Find out which kind of dictionary is suitable for you. Please choose an option:

• Books
• CD-ROMs
• Internet
• General Dictionaries
• Specialised Dictionaries

If you have any suggestions or questions, please fill in a feedback form or e-mail the Webmaster.

Books

Advantages:

• Familiarity - you have very probably used a book dictionary before.
• Ownership - you've probably got one already, so you don't need to buy one.

Disadvantages:

• Size - many dictionaries are large and heavy. Small (pocket-sized) dictionaries have much less information and can be hard to read.
• Speed - finding a word can be a slow process (click here for some tips on how to find words faster).

CD-ROMs

You can buy dictionaries on CD-ROM.

Advantages:

• Finding a word is faster
• CD-ROMs can contain a lot of information
• They are light-weight
• They are small
• Some contain sound files for pronunciation (e.g. The Longman Interactive CD-ROM Dictionary, which you can find in CILL)
• Some contain English language learning materials (e.g. The Longman Interactive CD-ROM Dictionary.
• Some contain pictures (e.g. The Longman Interactive CD-ROM Dictionary.

Disadvantages:

• You need a computer
• It takes longer to start your computer, start the dictionary program and look up the word than it does to use a paper dictionary. If you are already using the computer however, this is not really a problem
• Some CD ROMs are not well-designed as they seem not to use the abilities of computers (e.g. hyperlinking) very well
• Due to the above disadvantages you should test the CD before you buy it, though not all shops will allow this. Of course, you can always come to CILL and try it.

Here is a screen shot from the Longman Interactive CD-ROM dictionary, showing a definition, a sound recording, a picture and some grammatical information.

Internet

You can find some dictionaries on the Internet, click here for some examples.

Advantages:

• They are free.
• Wild cards - you can type ? if you don't know a letter, or * for a group of letters you don't know; e.g. b?t will find bat, bet, bit, & but. b*t finds babysit, backseat, bait, ballet etc.

Disadvantages:

• You need a computer
• You need to be connected to the Internet
• The Internet might be very slow
• Some have distracting advertising

Here is a screen-shot of the Virtual Language Centre's on-line lexicon:

General Dictionaries

These are normal dictionaries that give you information about the most common words in English. However, new words are often not included in these dictionaries until they become very common. Therefore you should look for new fashionable words and new technical words (especially computer terms) in a dictionary of slang or informal expressions or in a technical dictionary.

Here are some of CILL's general dictionaries:

Specialised Dictionaries

These are dictionaries with words useful for special groups of people, for example:

• Learner's dictionaries, for people learning a language
• Bi-lingual dictionaries, for translating between languages
• Technical dictionaries for professionals; e.g. medical and computer dictionaries
• Thesauruses, which are dictionaries that list words with similar meanings together. This is useful for writing, where it is sometimes bad style to use the same word many times. However, you will need to use a normal dictionary to discover the differences between the similar words. Some word-processing programs have a thesaurus in the Tools menu.
• Dictionaries that concentrate on one part of language, such as dictionaries of idioms or collocations.
• Dictionaries that translate between varieties of a single language, for example, British-American dictionaries. In Hong Kong we usually use British English; e.g. we say "pavement", while Americans say "sidewalk". If you are going to America to study you will need to learn the American word. You will also need a dictionary of American English, rather than one of British English.

Here is a photo of some of these specialised dictionaries: