Customer Reviews

Cambridge Dictionary of American English Network CD-ROM

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have found this book an invaluable tool in learning American English as a foreign language (English English being my mother tongue). Fluency has eluded me thusfar, but I have noted a steady improvement, since using this book, not least in some of the more recondite elements of the American idiom. I mean, like, the other day this total dork is like, totally in-my-face, like freaking me out, and I'm, like, "whatever."

I liked CIDE a lot, so I looked forward to the American version with CD-Rom. More than half of CIDE was removed, though. The definitions and usages are clear, so I would recommend this book for anyone seeking a small dictionary. For those searching for more, either get CIDE (Cambridge Int Dict of English) or Merriam Webster Tenth Collegiate. The CD-Rom is a simple compilation of the text, with a word lookup. No frills at all. The Random House 2nd CD is much superior, as is the MW 10C CD.

I was specifically looking for dictionary with a CD-rom because I want to know how to pronounce unusual and difficult words. I already have many good dictionaries. Unfortunately, the selection of words with sound files in the CD-rom is limited to only the most common, daily usage words. Still, this is practically the only dictionary I found where I can hear the words as well as lookup the meaning, so I commend Cambridge for putting it together. The words are clearly and very correctly enunciated and pronounced (in the way a newscaster for a national news program in the USA would.) I am suprised there are so few dictionaries who incorporate sound, and I hope that changes in the future.

This may be a good dictionary for folks learning English. If you love words, however, there just aren't enough here to bother with. Useless for dictionary diving, or a 2nd opinion when the OED doesn't quite nail an Americanism. It *is* well laid out and very clear and might qualify as an accessable juvenile dictionary.

"A excellent dictionary that is intended to foreign learns of english. The publisher caught the modern approach on selling dictionaries: THE PAPER ORIGINAL VERSION AT A VERY GOOD PRICE PLUS THE ELECTRONIC VERSION all in a single pack. So, I anxiously wait for further publishing of other Cambridge famous dictionary: the Cambridge International Dictionary of English(CIDE)in multi-media pack. Most publishers have the idea that "electronic dictionaries" must coast a lot of money than paper version. It is wrong. Who bought a electronic dictionary intends to use it in a computer environment (obviously). If I am writing a letter on my word processor I will prefer to use the electronic version of my favorite dictionary. By other side, if I am reading a book and I find a unknow word I - for large - will prefer the traditional version (my computer spares 4 minutes for booting up). New age is turning old concepts on profitable gains. Paper version plusCD ROM, it works!"

Most reviewers below seem to miss that this is a "learner's dictionary," meant for people learning English as a second or foreign language.

For novice to intermediate students learning English, the CDAE is the best I have seen. In 20 years of teaching English in the U.S. and abroad, I've examined every learner's dictionary available, and used many in classes. This one is my favorite - good clearly written definitions, good examples of usage, helpful layout, and so on. It's actually quite good for anyone with limited English literacy. I've been using it for a few years with both ESL and developmental reading/writing student, and if there's a better dictionary for this out there, I haven't seen it.

It gets lower marks from other reviewers for irrelevant reasons: (1) if you are looking for a CD, then look for a CD; don't buy a dictionary just to get the CD. (2) If you are reading stuff that has words like vicissitude and extirpate, it's time to graduate to a normal dictionary. Ditto if you're looking to make etymological comparisons. Congratulations, you advanced English-speaker, you! A good way to celebrate would be to treat yourself to a copy of Webster's 3rd New International or the OED. You'll find everything you need in there. (3) Yes, there are fewer headwords than in a standard reference dictionary, and fewer proper nouns and no etymologies - this is to make room for the clearer limited-vocabulary definitions, usage explanations, and example sentences, all of which are much more useful to English learners. (4) I hate to be impolite, but to compare a $20 pocket dictionary to the OED ($1,195) is just loony. ("This Camry is a piece of junk because it doesn't handle the way my Bentley does!")

A good test of any learner's dictionary is not to look up obscure items like "extirpate" - instead, try the humble "get." If there are not at least a couple pages of definitions and numerous separate headwords for phrasal forms (get to, get up, get over) and fixed expressions (get with it, get a leg up) and plenty of example sentences, then it's of little use to the serious learner.

I look forward to the new edition of the CDAE later this year.

It is is helpful dictionary, but the CD is not good enough. It has some bugs. Some words can not be found for example;wolkie-talkie, and sometimes it becomes lock.

This dictionary is nice, but if you are really looking for a nice reference, try the Cambridge International Dictionary. It is much better and more complete.
The CD that comes with it has a slow application that consumes a lot of power from your computer (talking about Pentium 4!!!).
I do believe the best combination as a reference is the International Dictionary plus an American Slang dictionary :-)

This dictionary, which is relatively small compared to other American dictionaries, has some excellent characteristics that I wish other makers of American dictionaries would include, but doesn't offer much in the way of breadth or depth to make it useful to anyone other learners of English, children, foreigners, etc.

The good: (1) Words with multiple meanings are indicated not by some arbitrary number, like most dictionaries, but by a word or very short phrase that is boxed in, immediately after the headword entry. This makes it easier to get an overview of what a word with multiple meanings might mean as well as quickly finding the definition sought. (2) Pronunciations are marked in IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet), and not some scheme invented by the dictionary makers. While IPA may be a slightly less "intuitive" scheme for pronunciations than those used by other dictionary makers, it is international, it is standard, and it is invaluable to anyone who has learned more than one language. Plus it is described in the front matter of the dictionary, so it should be accesible to anyone. (3) The dictionary makes an attempt to improve upon the standard labeling of verbs as either transitive or intrasitive by creating more categories specifying more precisely the kind of predicate each verb can take. (4) The dictionary makes a good attempt to label words according to register (formality-level of speech), by marking words like "absolve" (=officially remove guilt) as formal, and "hot" (=attractive) as informal, and several other categories. Unfortunately very few words in the dictionary actually carry these labels.

The bad: (1) First and foremost, this dictionary is simply very thin on words. Plenty of commonly used words are simply missing. Especially notable is the lack of proper nouns--there a few, but important ones, whose pronunciations would be of particular use to foreigners in the U.S. like the names of U.S. states and major cities are just not there. (2) The dictionary's selection of illustrations seems strangely uneven. There are rather hilarious or disturbing (depending on your take) illustrations of "paunch" and "Heimlich maneuver", and illustrations about various cooking implements and clothing items, but no maps, for example. (3) The words do not have any etymological information. While a word's history and origin may not be of immediate interest to someone interested in a word's definition, it is certainly helpful when comparing similar words and for really learning about how a language works.

The copy I am revewing is borrowed from someone else and I don't have the CD-ROM to try out, so I can't comment on it. However, at less than $20, I'd say this book could be very helpful for the learner of English who wants to carry a substantial dictionary with easy accessibility around with him or her, and overall would be a fine addition to any dictionary collection. I can't recommend that this dictionary is adequate for anyone who only plans to have one dictionary of English. If you're only going to purchase one dictionary, get the American Heritage Dictionary or the Merriam-Webster; they have they own flaws, but they are much more comprehensive than this.

I couldn't find any of the first three words I used this dictionary to lookup. I tried to find the definition for slatternly, vicissitude, and extirpate. None of these words were in this dictionary.

Not very helpful!