American publisher Merriam Webster recently released an electronic English dictionary to the Japanese market. The dictionary contains 100,000 phrases that use only 3,000 every-day English vocabulary words. The dictionary is being marketed as a study tool for English learners. It sells for 3,780 yen.
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12 Comments
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saborichan
So.. what is this? A speak-and-spell type device that does the talking for you?
I'm confused by the article. For this price, is it an actual device? Or software?
johnnyG
no iPad/iPhone/iTouch (or computer) version?
Darren White
@Saborichan
Apparently it doesn't have a name either.
nylex4
lets hope its all real English... alot of the Japanese made ones include some rather dubious entries...
sakurasuki
Just another foreign product approach the Japanese market in the wrong way as always
nath
an English - Japanese elctronic dictionary? Wow that is new! Wish I thought of that idea! Wait, someone already did. Like 18 years ago!
nandakandamanda
Debucho, no, I think it is a Merriam-Webster English-English dictionary for Japanese learners of English.
BurakuminDes
Unfortunately it teaches them incorrect English - the American kind!
nandakandamanda
BurakuminDes ;8) you sound prejudiced... (judicial decision made before observation of facts) ... maybe it gives international varieties of English! Who knows?
BurakuminDes
Yes, OK nandakandamanda - I may have made a harsh judgment! (two of my words are American by the way!) I was trying to wind up a few Americans!
In all seriousness - I always find it amusing when Japanese students of English tell me thay want to go to England "to study real English". The truth is - open an British/Australian etc dictionary and you will find 10-20% of the words in there originated in America.
Fadamor
Heh. I'm learning Japanese and there's a sport that's getting a lot of press right now... I can't think of the name but they're having a "World Cup" or something... Anyway, the Japanese word I learned for the sport was サッカア "sak-kahhh". American English FTW!
DamoSuzuki
When I was in Nepal the kids were asking if I had a pen or a pencil they could have. They told be their schools had no books, chalk, electricity. They all spoke pretty good English. In Japan, the kids have dictionaries worth hundreds of dollars and speak some English. Does technology work?