One of the benefits of the Internet is the ability to look up information and get vast amounts of data in return. You can utilize search engines, like Yahoo or Google, to locate everything from enterprise accounting software, to how-to guides on car maintenance. A common search for information on the Internet encompasses the definition of words and language translations.
With more and more software applications utilizing “always on” type Internet connections, such as DSL and Broadband, the availability of programs simply acting as a front end for the Internet are continually on the rise.
Older programs had to include large amounts of data and then rely on incremental updates via disc media or downloads from the Internet to stay current. Some developers took advantage of the wealth of data via the Internet, and designed programs around the “always on” angle.
Dictionary.NET (found here) is one such program the relies on the Internet to pull data for its use. Billed as an online dictionary and translation tool, it does a fair job covering these two topics. With its interface as a simple search box, typing in a word, depending on your Internet connection speed, can quickly return a pronunciation, definitions, related phrases, and other information regarding the word in question.
To keep the program lightweight, Dictionary.NET forgoes a flashy, icon and menu heavy window, and keeps it simple. The interface is far removed from the lockstep, menu driven programs that many of us are accustomed to seeing. Of course, the program is also designed to do only a couple of very specific things, so the menus become unnecessary. With that in mind, we turn our attention to the text box, and enter a word: vehicle.
As we are typing in the word, suggestions begin to appear below the text box, much like the Google search engine. You may or may not find these alternative phrases useful, but they are there should you need them. After we finish typing the full word in, we click on the magnifying glass icon to begin the search.
Immediately below the text box, we first see the dictionary listing for the word vehicle. It carries with it the pronunciation, descriptive information, and a synonym entry. Navigating further down the screen results, we find related phrases. So now we have more than a simple word definition, Dictionary.NET presents us with other terms surrounding our initial search item.
It does not stop there, however. Continuing down our list of results, it presents other definitions of the word located on different websites throughout the Internet. We are not limited to the data that come along with the program updates, as this portion of the information may be different if we do a search for the same word two days from now; perhaps even 24 hours from now.
Locating the definition of a word, is relatively simple with Dictionary.NET. We still need to see about the translation side of this program though. If you right-click within the white space of the interface, you receive menu choices that include an entry called Language. Clicking on Language brings up a side menu to the left of the program.
All that needs to be done at this point is to left-click on one of the listed languages and watch the right side of the window change. Granted, not every language selection contains a translation for every word you can plug into the search text box. However, the speed at which the results are returned is remarkable.
Here we clicked on Arabic, with the word vehicle still in the text box. Though it kept the English pronunciation, it gave five meanings or definitions in Arabic for the word. In this particular instance, it also returned related phrases in Arabic for our usage. The time it took to get this information (over a cable broadband connection) was about three seconds after Arabic was selected.
While some people may want this type of functionality to be included in larger programs, it is difficult to dismiss the simplicity and speed of Dictionary.NET. If nothing else, this is an excellent reference tool to have when creating documentation, composing reports, or writing in general. The additional ability of the translation piece is just the icing on a low-fat cake.
Hi! I suggest you also try MyMemory, mymemory.translated.net. It’s a collaborative language resource where people could contribute to deleting wrong alignments, voting translations, adding new ones.