Recommended Reference Works

English Reference Recommended Reading, General Spanish/English Dictionaries General Language References Bilingual (English/Spanish, Spanish/English) Legal Dictionaries
Language of the Law, English Comparative Law and Language Medical References Regional Spanish Slang & Colloquial Usage (Spanish)
Where you can get them Back to ACEBO Home Page


English Reference

American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 3rd ed. American Heritage Publishing Co., Inc. and Houghton Mifflin Co. 1996. ISBN 0-395-44895-6. Good usage notes, reflects current American usage in context.

Benson, M., Benson, E. and Illson, R. (Ed.). The BBI Combinatory Dictionary of English: A Guide to Word Combinations. John Benjamins, 1986. ASIN: 0-915-02780-1.

Celce-Murcia, M. and Larsen-Freeman, D. The Grammar Book: An ESL/EFL Teacher’s Course. Heinle & Heinle, 1998. ISBN: 0-838-44725-2

Fowler, H.W., R. W. Burchfield (Ed.) The New Fowler's Modern English Usage, 3rd rev. ed. Oxford University Press, 2000. ISBN 0-198-60263-4. Classic reference work on the fine points of English usage.

Greenbaum, S. and Quirk, R. A Student’s Grammar of the English Language. Addison-Wesley, 1990. ISBN 0-582-05971-2. A simplified version of A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language (see below).

Grossman, J. The Chicago Manual of Style: The Essential Guide for Writers, Editors, and Publishers, 14th ed. University of Chicago Press, 1993. ISBN 0-226-10389-7. Considered a definitive source by many.

Lederer, R. and Dowis, R. The Write Way. Pocket Books, 1995. ISBN 0-671-52670-7. A whimsical guide to good usage and writing.

Quirk, R., Svartvik, J., Leech, G. and Greenbaum, S. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. Addison-Wesley, 1989. ISBN: 0-582-51734-6. The bible of English grammar, expensive but worth every penny. Includes regional English from all over the world.

Spears, R. NTC’s Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs and Other Idiomatic Verbal Phrases. National Textbook Company, 1993. ISBN 0-8442-5462-2. Good for figuring out what preposition goes in those pesky verb phrases.

Strunk, W. and White, E.B. The Elements of Style, 4th ed. Allyn & Bacon, 2000. ISBN 0-205-30902-X. Another classic authority on English style and usage.

Swan, M. Practical English Usage. Oxford University Press, 1995. ISBN: 0-194-31197-X. As the title suggests, a more practical approach to English. Covers differences between British and American usage.

U.S. Government Printing Office. A Manual of Style. Wings Books, 1986. ISBN 0-517-60526-0. More comprehensive and up-to-date than Strunk & White or Fowler.

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Recommended Reading, General

Berk-Seligson, Susan (2002). The Bilingual Courtroom: Court Interpreters in the Judicial Process. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Cross Cultural Communication Systems, Inc. (2004). The Art of Medical Interpretation, Training Manual for Medical Interpreters. Winchester, MA: Cross Cultural Communication Systems, Inc.

De Jongh, E.M. (1992). An Introduction to Court Interpreting: Theory and Practice. Lanham, MD: University Press of America.

Edwards, Alicia B. (1995). The Practice of Court Interpreting. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.

Gentile, Adolfo; Ozolins, Uldis., and Vasilakakos, Mary (1996). Liaison Interpreting: A Handbook. Melbourne University Press.

Gonzalez, R.D., Vasquez, V.F., and Mikkelson, H. (1991). Fundamentals of Court Interpretation: Theory, Policy and Practice. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press.

Hewitt, William E. (1995). Court Interpretation: Model Guides for Policy and Practice in the State Courts. Williamsburg, VA: National Center for State Courts.

Mikkelson, Holly (2000). Introduction to Court Interpreting. Manchester, U.K.: St. Jerome Publishing.

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Spanish/English Dictionaries

Oxford Spanish-English Dictionary (available on CD-ROM)

American Heritage Larousse Spanish-English Dictionary

Simon & Schuster’s International Dictionary

Larousse Spanish-English Dictionary

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General Language References

Diccionario de ideas afines, by Fernando Corripio, pub. Editorial Herder

Diccionario de uso del español, by María Moliner, pub. Editorial Gredos

Using Spanish Synonyms, by R.E. Bachelor, pub. Cambridge University Press

Redes, Diccionario combinatorio del español contemporáneo, pub. Ediciones SM

NTC Dictionary of Spanish False Cognates, pub. National Textbook Company

A New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish, by Butt & Benjamin, pub. McGraw-Hill

American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language 3rd ed. American Heritage Publishing Co., Inc. and Houghton Mifflin Co.

