Customer Reviews

English Pronouncing Dictionary with CD-ROM

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I am simply enthusiastic about the book and its software. I was trying the QUICKfind while surfing the Internet and found out that turning on the automatic sound and pointing the mouse at a word, its sound was spoken up by HUMAN voices. I then tried it on a Word document and it happened the same. Everyone who's willing to improve his English pronunciation MUST try it, for it's really worth. I'll advise all foreign languages university students to buy it. The interactive exercises are also worth, as we hear whole sentences, and I like the idea to look for words both by typing in the text and the phonetic symbols. Highly recommended to up-to-date languages lovers. Last but not least, the book contains many words you cannot find on other dictionaries, such as proper names, surnames and cities. There's even my Brescia! --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

I seldom write reviews, but for this one, I have to say something. I very much wanted to thank Venturini Viviana from Italy and Hubert Shea from Hong Kong for I decided to get this after reading their reviews.

It has over 80,000 entries and 215,000 pronunciations including common names, surnames, places, cities and brand names etc. Just the CD-Rom alone is well worth the money. Though it may not be the most comprehensive one on the market compare to Oxford (with 100,000 entries) etc., it's the only one comes with this amazing CD-Rom. It is sure to be XP compatible, very user-friendly, fast responding and accurate. Use only your cursor to point to the word while surfing internet or working on word document and it'll automatically pronounce each word in a second if you choose to (spoken by a native British English speaker).

The only shortcomings are:-
1. I can only look up 90% of the words from this Dictionary.
2. I can't use it in Excel.
3. Only the root forms of words in British English Pronunciation is recorded.

That is, I still have to rely on the free Merriam Webster's Collegiate online Dictionary sometimes (which is pretty inconvenient). As a whole, this CD-Rom is by far the best on the market!

The 15th edition of Daniel Jones English Pronouncing Dictionary follows the tradition of its ancestors. It gives not only details on British and American English, but also includes international place names and internationally known proper names. It is userfriendly and easy accessible, although to use it properly, the reader has to be used to IPA (International Phonetic Association / Alphabet) symbols, otherwise the transcripts are not readable. Nonetheless, the book has to compete with Wells' Longman Pronuncation Dictionary, of which a second edition is to come up. Already the first edition of it is a concurrent of Daniel Jones, both books serve the same purposes and are equally good. Either the one or the other should be on the bookshelf of each English student.

As a non-English speaker who has studied English for more than 25 years, it is believed that this dictionary should be the best reference book for any language learners in Hong Kong and China. The dictionary guides people how to pronounce English flawlessly.I highly recommend this dictionary to all university students, diplomats, business executives, secondary school teachers and university professors in Hong Kong and China since most of them fail to pronounce English in an accurate manner. As English language will continue to play a dominant role in the international world, it is instrumental for non-English speakers including Chinese to communicate with English speakers fluently and accurately. Anyway, this dictionary is really value for money!!!

I am simply enthusiastic about this software. I was trying the QUICKfind while surfing the Internet and found out that turning on the automatic sound and pointing the mouse on a word, its sound is spoken up by HUMAN voices. I then tried it on a Word document and it happened the same. Everyone who's willing to improve his English pronunciation MUST try it, for it's really worth. I'll advise all foreign languages university students to buy it. The interactive exercises are also worth, as we hear whole sentences, and I like the idea to look for words both by typing in the text and the phonetic symbols. Highly recommended to up-to-date languages lovers. Last but not least, the book contains many words you cannot find on other dictionaries, such as proper names, surnames and cities. There's even my Brescia!

I planned to buy the 15th edition of Daniel Jones English Pronouncing Dictionary - but I got the 16th edition - to complete my references in doing my research in English pronunciation produced by the learners of English as a foreign language. I never thought that I will get a CD together with this book and it surprised me when I found it out. It helps me a lot and the software is easy to operate. This book contains not only British English pronunciation but also American English as well with some variations, beside many helpful information. The advantage is that, by using the software, you can listen to and learn the pronunciation of English words without requiring the knowledge in reading the IPA characters; just click and listen, and of course, try to pronounce them. Even, you can record your own pronunciation. And about my research, well, I got an A because I could cross-check my recorded data with it which helped me in creating perfect analyses, beside from the helps of other references, data, and my sponsors, of course. If you want to 'polish' your English pronunciation or just want to add your knowledge in English pronunciation, you may consider this dictionary to be your 'assistance'.

As a nonnative speaker of English who teaches English as a second language I've found this book to be a source of valuable information. Its wide coverage and the inclusion of alternative or variant pronunciations are among its best features. However, it is not possible to approach it without a working knowledge of the IPA. The explanations given in the introduction are hardly enough to aid production of the sounds. Explanatory notes are few and far between. In this aspect, I believe J.C.Wells' Longman Pronunciation Dictionary is a much more complete and detailed guide (especially for nonnative speakers).

There is no software or CD coming with the dictionary, what a disappointment. I will return it right way.

I bought this book as a recommended book for my dialects class and I'm really glad I did. If you're learning English or taking a dialects class, or simply learning IPA I HIGHLY recommend this book. It's well worth the money and something I know I'll be holding on to forever. So for any actor out there who is learning IPA or dialects this should be in your theatre library.

I was sort of anxious about committing myself to this purchase. It turned to be just what it has promised - good pronunciation dictionary with nicely made CD. I enjoy using CD pronunciation tool. One can see variants of the pronunciation listed there and here record of the word. Occasionally I find myself doubtful about the pronunciation that was selected for recording in terms of if it is really most popular or "more standard" than others. But by all means this is a helpful tool for those (like me) studying English and vesting particular even professional interest in actual pronunciation. Little additional description as to the origins of the particular version of pronunciation or to the geographic area of it can be found, though.