Epub dictionaries

[astra]

My answer from another thread:

I need dictionary.
Unfortunately, English doesn't hold "mother tongue" position in my life. So, when I read a book, sometimes I need a dictioanry. When I was reading pbooks, I used Quicktionary v1. Israeli scanner dictionary, English-Russian. When I bought Sony Reader PRS-500, I had to spend another £165 for Ectaco English-Russian dictionary. Means I always have to bring another gadget with me when I go/travel somewhere.

Having a dictionary (even English-English) on Sony Reader would be the single most wanted feature for me.

[jgray]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

I was just exchanging emails with someone at Adobe, and I was told that while it's a neat feature, most people don't use it. Let's see if that is true.

So, all of those publishers who have sold countless language dictionaries, medical dictionaries, slang dictionaries, etc. for all these years have been selling to a nonexistant market? Not only do a respectable number of fiction readers use a dictionary, but what about the educational market? In case Adobe hasn't noticed, this is precisely one of the markets that Amazon wants to be the "big gorilla" in. Adobe believing that dictionary support is not wanted or used is either misinformed, closed-minded or just plain stupid.

[catsittingstill]

It seems to me that Adobe's original contention was not "nobody wants a dictionary" and not "nobody needs a dictionary" but rather "nobody *uses* a dictionary."

I'd say that the votes and responses on this thread make it pretty clear that a lot of people who read e-books (but not everyone, granted) uses a dictionary at least sometimes.

For my part, I kind of liked the idea of dictionary lookup when I got my Kindle (1), but was much more excited about the search/highlight/annotation functions. Once I had it, though, I found that I used it frequently when reading science books, or fiction books set in an unfamiliar time/place (what *is* the difference between a barque and a brigantine?) In my opinion in the Kindle 2 the functionality is even better (though the 5-way is a little slower than the roller, not having to leave your book saves enough time that overall the process is faster and has less hassle.)

So now, yes, if I found an e-book reader that was perfect in every way except dictionary lookup, I'd probably be willing to buy it... but I do like dictionary lookup, I do use it, and it is one of the features I weigh when considering e-book readers.

[Studio717]

I've already voted and noted my vote, but I wanted to add that - imo - any format that wants to be accepted as a de facto standard should offer dictionary support. For many folks, reading includes looking up a word to discover its meaning, whether it's a completely unknown word, or a word used in an unusual context.

I am a native speaker of English, I read (and have read) a great number of books in wide-ranging subjects, fiction and non-fiction, and I know a lot of words - but English is so vast I can never know them all, nor can I know all the nuanced meanings of every word. This is especially true when reading older works (say 17th and 18th books) where words themselves have changed meaning.

The ability to look up a word is a part of reading for me and it would be great if the 'standard' format included that feature for e-reading as well. Granted, I am not expecting the OED on my ebook reader any time soon (that would be sweet, though!) but the ability to do a quick look up would add a great deal to my reading experience.

[IgnareAcademy]

Currently I am reading German books in my Hanlin clone thanks to the latest LBook firmware and a freedict German-English dictionary. I would not read German books otherwise.
Anyway, people who read books to become brighter obviously want to precisely understand what they are reading, and have paper dictionaries in their home, and obviously would find it convenient/necessary to have dictionaries inside their e-book reader.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by catsittingstill

It seems to me that Adobe's original contention was not "nobody wants a dictionary" and not "nobody needs a dictionary" but rather "nobody *uses* a dictionary."

I'd say that the votes and responses on this thread make it pretty clear that a lot of people who read e-books (but not everyone, granted) uses a dictionary at least sometimes.

I suspect that, for many people, it's a feature that they don't realise the utility of until they actually have it. When I had a Sony Reader, for example, I never gave a second thought to dictionary support - I never look words up in a dictionary while reading a paper book, so why should I do so in an eBook?

It was only when I bought an iLiad, and then later, a CyBook, both of which have MobiPocket dictionary support, that I found that the ability to immediately look up the meaning of a word encouraged me to actually do so. Now, having had it, it's a feature I wouldn't like to be without.