Benson, M., Benson, E. and Illson, R. (Ed.). The BBI Combinatory Dictionary of English: A Guide to Word Combinations. John Benjamins.

Celce-Murcia, M. and Larsen-Freeman, D. The Grammar Book: An ESL/EFL Teacher’s Course. Heinle & Heinle.

Greenbaum, S. and Quirk, R. A Student’s Grammar of the English Language. Addison-Wesley

Spears, R. NTC’s Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs and Other Idiomatic Verbal Phrases. National Textbook Company

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Bilingual (English/Spanish, Spanish/English) Legal Dictionaries

Criminal Court Dictionary, by Dennis McKenna, pub. Adelfa Books

Diccionario de términos jurídicos, by Hughes and Alcaraz Varó, pub. Ariel

Manual for Judiciary Interpreters English-Spanish (3rd Ed.), by M. Eta Trabing, pub. Berkana Language Center

Bilingual Dictionary of Criminal Justice Terms, by Benmaman, Connolly & Loos, published by Gould

Spanish-English Dictionary of Law and Business, by Thomas L. West III, published by Protea Publishing, ISBN 1-883707-37-4

Diccionario de terminología jurídica mexicana, by Javier F. Becerra, published by Escuela Libre de Derecho, ISBN 968-6236-08-02

Bilingual Law Dictionary/Diccionario Jurídico Bilingüe. Gallegos, Cuauhtémoc, published by Merl Publications, 2005. ISBN 1-886347-03-4

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Language of the Law, English

Berk-Seligson, Susan. The Bilingual Courtroom: Court Interpreters in the Judicial Process (University of Chicago Press, 1980) ISBN No. 0-226-04371-1. Chapter 2, Law and Language, is particularly useful.

Goodrich, Peter. Legal Discourse: Studies in Linguistics, Rhetoric and Legal Analysis (St. Martin's Press, 1987)

Katz, Alan N. ed. Legal Traditions and Systems: An International Handbook (Greenwood Press, 1986) ISBN No. 0-313-23830-8

Mellinkoff, David. The Language of the Law (Little, Brown & Co., 1963). A classic work, entertaining reading.

Merryman, John Henry and David S. Clark. Comparative Law: Western European and Latin American Legal Systems (Bobbs-Merrill Co.) ISBN No. 0-672-83379-4

O'Barr, William. Linguistic Evidence: Language, Power, and Strategy in the Courtroom (Academic Press, 1982)

Rembar, Charles. The Law of the Land (Simon & Schuster, 1980) ISBN No. 0-671-24322-5. A good history of the common law legal system for laypersons.

Rieber, Robert and William A. Stewart, eds. The Language Scientist as Expert in the Legal Setting: Issues in Forensic Linguistics (New York Academy of Sciences, 1990)

Shuy, Roger. Language Crimes: The Use and Abuse of Language Evidence in the Courtroom (Blackwell, 1993)

Szladits, Charles. Bibliography on Foreign and Comparative Law (Parker School Studies in Foreign and Comparative Law, 1955) Library of Congress No. 55-11076

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Comparative Law and Language

Alcaraz Varó, Enrique. El inglés jurídico (Barcelona: Ariel Derecho, 1996)

Avalos, Francisco. The Mexican Legal System (Greenwood Press, 1992)

Bielsa, Rafael. Los conceptos jurídicos y su terminología (Buenos Aires: Editorial Depalma, 1993) ISBN No. 950-14-0419-6. El Capítulo II, "Noción de algunos conceptos y su denominación jurídica general," presenta un excelente análisis de términos que comúnmente se confunden.

Calvo Ramos, Luciana. Introducción al estudio del lenguaje administrativo: Gramática y textos (Madrid: Editorial Gredos, 1980). Lenguaje de la legislación de España.

