A bilingual dictionary is a dictionary that is usually used to translate words or phrases from one language to another. Bilingual dictionaries are sometimes used to understand texts read, often, in a foreign language. Bilingual dictionaries can be unidirectional, meaning that they list the meanings of words of one language in another, or can be bidirectional, allowing translation to and from both languages. Bidirectional bilingual dictionaries usually consist of two sections, each listing words and phrases of one language alphabetically with their translation. Other features sometimes present in bilingual dictionaries are definitions, lists of phrases, usage and style guides, verb tables and maps. The Mah?vyutpatti (Wylie: Bye-brtag-tu rtogs-par byed-pa chen-po), The Great Volume of Precise Understanding or Essential Etymology, was compiled in Tibet during the late eighth to early ninth centuries CE, providing a dictionary composed of thousands of Sanskrit and Tibetan terms designed as means to provide standardised Buddhist texts in Tibetan, and is included as part of the Tibetan Tangyur (Toh. 4346). It is the earliest substantial bilingual dictionary known.

Printed bilingual dictionaries come in all sizes and shapes.

Challenges for the bilingual dictionary

The most important challenge for practical and theoretical lexicographers is to define the function(s) of a bilingual dictionary. A bilingual dictionary may have as its function to help users translate texts form one language into another, or its function may be to help users understand foreign-language texts. In such situations users will require the dictionary to contain different types of data that have been specifically selected for the function in question. If the function is understanding foreign-language texts the dictionary will contain foreign-language entry words and native-language definitions, which have been written so that they can be understood by the intended user groups. If the dictionary is intended to help translate texts, it will need to include not only equivalents but also collocations and phrases translated into the relevant target language.

Perhaps the most difficult aspect of creating a bilingual dictionary is the fact that lexemes or words cover more than one area of meaning, but these multiple meanings don't correspond to a single word in the target language. For example, in English, a ticket can get you into the movie theater, or can be given to you by a police officer for exceeding the posted speed limit. In Spanish these two meanings are not covered by one word as in English, but rather there are several options: boleto or entrada and infracción.

Reverse lookups

To combat the above problem, the user can perform a reverse lookup. In the above-mentioned example in English and Spanish of the word ticket, after finding that ticket is translated into boleto and infracción in the English-Spanish dictionary, both of those Spanish words can be looked up in the Spanish-English section to help to identify which one has the meaning being sought. Reverse lookups can usually be performed faster with Dictionary programs and online dictionaries.

Bilingual dictionary formats

Bilingual dictionaries are available in a number of formats, and often include a grammar reference and usage examples.

• Printed dictionaries - Printed dictionaries range from small pocket-sized editions to large, comprehensive multi-volume works.
• Handheld Electronic dictionaries - Electronic dictionaries are small devices that receive input via a miniature keyboard, voice recognition or a scanning device that reads printed text, and outputs the translation on a small LCD screen or speaks the translation audibly.
• Dictionary programs - Computer software that allows words or phrases to be input and translated.
• Online dictionaries - Online dictionaries similar to dictionary programs, these are often easy to search, but not always free to use, and in some cases lack the credibility of printed and electronic dictionaries.
• Visual dictionaries - A visual dictionary is a printed dictionary that relies primarily on illustrations to provide the user with a reliable way of identifying the correct translation. Visual dictionaries are often multi-lingual rather than bilingual-- instead of containing translations between two languages they often cover four or more languages.

See also

• Computer-Assisted Translation
• Dictionary
• Translation dictionary
• Machine Translation
• Mariano Velazquez de la Cadena (Spanish-English bilingual dictionary author)

External links

Sample bilingual dictionaries online

• freedict.org Large number of XML and Dict format bilingual dictionaries, released under the [[GPL]
• LEO Wörterbuch German <-> English / German <-> French / German <-> Spanish / German <-> Italian / German <-> Chinese
• DICT.TW Dictionary English <-> Chinese
• Tomisimo Spanish <-> English

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