Kamusi za Mtandaoni za Wanafunzi wa Kiingereza (na zingine ambazo zinaweza kutumika nje ya mtandao)

Kamusi ya TUKI imetolewa na Taasisi ya Utafiti wa Kiswahili ya Chuo Kikuu cha Dar es Salaam (Tanzania). Msingi wake ni toleo la pili la Kamusi ya Kiingereza-Swahili (2000) ya TATAKI (Taasisi ya Taaluma za Kiswahili), chini ya jina lake la zamani TUKI.

Inaweza kusemwa kuwa MobiTUKI, kama kamusi maalum ya Kiswahili-Kiingereza pekee, ina ufafanuzi sahihi zaidi za maneno ya Kiingereza katika Kiswahili. Idadi ya maneno yanayohusiana yanaonyeshwa pamoja na ingizo kuu:

Unaweza pia kupata upau wa utafutaji wa MobiTUKI kwenye tovuti inayoitwa Lexilogos. Lexilogos ni tovuti muhimu sana kwa viungo vya nyenzo kwa wanafunzi wa lugha, ikijumuisha Kiingereza. Mbali na MobiTUKI, inaunganisha moja kwa moja kamusi zingine tatu za Kiingereza-Kiswahili (tazama hapa chini).

Glosbe English/Swahili ni kamusi nyingine iliyojumuishwa kwenye ukurasa wa Lexilogos. Tofauti na MobiTuki, mradi wa Glosbe hujumuisha lugha nyingi zenye maudhui mengi yanayotokana na kompyuta. Hii ina maana kwamba kamusi ya Kiswahili-Kiingereza mara nyingi inaweza kujumuisha taarifa nyingi zisizo na umuhimu na, kwa kawaida, ni ufafanuzi  wa neno moja au mawili pekee yanayotolewa katika Kiswahili na maelezo zaidi kuhusu neno hilo kutokea kwa Kiingereza.

Kuna hitilafu moja au mbili (makosa madogo) kwenye tovuti – kwa mfano, mara kwa mara, wakati kamusi inapotoa taarifa zaidi kuhusu sarufi iliyounganishwa na neno, baadhi ya kategoria za kisarufi huonekana katika Kipolandi au Kifaransa, badala ya Kiingereza au Kiswahili.

Pia, kamusi inaweza kupendekeza matumizi ya nadra au yasiyo ya kawaida ya neno kama ufafanuzi msingi, kwa hivyo msomaji anahitaji kupitia idadi ya ufafanuzi unaowezekana kabla ya kupata ufafanuzi unaofaa.

Ingawa hivyo, Glosbe ina baadhi ya vipengele ambavyo MobiTUKI haina:

Matamshi

Kwa Glosbe inawezekana kusikiliza wazungumzaji wakisema neno la Kiingereza. (Kidokezo – sikiliza zaidi ya rekodi moja kwa sababu zingine ni bora kuliko zingine!)

Kamusi ya picha

Hii inaweza kuwa muhimu kwa maneno fulani ya Kiingereza ambayo hayana tafsiri ya moja kwa moja. Tazama mfano hapa chini:

Tafsiri katika muktadha

Ukisogeza hadi chini ya ukurasa, utapata mifano mingi ya neno linalotumiwa katika muktadha, na jinsi watafsiri wametumia neno hilo katika visa hivi.

Glosbe inaonekana kuwa wazi kwa umma kuchangia, ambayo kwa upande mmoja ina maana maudhui yake yanaongezwa kila mara na kubadilika, lakini kwa njia nyingine haijadhibitiwa kabisa au kudhibitiwa, kwa hivyo baadhi ya ufafanuzi usio sahihi hupita. Walakini, ikiwa tayari una ujuzi fulani wa Kiingereza, na uvumilivu wa kupitia maandishi zaidi ya moja yaliyotafsiriwa, unapaswa kuwa na uwezo wa kujenga picha wazi ya maneno ya kawaida ya Kiingereza, na hata mengine ambayo bado hayajajumuishwa katika kamusi yoyote ya Kiingereza-Kiswahili.