Duarte, Carles and Anna Martinez. El lenguaje jurídico (Buenos Aires: A-Z Editora, 1995) ISBN No. 950-534-322-1

Frankenthaler, Marilyn and Sofia Zahler. "Las características del lenguaje jurídico en el ámbito legal." Barcelona, Revista de Llengua I Dret, 1985.

Hendler, Edmundo S. Derecho penal y procesal penal de los Estados Unidos (Buenos Aires: Ad-Hoc, 1996) ISBN No. 950-894-033-6

Herget, James E. and Jorge Camil. An Introduction to the Mexican Legal System (William S. Hein & Co., 1978) ISBN No. 0-930342-60-7

Pardo, M.L. Derecho y lingüística. Cómo se juzga con palabras. Análisis lingüístico de sentencias judiciales (Buenos Aires: Centro Editor de América Latina, 1992) ISBN No. 950-25-2054-8

Prieto de Pedro, J. Lenguas, lenguaje y derecho (Madrid: Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Editorial Civitas, S.A., 1991) ISBN No. 84-7398-889-2

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Medical References

English Medical Dictionaries Spanish Medical Dictionaries and Encyclopedias Bilingual (English/Spanish, Spanish/English) Medical Dictionaries
English Medical Manuals, References, and Textbooks Spanish Medical Manuals, References, and Textbooks Serology
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English Medical Dictionaries

Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary. W.B. Saunders Co. 1985. ISBN No. 0-7216-1645-3 General medical dictionary, uses technical terms.

Mayo Clinic Family Health Book. David E. Larson, M.D., ed. William Morrow & Co., Inc. 1990. ISBN No. 0-688-07819-2. Intended for general use, defines technical concepts in lay terms.

Physicians' Desk Reference. Medical Economics Data. Updated yearly. ISBN No. 0-87489-716-5. Known as the PDR, the basic list of all prescription drugs available in the U.S. Updated yearly.

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Spanish Medical Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

Diccionario terminológico de ciencias médicas. Salvat Mexicana de Ediciones, S.A. de C.V. 1980. ISBN No. 968-32-0014-1. General medical dictionary, uses technical terms.

Enciclopedia médica para la familia: Compendio básico sobre la salud. Editorial América, S.A. 1982. Library of Congress Catalog Card # 81-72101. Intended for general use, defines technical concepts in lay terms.

Guía de medicina familiar. Salvat Editores, S.A. 1986. ISBN No. 970-611-230-8. Multiple volume encyclopedia for laypersons. Good illustrations.

Diccionario de especialidades farmacéuticas. Ediciones PLM, S.A. de C.V. 1994. ISBN No. 968-460-115-5. The Mexican equivalent of the PDR. Updated yearly.

Vademecum farmacéutico. Información Profesional Especializada, S.A. de C.V. 1992. ISBN No. 968-6779-00-0. Another Mexican equivalent of the PDR.

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Bilingual (English/Spanish, Spanish/English) Medical Dictionaries

Diccionario de términos médicos. Ruiz Torres. Alhambra. 1989. ISBN No. 84-205-1306-7. Has some acronyms (not MRI, TENS, etc.), gives definitions of English terms, no grammatical markers.

Diccionario inglés-español para médicos y estudiantes de medicina. Garrido, Juan. Editorial JIMS, S.A. 1987. ISBN No. 84-7193-086-2. Good for "medicalese," jargon. Only English-Spanish, not bidirectional.

English-Spanish Spanish-English Medical Dictionary. Glenn T. Rogers, M.D. McGraw-Hill, Inc. 1992. ISBN No. 0-07-053537-X. Handy paperback for taking on interpreting assignments. Up-to-date terminology (has things like MRI, PET, CAT, etc.).

Southwestern Medical Dictionary. Margarita Artschwager Kay. University of Arizona Press. 1977. ISBN No. 0-8165-0529-2. Excellent for folk medicine terminology. Gives definitions of Spanish folk terms.

Diccionario enciclopédico University de términos médicos. Nueva Editorial Interamericana, S.A. de C.V. Mexico. 1981. ISBN No. 968-25-0730-8. Excellent compendium of technical terms. Only English-Spanish, not bidirectional.

Dorland's Spanish-English Medical Dictionary. 1992. ISBN No. 84-7615-292-0. Very comprehensive (and expensive). Explanations of terms in Spanish.

