Hacklog: Blogamundo — poking holes in the language barrier since approximately 1 month from now

The search feed spirits brought me a link to an interview with Nguyễn Công Chính, who created the successful Vdict Vietnamese Dictionary.

I don’t know Vietnamese, but by looking up “dictionary” (in Vdict!) I managed to determine that the Vietnamese translation is từ điển — and clicking that link will confirm that Vdict is #1 in Google.

Like a lot of web projects, this one started because the creator was scratching his own itch:

Inner sanctum: How did Vdict come into being?

My involvement with the dictionary was a product of my own need when I was studying at Curtin University in Perth, Australia.

I ran into some difficulties in my studies; I had a lot to do and I was spending too much time looking up new words. It was especially hard to find translations for technical terms and phrases, and my large dictionary was no help.

In 2004, I lost my huge, heavy dictionary and found myself in need of a replacement. Using what I knew about information technology, I started building my own online dictionary. I hoped eventually it would help me and other foreign students.

There are some poll results about Vdict users here that are a testament to the tool’s success. Congrats, Mr. Chính! ☺

More generally, after using and studying a few bazillion web dictionaries, I’ve become a student of their design and capabilities. I’d be interested in hearing about your favorite web dictionary:

• Which is your favorite?
• Is usability or content the most important to you?
• Do you use any plug-in style tools like rikaichan or meta-tools like the BBC’s Vocab/Geirfa?

This week I’m going to be posting about more web dictionaries. Suggestions welcome!

And so on.I’ve got a pretty big collection of links here: patfm’s bookmarks tagged with “dictionary” on del.icio.us.