Longman Advanced English Dictionary English Version

Author: Compiled by Pearson Education Limited, UK
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-12-01
Features: Compared to general English dictionaries and other English learning dictionaries, Longman Advanced has the following six distinctive features:
1. Simple and Easy-to-understand Definitions: General English dictionaries emphasize precise, scientific, and rigorous definitions, which are essential for native English speakers but often incomprehensible to learners.
2. Rich and Diverse Illustrations: Traditionally, general dictionaries published in the US usually include illustrations, while those in the UK generally do not. Some learner dictionaries still lack illustrations.
3. Extensive Coverage of Proper Nouns: General dictionaries published in the US often have an encyclopedic nature, including a large number of proper nouns, whereas general dictionaries and learner dictionaries in the UK are typically pure language dictionaries and do not include proper nouns. In fact, for English learners, whether common nouns or proper nouns, anything unfamiliar is an obstacle to comprehension or expression.
4. Transparent Grammar Codes: Providing as detailed grammatical information as possible for each entry is an important design feature of English learner dictionaries.
5. Signposts for Polysemous Words: Words with multiple meanings can be time-consuming to look up. To improve the retrieval speed of definitions, Longman Advanced establishes "signposts" for such words. These signposts consist of one or two keywords, displayed in black text on a white background at the beginning of each definition, allowing readers to quickly identify the relevant meaning.
6. Emphasis on Word Collocations: Chinglish often arises from incorrect word collocations. Longman Advanced pays special attention to providing information on word collocations and highlights them in bold.
Chinese English learners often prefer bilingual dictionaries, feeling more at ease when each English word has a corresponding Chinese translation. Even when using bilingual learner dictionaries, their attention tends to focus on the Chinese translations, wasting the effort of the dictionary compilers. In reality, apart from specialized terms, there are not many English words that have direct equivalents in Chinese. Learning English requires mastering its own lexical and semantic system, understanding the usage and collocations of each word, and gradually thinking in English. The best way to achieve this is to persist in using monolingual English learner dictionaries. With perseverance, significant progress will be seen after several years.
Dictionaries specifically designed for English learners in non-English-speaking countries are called "learner's dictionaries." The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (LDOCE), which is highly favored by Chinese English learners, is a learner's dictionary. Similarly, Longman Advanced American Dictionary is also a learner's dictionary. Longman Advanced inherits the basic format and all the strengths of LDOCE (3rd Edition) but focuses on American English and includes a wide range of encyclopedic terms, making it essentially a sister edition to LDOCE.
Longman Advanced American Dictionary has the following six distinctive features:
1. Simple and easy-to-understand definitions
2. Rich and diverse illustrations
3. Extensive coverage of proper nouns
4. Transparent grammar codes
5. Signposts for polysemous words
6. Emphasis on word collocations