SEPT-DEC 2023 ISSUE - Flipbook - Page 70
The etymology of “epistemology,” the branch
of philosophy concerned with how knowledge is acquired,
illustrates well the participatory nature of learning.
Its root epistēmē, Ancient Greek for science or knowledge,
comes from epi-, ‘upon,’ ‘over,’ and histasthai, ‘to stand,’
hence to stand upon or over something.
In a most literal sense, intellectual discovery and
apprehension implies active engagement.
Let’s consider an often-overlooked set
of implements for helping students
develop ideas. Besides standard
editions such as the Oxford or
Webster’s unabridged dictionaries of
the English language, numerous types
of specialized dictionaries exist –
dictionaries of law, politics, business,
medicine, the arts, philosophy, science
and technology, just for example,
not to mention thesauruses and
etymologies – all providing concise
lexicons of their respective fields. There’s
another important type to include in the
discussion, bilingual dictionaries.
Aliform Publishing’s specialized
Spanish/English dictionaries are tools
for students to expand their
understanding of the world by building
focused bilingual vocabularies and
developing practical skills for
processing and evaluating information.
Teachers will find them great resources
for Spanish-language, ESL and literacy
classes, with many of the entries
including the noun, verb, adjective
and adverb forms of a particular term.
Quick, precise grammar and writing
lessons can be easily based around
particular entries. Ask students to
find a number of words in both
languages they don’t know and using
other sources write their own
definitions, then compare them with
those of their classmates. This is a good
method for examining differences
between direct quotation, indirect
quotation and paraphrasing,
important in a world where the online
attribution of information is often
hazy, if not inexistent.
Each dictionary is divided into specific
categories to help facilitate research.
The Bilingual Dictionary of the
Building Trades, Spanish/English
includes sections on carpentry,
construction, electrical work,
plumbing, tools, hardware and
materials. The Spanish/English
Dictionary of Cooking and Baking is
divided into ingredients (including
fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices, meats
and fish), techniques and methods,
nutritional terms, and Celsius/
Fahrenheit and Metric/Imperial
conversion charts. The Spanish/English
Dictionary of Gardening and
Landscaping covers plants, flowers,
trees, pests, diseases, the greenhouse
and nursery, including tools, materials,
measurements and dimensions.
The Spanish/English Dictionary of the
Arts spans painting, sculpture,
literature, music, performance, folk art,
as well as colors, shapes, dimensions,
geometrical forms, art history
movements and critical terms.
Next year Aliform will bring out The
Spanish/English Dictionary of Science
and Technology. We want students not
only to learn about these areas, but to
experience them empirically -- directly
and actively – to build, cook, garden,
create art, invent new technology: to
be engaged with the world around
themselves.
‘Tool’ can be traced to the Gothic
taujuan, ‘to make with the hands,’ where
the tool is conceived of as an extension
of the person using it. These dictionaries
also have a relevant place in technical
programs like the building trades,
culinary arts and horticulture, or in
visual arts, creative writing and
performance classes that wish to
incorporate bilingualism into their
curriculum. School districts and
librarians working to expand and
diversify library users and reference
collections will find them relevant
additions to their collections.
At the same time dictionaries can be
seen as interactive tools, let’s recognize
as well their contemplative nature.
Physical books ground the reader, they
have substance and mass when we hold
them; they are uncovered – discovered –
page by page, not scrolled through
like a tablet or smart phone screen.
The wonder of the dictionary is
getting lost in it, getting distracted by
other words and ideas as you search
out a spelling or definition. With most
electronicbilingual dictionaries, when
a student enters a term they get just
its definition; there’s no page before or
after or around it – they will never see
‘metaphysics’ when they look up ‘
metaphor,’ nor ‘cera’ when they check
the spelling of ‘cerámica.’
Spanish is the second-most widely
spoken language in the world, and in
some parts of the United States it’s
virtually the lingua franca. Studying
Spanish is an important part of
understanding cultures throughout
the Americas, the Caribbean, Spain and
North Africa. In an increasingly
globalized world, being multilingual not
only helps students develop cognitive
abilities but is a necessary asset for
many careers and professions. This skill
can take students to places they wish to
go, and those they never imagined.
Far more than just collections of
alphabetized words, dictionaries can
help students proceed from “knowing
that…” to more importantly “knowing
how to…” as they cross languages and
borders to make connections between
concepts.
Acquiring knowledge increases our
understanding of ourselves and
others. These specialized Spanish/
English dictionaries from Aliform
Publishing will not only help students
develop their intellect, but as well as
their imagination and curiosity. Being
multilingual is a skill that will assist
them not only in their present studies
but their future educational and
professional lives.
www.aliformpublishing.com