THE DICTIONARY

The best known way to find out about a word is to use a dictionary. But what can you find in a dictionary? There are numerous things a person can find in a dictionary. The first and obvious things in a dictionary that people think of are definitions. The words are all in alphabetic or A-B-C order. Words sometimes have more than one definition. There is also other information about words such as their function or part of speech, their pronunciation, as well as origins, or roots, of words. Other useful information can be found in the dictionary as well. Information such as English to metric conversion tables, maps, Presidents of the United States, explanations of common symbols, and most important "How to Use a Dictionary" can be found.

HOW TO USE A DICTIONARY

√ There are some few steps to follow when using a dictionary:

√ First, think of the word to look up.

√ Then open the dictionary to as close to the first letter or two of the word as possible.

√ Then either turn back or forward to find the word.

√ To help the search, dictionaries have guide words to help. Guide words are at the top of each page. The first guide word is the first word on a page, and the second guide word at the top of the page is the last word on the page. Using the guidewords, you should find the word you a looking for easily.

HOW TO USE A DICTIONARY WELL

How to check the spelling of a word

The best way to learn how to spell a word is to find it in the Dictionary. To find words in the Dictionary it is important to know the alphabet well. You will need to be able to judge quickly whether any word comes before or after another one, this is called alphabetical order. If the first letters of two words are the same, look at the next letters to decide the correct order.

Example: dare, dart, darn - in the case of these three words, 'dare' comes first, 'darn' second, and 'dart' last. The first three letters 'd', 'a', and 'r' are the same in all three words so the correct alphabetical order is based on the fourth letter.

How to find a word in the Dictionary

Words are printed in large bold type at the upper top left-hand and right-hand corner of any page to help you quickly find a word in the Dictionary. The first of these two words show you which is the first word on that page, the second shows you which the last word to be found on that page is.

Example: You are looking for the word 'signal'. You can find 'signal' on the page which has the two words Signal and silage (example taken from the Collins English Dictionary) printed at the upper top left-hand and right-hand corner.

Understanding definitions

Once you have found the word you are looking for you need to understand a few common conventions to make best use of your dictionary. Here is an example entry in a dictionary:

feat (fi:t) n. a remarkable, skillful, or daring action; exploit; achievement: feats of strength... (Example taken from the Collins English Dictionary)

  1. feat - the defined word
  2. (fi:t) - a phonological transcription of the word (the correct pronunciation), usually using the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet)
  3. n. - the part of speech, in this case 'n.' means noun (look for a list of abbreviations used in your Dictionary usually included on one of the first few pages).
  4. a remarkable, skillful, or daring action; exploit; achievement: definitions of the word. Different meanings of a word will be separated by numbers.
  5. feats of strength - an example sentence using the defined word.

TIPS

  • Dictionaries vary in approach. The best way to learn how to use your particular dictionary effectively is to read the introductory section which explains how entries are arranged in your very own reference book.
  • If you can't seem to locate your word, make sure you are spelling the word right. For example, you won't find ISOTOPE in the dictionary if you are looking in the A section, which you might be tempted to do if, for example, your chemistry teacher speaks with a bit of a southern accent.

WARNINGS

  • Printed dictionaries may go out of date as the language changes, so check the copyright date on yours. Another way to gauge the currency of a dictionary is to look for relatively new words, such as chick flick or metrosexual.
  • Dictionaries vary in content, and some are very specific. Look at the title to find out what you have. If you have a dictionary of rhymes, slang, idioms, synonyms, a foreign language, or a specific interest, such as woodworking terms, seek a more general dictionary.

APPLYING THE FOLLOWING POINTERS WILL SAVE TIME WHEN YOU USE A DICTIONARY

1. Know and use proper alphabetical order

2. Use guide words to save time

3. Check all abbreviations and symbols in the special sections

4. If at first you don’t succeed in finding the word, don’t give up. You might need to check several possible spellings before finding the word

5. Substitute the meaning you find for the word in the sentence. Be sure you select the most appropriate meaning, not merely the first one you come to

6. Try saying the word aloud after you look at the pronunciation key.

Exercise

Use your dictionary in order to do the following exercises with the given words:

Prevención

Emergencia

Reconstrucción

Infraestructura

Población

Service

Procedure

Disaster

Administration

Risk

1. - Find the translation of each word.

2. - How are they pronounced?

3. - Find synonyms for 3 of these words.

4. – Find the meaning of 4 of these words.