FLTRP's latest Concise English-Chinese Dictionary

Author: Sanmin Book Company
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-10-01
Features: This dictionary has the following major features: First, it has a large number of entries. It includes 140,000 words, with 79,500 headwords, 19,401 phrases, and 14,502 derived words. Its word count is the largest among portable. Second, it has rich encyclopedic vocabulary and many new words and meanings. In addition to general vocabulary, this dictionary adds more than 4,500 newly emerging and popular words from various fields compared to the Concise English-Chinese Dictionary (13th Edition), marked with red ★ for distinction. For example, in just the fields of economics and computer technology, more than 1,000 new words have been added; it also includes some newly coined English words after the 9/11 event (e.g., BAT – the naive, self-centered attitude of Americans before the 9/11 terrorist attacks). Given that learning English requires not only understanding the language itself but also the social, political, cultural, and lifestyle aspects of English-speaking countries, this dictionary includes a large number of names of people (e.g., Powell – Powell (U.S. Secretary of State (2001-2005))), organizations, culinary and alcoholic beverages (e.g., pierogi – cheese dumplings; Strawberry Kiss – strawberry kiss cocktail), and products (e.g., Kit-Kat – Kit-Kat chocolate). Third, it provides detailed background information. This dictionary offers background explanations for most encyclopedic entries (including a large number of general vocabulary), which is particularly valuable given its word count and compact size. Fourth, it marks word frequency. Core words are highlighted in red in the text, and their usage frequency is indicated by one or two red stars (), providing readers with reference for word choice and sentence construction. Fifth, it offers rich etymological information. The origins of some words, the original meanings of loanwords, and the full English names of acronyms are marked in the text. Sixth, it uses American pronunciation. This dictionary adopts the K.K. phonetic symbols and only marks American pronunciation. In recent years, with the increasing exchanges between mainland China and Taiwan, some Taiwanese terms have become more familiar to people. Therefore, without compromising readability, this dictionary retains some Taiwanese terms, hoping not only to assist readers in English but also to showcase the richness and diversity of Chinese.