Review: Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English online

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LDOCE The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English is a very useful monolingual dictionary available on the net. I came across this language resource when one of the English teachers recommended it at the beginning of the course. This tool is not only helpful in order to find many words that are not understood when reading, but it is also appropriate for translation tasks as it offers very accurate definitions and examples. Even if the LDOCE is thought for non native English speakers, it may also be interesting for native speakers as it offers a full range of features. Aintzane Cabañes Martínez

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Presentation based on the review about the LDOCE. I have added lots of text as this is not going to be presented orally.

Transcript of Review: Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English online

Page 1: Review: Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English online

LDOCE

The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English is a very useful

monolingual dictionary available on the net. I came across this language

resource when one of the English teachers recommended it at the beginning of

the course. This tool is not only helpful in order to find many words that are

not understood when reading, but it is also appropriate for translation tasks as

it offers very accurate definitions and examples. Even if the LDOCE is thought

for non native English speakers, it may also be interesting for native speakers

as it offers a full range of features.

Aintzane Cabañes Martínez

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The website of the dictionary is owned and operated by Pearson Education which is part of the

global media and education group Pearson and has different English language publishing

programmes all over the world. Moreover, the LDOCE is powered by IDM (XML Content

Management Software) a French company which provides software development services to

electronic information users and suppliers.

The dictionary, as all Longman dictionaries, is compiled using the Longman Corpus Network which

offers a huge database of 330 million words taken from a wide range of sources from the real life.

Background

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How to use the Longman Dictionary Online:

The online version of the Longman dictionary offers around 207000 words and their

meaning, as well as 7000 references to either people, or places etc. Through the following

slides, I will introduce a short usage of the tool.

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1. Looking up a word 

This version is very useful and easy to use. By typing the word in the search box and

clicking OK we will be instantly directed to a page where all the definitions for the word are

listed.

There may appear more than one option if the word is used as more than one part of

speech. To make things easier, the word shown first is the most used.

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2. How to hear the pronunciation of a certain word

It also offers the pronunciation of the word which is useful to understand the International Phonetic

Alphabet‘s symbols. In order to listen to the pronunciation, we just have to click on the speaker

buttons which appear next to the example sentences to hear them. Moreover, by clicking on the

speaker button at the top of the entry we will be directed to a new window. There we can hear the

headword pronounced either in British English or American English, and also all the example

sentences for that entry.

What happens if the word we want to check does not appear? The online dictionary offers a

spellchecker which will suggest different options similar to the one typed.

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3. Searching by topic

It is also important to point out that the online version has recently made available the possibility

of looking up a word by clicking on topic label (what they have called“Topic Dictionary”). This is

how the dictionary creates a kind of net between words which is really useful for the user in

order to follow the connections between words very easily. Even if we are searching for a

specific word, it can interest us to see similar words, or compounds, etc. This may be

particularly useful when writing an essay as we might be using words related to the same topic

as in the following example. We might be using words related to motor vehicles, or words

connected with technology.

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The dictionary also added the chance to see pictures of words through its

“Dictionary pictures”.

Pictures

It has been suggested in many cases that

the best way to learn and remember the

meaning of a word is by pictures. Our

memory tends to remember more easily the

image of a certain word rather than the whole

explanation, that is why I found really

interesting that the dictionary is adjuncting to

the meaning the picture of the word.

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PRACTICAL EXAMPLES

1. NOUNS

PHONE

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The dictionary first of all specifies if the word is countable or uncountable between brackets and in a green colour next to the

word.

It also offers in some cases the picture which will appear to the right.

Some words have several different meanings which are organized by their usage. The most used or most common

meaning appears first next to the number in red.

In this example, the second meaning is accompanied by a similar word or

a synonym which is shown between brackets and next to a symbol of equality

in blue.

Each meaning is followed by several examples where the word can be used, and

each of those examples is preceded by a symbol which allows listening to

the pronunciation.

Moreover, at the end of each meaning, if possible, the dictionary suggests in strong blue next to a row different words which are

related to the word we have searched.

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PRACTICAL EXAMPLES

2. VERBS

SHOUT

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In contrast to the example of the noun

search, when searching a verb, the

dictionary goes directly to the first

meaning. This is when as with the noun, it

offers the specification of whether it is a

transitive or intransitive verb. This is

shown after the number of the meaning (in

red) between brackets and in green. In the

case of verbs it also gives words that seem

to be synonyms in blue and also between

brackets. It can also be appreciated that

there are some cases when the dictionary

specifies when it is used in British English

or in American English in purple italics. It

also makes clear when it is a phrasal verb

next to the usage in light grey. Of course,

the pronunciation of each example is

available by clicking to the pronunciation

icon which appears before it.