Ni muhimu kukumbuka kuwa mradi wa Glosbe unajaribu kutafsiri lugha nyingi iwezekanavyo, na idadi ndogo ya tafsiri za lugha zingine kutoka Afrika Mashariki inaweza kupatikana kwenye wavuti. Hizi ni pamoja na Lingala, Kinyarwanda na Kirundi, Ganda na Chewa/Nyanja.

Kamusi zingine za lugha mbili

Kamusi zingine za lugha mbili ambazo msomaji anaweza kupata kuwa muhimu ni African languages Swahili-English Dictionary na Bab.la (ambazo zote mbili zimeunganishwa na tovuti ya Lexilogos) na ina thamani kujaribu Google Translate, au Bing (Microsoft) Translator, ambazo zote mbili zinaweza kutumika kupata ufafanuzi rahisi ya maneno binafsi.

Nje ya mtandao

Google Translate inaweza kutumika nje ya mtandao pia, mradi tu upakue lugha unayohitaji, ama Kiingereza au Kiswahili, kwenye simu yako ukiwa mtandaoni.

Kuna programu ya kamusi ya Kiingereza-Kiswahili ya kampuni inayoitwa Innovative-Software – ambayo imepata ukadiriaji mzuri kwenye Google Play. Kampuni hii inatoa kamusi katika lugha kadhaa na haionekani kuwa na ufafanuzi wa Kiswahili ambao ni mrefu zaidi ya neno moja au mawili. Hatujaweza kufanyia majaribio programu hii ipasavyo lakini tumeijumuisha hapa kwa sababu watu wengi wanaonekana wameona ni muhimu. Programu inaweza pia run in the background (kufanya kazi chinichini), ikiwashwa na nje ya mtandao, kwa hivyo unaweza kuandika kwa maneno ya Kiingereza kadri unavyoyapata.

Tovuti ya MobiTuki inataja kwamba kamusi inaweza kupakuliwa ili kutumika mtandaoni lakini wakati wa kuandika hatukuweza kujua jinsi ya kufanya hivyo. Ikiwa kuna yeyote anayejua jibu, tafadhali tujulishe.

Kamusi zinazotolewa na vyuo vikuu viwili maarufu nchini Uingereza, Chuo Kikuu cha Oxford na Chuo Kikuu cha Cambridge, ni nyenzo bora kwa wanafunzi wa Kiingereza. Ni vizuri kukumbuka hata hivyo, kwamba sio kila programu au wavuti inayotumia maneno Oxford au Cambridge inatolewa na vyuo hivi. Kwa vile Oxford na Cambridge pia ni majina ya miji ambayo vyuo hivi viko, shule zingine na kampuni zinaweza kutumia maneno haya kwa majina yao ili kuonekana kuwa ya kifahari zaidi, au katika hali zingine kwa sababu pia ziko katika moja ya miji hiyo. Unaweza kupata habari zaidi kuhusu vyuo vikuu vya Oxford na Cambridge na machapisho yao na tovuti, hapa. Kwa sasa, kumbuka kuwa viungo vilivyo hapa chini vitakupeleka kwenye tovuti rasmi na kwamba ishara zilizo hapa chini zinapaswa kutumiwa tu na machapisho yanayohusiana na vyuo hivi vyenyewe.

Cambridge English Dictionary

Zaidi ya kamusi ya kawaida ya Kiingereza, tovuti ya Cambridge English Dictionary pia inatoa chaguo zifuatazo:

Dictionary of Essential British English (inafaa zaidi kwa wanafunzi wa kiwango cha chini)

Learner’s Dictionary (inafaa kwa wanafunzi wa kiwango cha kati)

Dictionary of Essential American English (Kiingereza cha Marekani)

Grammar Dictionary (ambapo unaweza kutafuta istilahi zozote za kisarufi ambazo huelewi)

Cambridge English Dictionary pia inaonyesha ni katika kiwango gani mwanafunzi anaweza kutarajiwa kutumia neno ambalo amelitafuta:

Kamnusi hii pia ina kitu kinachoitwa SMART word lists, ambapo unaweza kuona maneno mengine yanayohusiana na uliyotafuta:

