Why does an ereader need a dictionary?

[corona]

Like Dr. Woolworth's paper, my vocabulary is good enough. Stopping to fiddle with a dictionary -- unless I'm trying to get by in a foreign language -- is simply a distraction. Specialized dictionaries for specialized topics are nice, but then again you're not going to find those built into your e-reader. And general dictionaries very often fall short when it comes to the archaic and arcane terms that send one looking in the first place.

But this is a matter of taste, like MP3 players in e-readers. I can't stand trying to listen to music while I'm reading, but I realize that others are not so easily distracted.

Custom dictionaries would be nice; I agree with jshzh.

[crich70]

I don't often consult the dictionary on my Kindle, but on occasion I will come across a word that isn't familiar and then I will use it to help myself gain a better idea what the author was trying to say. Words fall out of use sometimes or as in the case of some authors of the past they were paid by the word and so perhaps used a word occasionally that was never in very common use to begin with.

[DMB]

I find that looking words up interrupts the reading flow. And what I do if necessary is make a mental note and look things up afterwards. Obviously, it depends on what you're reading. If you are reading in a foreign language and need more than two look-ups per page, you're probably wrestling with too difficult a book. I gave up on a book by Balzac because my French is just not that good. I can read authors like Dumas without difficulty, with the very occasional word needing elucidation. If I were studying Balzac, as opposed to reading for pleasure, then the reading flow would hardly matter and I'd probably reread a passage several times for different reasons.

Similarly, if I were reading, say, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, it would be to study it rather than just enjoy it as a story. My grasp of that dialect of Middle English is far worse than my grasp of modern French. OTOH many English specialists would read it as easily as a modern book.

So as much as anything, it's a question of why you read and what your specialist background is.

[voracious71]

I have a good vocabulary, most of the time I don't need the dictionary. But, I'm sure glad it's there for those few occasions. I'm the type that wouldn't be able to concentrate fully until I knew what that word meant.

[Jellby]

Originally Posted by DMB

I find that looking words up interrupts the reading flow. And what I do if necessary is make a mental note and look things up afterwards.

Fair enough. My reading is rather slow, and I distract myself easily, so I don't care about the occasional lookup (once per chapter, say). Anyway, nowadays I mostly read books I create myself, and 99% of my distractions are to note corrections I must make (or check) to the source text.

As for the kind of works that I might need a dictionary for, I sometimes want to know exactly what kind of carriage, what shape of sail, what sort of tropical fruit, what colour of bird, etc. a writer is talking about.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Jellby

As for the kind of works that I might need a dictionary for, I sometimes want to know exactly what kind of carriage, what shape of sail, what sort of tropical fruit, what colour of bird, etc. a writer is talking about.

I am very much the same. I can tell from the text that the book is talking about a carriage, but I want to know what the difference is between a landau and a phaeton.

[Flip Martian]

Originally Posted by djgreedo

It's pretty simple.

An ereader's main function is to display words.
Words have meanings and uses.
Nobody knows every word and every usage.

also:
Ereaders are capable of storing a full dictionary without compromising other features.
It's a great selling point.
Some readers read in a 2nd language.
Some books use obscure words or usages.
A dictionary doesn't impact on a user who doesn't use it.

I was going to post again on this thread as I couldn't believe some of the postings since yesterday. However - this one pretty much sums things up nicely!

Having had my 350 a couple of weeks and not read the manual, I've only just found the double tap the word to open the dictionary. I hope they gave the tech who came up with the original idea for that a big bonus that year. So easy.

[357mag]

I like to think of myself as an educated and well read person but there are certain authors who are certainly more educated than I am and use words in the English language that I am not familiar with. Dean Koontz, one of my favorite authors, sometimes uses descriptive words that I am totally unfamiliar with. By using my Kindle dictionary, I can instantly look up a word and expand my vocabulary by doing so. I love my Kindle and I love it's dictionary feature.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by 357mag

By using my Kindle dictionary, I can instantly look up a word and expand my vocabulary by doing so. I love my Kindle and I love it's dictionary feature.

Here's something else to expand your vocabulary with:

When you mean "belonging to it", the correct word to use is "its".

When you mean "it is" or "it has", then you use "it's".

Hence, "its dictionary feature", not "it's dictionary feature".

[DiapDealer]

I'd rather my eReader came with Harbrace to tell you the truth.

[taosaur]

If my music player has a visualizer, my e-reader should have an audiolizer, making abstract sounds derived from the text.

[CWatkinsNash]

I sometimes find myself using the dictionary because I suspect that the author has used a word incorrectly. Sadly, my suspicions are correct more often than not.

Outside of that, I use it occasionally for non-fiction.

[Fbone]

I hate not knowing the meaning of a word. Makes me feel stupid. So I constantly stop reading and grab the dictionary.

Last words I looked up were "fuggy" and "faddling."

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by carld

Honestly, I find your post terribly condescending and insulting.

I tend to agree. Before I had my Kindle, I would "interrupt my reading" to jot down the word on a 3x5 index card to look up when I was at my computer. I enjoy books written by Brits and some use a lot of slang that is foreign to me. I can remember returning home with 10-15 words on a 3x5 index card to look up.

I'm sure some know all the words they need to know. I had a friend who worked the NYT crossword each day, in ink, and would finish in 20 minutes. Everyone was amazed until someone recovered the paper from the trash and learned he didn't really use words then he got stuck.

A quickie: What's a merkin and why is it a word?

[Latinandgreek]

Originally Posted by patrickt

I tend to agree. Before I had my Kindle, I would "interrupt my reading" to jot down the word on a 3x5 index card to look up when I was at my computer. I enjoy books written by Brits and some use a lot of slang that is foreign to me. I can remember returning home with 10-15 words on a 3x5 index card to look up.

I'm sure some know all the words they need to know. I had a friend who worked the NYT crossword each day, in ink, and would finish in 20 minutes. Everyone was amazed until someone recovered the paper from the trash and learned he didn't really use words then he got stuck.

A quickie: What's a merkin and why is it a word?

Oh I know...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=506h_-oG1dE

It is a pubic wig (everything I know, I learned from Xena).

My favourite Lucy Lawless interview!