Whether you prefer the tactile feel of a paper dictionary or the convenience of an app, it's crucial to master the art of navigating these linguistic tools effectively. From understanding how to find the word you need to deciphering the wealth of information provided, there's a lot to learn about using dictionaries to your advantage.
It never ceases to amuse me how very different language learning is today compared to what it used to be like when I was a student during the 70's - 80's.
I remember my English teacher would bring to our lessons a huge (and scary!) Portuguese-English dictionary which had to be shared among all students and, many times, was the object of heated disputes when we had to write timed short compositions to be marked.
Nowadays, teachers and students can solve a vocabulary query at the reach of a button, with sentence examples, pronunciation model, a summary of the history of the word and, in some apps, even the frequency in which the word is used. These dictionary apps do make our lives easier, but I observe during my lessons that some 'old' issues related to the use of dictionaries do persist despite the technology we have available. I hope you find this brief article helpful and I welcome your views and suggestions in the comment section.
First things first!
Whether it is a paper dictionary or an electronic version, it is important that you know how to:
find the word you need;
understand the information given;
select what piece of information is relevant to your needs;
what to do when the word you need is not listed in your dictionary.
In an App: spend some time learning how it works and familiarise yourself with the features it offers. Check if the search field brings up your keypad when you click on it and set your keypad to display options such as accents and the Ç. Paper dictionaries
How to find the word you need
Words are listed alphabetically, so use the guide words at the top of each page - it takes practice to improve the speed and find words quickly, so keep practising until you can find any word within 10 seconds. You should also practise finding words in your own language in your bilingual dictionary.
The power of the sticky bookmark flags
I like to place a sticky bookmark flag to separate the English-Portuguese side from the Portuguese-English half, so I can go straight to the half I need. If the dictionary brings a grammar section, I also add a flag to signpost it.
You can pick a different flag colour and, on the right end of the pages, place it to signpost the pages where a key letter appears within the alphabetical order, for example, I place a flag to signpost the first pages where the words beginning in F, L and R are located. This enables me to find the words even quicker.
Know what type of information your dictionary offers:
Let's imagine you want to find the equivalent in Portuguese to the word "speak" in your dictionary and find this:
The entry informs the phonetic transcription [spi:k] and the verb forms in English (pt spoke, pp spoken) followed by VT. This abbreviation means that the word is a VERB and is a verb that needs a word after it to complement its meaning, a Transitive Verb.
We have then an example: '(language) falar'. The brackets inform context in which the verb can be used speak (language): eu falo português. The semicolon you see after falar ; indicates a new meaning: (truth), as to speak the truth, but this time, the dictionary is pointing out that in Portuguese you need to use a different verb: dizer.
The black symbol looking like an arrow points to another option, this time the use of the verb falar as an Intransitive Verb: VI - that is, the verb 'falar' can also be used without any other word after it, as when we use "speak" meaning the organic action of speaking: I speak and this suffices and as in (make a speech).
The symbol ~ before 'up!' means that you can replace it with the word of the entry: 'speak' meaning 'speak up!' - 'fale alto!'. In the same entry, you see a word that is connected to the verb you looked up: speaker, as a 'public-speaker' or 'orator'. This word is in bold, indicating it is no longer part of the verb 'speak'.
A very important information is the capital letter N you see next to it. N indicates this word is a Noun and in Portuguese, most nouns have a gender m or f (masculine or feminine). Observe how the word orador(a) brings an 'a' in brackets followed by m/f.
This tells us that if I wish to say a man is a public-speaker, I should use 'orador' and in case of a female, 'oradora'. This gender annotation is a type of information Google Translate fails to inform, as seen in the image below:
The entry also offers two other nouns made up with the English word 'speak' and their correspondents in Portuguese: loudspeaker: auto-falante and in (Pol) politics, the Speaker (note the capital S) is refereed to in Portuguese as O Presidente da Câmara, which is a m (masculine) noun.
A good way to start to get more familiarised with your dictionary is to check its first pages and read the abbreviation table; it should look similar to the image on the right. Highlight the abbreviations adopted by your dictionary to indicate the aspects you need to be most careful about: whether the word is a Noun, an ADJective (description words), a PREPosition, a Verb and also if the word is used in BRazil or PT (Portugal) etc.
What type of dictionary? Portuguese Publishers v International Publishers In theory, dictionaries edited by international publishers claim to provide vocabulary that serves for Brazilian Portuguese and European Portuguese and must inform when a word belongs to one variety or the other. However, I have met countless examples when this was not the case. Because of that, some students consider buying a bilingual dictionary published by a Portuguese or a Brazilian editor. Below, you can see an entry found in a dictionary published by Porto Editora, one of the most respected editors in Portugal.
Note how the dictionary provides a good range of different nouns and verbs related to the word 'garrafa', but if you look closely, you realise the dictionary fails to inform the gender of the word garrafa. The user who wishes to find this information, needs to look up 'garrafa' on a different dictionary. This happens because the editors assume that those using the dictionary are native speakers and therefore, gender is a level of information deemed to be unnecessary.
If the user doesn't mind using different dictionaries for this end, then Porto Editora is an excellent choice. For students of Brazilian Portuguese, Michaelis, Aurélio and the Porto Editora dictionary English-Portuguese for Brazilian speakers are easily available online and also offer their content in paid Apps.