Tovuti hii inatoa matumizi ya bila malipo ya kamusi mbili:

Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (Kiingereza cha Uingereza)

Oxford Advanced American Dictionary for Learners (Kiingereza cha Marekani)

Kuna kamusi zingine mbili kwenye tovuti, zote zinahitaji malipo ili kuzitumia:

Oxford Learner’s Dictionary of Academic English, iliyokusudiwa kutumiwa na wanafunzi wa kiwango cha juu cha Kiingereza ambao pia watakuwa wakisoma masomo mengine katika Kiingereza, na ambao watahitaji kuandika katika lugha hiyo kwa madhumuni ya kitaaluma. Wakati wa kuandika, hii inagharimu karibu 13 USD (au TZS 30,000) kwa mwaka.

Oxford Collocations Dictionary ni kamusi nyingine ambayo inaweza kuwa muhimu kwa wanafunzi kiwacho cha juu wanaohitaji kuboresha uandishi wao wa kitaaluma. Inaonyesha ni maneno gani mara nyingi huonekana pamoja katika Kiingereza. Gharama ya sasa ya kupata kamusi hii ni karibu dola 11 (au TZS 26,000) kwa mwaka.

Kama vile Cambridge English Dictionary, Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary inaonyesha kiwango ambacho unaweza kutarajia kupata neno likifafanuliwa. Pia ina orodha ya maneno muhimu sana ambayo yanaweza kubadilishwa kwa kiwango. Baadhi ya haya yanategemea somo (mada) – kwa mfano, ukitafuta neno guitar (gitaa), unaweza kupata orodha ya maneno chini ya somo la muziki, kwa kiwango sawa.

Ukipenda, unaweza kubadilisha orodha ili kujumuisha maneno chini ya mada sawa katika kiwango cha juu au cha chini, kwa kutumia kitufe cha kichujio.

Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary pia ina orodha ya maneno ya jumla zaidi, ambayo ni pamoja na Oxford 3000, na Oxford 5000 – iliyokusudiwa kuwaonyesha wanafunzi maneno muhimu zaidi 3000, kisha 5000, ya kujua.

Kwa sasa, orodha hizi zinaweza kupakuliwa kwa PDF. Hii ni nzuri, kwani orodha inayotolewa inaweza kutumika nje ya mtandao, kuchapishwa, na hata kuwekwa kwenye Google Translate  ili kutafsiri maneno mengi kwa wakati mmoja.

Kamusi zingine za lugha moja (Uingereza)

Kamusi zingine tatu zinazoheshimika za Uingereza ambazo zinaweza kutumika mtandaoni ni Collins Online Dictionary, (ambayo inajumuisha kamusi mbili za mtandaoni zisizolipishwa zinazokusudiwa kutumiwa na watoto), Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (ambayo pia ina baadhi ya mazoezi ya Kiingereza kwa wanafunzi wa kati na wa juu) , na MacMillan Dictionary (ambayo waandishi wao wanasema wanatilia maanani sana ufafanuzi wa maneno 7500 ya Kiingereza maarufu zaidi).

Nje ya mtandao

Kamusi za Oxford na Cambridge zote zinatoa programu zisizolipishwa na zinazolipishwa ambazo zinaweza kutumika nje ya mtandao. Kwa bahati mbaya, programu ya Cambridge isiyolipishwa ni zaidi ya orodha nasibu ya maneno yenye maagizo ya kununua programu inayolipishwa (takriban USD 13 au TZS 30,000). Hii imesababisha hasira kubwa kutoka kwa wakaguzi kwenye Duka la Google Play na ni vigumu kidogo kuelewa ni kwa nini mtayarishaji wa kamusi anayeheshimika angejaribu kutangaza bidhaa yake mtandaoni kwa njia ya matusi. Programu isiyolipishwa ya Oxford inaweza kutumika katika kutafuta ufafanuzi wa maandishi wa maneno lakini haitacheza sauti na ina idadi kubwa ya matangazo na majaribio ya kumfanya msomaji anunue programu inayolipishwa (takriban 30 USD au TZS 70,000 kwa mwaka).

