Do you read and understand every word?

[Druid_Elf]

I used to look words up in highschool when reading in my non-native language (usually for french books )
Now I don't bother anymore. I try to deduce the word and if it's wrong I won't lose any sleep over it
Guess that makes me a bit lazy

[vivaldirules]

It depends on what I'm reading and why I'm reading it but I often look up words, phrases, names, places and events, and even word usages that have changed since the work was written or have different meanings in different cultures. I do this all the time with Gandhi's writings, for example. The annoying part is that it is pretty inconvenient with my Sony - no dictionary, internet access, or even highlighting or note taking ability. Instead, I write things down and look them up later.

[HarryT]

I think that instant access to a good dictionary is one of the real benefits of an ebook reader compared to a paper book. I read a great many 19th century novels, and one is constantly coming across unfamiliar words. Previously I'd just have guessed then from context, but being able to so easily look them up for me significantly enhances the reading experience.

The Sony PRS-600/900, Kindle, and iPad, all have excellent dictionaries. I don't know if any other readers also do; I've heard, for example, that the nook has a dictionary, but that it's not very good.

[ardeegee]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I think that instant access to a good dictionary is one of the real benefits of an ebook reader compared to a paper book. I read a great many 19th century novels, and one is constantly coming across unfamiliar words. Previously I'd just have guessed then from context, but being able to so easily look them up for me significantly enhances the reading experience.

Recycling this quote from Unseen Academicals:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...2&postcount=26

[happy_terd]

Originally Posted by recluse

I have always had a dictionary and thesaurus on hand while reading, in case I come across an unfamiliar word.
I have found, however, that I need them less now.
Thanks in part to the lowered standard of popular literature.

:

[dreams]

Originally Posted by lene1949

English is my second language, and any word I don't understand I look up... If there's no translation, I use my own according to the text.

That is what I do. I back translate with the dictionary by looking up the translated word to English and back again (checking the example sentences given) until I find the word that matches the one in the book. If you look it up online it will pronounce the English word also.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I wonder how many of you are like me, and blithly pass over unfamiliar words in a story, guessing their meaning from context as you go?

And I wonder how many of you actually go and look such words up when they come across them?

If I'm reading on my JE100, I will look them up, using the dictionary. My Mini sadly doesn't have a dictionary, and I either must remember to look it up on the internet later, or I'll forget about it.

Originally Posted by HarryT

I think that instant access to a good dictionary is one of the real benefits of an ebook reader compared to a paper book. I read a great many 19th century novels, and one is constantly coming across unfamiliar words. Previously I'd just have guessed then from context, but being able to so easily look them up for me significantly enhances the reading experience.

And increases your vocabulary. One of my English teacher once told that the best way to learn a word is by looking it up (the response was to my question of how you wrote "favourite"). I've never forgotten that advice, and found it's often true (I'll never forget how to write "favourite" ever again!)

[dsvick]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I think that instant access to a good dictionary is one of the real benefits of an ebook reader compared to a paper book.

The Sony PRS-600/900, Kindle, and iPad, all have excellent dictionaries. I don't know if any other readers also do...

Exactly. I used to gloss over them and just assume I knew what they meant. With my 900 now it is so easy to look things up I end up looking up almost everything now. That is one of the reasons I wanted the touch screen, to make those look up easier. I'm lazy and if I had to use arrow buttons to navigate to a word to look up I'd still be glossing over the words.

[Sandra Edwards]

I can usually guess, from the context that a word is used in, what it means...but with a word like capuchin...my mind draws a blank --

Sandy

[TGS]

Here's a quote from Last Night at Twisted River by John Irving

Before the advent of mechanical loaders, the logs were unloaded by releasing trip bunks on the sides of the trucks—this allowed an entire load to roll off a truck at once. But the trip bunks sometimes failed to release; the men were occasionally caught under a cascade of logs while they were trying to free a bunk.

Now I, and I suspect most people unfamiliar with mid-twentieth century north American logging practices, have no idea what a "trip bunk" is. John Irving is not a stupid man and I am guessing he didn't assume that most of his readers would know what a "trip bunk" is. So, he included a noun that he knew that most people would not understand. Why do you think he did that?

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by TGS

Here's a quote from Last Night at Twisted River by John Irving


Now I, and I suspect most people unfamiliar with mid-twentieth century north American logging practices, have no idea what a "trip bunk" is. John Irving is not a stupid man and I am guessing he didn't assume that most of his readers would know what a "trip bunk" is. So, he included a noun that he knew that most people would not understand. Why do you think he did that?

Well, this is a case where the knowledge of exactly what the object is, and how it functions is completely unnecessary to the story. All that you need to know about trip bunks is included in the text.

However, using what (I assume) is the correct name for the object, instead of a generic word like "catch", is the best thing to do; it gives the reader the impression that the writer knows what they're writing about — a pleasing verisimilitude to the work.

[bjones6416]

Originally Posted by TGS

Here's a quote from Last Night at Twisted River by John Irving


Now I, and I suspect most people unfamiliar with mid-twentieth century north American logging practices, have no idea what a "trip bunk" is. John Irving is not a stupid man and I am guessing he didn't assume that most of his readers would know what a "trip bunk" is. So, he included a noun that he knew that most people would not understand. Why do you think he did that?

And sadly, although I'm a normally a John Irving fan, I couldn't finish that book. I'm not sure why -- it just didn't keep me engaged. I might try it again another time. (And that shows that I don't read every word, because I don't remember even noticing that I didn't know what a trip bunk was. )

[lene1949]

Originally Posted by dreams

That is what I do. I back translate with the dictionary by looking up the translated word to English and back again (checking the example sentences given) until I find the word that matches the one in the book. If you look it up online it will pronounce the English word also.

I mostly learned my English by reading and writing... My pronunciation was shocking... One word I remember very clearly is 'emergency'... I pronounced it as 'emmagency.. with the accent on the g, pronounced as in 'go'

This probably doesn't make any sense at all... but in the early days, nothing made any sense to me...

[GeoffC]

Probably badly I just skip over the word, especially if my two dictionaries don't recognise them. Perhaps I ought to invest in an 'older' dictionary, but the value of it would be minimal given the number of occasions I read "elder" books ....