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Features Of French Audio Dictionaries
By OnTopic | August 17, 2010
A French audio dictionary is very important when studying French because written French is very different from spoken French . The phrase “Il n’y a pas de quoi”, which is pronounced as “ya pad koa” by an average French speaker, best exemplifies this big difference .
Learning French from books and other print materials would be sufficient if one’s objective in studying the language is just to be able to read, write, understand and analyze French literature . Since French is the second major world language next to English that is spoken in five continents and the second most frequently taught foreign language, most would also want to learn how to speak French and use it in conversations when the need arises .
Foreigners visiting France and other French-speaking countries have found themselves in situations where they were not understood by the natives in the streets and in the marketplace even if their sentences are grammatically correct because their pronunciation is incorrect .
Numerous French audio dictionaries are available on the internet and in bookstores but one must find the right one that could guide him throughout the course of his study of the French language . In selecting the right audio dictionary, one must consider the material’s accessibility, comprehensiveness and efficiency .
The internet has numerous French audio dictionaries available for free but have very limiting vocabulary and reduced sound quality . There are some very excellent online French audio dictionaries like http://www.languageguide.org/french/, which is ideal for those who are just starting to learn basic French . This audio dictionary includes a picture dictionary which literally shows and tells the user what the French word means and how it is pronounced .
Aside from online French audio dictionaries, there are also those that can be downloaded and saved in computers and MP3 players that can be used each time the need arises. Downloadable audio dictionaries can be found in a lot of sites on the internet for free while some of the most concise downloadable French audio dictionaries can be found in www.collinslanguage.com at a cost that ranges from £4.00 to £12.00 or more and there are certain hard drive requirements that need to be met .
For those who are not computer savvy, handy electronic French audio dictionaries are also available which costs around £500.00 or $430.00 .
Be sure to have a French audio dictionary that suits your needs when studying French so you would be guided accordingly since pronunciation is an integral part of learning the language .
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