Kando na nyenzo bora za mtandaoni, kamusi hii maarufu ya Kiamerika inatoa programu isiyolipiwa na inayolipiwa (takriban 8 USD AU TZS 18,500). Matangazo katika programu isiyolipishwa hayapingi njia ya kutazama ufafanuzi, lakini programu inayolipishwa inahitajika ili kucheza rekodi za maneno nje ya mtandao.

Programu mbili maarufu za bila malipo za kamusi zenye sauti zinazoweza kusikilizwa nje ya mtandao ni The Offline Dictionary kutoka Livio na English Audio Dictionary,, kutoka kwa Muhammad Riaz. Wala hazionekani kutoka kwa mtayarishaji mkuu wa kamusi lakini zote zana kiwango cha juu cha kuridhika kwa wateja kwenye Google Play.

Tayari kuna chaguo nyingi za kamusi za mtandaoni na nyenzo za kujifunzia, na hizi zinaongezwa kila siku. Tunatumai kusasisha nakala hii katika siku zijazo ili kuhesabu kamusi mpya ambazo zinapatikana.

Kwa maelezo zaidi kuhusu viwango vya Kiingereza vya CEFR,  bofya hapa, na kuona baadhi ya majaribio ya mtandaoni bila malipo kwa kuangalia kiwango chako, bofya hapa.

The TUKI dictionary is produced by the Institute of Kiswahili Research of the University of Dar es Salaam (Tanzania). It is based on the second edition of the English-Swahili Dictionary (2000) by TATAKI (Taasisi ya Taaluma za Kiswahili), under its former name of TUKI.

It could be argued that MobiTUKI, as a specialist dictionary in Swahili-English only, has the most accurate definitions in Swahili of English words.  A number of related words are shown alongside the main entry:

You can also find a search bar for MobiTUKI on a site called Lexilogos.  Lexilogos is a very useful web site for links to resources for learners of languages, including English.  In addition to MobiTUKI, it links directly to three other English-Swahili dictionaries (see below).

Glosbe English/Swahili is another of the dictionaries included on the Lexilogos page.  Unlike MobiTuki, the Glosbe project includes many languages with a lot of content being computer-generated.  This means that the Swahili-English dictionary can often include a lot of irrelevant information and, usually, only a one or two word definition is given in Swahili with further information about the word appearing in English. 

There are one or two glitches (small errors) on the site – for example, occasionally, when the dictionary provides more information about the grammar connected to a word, some of the grammatical categories appear in Polish or French, rather than English or Swahili.

Also, the dictionary may suggest a rare or unusual use of a word as the primary definition, so the reader needs to go through a number of possible definitions before finding the right one. 

Glosbe does have some features that MobiTUKI does not, however: 

Pronunciation

On Glosbe it is possible to listen to speakers say the English word.  (Tip – listen to more than one recording because some are better than others!)

Picture dictionary

This can be useful with certain English words that don’t have a direct translation.  Note the example below:

Translation in context

If you scroll down to the bottom of the page for the word, you will find numerous examples of the word in use in context, and the way translators have dealt with it in these cases.

Glosbe seems to be open to the public to contribute, which on the one hand means its content is constantly being added to and evolving, but on the other means it is not entirely controlled or regulated, so some wrong definitions get through.  However, if you already have some knowledge of English, and the patience to go through more than one translated text, you should be able to build a clear picture of less common English words, and even some that have not yet made it into any English-Swahili dictionary.

It is worth noting that the Glosbe project is attempting to cover as many different languages as possible, and a limited amount of translations of other languages from East Africa can be found on the site.  These include Lingala, Kinyarwanda and Kirundi, Ganda and Chewa/Nyanja.

Other bilingual dictionaries

Other bilingual dictionaries that the reader may find useful are African languages Swahili-English Dictionary and Bab.la (both of which are linked to by the Lexilogos site) and it is worth trying Google Translate, or Bing (Microsoft) Translator, both of which can be used to find a simple definition of individual words.

