Oxford Language Dictionaries Online vs Google Translate
Posted: March 19, 2013 Filed under: Databases, Ekstrom Library, Google, Research Tips | Tags: classical and modern languages, language learning, traveling 1 Comment »Do you use Google Translate? The Oxford Language Dictionaries Online, available from the University Libraries Databases A-Z list offers some advantages over Google Translate, especially for beginning language learners.
- The Oxford dictionaries are authoritative. No “voting” on whether the translation is good or not. They are compiled by language experts.
- Phrases! It’s fine to know the meaning of a single word. Google translate works decently for that. When you’re learning a language though, it is super helpful to know the phrases that often accompany a particular word, especially when they color the meaning of that word or when the word is not used literally. For example, Google will tell you that “gesicht” in German means “face.” The Oxford Language Dictionary will tell you that “solche Unhöflichkeit steht dir nicht zu Gesicht[e]” or “such impoliteness ill becomes you.” The translation of that phrase in Google: “Such rudeness does not become you to face.”
- Need to cite the word you translated? Oxford Language Dictionaries Online help you do that with the click of a button!
- The dictionaries contain important grammatical information for each language.
- Lists of useful phrases to use when you’re traveling!
The dictionaries also briefly summarize the history and current state of the language. U of L Libraries subscribes to Chinese, German, French, Italian, Russian, and Spanish dictionaries through this service.
Have questions about this resource or any other library resource? Call 852-6747 or chat with us at Ask-a-Librarian.
Google Scholar Works with EndNote
Posted: February 9, 2012 Filed under: EndNote, Google, Technology 1 Comment »Have you ever searched on Google Scholar and found citations that would be useful additions to the References in your EndNote Library? Well, citations from Google Scholar can be imported into EndNote. Just follow the screenshot of steps below to see how.
1. Go to Google Scholar. On the top right corner click the Options icon (the round cog next to Sign in) and select Scholar Preferences.
2. The Preferences page gives you a variety of options to set including, Finding a Library. At the bottom under the heading Bibliography Manager, select EndNote in the drop down list. Click Save Preferences on the right. Doing this will enable the import links to be shown within each record.
3. Perform a search. Each record now contains an “Import into EndNote” link located below the abstract. Click on that link for each citation needed and the citation will be imported directly into your EndNote Library.
4. Remember: If you’re using the Internet Explorer browser a File Download box will appear. From there, click open.
If using the FireFox browser, a similar box will appear. In the open with drop down list, select EndNote (whichever version of EndNote is currently installed on your computer will be listed).
That’s it!
Interested in learning more about the EndNote Citation Management software? Visit the Beginning EndNote guide here. Information about workshops in the UofL Libraries and how to download the software (which is free for UofL faculty, students and staff) is included.
If you have questions about this process call the Reference Desk at (502) 852-6747.
