About "Best Dictionaries" and the "Best Spanish Dictionary"

Every time that a student asks us to recommend a dictionary, we should bare in mind a series of questions in order to give the best advice each time.

For a student of basic level Spanish (A1, A2), having a bilingual dictionary is vital to be able to begin to understand the vocabulary of the target language. These dictionaries – although very useful when translating certain words – have the same defect that we mentioned in a previous article: a lack of contextualization.

When a student has reached an intermediate level, let’s say B1, where students are capable to some extent of independent communication, we can consider that the use of a monolingual dictionary (Spanish-Spanish) is beginning to come within the capabilities of the student. Use of these dictionaries promotes understanding without automatic translation into a native language, which can mean a significant improvement in the student’s ability to independently communicate.    

It is tempting for a teacher, when faced with “perfectionist” students wanting “an official dictionary”, to recommend for example, an abridged edition of the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy: the overriding authority when it comes to the Spanish language. This dictionary is undeniably very useful for native Spanish speakers who want to fine-tune their highly refined and subtly tactful speech and broaden their knowledge of Spanish etymology, but it may not be entirely useful to B1 or B2 level language students.

A case in point is the commonly used Spanish word, found in the aforementioned dictionary: “camarero” (meaning “waiter”).
Let’s see what the Royal Spanish Academy’s dictionary has to say (we always refer to the printed version rather than the online version which undergoes frequent alteration).This definition surprises the reader and makes us wonder about the real usefulness of this dictionary for a non-native speaker. Evidently, the history of the word here takes precedence over the definition. It doesn’t necessarily correspond with the needs of the Intermediate level ELE student.
 

CAMARERO: (Del lat. Camararius, camerarius, de cámara.) m.
1. Oficial de la cámara del Papa.
2. En la etiqueta de la casa real de Castilla, jefe de la cámara del rey.
3. En algunos lugares, el encargado del trigo del pósito o de los diezmos y tercias, o del grano que se echa en las cámaras.
4. Criado distinguido en las casas de los grandes, encargado de cuanto pertenecía a su cámara.
5. Empleado que sirve en los hoteles y barcos de pasajeros y cuida de los aposentos y camarotes.
6. Mozo de café, bar u otro establecimiento semejante.

There are different learner dictionaries available. We have taken the VOX edition as an example: “dictionary for the teaching of the Spanish language (Spanish for foreigners)”, is endorsed by the University of Alcalá and the Cervantes Institute. This dictionary offers a section about the different sounds in Spanish and their equivalents in other languages. There is also a section on grammar and morphology, and what is perhaps most interesting about this particular dictionary is that it contains a list of the words used to create the dictionary definitions, all of which are frequently used words according to specific criteria. (This reminds us of Mary Moliner’s dictionary which still remains a key element in the library of any language student). 

If we observe the entry for the word “camarero”, we see the following

CA-MA-RE-RO, RA. [kamaréro, ra]
1. m.f. Persona que se dedica a servir comidas o bebidas: trabaja como ~ en un bar; ¿qué camarera te atendió en el restaurante?
2. Persona que limpia las habitaciones en un establecimiento hotelero: si necesita toallas limpias, llame a la camarera de su piso.

Evidently, this definition brings us closer to the current and actual meaning of the word. Moreover, the type of language used in the definition, the presence of a transcription, the division into syllables and the examples makes us think that this type of dictionary is more appropriate for a foreign student hoping to study our language thoroughly.