Spanish-English/English-Spanish Medical Dictionary. McElroy, et al. 1982. ISBN No. 0-316-55561-4. Up-to-date terminology, reasonably priced.

Bilingual Glossary for Medical and Healthcare Translators: Hematology, Oncology, Radiotherapy. Verónica S. Albin, María T. Coggins. PCM Translation Resources. 1994. ISBN No. 0-9643516-0-9. Reliable, well-researched.

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English Medical Manuals, References, and Textbooks

The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy. Merck Research Laboratories. 1992. ISBN No. 0911910-16-6. The physician's bible.

Surgery on File. Facts on File, Inc. 1989. ISBN No. 0-8160-1770-0 (for example). A series of practical descriptions of surgical techniques, with illustrations. Each volume covers a separate specialty, such as orthopedics & trauma, obstetrics & gynecology, etc. The publisher gives permission to copy the texts!

Gray's Anatomy. Crown Publishers, Inc. 1977. Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 76-52804. A classic work.

Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. McGraw-Hill, Inc. 1991. ISBN No. 0-07-070890-8. Medical school textbook. Has been translated into major languages.

Manual of Orthopedics. Hill & Cogburn. C.V. Mosby Co. 1980. ISBN No. 0-8016-2198-4. Medical school textbook.

Principles of Neurology. Adams & Victor. McGraw-Hill, Inc. 1993. ISBN No. 0-07-000341-6. Medical school textbook.

Hematology: Basic Principles & Practice. Churchill Livingstone. 1991. ISBN No. 0-443-08643-5. Medical school textbook.

Clinical Methods: The History, Physical, and Laboratory Examinations. Butterworths. 1990. ISBN No. 0-409-90077-X.

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Spanish Medical Manuals, References, and Textbooks

El Manual Merck: Séptima edición en español. Nueva Editorial Interamericana, S.A. de C.V. Mexico. 1986. ISBN No. 968-25-1238-7. Translation of the above (although the English editions are updated more frequently than the Spanish translations).

Medicina forense. Alfonso Quiroz Cuarón. Editorial Porrúa, S.A. Mexico. 1993. ISBN No. 968-432-334-4. Good for basic terminology, but out of date (nothing on DNA!).

Hematología forense. Q.F.B. Martha Franco de Ambriz. Editorial Porrúa, S.A. Mexico. 1991. ISBN No. 968-432-976-8. Nothing on DNA here, either, but good for traditional tests.

Manual práctica para parteras. Esther Gally. Impresora GALVE, S.A. Mexico. ISBN No. 968-45-0016-5. Excellent for ObGyn and family planning terminology, intended for laypersons.

Donde No Hay Doctor: Una Guía para los Campesinos que Viven lejos de los Centros Médicos. David Werner. La Fundación Hesperian (USA). 1994. ISBN 956-242-007-8. A translation, but a good one. More information on this book can be found at http://www.cuatrovientos.net/manuales/dondenohaydoctor.html.

Grandes temas de medicina: Biblioteca práctica. Nueva Lente, S.A. Madrid. 1987. ISBN de la obra 84-7534-331-7. A series intended for laypersons, excellent source of terminology. Covers a wide range of illnesses, conditions, treatments, etc.

Cúrese usted mismo. Emilio Salas. Ediciones Martínez Roca, S.A Barcelona. 1982. ISBN No. 84-270-0753-1 (for example). A series aimed at laypersons, focusing on natural medicine. Covers a wide range of diseases and conditions.

Qué son las drogas. Carmen García Liñán. Arbol Editorial, S.A. de C.V. Mexico. 1990. ISBN No. 968-461-040-8 (for example). Excellent source of drug terminology, including slang and clinical terms. Each book in the series discusses a different type of drug: stimulants, depressants, marijuana, etc.

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Serology

Hematología forense. Q.F.B. Martha Franco de Ambriz. Porrúa, 1991.
ISBN #968-432-976-8

Manual de introducción a la criminalística. Rafael Moreno González. Porrúa, 1990.
ISBN #968-432-384-0

Elsevier's Biotechnology Glossary. Elsevier, 1990. ISBN #1-85166-569-2

Diccionario enciclopédico university de términos médicos. Nueva editorial Interamericana S.A. de C.V., 1966. ISBN # 968-25-0730-8

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Regional Spanish

Argentina

Gobello, José. Nuevo diccionario lunfardo. Ediciones Corregidor, 1994. ISBN 950-05-0565-8

Dis, Emilio. Código Lunfardo. Editorial Caburé, 1975.

