| Stran v tématu: [1 2] > | What do you do with dictionaries you no longer use? Autor vlákna: Mario Chávez
|
|---|
Mario Chávez
Spojené státy americké
Local time: 05:34
angličtina -> španělština
+ ...
We translators end up collecting a variety of dictionaries, from monolingual general-purpose dictionaries to bilingual specialized ones, and a few others in between.
I can only speak from my own experience, but I didn't buy a specialized bilingual dictionary in chemistry (an example) just in case I would come across a project on chemical formulas or additives. At the start of my career in New York City, a 9,000-word document on a particular food additive landed on my desk. Having fe... See more We translators end up collecting a variety of dictionaries, from monolingual general-purpose dictionaries to bilingual specialized ones, and a few others in between.
I can only speak from my own experience, but I didn't buy a specialized bilingual dictionary in chemistry (an example) just in case I would come across a project on chemical formulas or additives. At the start of my career in New York City, a 9,000-word document on a particular food additive landed on my desk. Having few, if any, contacts in the profession, I couldn't ask around for the best bilingual dictionaries for that job. So I went to the New York Public Library and spent hours perusing over dictionaries that came the closest to my needs.
Later on, when I was an ATA member with some contacts, I rented specialized dictionaries for some projects. It was cheaper to rent such dictionaries (say, $30 a week) than spend $300 or $400 on one, especially not knowing if that project would bring similar ones in the near future.
Years later, I would buy new and used dictionaries in different specializations. Didn't spend hundreds of dollars on most of them, but I ended up with dictionaries on specializations I never touched in my projects. I don't see that situation improving in future years. But I don't want to get rid of them. Some of those dictionaries are no longer in print.
So, what do you do with specialized or treasured dictionaries if you're no longer receiving projects in those particular specializations? ▲ Collapse
| | | | Peter Motte 
Belgie
Local time: 11:34
Člen (2009)
nizozemština -> vlámština
+ ...
I keep them. Not only out of nostalgia, but also because they're often a baseline.
| | | | Josephine Cassar
Malta
Local time: 11:34
Člen (2012)
angličtina -> maltština
+ ...
I keep them, I refuse to give them away. Books are precious to me and though I've taken to reading on a Kindle, I just won't give up such precious books. You never know and maybe, nostalgia, yes even books I used for university courses even though some of them, not my art books, are so old now.
| | | | | It is going to be a problem | Jul 6 |
I keep old dictionaries, and I have a great collection of them. In charity shops in England you can buy used dictionaries very cheaply,and some of them are really great as bedtime reading. (Illustrated furniture, anyone? Or the sweets we ate as children  Art and architecture? Or the food and restaurant lexicons - delicious, but not fattening.)
The chapters are short, and the plot is not exciting enough to keep you awake... See more I keep old dictionaries, and I have a great collection of them. In charity shops in England you can buy used dictionaries very cheaply,and some of them are really great as bedtime reading. (Illustrated furniture, anyone? Or the sweets we ate as children Art and architecture? Or the food and restaurant lexicons - delicious, but not fattening.)
The chapters are short, and the plot is not exciting enough to keep you awake!
It saddens me when I see dictionaries used før creative purposes - pages folded into sculptures and sprayed with paint, or stacked up as insulating wallpaper, but that is the way I fear they will go in the end. Just as people make bowls out of LPs and bird-scarers out of CDs ... Or mouldering at recycling centres. I can´t save them all, but I still take the most interesting ones home with me.
As long as I have space for them, they stay on my shelves, and sometimes come in useful for solving crosswords or similar. One day they will have to go, but I prefer not to think about that!
[Edited at 2026-07-06 13:26 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | |
|
|
|
Morano El-Kholy
Egypt
Local time: 12:34
Člen (2011)
angličtina -> arabština
+ ...
I will arrange them with great care on the library shelves and keep them.
Who knows? I might need them someday.
Over time, they will become part of my precious possessions.
I certainly won't get rid of them.
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosna a Hercegovina
Local time: 11:34
angličtina -> francouzština
+ ...
| Taking up a lot of space. | Jul 6 |
I created a small library of a sort in my basement, dictionaries were also sent to it. Some of them I also donated, some sold away.
| | | | WolfgangS
Francie
Local time: 11:34
angličtina -> němčina
+ ...
Otherwise I would feel like in Fahrenheit 451
| | | | Gregor Trebec
Slovinsko
Local time: 11:34
angličtina -> slovinština
+ ...
I keep them and they have special place on the shelf. This year i bought one from Craigs list, an English - Croatian dictionary.
| | |
|
|
|
PAS
Local time: 11:34
polština -> angličtina
+ ...
| Gave some away, kept some | Jul 6 |
I gave away some really basic (generic) dictionaries that I have in electronic form. Some are also available online (I know, don't say it )
I kept some specialized dictionaries, but some have become obsolete. I used to have a thing for collecting oddball dictionaries ("Multilingual Dictionary of Forest Humus Terms"), so I still have them, even though I never had a need for them.
