Online Dictionaries for Assisting Translators of Lsp Texts: The Accounting Dictionaries1

Abstract

Bilingual specialized lexicography generally aims to facilitate communication within specialized domains. Bilingual terminology, in contrast, tends to focus on recording, structuring and analyzing terms by describing differences and similarities between the language communities involved. A study shows that online terminological dictionaries for translation are often insufficient and appear to be influenced by linguistic traditions and practices in the way they present and give access to data. Specialized translation dictionaries, however, provide help to solve user needs at various stages of the translation process and combine principles from specialized lexicography and Internet technology. Users have access to databases through targeted searches; lexicographers present search results in targeted, pre-arranged ways, and they can provide help to translate terms, collocations or phrases in direct response to user needs. An ongoing dictionary project shows how online dictionaries can provide help that satisfies the needs of users that arise when they are translating specialized texts.