My wife is from Uruguay and we visit her relatives every year. On arrival, my high school Spanish helps, but two weeks a year isn't enough time to develop real fluency. This year I turned to my Pocket PC for help with communicating, reading, and improving my Spanish skills. (Versions of software discussed in this article are available in different languages. Right before print deadline, I received upgrade notices from TrueTerm, MobiLearn, and Ectaco.)
Spanish-English dictionaries
To help me with reading and communicating, I tested six Spanish-English dictionaries and three "guides" to speaking Spanish. If you use a translation dictionary only occasionally, I recommend the free MS Reader version found on the Microsoft Web site (www.microsoft.com/reader/downloads/dictionaries.asp). The MS Reader cover page contains a special lookup button to find definitions. Unfortunately, to switch between English-to-Spanish and Spanishto-English translations, you must open separate dictionaries. TomeRaider also offers free translation dictionaries, but I could only find the Spanish-to-English half (www.memoware.com).
If you have an ongoing need for translation dictionaries, any of the commercial dictionaries I tried will serve you well. They differ some in user interface, features, and vocabulary, each having slight advantages. Each lets you switch between Spanish and English with a key tap, and each lets you create custom dictionaries.
The TrueTerm (www.trueterm.org) offers the most complete package. The optional Spanish thesaurus and Spanish verb-conjugation dictionary integrate well with its standard dictionaries.
The Ectaco Partner Dictionary (www.ectaco.com) lets you look up words quickly by entering word or letter combinations. For example, I could look up all words containing "abo" or all phrases containing "tener que." It also let me create a separate list of definitions that I could use for study.
The Collins Dictionary (www.tomtom.com) and the
Ectaco Partner both let you look up a word within the definition of another word by tapping on it--a feature I find useful. Lookup for these two dictionaries seemed quickest of the dictionaries I tested. Collins includes some fun bells and whistles such as anagrams and wild-card searches.
Pocket Context (www.allvirtualware.com/languages/context.htm) seemed to have a slightly more limited vocabulary and definitions, but I ended up using it the most because it was the easiest to use when looking up words. Rather than having to tap in a succession of letters, I entered only the first letter and then tapped on a series of options. For example, to translate "pocket," after entering "p," I tapped on "po...," then on "poc...," and then from the next list selected "pocket." In addition, tapping the "Phrases" tab let me look up the six phrases containing "pocket" from the dictionary. These included Spanish translations for "pocket change" and "trouser pocket."
Talking guides
Three of the programs I used spoke Spanish!
The MobiLearn (www.mobilearn.net) and Ectaco (www.ectaco.com) oral translation products are similar. They all group common phrases by categories such as phone, lodging, or transportation. Each program has hundreds of useful phrases ranging from "Where is the bathroom?" to "Can you show it to me on the map?" to "I lost my passport." Tap on the English sentence and the Spanish translation appears on your display and, at your option, is spoken out loud through the speaker.
These programs can be used to learn common phrases by ear and by eye. However, they are designed so you can also look up a phrase when the need arises. If you are feeling especially shy, it can also be used to speak for you. So, if you needed a glass of water, you could just tap the question, and your Pocket PC will ask for you.
Printer-friendly version