Here, selling dictionaries is an exercise... See more I gave away some really basic (generic) dictionaries that I have in electronic form. Some are also available online (I know, don't say it )
I kept some specialized dictionaries, but some have become obsolete. I used to have a thing for collecting oddball dictionaries ("Multilingual Dictionary of Forest Humus Terms"), so I still have them, even though I never had a need for them.
Here, selling dictionaries is an exercise in futility, mostly. Libraries don't want them either.
[Edited at 2026-07-06 18:36 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Daryo
Local time: 10:34
srbština -> angličtina
+ ...
Some are so specialised that you can't find any 'online alternative'.
| | | |
By the time my career was up and running, you could already find anything you ever needed on the web, so I never bothered.
| | | | PAS
Local time: 11:34
polština -> angličtina
+ ...
| Specialized dictionaries ctd. | Jul 7 |
@Daryo - Definitely, but the question is - will you ever translate in that particular specialized field? I am slowly approaching the end of the line (meant to say: the end of my career) and chances of working in other fields are diminishing. So...
At the risk of sounding lugubrious, there is one other overarching concern - after your kids come home from your funeral, they will look at all your clutter and say "what do we do with all this junk?" I want to save them the bother![]() ... See more @Daryo - Definitely, but the question is - will you ever translate in that particular specialized field? I am slowly approaching the end of the line (meant to say: the end of my career) and chances of working in other fields are diminishing. So...
At the risk of sounding lugubrious, there is one other overarching concern - after your kids come home from your funeral, they will look at all your clutter and say "what do we do with all this junk?" I want to save them the bother ▲ Collapse
| | |
|
|
|
| Gave some, kept a lot | Jul 7 |
I gave many dictionaries and other books when in 2015 I moved from Bussels to Lisbon, but even so kept a lot of them. Some are still in my basement in boxes; others are on my bookshelf near my desk. Even if I don’t use most of them anymore, I love the sight of them, as they have been my faithful companions for a long time...
I should add that I have one or two dictionaries – which were quite expensive – in duplicate (such as the Stedman, for example) because for a few years (2... See more I gave many dictionaries and other books when in 2015 I moved from Bussels to Lisbon, but even so kept a lot of them. Some are still in my basement in boxes; others are on my bookshelf near my desk. Even if I don’t use most of them anymore, I love the sight of them, as they have been my faithful companions for a long time...
I should add that I have one or two dictionaries – which were quite expensive – in duplicate (such as the Stedman, for example) because for a few years (2006–2015) I divided my working time between Lisbon and Brussels…
[Edited at 2026-07-07 10:11 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Mario Chávez
Spojené státy americké
Local time: 05:34
angličtina -> španělština
+ ...
AUTOR TÉMATU | Dictionaries and art books | Jul 7 |
I do much the same with my dictionaries, graphic design and typography books. It doesn't matter if our descendants think little of them, it is enough (for me at least) to have had them as steady companions.
MC
Josephine Cassar wrote:
I keep them, I refuse to give them away. Books are precious to me and though I've taken to reading on a Kindle, I just won't give up such precious books. You never know and maybe, nostalgia, yes even books I used for university courses even though some of them, not my art books, are so old now.
| | | | Peter Motte
Belgie
Local time: 11:34
Člen (2009)
nizozemština -> vlámština
+ ...
Christine Andersen wrote:
It saddens me when I see dictionaries used før creative purposes - pages folded into sculptures and sprayed with paint, or stacked up as insulating wallpaper, but that is the way I fear they will go in the end. Just as people make bowls out of LPs and bird-scarers out of CDs ... Or mouldering at recycling centres. I can´t save them all, but I still take the most interesting ones home with me.>[Edited at 2026-07-06 13:26 GMT]
Some years ago the local art school asked people to give their old books, so they could "do something with them". Which finally meant that children splattered paint all over them, and although the books were old, some of them were still useable and worthwhile, like math books: what's in math books, never grows old. All axioms etc. still hold.
| | | | | Stran v tématu: [1 2] > | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » What do you do with dictionaries you no longer use? | PerfectIt | Check translations faster for consistency, quality and style guide compliance
PerfectIt helps professional translators deliver error-free documents in Microsoft Word and PowerPoint. It helps improve consistency, ensure quality, and enforce style guides. ProZ members receive a 30% discount off individual purchases of PerfectIt.
More info » |
| | Trados Studio 2022 Freelance | The leading translation software used by over 270,000 translators.
Designed with your feedback in mind, Trados Studio 2022 delivers an unrivalled, powerful desktop
and cloud solution, empowering you to work in the most efficient and cost-effective way.
More info » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
Translation news
