Talking Dictionary Revisted

[PigDogg]

Was trying to check out the talking dictionaries at TukCom when buying my mobile.


Anyway the owner of the Talking Dick stand went home for the holidays so it was closed. Will check them out at Milke's and Big C.

Question: Exactly how do they work?

I'm not too interetyed in typing in a word and having the pronunciation come out.

Am more interested in a lesson that gives phrases. Is this part of the package?

Thnx.

[rxpharm]

Hi PD, the lower priced talking dictionaries are as you mentioned, type in the word and it will be pronounced for you in Thai or English, depending on your input.

The higher end models can have the option of lessons with phrases, some even can take memory cards (SD/MMC) that have lessons on them - of course these are some of the most expensive models - not sure what your budget is, but these can cost around 10,000 - 12,000 Baht.

Some popular models in Thailand are Cyberdict, Besta and Talking-Dict.

I bought the Talking-Dict model MD88 for about 11,000 Baht last year. It came with a lessons on an SD card, it also is a personal organizer and MP 3 player.

Hope this helps! The sales people are quite cooperative, just tell them what you are looking for and they will suggest a model (if there English is good enough, lol!)

[Guest]

Yes, quite pricey for the good talking dics, up to 20K.

I recommend Puntip Plaza, top floor, IT shop, or I think it's the 2nd floor, DATA IT Store, but they are almost identical products.

Note the screen. I found black and white difficult to read in almost any type of bright light, even inside my car. The color screen is better, but of course more expensive, and still not wonderful, say outdoors in sunshine (I suppose that's to be expected). So you have to decide where you're going to use these things. If it's in your room, talking dic is ok. If it's outside, like I do, on the beach, then the next recommendation is better. And, not sure about rx, but I found the pronounciation from the talking dics of such poor quality, that it was not so satisfying.

The best book that also has a CD you can buy, is the "Thai for Beginners" with an orange type cover. The book is very good, and perhaps more convenient sitting on the beach or at the restaurant. I bought about 5 books and tossed them all now in favor of this one. The CD verbalizes each lesson, covering vocabulary and sample conversations. It's quite good. If you want to use it on a PC, I recommend getting the CDs too.

Just beware that learning Thai is a slow process so relax and take it slow. Two words per day is a good target!

[PigDogg]

Thanks for the input guys!

The Talking Dict is really more for teerak than me.

I already have the books with CDs including the orange one and I haven't looked at them in the 5 months I had them.

At Mike's Royal Garden Talking Dick 2 (maybe cyber dict 2)is 2000 baht and Talking Dick 5 (maybe cyber dict 5) is 4000 baht.

Showed teerak the brochures and she did not seem too interested. She has the idea that she will never learn good english. Just like i feel i will never learn good thai.

Given that, I think I'll probably buy version 2 since it might not get used. I can goof around with it the next few weeks and leave it with her.