USING A DICTIONARY

Chapter 3 USING A DICTIONARY Reasons for using a dictionary A dictionary is a very important tool for anyone who is learning a new language. With a good dictionary you can do the following: look up the meaning of an English word you see or hear find the English translation of a word in your language check the spelling of a word check the plural of a noun or past tense of a verb find out other grammatical information about a word find the synonym or antonym of a word look up the collocations of a word check the part of speech of a word find out how to say a word find out about the register of a word find examples of the use of a word in natural language To be a good dictionary user, however, it is not enough to know what to use the dictionary for. You must also decide which is the best dictionary for any of the purposes listed above. As well as this, you need to be able to find what you are looking for quickly; you need to be sure that you have found what you were looking for; and, most importantly, you need to know when to use your dictionary. Knowing which dictionary to use Electronic dictionaries are the best choice for ESL students. Most of them contain native-language equivalents and explanations, as well as definitions and example sentences in English. They can speak the English word to you, and they are easy to carry around. However, they are expensive and easy to lose, so put your name on yours! A cheaper possibility, if you are going to work at the computer, is to use an online dictionary. A very good one for ESL students is the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. Alternatively, if you open Google and type, for example, define: superstitious, you will get a long list of different definitions of superstitious. A good monolingual dictionary is recommended for students who already have a high standard of English and want to learn about word use. Synonyms: words, which mean the same, a called synonyms Examples: -Angry - mad Cried - shouted Huge - big Hate - dislike Clever - bright Antonyms: A dictionary also shows words which mean the opposite words which means the opposite are called antonyms Examples: o Hate - like o Ugly - beautiful o Slow - fast o Friendly - enemy o Strong - weak Word formation A dictionary also shows how words are made. This is called word formation - A noun can be made from a verb or from an Adjective Example vacate (v) –vocation (N) Some Nouns end with (i) …………….. ion (examination) (ii) …………………ty (beauty) (iii) ………………….ness (politeness) (iv) ……………………ce (importance) Some of the objectives end with (i) ………... ous (poisonous) (ii) …………. Al (trial) (iii) …………..ic (electric) (iv) ………….. an (African) (v) ………….. ful (helpful) Pronunciation: A dictionary shows how words are pronounced English words are pronounced differently from Kiswahili. The way the English words are written is different from the way they pronounced. Example: see –pronounced as /si/ and not see Exercise Write the following words as they are pronounced in the dictionary Example: King –/KiÅ‹/ (i) Sing = (ii) Cheek = (iii) Cart = (iv) Chest = (v) Dish = Exercise Show differences of pronunciation of the underlined words. 1. Please sit on the seat 2. I left my hat in the hut 3. Pull the boy from the pool 4. Do not hurt my heart. Finding the right English translation of a word in your language When you look up a word in your own language in a bilingual dictionary, you will probably find that there is more than one English translation. If you are not sure which to use, you could try a back translation. This means that you look up the English translations one by one in a monolingual dictionary. If a word has a definition that matches the word in your language, you are safe to use it. Knowing when to use the dictionary If you look up every new word you see or hear, you will spend your whole day with the dictionary in your hand. That’s no good! You have to be clever and choose the right words to check and the right time to do it. Try to follow the advice below and you will become a much more efficient language learner: When you find a new word while reading, finish the sentence (better: the paragraph). If you haven’t guessed the meaning and it still seems important, then you can look it up. To avoid interrupting your reading for too long, you should find its meaning in your own language using a bilingual dictionary. When you hear a new word in class (or the teacher has written it on the board), wait and continue listening. What the teacher says next may help you to understand the word. If you look in your dictionary, you will not hear what comes next, and this will make understanding the lesson more and more difficult. If you think the word is very important, you could copy it from the board or write how you think it is spelled. Then later you could ask the teacher or another student what it means.