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Oxford Guide to British and American Culture - CD-ROM� Oxford University Press 2000 Database right Oxford University Press
(maker) Software Review by Dr. Susan Currell - University of Nottingham. This cultural dictionary is intended for advanced learners of English and foreign teachers of English. The CD-ROM can be used on its own or to complement other English language dictionaries (such as the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary) by exploring language meanings through culture. It attempts to explain the cultural relevancy of a word or phrase and to give a small amount of information concerning the cultural and historical background of the word. The software is simple to load and navigate. The opening screen allows three optional ways of using the guide: an A-Z word/phrase search, a search by category (such as "Arts", "Geography", "Performing Arts" and "Sports, Leisure and Everyday Life") and the option of choosing to read and listen to a selection of over 40 poets. Searching by category allows further searching of subheadings, which appear below the main menu. The page layout is clear, with a menu and submenu to the left-hand side and the main search results appearing in the larger part of the screen on the right-hand side. By clicking on an asterix further explanations and links are provided which appear in a small box overlaying the main screen. The software addresses the problem of language learners who may lack the cultural dimension of language knowledge. Numerous words, phrases and events from high culture to popular culture are given a meaning and context. Words and phrases have been chosen by their importance or currency in order to address the problems that an English learner may encounter when living outside of the culture of origin. Certain phrases or words that appear as a result of current events are thereby placed in context. In this respects the software acts like a mini-encyclopaedia - though with far less information than the usual desktop encyclopaedia. The guide, however, covers ubiquitous items and brand names, useful to the advanced language learner, in a way that an encyclopaedia would not. For example, brand-name words such as "Brillo pad" or the US "Baggies" are included under household items. For a student reading contemporary fiction or journalism this is potentially very useful. The software also differs from an English language encyclopaedia by enabling the user to hear words pronounced, and to then record the users own pronunciation of what they hear. One problem with this, however, is that most words are pronounced with an RP English Accent. Even words originating from the US are generally spoken with an English accent. Some words are given two sound files (one English, one English-American) such as "Maryland", but most are not. This weighs the guide in favour of British culture and it is revealing when an acronym such as "HUAC" (House Un-American Activities Committee) is spelled out rather than spoken as a word, as is usual in America. Again, the poetry selection is predominantly British but the sound recordings of the poems are spoken with the appropriate national accent. The currency of much information may mean that the CD-ROM would need frequent updates, though this would be easy to achieve. Updating and expanding the American cultural aspects of the CD-ROM would also be an advantage, and would make this a useful tool for intercultural language comprehension. |
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