Trouble with dictionaries!

_Anna_ · 02-04-2012, 02:19 PM

So I bought this kindle which comes with some dictionaries. I set the primary dictionary the Oxford American one and as language English American.

However, I study languages and I need to learn and read in German and in Spanish. I bought Collins Concise English German Dictionary because it seemed the best one. When it comes to quality it is sometimes better to pay a little more. However, when I read a book in german I cannot switch to this dictionary and I cannot see the definition in the book; I have to leave the book and enter the dictionary. The main dictionary remains the American one. I even switched the language to German, but still, the dictionary would just not change.

Another point I want to make is that when I cliked the collins diccionary as default dictionary, the American one was still set as default. Now I have two default dictionaries. I do not know how to deselect the default dictionary.

Thanks

p.s. I tried the dictionary on diffrent formats and it seems to be working only on the mobi format. it is weird, but at least it is working.

tomsem · 02-05-2012, 01:05 PM

If you want to translate from German to English you need German-English dictionary, not English-German dictionary. But let's assume that is in fact what you have.

The basic Kindle (sometimes referred to as 'K4') has different default dictionaries for each of the supported languages. So one is used for English texts, another for German and so on. You only need to select a default when more than one dictionary for a given language exists. The German-English translation dictionary should show up as the dictionary used for German, unless you have other German dictionaries available.

This depends, however, on having the language metadata set correctly for the text you are reading. If the language is not set, then it will use the default dictionary for the UI language, in your case, English. To determine what the metadata language setting is and change it, you'll need a tool such as calibre. Language can be set for mobi and PDf. Text files don't have any way to set this.

Doitsu · 02-05-2012, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomsem

To determine what the metadata language setting is and change it, you'll need a tool such as calibre.

Actually, I find the Java Mobi Metadata Editor much easier to use. Unlike Calibre, it can also be used to double-check the dictionary input and output languages of non-commercial .mobi dictionaries.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomsem

Language can be set for mobi and PDf. Text files don't have any way to set this.

My Kindle 3.3 treats .pdf files like text files and ignores both the language metadata and the embedded paragraph language codes and always uses the default dictionary.

Did Amazon change this behavior in K4s and KFires?

_Anna_ · 02-10-2012, 04:48 AM

Sorry, it's German-English dictionary.

It does not matter which language I select for my Kindle because when I open a book it automatically selects the dictionary for that language. I have two dictionaries for english, two for german and one for spanish and just one of them selected for each language.

If I use pdf I cannot change the font size and if it would not use my dictionaries (maybe just the English one but I am not sure). I need either .prc either .mobi to fully use all the dictionaries.

02-04-2012, 02:19 PM	#1
_Anna_ Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2012 Device: D01100	Trouble with dictionaries! So I bought this kindle which comes with some dictionaries. I set the primary dictionary the Oxford American one and as language English American. However, I study languages and I need to learn and read in German and in Spanish. I bought Collins Concise English German Dictionary because it seemed the best one. When it comes to quality it is sometimes better to pay a little more. However, when I read a book in german I cannot switch to this dictionary and I cannot see the definition in the book; I have to leave the book and enter the dictionary. The main dictionary remains the American one. I even switched the language to German, but still, the dictionary would just not change. Another point I want to make is that when I cliked the collins diccionary as default dictionary, the American one was still set as default. Now I have two default dictionaries. I do not know how to deselect the default dictionary. Thanks p.s. I tried the dictionary on diffrent formats and it seems to be working only on the mobi format. it is weird, but at least it is working. Last edited by _Anna_; 02-04-2012 at 02:49 PM.

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02-05-2012, 01:05 PM	#2
tomsem Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,478 Karma: 26425959 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: USA Device: iPhone 15PM, Kindle Scribe, iPad mini 6, PocketBook InkPad Color 3	If you want to translate from German to English you need German-English dictionary, not English-German dictionary. But let's assume that is in fact what you have. The basic Kindle (sometimes referred to as 'K4') has different default dictionaries for each of the supported languages. So one is used for English texts, another for German and so on. You only need to select a default when more than one dictionary for a given language exists. The German-English translation dictionary should show up as the dictionary used for German, unless you have other German dictionaries available. This depends, however, on having the language metadata set correctly for the text you are reading. If the language is not set, then it will use the default dictionary for the UI language, in your case, English. To determine what the metadata language setting is and change it, you'll need a tool such as calibre. Language can be set for mobi and PDf. Text files don't have any way to set this.

02-10-2012, 04:48 AM	#4
_Anna_ Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2012 Device: D01100	Sorry, it's German-English dictionary. It does not matter which language I select for my Kindle because when I open a book it automatically selects the dictionary for that language. I have two dictionaries for english, two for german and one for spanish and just one of them selected for each language. If I use pdf I cannot change the font size and if it would not use my dictionaries (maybe just the English one but I am not sure). I need either .prc either .mobi to fully use all the dictionaries.

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