Longman Pronunciation Dictionary 3rd Edition

The pronouncing key is the International Phonetic Transcription. It is not the Merriam Webster system which Americans are more familiar with. However, almost all dictionaries are already switching to the International Phonetic Transcription, as it can also be used for languages other than English, as the term "International" implies.This is the only Dictionary which supplies the pronunciation of common Proper Names, and fairly uncommon ones. Like Genevieve, Solihull (accent on the last), Transfynydd (Welsh place), Rzezsow (Polish - pronouncing is nothing like the way it is spelt), Hammarskjold (UN leader). Included are Proper names in Chinese, Cantonese, Arabic, Italian, thus the use of the International pronouncing key is a better choice.Some troublesome medical names like Guillain Barre, Meniere, are included, but not Poiseuille-Hagen nor Cialis.This dictionary is in British English, although it refers to American English variations.There are a number of useful graphs and pie-charts showing the percentages of people pronouncing in different ways. 40% pronounce "Controversy" with accent on the first syllable, 60% on the second. I am now relieved I can pronounce it either way.The number of silent "g"s, "l"s, "w"s in our vocabulary is considerable, and if involved in an argument on pronouncing, you can throw this tome at your detractors. There is a large collection of French words and phrases, like "sauve qui peut" and a lot worse ones. The cautionary moral is that before you give a speech, teach a class, or read news on TV, always re-check the pronunciation of doubtful words before you make a fool of yourself.This dictionary has been useful to me since it was the "Daniel Jones" pronouncing dictionary over 50 years ago.For a Printed in China dictionary, in common use, it seems a tad overpriced, but when you consider the CD-ROM on the back cover, the Dictionary + CD ROM, the additional cost seems justified. The bonus is in the great paper quality, and Longman's use of blue highlights. The hinges of the cover boards in this magnificently printed book are a bit loose compared to other books made in China.The CD-ROM (pronounced rom, or rum)includes pronunciations in both British and American English, a pop-up dictionary, interactive exercises, and so on. As I date back to the Daniel Jones, I am not the most competent person to comment on the CD-ROM (which is a useless appendage to me, but that is just my personal user preference). The physical dictionary's pocket is a good holder for the CD-ROM, which might otherwise get lost among all the small thin fiddly things.If nothing else, it acts as an excellent word list, a good stand-in for a Scrabble dictionary. Normal head-words are not capitalised, only proper names are capitalised. I have used its predecessors as my muse to name my businesses. If you have more than a couple of serious dictionaries, this dictionary is worth considering as the next buy.

I used the first edition of this dictionary and have now bought the third edition (the earlier one seems to have been permanently "borrowed" by a friend). It distinguishes between British and American pronunciations, and this edition comes with a CD so that one can hear the words being pronounced. This dictionary is easier to use than the Daniel Jones (Cambridge University Press) dictionary. Strongly recommended.

I am very pleased

I do not understand that the cost of this CD-ROM is $350.10 on his own and when you buy the Pack (Paperback dictionary + the CDROM) the cost of the pack with the two items is less than 50.Are we talking of the seme CDROM? I am talking about the LONGMAN Pronunciation Coach. Longman Pronunciation Dictionary 3rd Edition CDROM for Packs.If this is other CD-ROM, I would apreciate to put more details about the content. $350.10 is alot of money.Please tell.Thanks in advance. Juan

This is my favourite reference book. I used it while studying an introductory university module in phonetics and phonology because part of the course involved doing broad transcriptions.I still use it when I want to know how to pronounce a word I've only ever seen in print and it's rare that the word I'm looking up isn't in here. It contains the standard words you'd expect to find along with acronyms and words such as Quidditch. It's also great for settling those debates (which my boyfriend and I have) about how to pronounce a word.One of my favourite and most used books.

If you are even looking at this, then you probably must have one. I am very fond of mine. It has great details on the kind of thing that you are likely to be interested in. Like the percentages of UK and US speakers that pronounce contested words in various ways. It doesn't work for Canadian English, I tried that. UK and US only. For elsewhere, you need other dictionaries.