LAS LENGUAS INGLESA Y ESPAÑOLA de Delfín Carbonell

  The main advantage of my Unialphabet system for bilingual dictionaries is that it unites both languages into a unified list, instead of splitting them into two sections with two alphabets.  This structure offers several benefits: 1.      Easy Access – Users can find a word directly, whether in English or Spanish, without worrying about choosing the right section. 2.      Quality and Comparison – Since both languages are side by side, it’s easy to check entries against each other and maintain consistency. 3.      Better Learning – Seeing both languages together helps students learn through comparison. 4.      Efficiency – The search process is faster and less effortful. Dividing bilingual dictionaries into two parts has no real purpose today, and it survives only from habit or laziness. The ultimate aim is to make the dictionary not only a reference tool but also a teaching aid,...

  For "tarred with the same brush" Collins bilingual Dictionary gives us the Spanish "cortado por el mismo patrón." Refrain from looking up the Spanish idiom because it has not been included. Why? The Editor has used multiple teams of "lexicographers" who are not connected. This is a sorry situation because if I wanted to learn how to say "María y Celia están cortadas por el mismo patrón," Collins would be no help. The same with "tar and feather." Do not trust bilingual dictionaries, and double-check, especially if you are using Collins. 

I am the type of person who "reads" dictionaries. I check up on a word or expression and, before I know it, one thing leads to another, and two hours have passed! Today I was checking the word "bill" in the online version of Collins Dictionary. I came across the cute expression "sell a bill of goods", to deceive, swindle, or take unfair advantage of someone, which gives the Spanish equivalent of "dar a alguien gato por liebre." Curious as I am, I went straight to "gato" only to find that now "dar a alguien gato por liebre" was not "to sell someone a bill of goods", but "to con someone" or "to have been done." Students of English will never get to the phrase "sell a bill of goods" in Spanish. I am not daunted by the idiosyncrasies of workbooks, so I tried another idiom: "Dársela a alguien con queso" which is similar in meaning. What did I get? "To take someone in." The...

Go to Collinsdictionary.com and search for "loop" where you will find the idiomatic expression " to knock someone for a loop " and the equivalent given in Spanish is " dejar a alguien pasmado ." If we then go to "pasmado" we find that "dejar pasmado a alguien" is to astonish or amaze someone. No trace of "leave (knock) for a loop", its exact equivalent. This is the result of employing two different teams in composing bilingual workbooks. My Phraseological Dictionary, English-Spanish , matches both languages perfectly. My ms has a total of 800,000 words and 33,000 entries, along with 34,000 translated sample sentences. Do not forget: "Throw (knock) for a loop" = Dejar a alguien de piedra (pasmado, alelado.) 

La fraseología es muy importante, aunque peliaguada, para la lexicografía bilingüe y, más aún, para traductores. Frases como ponerse algo de color de hormiga , atar los perros con longanizas , apretarse o atarse los machos uno , no ganar para sustos , amargar la fiesta a alguien , poner pie en pared , tienen sus paralelas equivalencias en lengua inglesa (y en otras). Los traductores de medio pelo simplemente se las saltan o improvisan o parafrasean. Estos tres recursos no son aceptables pero el monolingüe no lo sabe y el que sabe, no siempre tiene la oportunidad de comparar. Y así va la cosa. Espero aportar una herramienta con mi Gran diccionario fraseológico, español-inglés , que ya tiene 32,000 modismos en un manuscrito de 800,000 palabras. Obra de consulta que no existe en el mercado lexicográfico en este momento ya que los diccionarios existentes adolecen de rigor fraseológico.  

