Looking for advice on dictionaries for the DipTrans exam Thread poster: Marion Lambert-Nuding
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Hi,
After 10 years working as a freelance translator, I finally felt ready to take the IoL DipTrans exam and I booked it for this January (Eng>Fr).
My main concern relates to using paper dictionaries as I very rarely work with them - I find it so much easier online! I have a fairly comprehensive generic dictionary by Robert Collins and a 2003 version of the Dictionnaire Malgorn des Sciences et Techniques, but I don't think it will be enough to cover the Science or Tech... See more Hi,
After 10 years working as a freelance translator, I finally felt ready to take the IoL DipTrans exam and I booked it for this January (Eng>Fr).
My main concern relates to using paper dictionaries as I very rarely work with them - I find it so much easier online! I have a fairly comprehensive generic dictionary by Robert Collins and a 2003 version of the Dictionnaire Malgorn des Sciences et Techniques, but I don't think it will be enough to cover the Science or Technology papers. My local library don't seem to have anything suitable, and the few dictionaries I found online are far fromage cheap so before I spend my hard earned £££s I thought I'd seek advice here...
Does anyone have any suggestions of dictionaries or glossaries I should buy, or even better, doesn't anyone have a second hand one they no longer use and that they might be willing to sell me?
Thanks, wish me luck!
Marion ▲ Collapse
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Hi Marion,
Collins FREN is a must. But what I really wanted to say is that you can buy them at Amazon online and return them later for a very small fee (around 5 EUR). Just keep them in mint state.
Good luck!
Maggie
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Dear Marion,
First of all, I wish you very good luck with this exam. I presume you will be taking all three papers. For the general paper, a good business dictionary can be useful, as can anything providing cultural information (I took in Le Robert 'Dictionnaire d'Expressions et Locutions', which turned out to be very useful). Small grammar books are helpful, as are books explaining the basic mechanics of French and English (e.g. Eric Astington's 'French Structures - A Manual for Ad... See more Dear Marion,
First of all, I wish you very good luck with this exam. I presume you will be taking all three papers. For the general paper, a good business dictionary can be useful, as can anything providing cultural information (I took in Le Robert 'Dictionnaire d'Expressions et Locutions', which turned out to be very useful). Small grammar books are helpful, as are books explaining the basic mechanics of French and English (e.g. Eric Astington's 'French Structures - A Manual for Advanced Students'. Anther gem (out of print but available online) is Eric Astington's 'Equivalences'). A style guide is also essential.
For the semi-specialised papers, I could not decide what to take into exam either. I should probably have bought some technical dictionnaires, but I would have ended up with a pile of hefty tomes I didn't know my way around and probably wouldn't have had time to look through anyway. So I just read up on a few areas beforehand and hoped for the best. It worked for me, but there was obviously an element of luck involved. If you're doing science and technology, you're best bet would probably be to decide on a few areas you're comfortable with and then read up on them over the next couple of weeks, drawing up your own crib sheets as you go.
Best wishes,
David ▲ Collapse
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Thank you for taking the time to give me some pointers. And Magda, wow, I never thought about doing that....!
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| Ok, I think that'll do... | Jan 8, 2016 |
So, I shall be taking (in my largest backpack..... !) :
- Collins Robert French/English dictionnary
- The Chambers English Dictionnary
- Le Grand Larousse Illustré 2016
- Le Larousse des Synonymes et Contraires
- Le Robert des Expressions et Locutions
- Le Malgorn des Sciences et Techniques
- Le Bescherelle 2012
Wish me luck (With the transport as well as the exam...)
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