Kernerman Dictionary News • Number 16 • July 2008
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Password – a
productive dictionary family
Later on, while already working on dictionaries, I came to understand
the why part – and it still fascinates me. Now I’m happy to know that
I’m not the only Password fan! There are many dictionaries on the publishers’ and lexicographers’
shelves, but very few of them can be considered as both purpose-built
sand purpose-served. I would, without doubt, consider Password
and its family of products as just that. The Estonian version of the semi-bilingual Password dictionary
(PASSWORD Inglise-eesti seletav sõnaraamat / English Dictionary for
Speakers of Estonian) was first published by TEA Publishers in 1995. It
was a huge success among Estonians, which might somehow be taken as pure
luck. After However, there would not have been such success without good content.
Estonians have always been “language-oriented” people. Even during the Soviet
rule, schools taught English, German and French, and we have had notable
language teachers. Password’s idea of teaching the English language
through English itself suited our public well, since almost everyone knew
English to some extent. Estonian equivalents to English meanings simply
supported learners’ comprehension. I personally like dictionaries that entice you to think a little, and
when I understand what the dictionary is trying to convey then I like it even
more. Password is a dictionary that does not have a simple structure;
rather, it has the simplest structure needed in order to convey meaning in an
economical way. Everyone likes to be considered smart, and Password is
for smart people. Password has many advantages and it is multipurpose by nature. When I ask
people why they use dictionaries, they usually answer that they want to know
the meaning of words. So, providing English definitions along with Estonian
translations serves this purpose well. Password is also a perfect
dictionary for giving the most important meaning of headwords, for which
derivative forms and phrases are also presented. It also provides
definitional language in easy-to-understand English using a limited range of
vocabulary for explanations. There are many English language teachers in our country who have said
that Password is a very good dictionary for teaching school children how to use dictionaries in general. (They
have added that any kind of semi-bilingual type of dictionary is appropriate
for this.) English is the first foreign language taught at our schools and
will likely remain so in the near future. Thus, many users might need a
monolingual English dictionary at some point in time. If translations are
ignored, then Password can function as a monolingual dictionary. This
makes it suitable for practicing monolingual dictionary use before moving on
to true monolingual dictionaries where no translations are provided, since
the basic structure of a monolingual dictionary has been retained in Password
and is only ‘interrupted’ by translations. This kind of ‘interruption’ is not
something users would mind; on the contrary, they sub-consciously need the
translations in order to be fully sure of the meaning. In addition, there are
many structural entry elements that teachers can point out to students,such as where to find derivatives, phrases, examples,
cross-references, etc. I’m sure this teaching function can be considered to
be one of the best advantages Password has over other dictionaries. Having had such a good and long experience in publishing and marketing
Password, we at TEA have come to the understanding that it would be a shame
not to develop this line further and offer our public such a type of
dictionary for different levels. Therefore, the whole semi-bilingual family
has been extended, based on Password as the main product. This year we
launched Junior Password (Junior PASSWORD Inglise-eesti seletav
sõnaraamat / English-Estonian Semi-Bilingual Dictionary) along with a
CD-ROM version. Originating from PASSPORT English Learner’s Dictionary,
Junior Password is meant for users in elementary up to junior high
school. It does not provide English definitions, but rather, presents example
sentences and phrases that illustrate the context of where and how the word
can be used. In this way, learners can put English into action right away.
The Estonian translations are based on these sample sentences, so editors had
a specific context in mind when translating the headwords from English to
Estonian. Several side-meanings that were beyond the level intended for these
users were deleted. This is an ideal dictionary for forming the first idea of
semantic connections and differences between words. It contains many usage
notes that link words and terms to each other and point to synonyms and
antonyms. Junior Password can be considered as a compact, simplified
version of Password. In Junior Password we decided to exclude the Estonian-English
index, which is an integral part of the Password dictionary. (However,
we did include it in the electronic version.) Our idea was that kids at this
level of language awareness are not ready to understand that this is NOT an
Estonian-English dictionary. Given the structural core of Password,
where there are many derivatives under a single entry, the index is relevant
for supporting the significance of the key entry. However, Junior Password’s
structure is very simple, and an index in this case would have made things
more unclear to the user, since there is no sub-entry system. In developing
the original Password, I rather develop an index specifically for an
electronic version. There are, however, some disadvantages in presenting such
an index, even for such a purpose. These include cases where the articles are
split to component parts, or derivatives that become full entries. Thus, such
an index may not be as as functional as intended. TEA’s cooperation with K Dictionaries has proven to be both productive
and profitable. Thus, we have agreed to develop two more titles within the Password
line: Advanced Password for upper level learners,
and Picture Password for younger ones. Both currently published
dictionaries have been introduced to our public as members in an upcoming
family of products. This will prime our market for customer acceptance of new
products and allow users to take full advantage of the multipurpose features
provided in the current offerings. Finally, I would like to suggest a possible
idea for the future. Why not start a Password dictionary support
centre? Among the many publishers who have localised the Password
family of dictionaries around the world, it may be a good idea to consolidate
our efforts and be able to convey to one another any good ideas for further
improvements, as well as share issues and problems that may co-occur while
working on the diverse languages that Password is offered in.
PASSWORD Inglise-eesti
seletav sõnaraamt Eesti-inglise
sõnastik-indeksiga +
ePASSWORD CD-ROMil koos hääldusega English-Estonian
Semi-Bilingual Dictionary TEA KIRJASTUS Tallinn, Estonia August 2006 (2nd edition) 1008 pp, 250 x Hardcover, incl CD-ROM ISBN 9985-71-518-7
Junior
PASSWORD Inglise-eesti
seletav sõnaraamt Eesti-inglise
sõnastik-indeksiga +
eJUNIOR PASSWORD CD-ROMil koos hääldusega English-Estonian
Semi-Bilingual Dictionary TEA KIRJASTUS Tallinn, Estonia February 2008 584 pp, 204 x Hardcover, incl CD-ROM ISBN 9985-71-519-2
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