in it.
Just like them, I also own lots of paper dictionaries.
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Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 18:01
Member (2009)
English to German
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| Not too often | May 2, 2014 |
Usually I use online dictionaries. Although I do have quite a collection of mono-, bi- and even multi-language dictionaries, nowadays they only look good in their shelves. It's easier and faster to check them online, then to slide my chair over to the shelves and look the term up. A rather "unhealthy, lazy" habit.
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I seldom consult bilingual dictionaries. I tend to use monolingual dictionaries and compare, although it does depend on the field I'm working in at the time. For legal documents, it will very much depend. There are a couple of classics which are reliable but there are a number of paper dictionaries, supposedly bilingual legal dictionaries, for example, which contain some serious errors. From FR to EN, a classic test is to see how the term "magistrat" in French is translated. A number of dictiona... See more I seldom consult bilingual dictionaries. I tend to use monolingual dictionaries and compare, although it does depend on the field I'm working in at the time. For legal documents, it will very much depend. There are a couple of classics which are reliable but there are a number of paper dictionaries, supposedly bilingual legal dictionaries, for example, which contain some serious errors. From FR to EN, a classic test is to see how the term "magistrat" in French is translated. A number of dictionaries give "magistrate" which is a standard false friend. One tends to suppose that paper works have undergone substantial proof reading and correction by qualified people. It is not always the case. What I like about online soruces is their accessibility and the speed with which you can check. In other fields in which I translate, the science is ever changing and paper dictionaries are out of date by the time they are printed. In thoses fields, there may be online glossaries, some of which are excellent, but in those cases, I inevitably have to do monolingual research and compare.
[Edited at 2014-05-02 20:58 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Georgia Morg (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 17:01
Portuguese to English
Paper dictionaries are my first port of call. After that I'll go on-line. Means that I can only work from home though - far too heavy to lug them all around. But then I don't work with CAT tools either. I realise I am an anomaly in this 21st century world.......
| | | | Enrico Zoffoli
Italy
Local time: 18:01
Member (2013)
German to Italian
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They are far too generalist for the type of texts I usually translate. Also, they hardly account for Swiss Italian.
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Tim Drayton
Cyprus
Local time: 19:01
Turkish to English
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| I frequently use paper dictionaries | May 2, 2014 |
This is partly because I add my own notes in the margins about any new terms that I have to research, so they also serve as my private glossaries of technical terms in the areas I work in.
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 18:01
Spanish to English
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| From time to time | May 2, 2014 |
I do have one hefty tome, the EN-ES half of Beigbeder Atienza's technical duo, which I occasionally drag out from below my printer, where it usually nestles alongside my Alcaraz Varó Diccionario de Términos Jurídicos. I also have the Oxford Dictonary/Thesaurus, but can't recall the last time I looked at it myself. And finally, a scanned photocopy of the Helms Dictionary of Forestry a client sent me on the one and only occasion I did a forestry translation.
The rest of the time, ... See more I do have one hefty tome, the EN-ES half of Beigbeder Atienza's technical duo, which I occasionally drag out from below my printer, where it usually nestles alongside my Alcaraz Varó Diccionario de Términos Jurídicos. I also have the Oxford Dictonary/Thesaurus, but can't recall the last time I looked at it myself. And finally, a scanned photocopy of the Helms Dictionary of Forestry a client sent me on the one and only occasion I did a forestry translation.
The rest of the time, I tend to use free, online resources nowadays. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Helen Hagon
Local time: 17:01
Member (2011)
Russian to English
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| Can't imagine life without paper dictionaries | May 2, 2014 |
The Oxford RussianEnglish dictionary and the Collins Robert FrenchEnglish dictionary live on my desk. They are old friends who have been with me through university and various jobs and I would feel lost without them. I recently upgraded the French one, but the Russian one now has no cover and it is becoming increasingly difficult to navigate my way around the a's because the pages are rather worn and curled at the edges. Strangely when it comes to a thesaurus or a monolingual dictionary, though,... See more The Oxford RussianEnglish dictionary and the Collins Robert FrenchEnglish dictionary live on my desk. They are old friends who have been with me through university and various jobs and I would feel lost without them. I recently upgraded the French one, but the Russian one now has no cover and it is becoming increasingly difficult to navigate my way around the a's because the pages are rather worn and curled at the edges. Strangely when it comes to a thesaurus or a monolingual dictionary, though, I do prefer online versions and am a regular visitor to thesaurus.com and dic.academic.ru, for example. I suppose it's just a case of what I have got used to over the years and the comfort of familiarity. ▲ Collapse
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