More often than not, I grab my soapbox, head towards the Retiro Park in Madrid, and shout to the four winds, to all and sundry to beware of Bilingual Dictionaries. Two-language lexicography is scorned and abused every time a new dictionary is published. The Collins dictionaries are supposed to be the best on the market. Not really. For instance, under "push" we will find the idiomatic expression "when push comes to shove" and the parallel Spanish idiom is given as "a la hora de la verdad".  If we look up "verdad" we will not find "a la hora de la verdad." That means that a Spanish-speaking student would never get to "when push comes to shove". Why? The answer is simple: bilingual dictionaries are not such, they are monolingual dictionaries: English-Spanish. and Spanish-English which are not synchronized but simply put together as one book. Two independent teams compose two independent workbooks which are sold, together, as one...

  In composing my bilingual phraseological dictionary, I often find my resolution and firmness of purpose faltering.  After over four years of daily toiling, even in poor health and while dealing with technical issues and hospital visits, I sometimes conclude that I am wasting my time. But as a dedicated lexicographer, I approach my trade with utmost seriousness, meticulously checking and double-checking every idiom I encounter.  A bilingual dictionary must offer exact equivalents in both languages, and paraphrasing is not acceptable. A case in point today has led me to compare two phrases, in English and Spanish, that are never seen together in bilingual dictionaries: "A (según) mi leal saber y entender" and "according to my lights." In both cases, we suggest that there´s the possibility of our being mistaken in our acts or opinions. Both phrases convey the idea that there´s a recognition of the potential for error in our actions or opinions.  Examples in both lang...

The dictionary I am working on, a bilingual phraseological dictionary, of English and Spanish, which thus far has over 685,000 words and 27,000 idioms, will be a workbook where equivalents will be found and a teaching book. A teaching dictionary is one where the user can learn so as to broaden his knowledge of phraseology in both languages. The more phraseology you have, the better you will be able to understand native speakers and each language's literature. I have been working on it for the past 4 years at a daily pace of 3-4 hours, 7/7 No less. I am expanding and improving and completing the one I published in 1994.      

The English version of the title may have thrown you astray to think that this post deals with the meaning of what we all call "life." The Spanish version, however, sets things right because there is no definite article. I mean to inquire into the meaning of the word "life" when we say that "life is difficult," for instance. Bilinguals have the upper hand over monolinguals in many ways, but also in parallel lexicography. We are able to compare definitions and see the extent to which they differ from language to language.  "Facultad para crecer, renovar la propia sustancia, reproducirse, etc. que tienen los animales y las plants." Dicc. de María Moliner. "The sum of the distinguishing phenomena of organisms, esp. metabolism, growth, reproduction, and adaptation to environment." So says The Random House Dictionary .  When we seek the meaning of a word in one language, we can search for its meaning in the other language, thus getting a bet...

    My Unialphabet system of classification for bilingual wordbooks interlards both languages into one single body of facts rather than employing the traditional two-part method. I believe this has several advantages over the two-section traditional system: The user can go straight to the word, not minding whether he is in the English or the Spanish part, making it easier to check words or expressions in either language.  Also, the parallel lexicographical quality control is assured as the foreign counterpart word or idiom can be easily checked out  Having the two languages at our fingertips may help us learn more by the process of comparison. And, finally, I see no reason other than tradition and sloth to continue dividing a bilingual dictionary into two parts.   English entries are shown thus: APPEARANCE Spanish entries are shown thus: APARIENCIA

How lucky we are with the technology we have at our command which provides learning tools our grandparents, and even parents, never dreamt of. Dictionaries are probably the most important tools in language learning . Dictionaries provide easy-to-understand definitions, examples of usage, points of grammar and even pronunciation. You can hear a word as it is pronounced, as many times as you want or need. And the best is that now, thanks to technology you can carry dictionaries on your cell phones. You can download dictionary applications and get information anytime, anywhere. It is like carrying a teacher in your cell phone. I urge you to download at least one bilingual dictionary and two monolingual dictionaries.  Consult them because they are the source of interesting information of all kinds. I actually force my students to download dictionaries , and ask them to check words instead of giving them the answer. Do not take my word for it, download a monolingual diction...