the best dictionaries

[Benjamin Barrett]

I use dictionaries quite often for my translation work and for lexicography
work I do for Japanese-English dictionaries. As many other people have
pointed out, different dictionaries have different uses. Here are some uses
by which I select my dictionaries when working:

Poorly written but fast: I use a slightly dated, error-riddled dictionary
(Eijiro) most often for translation work because its on my hard drive so
it's fast, it has a lot of words, and I'm aware of its faults so I don't use
its suggestions willy-nilly. (The most recent updates are much better, but I
find my version works well enough for most translation.)

Accurate and replete, but heavy: After that, I use Kenkyusha's J-E
dictionary (fifth edition only). This new edition has lots of words, lots of
English suggestions and loads of sample sentences. It's heavy, though, like
most hardbound dictionaries, so I usually go to Google before picking it up.

Tight definitions vs. plain ones: For lexicography work and my choices after
Kenkyusha when translating, I select among three large Japanese dictionaries
Daijigen, Daijisen and Nihongo Daijiten. The first two are written in a
style that seems to me to be close to Webster's. The definitions tend to be
thorough though sometimes hard to understand, and modern words are often
missed. Nihongo Daijiten has more modern words, the definitions are easy to
read, and there are sample illustrations. I make a conscious decision each
time which to use, and it depends on whether I want a really tightly written
definition (Daijigen), a well written definition but perhaps a bit more
information (Daijisen) or something that will speak to me in plain words
(Nihongo Daijiten).

Plain English: My favorite English-English dictionary is American Heritage.
To me, the definitions are written plainly, so I don't have to work at
understanding the word in question. My Scientologist aunt has lauded me more
than once on this choice because Scientologists place great value on the
correct understanding of word definitions. I think the Random House is
similar (their collaborative work with Shogakukan for the Japanese-English
dictionary is really nice), but my vague memory of using it that it lacked
words I wanted.

Too much coverage: I use the OED online on occasion, but haven't had much
luck with it. Its thoroughness through the centuries and loads of examples
means I have trouble wading through to find the meaning I want. For tough
words or obscure definitions, though, it has come in handy in a pinch.

Thoroughness, but heavy: I originally used to not like Webster's Third
because of its massiveness and the hard-to-understand definitions. Recently,
I've found the definitions not as bad as I used to think, but picking it up
is such a chore, I've never purchased one. I would like to get one to see
how well it works for day-to-day usage...

Handy paperbacks: Although the paperback edition of the American Heritage--I
think it was college--has come in handy, it's a bit big to carry around. I
lament this fact because I have found several Japanese-Japanese paperbacks
that are small enough, yet thorough enough (Obunsha's is my favorite). I
haven't found a paperback English-English that is small enough to carry
around and still has a selection of words good for reading literature.

Appropriateness: Although not a dictionary, I regularly use The Synonym
Finder, the only thesaurus I've found that quickly finds the word I need. I
always thought a dictionary-style format rather than an index in the back
would mean a waste of space and poor choices, but with the Roget's I had, I
could never figure out which option in the index to use. The Synonym Finder
generally hits the word on the first try, or if not, the second. Again, the
reason I like this is because it speaks to me in plain terms that I
understand with little effort.

My first linguistics professor said her word she checked before buying is
boustrophedon. Of course the problem--as she pointed out--is once dictionary
makers get the wind of such a word, they just put it in :(

Benjamin Barrett

>-----Original Message-----
>From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU]
>
>A friend asked me, "How do you know what the BEST dictionaries are?"
>
>How do professional linguists and lexicographers answer that question?