[kazbates]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I suspect that, for many people, it's a feature that they don't realise the utility of until they actually have it. When I had a Sony Reader, for example, I never gave a second thought to dictionary support - I never look words up in a dictionary while reading a paper book, so why should I do so in an eBook?

It was only when I bought an iLiad, and then later, a CyBook, both of which have MobiPocket dictionary support, that I found that the ability to immediately look up the meaning of a word encouraged me to actually do so. Now, having had it, it's a feature I wouldn't like to be without.

I miss it everyday since I changed over from my EBW1150 to my Sony.

[cheese bogart]

What I've noticed from this thread is that certain companies have probably lost quite a lot of customers for there e-devices by not having dictionary support. Whereas I doubt there are many people who would say to themselves 'I'm not buying that, it's got a dictionary on it'.

For me, it's not whether it comes down to being a need or a want, but a basic feature that all e-devices should have.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by cheese bogart

What I've noticed from this thread is that certain companies have probably lost quite a lot of customers for there e-devices by not having dictionary support. Whereas I doubt there are many people who would say to themselves 'I'm not buying that, it's got a dictionary on it'.

For me, it's not whether it comes down to being a need or a want, but a basic feature that all e-devices should have.

I agree, and it doesn't even have to have a dictionary supplied with it. If they supported dictionaries people who want them could buy one or use an old one. There is no down side to supporting dictionaries.

Dale

[cheese bogart]

I'd rather it didn't also, I like to be able to choose the dictionary that suits my needs (probably shouldn't have used that word)

[Ankh]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

If they supported dictionaries people who want them could buy one or use an old one.

The OED dream. The day will come when I can have it on electronic reader.

The batteries on my WebDT375 died, otherwise I would have waited for an eInk/ePub/dictionary device.

[Peter Sorotokin]

Originally Posted by jgray

So, all of those publishers who have sold countless language dictionaries, medical dictionaries, slang dictionaries, etc. for all these years have been selling to a nonexistant market? Not only do a respectable number of fiction readers use a dictionary, but what about the educational market? In case Adobe hasn't noticed, this is precisely one of the markets that Amazon wants to be the "big gorilla" in. Adobe believing that dictionary support is not wanted or used is either misinformed, closed-minded or just plain stupid.

"misinformed, closed-minded or just plain stupid." This is an amusing thread!

Read the original statement carefully: "while it's a neat feature, most people don't use it". I am still fairly convinced that's true, BTW. I would use it, of course; most people on MobileRead would (judging by the poll) - but most people? - just don't think so. Anyway that does not really matter.

Most of you incorrectly assumed that Adobe just does not see any use for it. What I meant is that there are things that are more important (for instance, easing maximum chapter size restriction). And, of course, there is enough functionality in Reader Mobile SDK for device manufacturers to expose it themselves - and some will.

Peter

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Peter Sorotokin

Most of you incorrectly assumed that Adobe just does not see any use for it. What I meant is that there are things that are more important (for instance, easing maximum chapter size restriction). And, of course, there is enough functionality in Reader Mobile SDK for device manufacturers to expose it themselves - and some will.

Peter

But would it not be the ePub standard committee who would need to define the "format" of a dictionary? It would presumably need to use some sort of tags to indicate index entries, as a MobiPocket dictionary does. Does such a format currently exist as a part of the standard?

[IgnareAcademy]

Originally Posted by Peter Sorotokin

Read the original statement carefully: "while it's a neat feature, most people don't use it". I am still fairly convinced that's true, BTW. I would use it, of course; most people on MobileRead would (judging by the poll) - but most people? - just don't think so. Anyway that does not really matter.

Peter

I guess the faster and easier it becomes for people to look up a word in a dictionary, the more people will do it.

[cheese bogart]

I think that there are a lot of people who claim to have no need for a dictionary, yet regularly misuse words and should perhaps consider using one. A very common one is affect/effect.

Another reason why dictionaries are useful (and I can only speak for the English language) is to show how languages develop in countries that speak the same language. The word fanny is a good example. In the US it's slang for your bum and in Britain it's slang for vagina.