Since 1987 when the first English explanatory dictionary fully based on corpus evidence was published, considerable changes related to the choice of lexicographic evidence have affected the field of lexicography. On this background (even though the volume of the lexicographic material is ample) the English-Latvian lexicographic tradition looks rather traditional and even somewhat stagnant. Thus, there is an urgent need for a detailed analytical inventory of English-Latvian dictionaries in order to facilitate new dictionary projects. This book provides a comprehensive survey of the development of the English-Latvian lexicographic tradition considering the various extra-linguistic factors which have influenced it. It studies the typical features of English-Latvian dictionaries traced throughout the tradition at the levels of their mega-, macro- and microstructure, pinpoints the problematic aspects of English-Latvian lexicography and offers theoretically grounded solutions for improving the quality of future English-Latvian dictionaries.
This unabridged work includes a previously distributed DICTIONARY OF LATVIAN PROVERBS, making it unique and more attractive than similar publications. A translating dictionary, like this one, is a practical dictionary that translates words in existing texts. It does not, as a rule, provide descriptions or explanations, nor does it set norms of how words should be spelled. The aim of dictionary users can be either to understand the source language (the language of the headwords) or to translate it into the target language(the language of the translation equivalents). The users first language can be either the source language or the target language. This makes for four possible types of interlingual dictionaries (descriptive, prescriptive, or translating). Existing Latvian-English dictionaries indicate that they are intended for users whose first language is Latvian and whose purpose is to translate it into English. This dictionary is intended primarily for users whose first language is English and who wish to understand texts written in Latvian. This, of course, does not preclude Latvian speakers from using it to translate from Latvian into English, i.e., to produce English texts. English-speaking Latvians may, in fact, find it helpful for accurate and natural translation. Other features of this dictionary are: the number of entries(over 106,000), which is more than double that of any other Latvian-English dictionary; the use of American rather than British English; an extensive coverage of technical terms from all fields of science and technology; the comprehensive inclusion of spelling variants; and the inclusion of colloquialisms, common speech words, vulgar terms, slang, barbarisms, selected regionalisms, and terms found in folkloric language. [A dictionary of Latvian proverbs is included in the back. The entries of this dictionary were collected from various extant monolingual and bilingual Latvian dictionaries, general and specialized: spelling dictionaries, technical dictionaries, etymological dictionaries, general encyclopedias, periodical literature, and many Latvian speakers. Of the latter, I want to single out the contribution of the late sea captain, Inats Lejnieks. In his time, the captain had commanded full-rigged sailing ships with Latvian crews, and he supplied the Latvian equivalents of the names of sails and principal ropes, spars, and part of the hull. I was fortunate to have captain Lejnieks share his expertise with me as this material was not available anywhere else.
Latvian: An Essential Grammar is a concise, user-friendly guide to the basic grammatical structures of Latvian. Presenting a fresh and accessible description of the language, this engaging grammar uses clear, jargon-free explanations to set out the complexities of Latvian in short, readable sections. Key features include: clear grammar explanations frequent use of authentic examples pronunciation guide, bibliography and subject index. This is the ideal reference source both for those studying Latvian independently and for students in schools, colleges, universities and adult classes of all types to back up their studies.
BABADADA dictionaries are visual language education: Simple learning takes center stage. In a BABADADA dictionary images and language merge into a unit that is easy to learn and remember. Each book contains over 1000 black-and-white illustrations. The goal is to learn the basics of a language much faster and with more fun than possible with a complicated text dictionary. This book is based on the very successful online picture dictionary BABADADA.COM, which offers easy language entry for countless language combinations - Used by thousands of people and approved by well-known institutions. The languages used in this book are also called as follows: lettisch, letton, letón, lettone, letão, łotewski and Chinesisch, chinois, chino, Cinese, chinês, chiński
The Routledge Dictionary of Language and Linguistics is a unique reference work for students and teachers of linguistics. The highly regarded second edition of the Lexikon der Sprachwissenschaft by Hadumod Bussmann has been specifically adapted by a team of over thirty specialist linguists to form the most comprehensive and up-to-date work of its kind in the English language. In over 2,500 entries, the Dictionary provides an exhaustive survey of the key terminology and languages of more than 30 subdisciplines of linguistics. With its term-based approach and emphasis on clear analysis, it complements perfectly Routledge's established range of reference material in the field of linguistics.