Poll: How many times a dictionary you bought happened to be really bad? Лице кое објавува дискусија: ProZ.com Staff
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The price of imported books in Japan is astronomical. So, whenever I bought dictionaries or other books, I researched them thoroughly and made sure in advance that were of particular relevance to my work. Some sections would be more relevant than others, so I wouldn't say that any purchases were a mistake - just some were better than others, never bad.
This was in the pre-Internet days.
Now, I buy on Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble for more specialist stuff. User reviews a... See more The price of imported books in Japan is astronomical. So, whenever I bought dictionaries or other books, I researched them thoroughly and made sure in advance that were of particular relevance to my work. Some sections would be more relevant than others, so I wouldn't say that any purchases were a mistake - just some were better than others, never bad.
This was in the pre-Internet days.
Now, I buy on Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble for more specialist stuff. User reviews and ratings are generally provided, which is really useful, and I can 'test drive' the book by browsing Contents and sample pages so I know what I'm buying before I plonk down my spondoolicks.  ▲ Collapse
| | | | LingoKat 
Германија
Local time: 14:46
француски на германски
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I don't buy dictionaries since I usually find everything I'm looking for online. Besides, I don't even think that there are any useful dicitionaries in my working fields.
| | | | | Morning Julian | Mar 22, 2016 |
Other, define "bad" or even worse, "really bad"
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| I can hardly remember | Mar 22, 2016 |
The last time I bought a dictionary (as I seem to remember) was in 1997
| | | | | Good evening, Michael | Mar 22, 2016 |
Michael Harris wrote:
Other, define "bad" or even worse, "really bad"
bad = contrary to my expectations
really bad = totally unrelated to my work, therefore, unusable and a waste of money
Does this work for you?
Expanded definition of 'really bad'
[Edited at 2016-03-23 10:10 GMT]
| | | | neilmac
Шпанија
Local time: 14:46
шпански на англиски
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I "acquired" an ES-EN Beigbder Atienza technical dictionary (a friend lent to me about 20 years ago and I still have it - he has the other tome, EN-ES), which leaves much to be desired. I don't know if I would describe it as really bad, though. Just not very good or useful, and I rarely consult it nowadays.
The last time I bought a dictionary on paper was also over two decades ago, the Alcaraz Varó-Hughes Diccionario de Términos Jurídicos, for legal terms. I find it quite useful,... See more I "acquired" an ES-EN Beigbder Atienza technical dictionary (a friend lent to me about 20 years ago and I still have it - he has the other tome, EN-ES), which leaves much to be desired. I don't know if I would describe it as really bad, though. Just not very good or useful, and I rarely consult it nowadays.
The last time I bought a dictionary on paper was also over two decades ago, the Alcaraz Varó-Hughes Diccionario de Términos Jurídicos, for legal terms. I find it quite useful, and there don't seem to be many bilingual legal dictionaries available. Before that, I bought the Oxford Dictionary and Thesaurus, although I can't remember the last time I consulted it. They all sit on the shelf below my printer, will be taken out in the next week or so for dusting, if nothing else. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Parrot
Шпанија
Local time: 14:46
шпански на англиски
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Dictionaries being so expensive, I tend to research first.
However, there are disappointing institutional products (by "institutional" I mean officially sanctioned dictionaries/terminology). And there are useful non-standard works, such as the Spanish Consumer Organization's dictionary of abbreviations doctors in Spain have used at one time or another (monolingual, but full-sized at that), which is available free of charge in the public interest.
 ... See more Dictionaries being so expensive, I tend to research first.
However, there are disappointing institutional products (by "institutional" I mean officially sanctioned dictionaries/terminology). And there are useful non-standard works, such as the Spanish Consumer Organization's dictionary of abbreviations doctors in Spain have used at one time or another (monolingual, but full-sized at that), which is available free of charge in the public interest.
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| Really bad? Never! | Mar 22, 2016 |
I’m kind of addicted to buying dictionaries and encyclopedias: I find it nearly impossible to enter a bookstore without buying something. The Internet age has had a positive influence on me and I’m feeling much better now thank you but I still have a good collection even if when I moved back to Lisbon I was forced to give away 10 big card boxes full of them…
| | | | Laura Orsal
Франција
Local time: 14:46
англиски на француски
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Dictionaries are quite expensive, in particular "specialized" dictionaries, so I always do some research before buying one.
In some fields and working languages (Law - German/French), it is difficult to find a lot of dictionary resources so there are a few quality-renowned publishers so you cannot buy the wrong one...
Anyway, you always end up learning something
| | | | Petro Ebersöhn (X)
Local time: 14:46
| Never bought a bad dictionary | Mar 22, 2016 |
... but noticed some digital dictionaries not meeting my expectations going around for free.
| | | | Thayenga
Германија
Local time: 14:46
Член (2009)
англиски на германски
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There is one publisher whose dictionaries contain quite a few mistakes. Years ago, even before I became a translator, I bought one of their books...never again.
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Chié_JP
Член (2013)
англиски на јапонски
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I used to receive dictionaries, paper or e-book,
as an occasional gift from my family who are keen on books and learning.
I just chose one that most suited to my purpose. College teachers blamed some dictionary for letting students get wrong at the same point - I never bought one myself.
Later on I started to buy dictionary software but never had a bad one so far.
| | | | Muriel Vasconcellos (X)
Соединети Американски Држави
Local time: 05:46
шпански на англиски
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Paper dictionaries are put together with a lot more care than the ones you find online. I love my dictionaries!
| | | | Mario Freitas
Бразил
Local time: 09:46
англиски на португалски
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You mean paper dictionary? I haven't had one of those since I don't remember when.
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