| User | Thread poster: Michael Martin Resource: Monolingual Spanish Dictionary (Any Ideas?) |
|---|
Michael Martin
United States
Spanish to English
|
Any suggestions on a good monolingual Spanish dictionary? Thanks . . .
| | | |
GoodWords 
Mexico
Local time: 00:03
 Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
| |
Orestes Robledo
Canada
Local time: 01:03
Spanish to English
+ ...
| | El Pequeño Larousse Ilustrado | Aug 29, 2005 |
Despite recent efforts to welcome terms and uses from Latin America, the DRAE (Diccionario de la Real Academia Española) is still overwhelmingly biased toward European Spanish.
If you want a diccionary with substantial coverage of Latin American Spanish, try "El Pequeño Larousse Ilustrado". They issue a new version every year. I have the one for 2004 and there is one for 2005 on sale now.
Another good one is the "Diccionario de uso del español actual CLAVE". It comes with a CD-ROM version that you can install in your hard drive.
Maria Moliner's "Diccionario de uso del español" is revered among translators for its clarity and usefulness. It is big (two volumes) and expensive, but worth every penny (and pound).
| | | |
Ernesto de Lara
Mexico
Local time: 23:03
English to Spanish
+ ...
| | The dictionary | Aug 29, 2005 |
The only and official spanish dictionary is the one mentioned by GoodWorks. The rest are only copies.
| | | |
Orestes Robledo
Canada
Local time: 01:03
Spanish to English
+ ...
| | Totally wrong! | Aug 29, 2005 |
Ernesto, there is no such thing as "the only and official Spanish dictionary", just like there is no such thing as the only official French dictionary, even though the French have their own language academy.
If you had bothered to check the three dictionaries I suggested you would know that they are quite different.
If those other dictionaries were copies as you claim, the DRAE would have long ago filed lawsuits against them for plagiarism, but they haven't!
What is your argument for making such a statement?
You, of all people, coming from Mexico, should know better.
Can you honestly say that the DRAE has full coverage of Mexican Spanish?
Would you refrain from using a specific Spanish word in a translation for Mexico just because it is not recorded by the DRAE?
| | | |
Beatriz Benítez
Spain
Local time: 07:03
English to Spanish
+ ...
| | My two cents | Aug 30, 2005 |
Hello!
I used to trust DRAE, but the day I first met the "María Moliner. Diccionario de Uso del Español" I fell in love with it. Even though the DRAE is the official one, sometimes I feel it is uncomplete (v.g. in Spain we say "ordenador" (computer, PC) but in most of Latin American countries it is used "computador" or "computadora", and the DRAE does not clarify that that is the common use in LA...)
Now I don't have de María Moliner in my desk to compare because I left it in Spain but, if someone has it, maybe you could compare some words and take a better decision "María Moliner" is not a cheap dictonary, but it has got a cd-rom version with a tidy presentation.
Good luck!
Beatriz
| | | |
Michael Martin
United States
Spanish to English
TOPIC STARTER | | Thanks for the help. Much appreciated. | Aug 30, 2005 |
| | | |
Claudia Iglesias
Chile
Local time: 01:03
 Member (2002)
Spanish to French
+ ...
| | I use them both, María Moliner and RAE | Aug 30, 2005 |
As my MM is in paper version and it has a very original classification (if you want to look for "patatús" or "patilla" you'll have to go to see under "pata"), I always look in the RAE dictionary first. Sometimes the definitions look identical, sometimes completely different.
The cheapest solutionis the RAE online: Free!
Claudia
| | | |
Marisa Schiavi
Australia
Local time: 13:03
Member
Spanish to English
+ ...
| | María Moliner | Aug 30, 2005 |
My favourite is the dictionary of María Moliner, it also comes with a CD so you can can have it open at all times whilst doing your translations. I love it!
| | | |
Andrea Ali
Argentina
Local time: 02:03
Member (2003)
English to Spanish
+ ...
|
Marisa Schiavi wrote:
My favourite is the dictionary of María Moliner, it also comes with a CD so you can can have it open at all times whilst doing your translations. I love it! |
|
I always work with María Moliner and the DRAE.
Another one I use a lot is Diccionario de los usos correctos del español, by Alicia Zorrilla.
Cheers,
Andrea
| | | |
GoodWords
Mexico
Local time: 00:03
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
| | Another Mexican Dictionary | Aug 30, 2005 |
As Orestes points out, the DREA doesn't help with some specifically Mexican vocabulary. Here is another on-line Mexican dictionary: the Diccionario breve de mexicanismos published by the Academia Mexicana de la Lengua.
| | | |
word-awareness
United States
Local time: 23:03
English to Portuguese
+ ...
| | If you're looking for a "hard-copy"... | Aug 30, 2005 |
... it would be a good idea to invest in Oxford Spanish. I forked out about $50 for mine at Barnes & Noble and cannot complain.
| | | |
Momoka
Japan
Local time: 14:03
Japanese to Spanish
+ ...
| |
The translation workplace 
Translation news
