Article published In:
Translation and Challenges of the Third MillenniumEdited by Frans De Laet, Brankica Bojović and Boris Hlebec
[Babel 65:6] 2019
► pp. 841–851
Edited by Frans De Laet, Brankica Bojović and Boris Hlebec
[Babel 65:6] 2019
► pp. 841–851
Dictionaries and translation
The article offers a bird’s-eye view of the use of dictionaries in translation, accompanied by down-to-earth
exemplifications of the arguments. After propounding the essential difference between a bilingual dictionary and translation, a
brief survey follows of problems that should be solved by both. They include the treatment and translation of technical and
literary texts, of collocations, phrases and idioms, of colloquial, slang, dialectal, dated and obsolete words, of neologisms and
nonce-words. Mention is also made of the problem of treating application. As a onclusion, translators may be given a piece of
advice: Think of a dictionary as a counsellor and a friendly aide, but complement it with other sources of information and do not
always rely upon it.
Keywords: dictionary, translation, lexeme, phrase, application, style
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