Why can't I find the word I need?
Before you decide to give up on your dictionary, note that there may be various reasons for failing to find a word:
Check the spelling - sometimes it is easy to mistake "sc" for "ss", or "ch" for a "x", for instance.
Check what type of word it is: Read the sentence where you see the word and try to classify according to the group it belongs to: is it a noun (a naming word, e.g. table or song); is it an adjective (a description word, e.g. bonito, alta etc); is it a small word such as meu, aqui, lá and is being used to link ideas within the sentence; is it a verb (a doing word, e.g. run, go, arrived etc), or a word ending in 'mente'? a) If the word is a noun or adjective: ending in s, is, es, ões, ães, ãos or ns , this shows us the word is written in its plural form. My suggestion is: remove the s for those ending in s and es and try looking up for it again. For those ending in ões, ãos or ães, replace it with ão (limão - limões, canção - canções, alemão - alemães, pão - pães). For those ending in ns, replace it with m (bombom - bombons). If the word ends in is, try to replace with L (jornais - jornal). b) If the word is a verb: Look up the root of the verb instead of the whole word. In simple terms, the root is found in the bit before the last part of the word. If you need to find the meaning for the verb "compraram", try to look up the beginning part "compra" - that is, remove anything you think is part of the conjugation ending. For a complete table of verb endings, check your coursebook. Once you found the root, check the words in the dictionary that begin in the same way, look out for those flagged as verbs. Can you find
When you do find the word:
Dictionaries will almost always give you more than 1 meaning for the word you look up. This is not a special attribute of Portuguese language, it happens with all languages: the way we use words, the meaning we give to them are not always the same across languages.
Replace the meaning you find for the word in the sentence. Be sure you select the most appropriate meaning, not merely the first one you come to.
If you are using an electronic dictionary, bookmark it.
Some dictionary mobile applications offer the possibility of adding the new words onto a "favourite" tab. Make use of it. If you are using a paper dictionary, write down the word on a separate small notepad.
Some tips on learning vocabulary:
Record each word you look up and try to recall them in the future.
Don't just read the information about a word, apply it.
Pronounce the word a few times. Electronic and online dictionaries bring a pronunciation sample for each word. Use it to practise your speaking skills. As you listen, repeat it.
Observe the way the word is spelt. Practise writing and spelling it out, and most importantly use it in context. You can create your own example sentences, highlighting the word's meaning as a way to consolidate its meaning.
Watch out for abbreviated labels next to the word. These labels can indicate that a word is used in a certain region, for a specific subject, or that it has a special usage such as slang, informal, nonstandard, archaic, obsolete, vulgar and so on. In Portuguese language, some dictionaries will bring the abbreviation BRA or BR for Brazilian words and EU, POR, PORT for the words or spellings of Portugal.
Some words that are used exclusively in informal settings, may bring the abbreviation (inf) next to them.
Hunt around for synonyms of words. Observe the words your dictionary uses to describe the word you looked up. Write down one or two of these definition words and look them up as well. Check if they are related words, write them down next to the original word.
Observe the entries near the word you looked up. It is likely your dictionary will bring derivative words or related words near the word you looked up. Don't hesitate to take an extra minute to explore them.
Note the way the Portuguese word works
Compare it against its equivalent in your mother tongue.
Do they work in the same way?
Example: Take for instance the word "toalha".
Does it work in the same as in English?
You will find out that "toalha" can be used in the same way you would use "cloth" in English, as in "table cloth". However, if you use it to wipe your face when you wash it, then it will bring the meaning of a "towel". Any other object related to the English "towel" you can think of?
Maybe you thought of "Kitchen towels", "dish cloth" or even "Kitchen tissues" - In Portuguese we would say "papel-toalha" for the paper tissues, especially the kitchen ones, but if it is used to wipe the nose, then the word "lenço" comes to play. Lenço de papel. If the "toalha" is used to wipe the body after shower, then it will be a "toalha de banho". What about the rags we use when we clean the house?
What about the ones we use to place on the floor of the bathroom?
Did you get the idea?
Explore the words whenever you can.
Make a "word chain" - one will always lead to another
If you are looking up a word that will be related to description of people, places, objects, why not looking up for its opposite? Found "happy", then look up for "sad". What is the person is feeling "very sad", then maybe you want to look up for "depressive".
Does the Portuguese use the word "content" in the same way English language does?
Try not to rely only on your classes, your class material or your teacher to introduce you to new words.
Be an independent learner.
All in all...
Language learning has truly evolved over the decades, hasn't it? Gone are the days of lugging around hefty dictionaries and engaging in heated debates over shared resources in the classroom. Now, thanks to technology, we have instant access to a world of linguistic knowledge at our fingertips. While dictionary apps certainly make our lives easier, some age-old challenges persist, reminding us that technology can't solve everything.
Whether you're a seasoned language learner or just starting your journey, I hope you found this article helpful. I invite you to share your thoughts and suggestions in the comments below. After all, learning is a collaborative endeavor, and we're all in this together!
So, as you embark on your language learning adventure, remember to embrace the quirks, stay curious, and never underestimate the power of a good dictionary. After all, it's not just a tool—it's a gateway to a world of linguistic exploration. Happy learning!