Comunicare saperi sul Web: il caso dei dizionari specialistici

The research presents an analysis of dictionary usability and efficacy, testing resources that are accessible free of charge. The project started off from a critical lexicographical inventory of online specialised dictionaries, managed through a relational database collecting evaluation forms of specialised Internet vocabularies which receive scores by the system. The database is published online and allows multiparametric searches that can be used to find out the best dictionary available for the required features (sector, language, kind, etc.).
Using specialized dictionaries that are high-rated by the system, we conducted a translation test on 39 students. Analysing their translation strategies and use of dictionaries, we found out a general tendency to interpret freely and use dictionaries incorrectly, while the reference to the Web and search engines seems to be productive only half the time, and It doesn’t seem to warrant the identification of the correct translation word.