Escobar, Raúl Tomás. Diccionario del hampa y del delito: lunfardo latinoamericano, drogadicción, “punk”, insurrección, mitología, voces vulgares y populares. Editorial Universidad, 1986.

Chile

Subercaseaux, Miguel. Diccionario de chilenismos. Editorial Juvenil, 1986.

Costa Rica

Pacheco, Miguel Q. Nuevo diccionario de costarriqueñismos. Publisher unknown. ISBN 9977660557

Cuba

Carlos Paz Pérez, Diccionario Cubano de Habla Popular y Vulgar (Agualarga Editoriales, Madrid, [year unknown]) ISBN 84-95088-79-7.

Sánchez-Boudy, José. Diccionario de Cubanismos más usuales (Como habla el cubano). Ediciones Universal, 1978. ISBN 0-89729-199-9

El Salvador

Geoffroy Rivas, Pedro. El español que hablamos en El Salvador. Ministerio de Educación, Dirección de Publicaciones, San Salvador, El Salvador, 1982.

Latin America

Lipski, John M. Latin American Spanish. Longman, 1994. ISBN 0-58208-760-0

Mexico

Cabrera, Luis. Diccionario de Aztequismos. Editorial Oasis, 1975.

Gómez de Silva, Guido. Diccionario Breve de Mexicanismos. Academia Mexicana, Fondo de Cultura Económica, 2001. ISBN 968-16-6408-6

Galvan, Roberto A. and Teschner, Richard V. El diccionario del español chicano. National Textbook Company, 1985 ISBN 0-8325-9634-5

Hamel, Bernard H. Hamel's Bilingual Dictionary of Mexican Spanish. Bilingual Book Press, 1994. ISBN 1-886835-01-4

Mejía Prieto, Jorge. Así habla el mexicano: Diccionario básico de mexicanismos. Panorama Editorial, S.A., 1984. ISBN 968-38-0122-6

Robinson, Linton H. Mexican Slang: A ¡*#@%&+! Guide. Bueno Books, 1992. ISBN 0-9627080-7-0

Peru

Bendezu Neyra, Guillermo E. Argot Limeño o Jerga Criolla del Perú. Editorial Lima, S.A., no date.

De Arona, Juan. Diccionario de peruanismos. Biblioteca Peruana, 1975.

Puerto Rico

Altieri de Barreto, Carmen G. El Léxico de la Delincuencia en Puerto Rico. Editorial Universitaria, Universidad de Puerto Rico, 1973.

Gallo, Cristino. Language of the Puerto Rico Street: A Slang Dictionary with English Cross-Reference. Book Service of Puerto Rico, 1980.

Llorens, Washington. El habla popular de Puerto Rico. Editorial Edil, 1974.

Spain

León, Víctor. Diccionario de argot español. Alianza Editorial, 1988. ISBN 84-206-1766-0

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Slang and Colloquial Spanish

Berger, Frances de Talavera. ¡Mierda! The Real Spanish You Were Never Taught in School. Plume, 1990. ISBN 0-452-26424-3

Burke, David. Street Spanish: How to Speak and Understand Spanish Slang. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1991. ISBN 0-471-52846-3

Burke, David. Street Spanish Slang Dictionary & Thesaurus. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1999. ISBN 0-471-16834-3

Cruz, Bill and Teck, Bill. The Official Spanglish Dictionary. Fireside – Simon & Schuster, 1998. ISBN 0-684-85412-0

Galván, Roberto A. and Teschner, Richard V. El Diccionario del Español Chicano. National Textbook Company, 1991. ISBN 0-8325-9634-5

Pierson, Raymond H. Guide to Spanish Idioms. Passport Books, 1992. ISBN 0-8442-7325-2

Rosensweig, Jay B. Caló: Gutter Spanish. E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc. 1973. ISBN 0-525-47346-7

Serros, Robert. Caló: Language of the Barrio. Sunburst Enterprises, La Puente, California, 1978. No ISBN

Torrents dels Prats, Alfonso. Diccionario de modismos ingleses y norteamericanos. Editorial Juventud, S.A., 1985. ISBN 84-261-0838-5

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