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PRACTICAL EXAMPLES

3.ADJECTIVES

POLITE

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With adjectives, the dictionary goes straight

into the meanings also ordered depending

their usage and after their corresponding

number in red. In the previous two cases,

the tool offered similar words or synonyms

next to each meaning (if there are

synonyms). However, in the case of

adjectives, it shows the

possibleantonyms or words with the

opposed meaning. They are specified

between brackets in blue and after a

crossed symbol of equality. It has to be

pointed out that at the end of the entry, the

dictionary offers words formed with the

adjectives; in the example it shows that

from polite we can form politely by adding

the suffix -lyindicating an adverb, or we can

also get the noun politeness by adding the

suffix -ness. It also offers

several examples with their

corresponding pronunciations.

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PRACTICAL EXAMPLES

4. ADVERBS

QUICKLY

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This final example shows the search for an adverb. It does not show any other new feature that has not been mentioned in the previous examples. The meanings are ordered by the usages and all the examples offer the possibility of listening to them.

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First of all, it has to be pointed out that these

two dictionaries are completely different as

we will appreciate when we first get into their

web page

Comparing the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English with the Urban Dictionary:

.

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The appearance of each online dictionary is completely opposed. The LDOCE

appears to be more clear, more organized, in other words, more sophisticated.

Even if it has some advertisements they are very well put together with the

content of the dictionary so that it does not disturb when using the tool; they are

left aside on the right or left very well organized in columns and with a subtle

frame marking the ad. Moreover, the page makes your view go straight into the

searching box so that there is no possibility to get lost. The searching box

appears in the upper part of the page in the middle and with a bigger size. The

tool also offers a specific tab inside the page with specifications of the usage

and very useful examples as well as common questions.

The LDOCE

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In contrast, the Urban Dictionary at a first

sight is more like a chaos. It is full of

advertisements in different formats

(colours, size, etc.), and the first page

does not show the dictionary itself, but a

page with a list of the words of the day

(which is also a bit confusing). In order to

access the dictionary there are some tab

at the top and we have to click in the tab

“dictionary”. That way we will be directed

to a page where for looking up a word we

have to search in the alphabet or in a

small searching box in the upper part to

the right. This is not a very clear,

organized and easy usage of a dictionary

and it does not even offer a page with

keys for using it nor any kind of

explanation.

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PRACTICAL EXAMPLES

1. NOUNS

PHONE

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As it can be appreciated, the Urban

Dictionary first of all offers several

words which are related to the word we

are looking up. They appear one after

the other in small blue boxes. Then it

shows the list of meanings for the word

ordered depending on the day they were

published which appears at the end of

each meaning after the name of the

person who has published the entry.

Each meaning is rated in favour or

against by the users. Apart from the

meaning it also offers

some example sentences of how the

word is used in context.

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PRACTICAL EXAMPLES

2.VERBS

SHOUT

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When searching a verb the same happens,

first we are offered a list of words

connected to the word we are looking for

and then the list of meanings ordered all in

the same way. However, in this case, it can

be appreciated that the meaning given by

the Urban Dictionary and the meaning that

the LDOCE gives have nothing to do with

each other. The one given by the Urban

Dictionary refers to an Australian saying

while the one given by the LDOCE is more

connected to the generalized use of the

verb shout. There is also an example

sentence to help the user realize in which

context is the word used.

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PRACTICAL EXAMPLES

3.ADJECTIVES

POLITE

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In the case of the adjective, the tool

also includes the already cited list

of related words in blue small boxes at

the top and then the

possible meanings for the word, each

of them rated by the users. In this

particular case, even if the meaning is

referring to the same idea that the

LDOCE is suggesting, it is slightly

different. It can be noticed that the

Urban Dictionary’s definition is not as

accurate as the one given by the

LDOCE which is more complete, more

formal and it is better explained.

Furthermore, the examples given are

very simple and not very helpful.

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PRACTICAL EXAMPLES

4.ADVERBS

QUICKLY

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Finally, the search for

the adverb shows the same features as

in the previous cases. However, there

is a tiny difference in this case, in

contrast to the previous examples this

entry shows a specification of

what type of word it is (adverb). And

instead of giving an example sentence

it offers a conversation where the word

is used.

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All the images are taken from Flickr under a creative commons license by attribution:

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