His and Hers New Techie Toys

Mel just got a new Blackberry. He didn`t get it from his company, like everyone else, but got it because he just simply wants it, and it was time for a new phone. Might as well get one with all the bells and whistles (he DOES use it for work related purposes - apparently).

Well, Mel got his new tech toy, I got myself a new tech toy, too. Behold! I FINALLY got myself a denshi jisho (electronic dictionary).

But why a denshi jisho? Aren`t good ol` paper dictionaries just enough?

Nope, no way, not anymore. Even the Japanese use these suckers EVERYWHERE - and that`s why they are so expensive in the States, because they are imported from Japan and only sold in special stores. You won`t find these at your local Best Buy; I have to get one here.

The Japanese developed these for the Japanese and the Japanese-learners use them as well. They have English/Chinese/French/German/Dutch/Italian/ Korean-Japanese versions. I have a regular paper dictionary, a paper kanji dictioanry and a paper grammar dictionary. That amounts to ALOT of weight. Pity they haven`t digitized the grammar dictionary yet.

And the SHEER number of dictionaries you can put in these things!!! There are more dictionaries under the Japanese sun for sure. For me, they are mostly useless. I needed a jisho with a specific combination to start with and some other basics that I forgot: the Kojien Kokugo Jisho + Oxford Dictionary of English. What the Oxford Dictionary is to English, the Kojien Kokugo Jisho is to Japanese - the king of the dictionaries for Japanese-Japanese.

However, I ran into a slight problem. All the new models for English-Japanese sure have the Oxford dictionary, but they don`t have Kojien. Instead they have Daijisen, sorta like Webster`s Dictionary, a second tier version. I was told by someone that for people in the Japanese humanities, there is no alternative: Kojien or bust.

Well, the bust would surely be in my wallet. Hang on to your jishos - the basic price is about $400-$500 for a new model, general/junior high/high school version. There is even a new feature: instead of looking kanji up by the radical (old-school way, many buttons involved), there is now a small touch pad where you write the kanji in question with a stylus, like the bottom screen of a Nintento DS Lite.

I did some research and it seemed that the models after 2005 switched from Kojien to Daijisen. EXCEPT for the medical focused dictionaries. You see, within the major categories of denshi jishos there are ones tailored for specific uses. There is general (the one with every basic jisho under the sun), business oriented, junior high and high school versions, special college versions with TOEFL practice and ones with expensive medical dictionaries for those that are doctors. Now, those are the ONLY ones that have the Kojien + Oxford combo. The cost? 79,000yen for a 2007 model, with that touch pad feature by Casio. Yes, Casio makes more than cheap digi watches, and they are the best sorts of jishos, because you can add on more to the jisho`s internal memory.

No way in HELL was I going to fork over that much money. First, that is alot. Second, I need to buy about 5 more dictionaries to add into it for my needs (Classical Japanese, Japanese/World History Encyclopedia, the queen of Japanese-English dictionaries from Kenkyusha, etc.) and thats another 20,000yen. I would end up spending almost $1000.

So imagine my surprise when I ended up at the co-op shop at Kyodai yesterday. There is was, last year`s medical dictionary with Kojien and Oxford, sans touch-pad feature, all the other basics I need...for 23,800yen. Original price was 79,000yen. I go home after lunch do some research on the net, go back to the co-op ask some questions...

...and I just bought it a few hours ago. The ONLY difference is that I have to look up kanji old-school style, but if I am stumped, I have my old Nintento jisho for that. I really needed a denshi jisho - the cartridge for my DS is dying on me (it won`t read the data sometimes), I am tired of being tethered to the internet dictionaries for my classical Japanese homework and I just downright need one. It`s not a matter of me getting a new toy, this is a matter of one of the `pieces of equipment` that I use, so to speak. Plus, since it was so cheap, I don`t feel bad about getting a jisho with dictionaries I know I`ll never use (the medical ones) and I can definitely afford the specific dictionaries that I will use.

I even got a pretty case for it since I really need to take care of this, as I probably won`t get a new one till I return to Japan for my dissertation research in 4-odd years. It`s a nice, soothing melon green.