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Billoncho
Joined: 01 Sep 2007
Posts: 7
Location: Taiwan
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 Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 12:09 pm Post subject: English Chinese Electronic Dictionary |
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I have a Franklin English Spanish electronic dictionary and the Oxford English Spanish dictionary program for my palm which have both served me very well in Colombia.
I am coming to Taiwan and would like to know any suggestions on English Chinese electronic dictionaries. Should I buy one there or get one when I stop in the US? Thanks. |
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CWanders
Joined: 04 Jan 2007
Posts: 49
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| Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 12:59 pm Post subject: |
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If you have a palm already, purchase Pleco's palm OS dictionary. The basic dictionary should be fine unless you're taking upper-level Mandarin classes.
http://www.pleco.com/
Best feature: Character-writing input. Saves you tons of time as opposed to looking unknown characters up by radical or stroke order. |
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TaoyuanSteve
Joined: 05 Feb 2003
Posts: 1028
Location: Taoyuan
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| Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2007 4:53 am Post subject: |
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| CWanders wrote: |
If you have a palm already, purchase Pleco's palm OS dictionary. The basic dictionary should be fine unless you're taking upper-level Mandarin classes.
http://www.pleco.com/
Best feature: Character-writing input. Saves you tons of time as opposed to looking unknown characters up by radical or stroke order. |
I've had pleco for some time now and have to say it's a great tool not only for classes, but for life in a Chinese place. The handwriting recognition feature means you are never unable to read what is around you, be it signs, menus or whatever. Simply write the charas down and you get immediate translation along with phonetic (pinyin) pronunciation. Use pinyin input to translate what you hear. Simply add words you've looked up to your flashcard program if you wish to practice and master them later. Of course, it has a good English to Chinese function as well.
However, I advise getting the complete pleco with the extra dictionaries. Getting the largest number of entries possible is most useful for life in a Chinese language environment, regardless of your Chinese level. |
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markholmes
Joined: 21 Jun 2004
Posts: 661
Location: Wengehua
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| Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2007 5:12 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| Simply write the charas down and you get immediate translation along with phonetic (pinyin) pronunciation |
Do you have to get the stroke order right or would it recognise my scribble? |
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TaoyuanSteve
Joined: 05 Feb 2003
Posts: 1028
Location: Taoyuan
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| Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2007 10:47 am Post subject: |
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| markholmes wrote: |
| Quote: |
| Simply write the charas down and you get immediate translation along with phonetic (pinyin) pronunciation |
Do you have to get the stroke order right or would it recognise my scribble? |
You just have to make it look approximately like the character you are querying. You simply produce your rendering of the character, select "recognize" and it will display the characters that most resemble what you produced. You then select the correct one of the choices shown. Sometimes the program will not show the character you are looking for in its selection (because the program didn't recognize your chicken scratch, in which case you re-write it more carefully; you usually get it on the second attempt.
The program seemingly compares your written characters against those it has in its memory. Correct stroke order isn't needed. |
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CWanders
Joined: 04 Jan 2007
Posts: 49
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| Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2007 11:57 am Post subject: |
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To thread hijack a bit, where's the best place to buy a palm OS device in Taipei?
(The one I brought with me died and the one I bought refurbished off Amazon and had shipped over apparently has a defective battery.)
Someone recommended the electronics building near Taipei Main. Any other suggestions? I don't need a fancy palm pilot, I basically only use it for dictionary/flashcard programs. |
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TaoyuanSteve
Joined: 05 Feb 2003
Posts: 1028
Location: Taoyuan
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| Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2007 11:59 pm Post subject: |
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Hi CWanders,
Your friend's suggestion is sound. The Nova electronics building near Taipei main has a vendor who specializes in portable devices like Palm. |
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Billoncho
Joined: 01 Sep 2007
Posts: 7
Location: Taiwan
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| Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2007 8:06 pm Post subject: Thanks |
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| Thanks, I arrived 2 days ago with my palm and I'll go and get the software. |
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