A good idea ?

[carpetmojo]

Someone on another Forum has asked if why a lot more languages aren't covered with built-in facilities.
I thought it a bit excessive to expect every language to be covered.

But then I might have had a good idea ?

If the reader has a card capability - Sony, etc - couldn't any dictionary - provided it's available in eform - be downloaded onto the card, and then accessed in that way ?

If it would work, surely it must have been thought of before ?

[susan_cassidy]

The reader software has to be capable of supporting the dictionary. Kindle allows you to buy any dictionary you want that is formatted to be a default dictionary, and install it on your Kindle. I don't think Sony does. Don't know about Nook, etc.

[AJ Starr]

My Sony T1 comes with French to English, English to French; German to English, English to German; Spanish to English, English to Spanish; English to Italian, Italian to English; (please pardon my error) Netherland to English and English to Netherland (what is the correct way to say that?)

I don't know if any other dictionary could be loaded, never had the need.

AJ

[LuvReadin]

Originally Posted by AJ Starr

Netherland to English and English to Netherland (what is the correct way to say that?)

It's quite a difficult one, because it isn't a straight translation - in English, you'd refer to the language as Dutch.

[carpetmojo]

The dictionary needed was Croatian or Serbian - if it's out there, why can't it simply be loaded on the card - or the reader, naturally, but the seperate card would act as a Language library as it were.

[AJ Starr]

Originally Posted by LuvReadin

It's quite a difficult one, because it isn't a straight translation - in English, you'd refer to the language as Dutch.

Thanks. I was reading the name of the dictionary off my Sony.

For some reason I can never remember to relate The Netherlands to Dutch. I even spent 4 years in Germany (military assignment)

Sorry if I offended anyone. Though it couldn't be as bad as when I referred to a person from Scotland as a Scotch.

AJ

[LuvReadin]

Originally Posted by AJ Starr

Sorry if I offended anyone. Though it couldn't be as bad as when I referred to a person from Scotland as a Scotch.

. And you're still alive to tell the tale!

[HarryT]

The basic problem is that, unlike Mobipocket, the ePub file format does not define a dictionary format, so every reader manufacturer has to "reinvent the wheel". This is, IMHO, a serious flaw in ePub. With Mobipocket, on the other hand, dictionaries are defined by the file spec, hence you can buy a dictionary in the bookstore.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by AJ Starr

Thanks. I was reading the name of the dictionary off my Sony.

For some reason I can never remember to relate The Netherlands to Dutch. I even spent 4 years in Germany (military assignment)

Sorry if I offended anyone. Though it couldn't be as bad as when I referred to a person from Scotland as a Scotch.

AJ

Nancy Mitford said that Scotch was the u-term and Scot was non-u.

[Phogg]

Originally Posted by issybird

Nancy Mitford said that Scotch was the u-term and Scot was non-u.

Scotch is archaic, but still used in the US where there isn't much reference to to Scotland outside of Whiskeys and dogs.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Phogg

Scotch is archaic, but still used in the US where there isn't much reference to to Scotland outside of Whiskeys and dogs.

Scotch Whisky is of course spelt without an "e", unlike Irish, which has the "e".

Scotch Whisky
Irish Whiskey

[DiapDealer]

Scotch Whisky is of course spelt without an "e", unlike Irish, which has the "e".

You're my new hero.

[Billi]

Originally Posted by carpetmojo

Someone on another Forum has asked if why a lot more languages aren't covered with built-in facilities.
I thought it a bit excessive to expect every language to be covered.

But then I might have had a good idea ?

If the reader has a card capability - Sony, etc - couldn't any dictionary - provided it's available in eform - be downloaded onto the card, and then accessed in that way ?

If it would work, surely it must have been thought of before ?

I think card capability is the least problem. You could do it with a download to the device itself, too. And you could combine this download with a forced registration that companies love so much.

One problem is that there are simply not that many dictionaries in digital form. The English language is covered very good but if you're searching for dictionaries between two other languages (like German <-> French) then you have great difficulties finding them.

[Billi]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The basic problem is that, unlike Mobipocket, the ePub file format does not define a dictionary format, so every reader manufacturer has to "reinvent the wheel". This is, IMHO, a serious flaw in ePub. With Mobipocket, on the other hand, dictionaries are defined by the file spec, hence you can buy a dictionary in the bookstore.

In theory you're right, in reality it comes down to one manufacturer-one dictionary with Mobipocket, too. Mobipocket dictionaries can only be used by devices that use the Mobipocket Reader as the basis of their reading program. And I don't know of any manufacturer who Amazon granted the right to implement the Mobipocket Reader in the last years (Bookeen and IRex and others were before). Your Bebook Neo is well able to read Mobipocket files but you can't use a Mobipocket dictionary with it, you have to use the device's dictionary. The same is true for the Pocketbook readers.

[AJ Starr]

Originally Posted by LuvReadin

. And you're still alive to tell the tale!

Actually he was very polite when he corrected me.