Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary

I seldom write reviews, but for this one, I have to say something. I very much wanted to thank Venturini Viviana from Italy and Hubert Shea from Hong Kong for I decided to get this after reading their reviews. It has over 80,000 entries and 215,000 pronunciations including common names, surnames, places, cities and brand names etc. Just the CD-Rom alone is well worth the money. Though it may not be the most comprehensive one on the market compare to Oxford (with 100,000 entries) etc., it's the only one comes with this amazing CD-Rom. It is sure to be XP compatible, very user-friendly, fast responding and accurate. Use only your cursor to point to the word while surfing internet or working on word document and it'll automatically pronounce each word in a second if you choose to (spoken by a native British English speaker). The only shortcomings are:- 1. I can only look up 90% of the words from this Dictionary. 2. I can't use it in Excel. 3. Only the root forms of words in British English Pronunciation is recorded. That is, I still have to rely on the free Merriam Webster's Collegiate online Dictionary sometimes (which is pretty inconvenient). As a whole, this CD-Rom is by far the best on the market!

I am simply enthusiastic about the book and its software. I was trying the QUICKfind while surfing the Internet and found out that turning on the automatic sound and pointing the mouse at a word, its sound was spoken up by HUMAN voices. I then tried it on a Word document and it happened the same. Everyone who's willing to improve his English pronunciation MUST try it, for it's really worth. I'll advise all foreign languages university students to buy it. The interactive exercises are also worth, as we hear whole sentences, and I like the idea to look for words both by typing in the text and the phonetic symbols. Highly recommended to up-to-date languages lovers. Last but not least, the book contains many words you cannot find on other dictionaries, such as proper names, surnames and cities. There's even my Brescia! --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

I planned to buy the 15th edition of Daniel Jones English Pronouncing Dictionary - but I got the 16th edition - to complete my references in doing my research in English pronunciation produced by the learners of English as a foreign language. I never thought that I will get a CD together with this book and it surprised me when I found it out. It helps me a lot and the software is easy to operate. This book contains not only British English pronunciation but also American English as well with some variations, beside many helpful information. The advantage is that, by using the software, you can listen to and learn the pronunciation of English words without requiring the knowledge in reading the IPA characters; just click and listen, and of course, try to pronounce them. Even, you can record your own pronunciation. And about my research, well, I got an A because I could cross-check my recorded data with it which helped me in creating perfect analyses, beside from the helps of other references, data, and my sponsors, of course. If you want to 'polish' your English pronunciation or just want to add your knowledge in English pronunciation, you may consider this dictionary to be your 'assistance'.

As a non-English speaker who has studied English for more than 25 years, it is believed that this dictionary should be the best reference book for any language learners in Hong Kong and China. The dictionary guides people how to pronounce English flawlessly.I highly recommend this dictionary to all university students, diplomats, business executives, secondary school teachers and university professors in Hong Kong and China since most of them fail to pronounce English in an accurate manner. As English language will continue to play a dominant role in the international world, it is instrumental for non-English speakers including Chinese to communicate with English speakers fluently and accurately. Anyway, this dictionary is really value for money!!!

I am simply enthusiastic about this software. I was trying the QUICKfind while surfing the Internet and found out that turning on the automatic sound and pointing the mouse on a word, its sound is spoken up by HUMAN voices. I then tried it on a Word document and it happened the same. Everyone who's willing to improve his English pronunciation MUST try it, for it's really worth. I'll advise all foreign languages university students to buy it. The interactive exercises are also worth, as we hear whole sentences, and I like the idea to look for words both by typing in the text and the phonetic symbols. Highly recommended to up-to-date languages lovers. Last but not least, the book contains many words you cannot find on other dictionaries, such as proper names, surnames and cities. There's even my Brescia!