New Era English-English: English-Chinese Bilingual Dictionary

Author: Chief Editor: Yan Yuanshu
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2000-01-01
Features: Preface Language is an organism that grows and withers. Therefore, the dictionary that depicts language must adapt accordingly. New dictionaries replace old ones, and old dictionaries must renew themselves or else age. To be precise, no dictionary can keep pace with the evolution of language. From compilation to printing, a dictionary takes several years; thus, by the time it is published, it is already outdated. This is an unavoidable predicament for any dictionary. In the same predicament, later dictionaries can better reflect the new aspects of English. Learning English is not enough to just learn words. Words are dead; they only acquire meaning when incorporated into sentence patterns and phrases. This dictionary has made special efforts in sentence patterns. Using the five basic sentence patterns as the warp and objects and complements as the weft, it compiles over 61 types of sentence patterns. English idioms, formed their unique expressions through the long-term development of language, have rich connotations that cannot be understood from their literal meanings, posing great obstacles for learners. This dictionary extensively collects idioms and phrases from British and American English, making it also a guiding idioms dictionary. Another feature of this dictionary is its detailed analysis of the differences between synonyms and near-synonyms. English learners know that different words should be used in different contexts, and correctly distinguishing the differences between synonyms and near-synonyms in meaning and usage is not easy. This dictionary provides detailed explanations for easily confused synonyms and near-synonyms, clarifying their similarities and differences in connotation, while abundant examples illustrate their usage. Thus, this dictionary also serves as a synonym and near-synonym guide. Named New Era English-English & Chinese-English Explanatory Dictionary, this title highlights its primary feature of bilingual explanations. The Chinese translations of many words and phrases cannot fully convey their meaning; only by explaining English in English can one grasp the full picture. Conversely, for plants, animals, birds, beasts, and technical terms, English explanations may leave readers baffled, while adding Chinese translations makes everything clear at a glance. Therefore, combining English-English and Chinese-English explanations creates a harmonious effect, achieving the same goal in different ways. Professor Yan Yuanshu, the chief editor, was the Director of the Foreign Languages Department at Tamkang University and a PhD holder from the United States. Professor Yan possesses a solid foundation in English and extensive knowledge. He spent years collecting abundant examples, organizing and summarizing them, and analyzing complex linguistic phenomena from the perspective of English sentence patterns, making the dictionary more convenient and practical to use. Authentic English idioms, supplemented with Chinese translations, make profound and difficult language understandable at a glance, allowing users to feel at ease.
Proofreader: Associate Professor Xia Qingxiang has been teaching college English in China and has carefully reviewed the synonym analysis section, adding annotations to many explanations to improve learners' accuracy in using English vocabulary.
This dictionary includes over 20,000 entries, over 30,000 British and American idioms and proverbs, and approximately 1,000 word meaning analyses. It covers all the vocabulary required by college students as specified in the New College English Teaching Syllabus released by the Ministry of Education in 1999.
Copyrighted by Wansheng Publishing House, Taiwan, and published by Jiangxi Science and Technology Press, this dictionary is dedicated to readers.
Editors, August 1999