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Hi,

While my spoken Spanish is very good I sometimes run into trouble spelling words and conjugating some verbs. I'm wondering which Spanish translators you folks have had experience with and whch you recommend, or which I should avoid. Mostly I'll want to check spelling on some words I already know in Spanish, occasionally I'll want to translate a word from one language to the other. It would also be nice if the translator would handle things like "have been going". I grew up speaking Spanish but never had much practice in writing in Spanish and I want to get better at that. Using the dictionary is slow and doesn't help with conjugation.

Also, are there any spelling/grammar checkers out there for Spanish, say for a PC?

Thanks,
Sol

... in response to handheld Spanish translators, posted by Sol on Aug 12, 2001

Sol,
I purchased a Sieko translator that works quite well for $40 from Staples. Office Depot also used to carry the same item. It will conjugate and it also has a memory-quiz function. I haven't used the last part because I am still a beginer at Spanish, besides I left it with mi novia when I returned.
I also got a passable translation program called Easy Translator 3 at the same Staples. It was $40 or $50 with a $20 rebate, so pretty cheap. Unfortunatly there is as yet no substitute for a human brain. I use this program to translate mi novia's e-mails. But to give you an idea of the translation here is one line that I just recieved and it put quite a smile on my face.

"Cuidate mucho, espero tener sueños contigo."

The program translation is:

"You take care of a great deal, I expect to be sleepy with you."

Fred

... in response to handheld Spanish translators, posted by Sol on Aug 12, 2001

another option for a handheld is the Franklin model dbe-1440.  It goes for about $60 at all the Radio Shacks around here in Denver.  I have used this for the past couple of years and it is a big help, especially when I was in Colombia.  As DenverMike and Larry in Dallas have advised, "501 Spanish Verbs" is a great resource book and also has many grammar lessons.  Practically everyone at Spanish school has this book, it is very popular.

... in response to handheld Spanish translators, posted by Sol on Aug 12, 2001

Thanks, everybody, for the varied suggestions!

Sol

... in response to handheld Spanish translators, posted by Sol on Aug 12, 2001

In principle you can get a Spanish spell checker module for MS Word, but it's not worth the trouble and expense required to get it from within the US.  Instead check out the text editor, TextPad (http://www.textpad.com/).  The price is right; it's shareware and you can download a free evaluation.  You can go back and forth between checking spelling in English and Spanish.  It won't correct grammar for you, but it will help you avoid spelling errors.  It will also show you which words you're misspelling frequently and, in that sense, can be a learning aid.

... in response to Spell checking software, posted by FredFresno on Aug 12, 2001

How can we believe you?

... in response to handheld Spanish translators, posted by Sol on Aug 12, 2001

I use the Berlitz translator (TR-2020).  It has good points and bad points.  It does the verb conjugating, phrase section, calculator, money exchange funtion and a function where you can place in words that you want to learn and it quizes you.  It cost me about $15 at Walmart 2 years ago.  

I was told yesterday that Office2000 has both english and spanish dictionary and knows what language you are using.  I have not seen this version yet and the guy is run it on win2000 platform.  I was also told that win2000 has the ablility to swap between english and spanish just by loggin off one account and logging in as another user set-up as spanish option.  I don't know how much you get if you run Office2000 without win2000.

This fall I will be taking an advance conversation class in spanish, if my street spanish is up to their minimum standard - should be fun, for my degree.  They use a program called Atajo 3.0.  I have nt baught my books yet, but here are 2 links that talks about the program.

http://www.luc.edu/infotech/document/language/atajo.html

http://www.coh.arizona.edu/COHlab/software/atajo.htm

enjoy
Jerry

... in response to Re: handheld Spanish translators, posted by gbourque on Aug 12, 2001

Found the link for the program.

http://www.heinle.com/

Easier to walk you through then post the extremely long url.

click on

online catolog (bottom page)
spanish
you want item 12 so click the ext link 2x

Jerry

... in response to handheld Spanish translators, posted by Sol on Aug 12, 2001

Not cheap, but here's what you're looking for:
http://www.wordmagic.co.cr You can download and try out their programs for free. I don't know if they still offer the older, cheaper version without the voice pronunciation, but see if they offer it since that's a feature you as a fluent speaker don't need. Word Magic is excellent for verb conjugations, among other things; you can search for them in both directions. You can enter, e.g., "caminar" and search for the tense you want, or enter, e.g. "hubiera caminado" and it will go straight to the infintive and tell you which tense you entered. "Excellent," as Mr. Burns would say. :)

... in response to handheld Spanish translators, posted by Sol on Aug 12, 2001

Hi Sol,

I can't help you with the latest in the PC programs, but I suspect you will likely be dissapointed in that area. I have never found anything that quite does what I need.  I will tell you what has helped me with conjugations particularly all the irregular ones, is the book "501 Spanish Verbs".  It contains full conjugations of the most important verbs in Spanish plus a lot more. I study the book frequently to brush up on all the tenses in Spanish.  I highly recommend it.

mike

... in response to Re: handheld Spanish translators, posted by denver mike on Aug 12, 2001

Hi:

  I got that book too!  It is excellent!!

                               Larry in Dallas