Offline

Google Translate can be used offline too, provided you download the language you need, either English or Swahili, to your phone when you are online.

There is an English-Swahili dictionary app by a company called Innovative-Software – which has received good ratings on Google Play.  The company produces dictionaries in a number of languages and doesn’t seem to have definitions in Swahili that are longer than one or two words,   We have not been able to test this app properly but have included it here because a lot of people appear to have found it useful. The app can also run in the background, on and offline, so you can type in English words as you find them.

The MobiTuki web site mentions that the dictionary can be downloaded to be used online but at the time of writing we have been unable to find out how to do this.  If anyone knows the answer, please let us know.

The dictionaries produced by the most famous two universities in the UK, Oxford University and Cambridge University, are excellent resources for learners of English.  It is worth noting however, that not every app or web site using the words Oxford or Cambridge is actually produced by these universities.  As Oxford and Cambridge are also the names of the cities where the universities are located, other schools and companies may use these words in their names to appear more prestigious, or in some cases because they are also based in one of the cities.  You can find more information about Oxford and Cambridge universities and their publications and web sites, here. For now, note that the links below will take you to the official sites and that the symbols below should only be used by publications associated with the universities themselves.

Cambridge English Dictionary

In addition to a regular English dictionary, the Cambridge English Dictionary web site also offers the following options:

Dictionary of Essential British English (more suitable for lower-level learners)

Learner’s Dictionary (suitable for intermediate level learners)

Dictionary of Essential American English

Grammar Dictionary (where you can search for any grammatical terms you do not understand)

The Cambridge English Dictionary also shows at what level a learner might be expected to use the word they have looked for:

The dictionary also has something called SMART word lists, where you can see other words related to the one you have searched for:

This web site offers free use of two dictionaries:

Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (UK English)

Oxford Advanced American Dictionary for Learners (US English)

There are two other dictionaries on the site, both requiring payment to access:

The Oxford Learner’s Dictionary of Academic English, meant for use by advanced students of English who will also be studying other subjects in English, and who will need to write in the language for academic purposes.  At time of writing, this costs around 13 USD (or TZS 30,000) per year.

The Oxford Collocations Dictionary is another dictionary that may be useful for advanced learners who need to improve their academic writing.  It shows which words most often appear together in English.  The current cost of accessing this dictionary is around 11 USD (or TZS 26,000) per year.

Like the Cambridge English Dictionary, the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary shows the level where you might expect to find the word being defined.

It also has some very useful word lists which can be adjusted by level.  Some of these are based on subject – for example, if you look up the word guitar, you can find a list of words under the subject of music, at the same level.

If you like, you can adjust the list to include words under the same subject at a higher or a lower level, using the filter button.

The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary also has more general word lists, which include the Oxford 3000, and the Oxford 5000 – intended to show learners the most important 3000, then 5000 words, to know.

At present, these lists can be downloaded to a PDF.  This is great, as the list produced can be used offline, printed, and even put into Google Translate to translate multiple words at once.

Other monolingual dictionaries (UK)

Three other respected UK dictionaries that can be used online are the Collins Online Dictionary, (which includes two free online dictionaries meant for the use of children), the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (which also has some English exercises for intermediate and advanced learners), and the MacMillan Dictionary (whose writers say they give special attention to the definitions of the most popular 7500 English words).

Offline

Oxford and Cambridge Dictionaries both offer free and paid apps which can be used offline.  Unfortunately, the Cambridge free app is little more than a random list of words with instructions to buy the paid app (around 13 USD or TZS 30,000).  This has resulted in considerable anger from reviewers on the Google Play Store and it is a little difficult to understand why a respected dictionary producer would attempt to market its online product in a such an insulting way.  The Oxford free app is actually usable in terms of looking up written definitions of words but will not play sound and contains a large number of advertisements and attempts to have the reader purchase the paid app (around 30 USD or TZS 70,000 per year). 

In addition to a great online resource, this famous American dictionary offers both a free and a paid app (around 8 USD OR TZS 18,500).  The advertisements in the free app do not get in the way of viewing the definitions, but the paid app is needed to play recordings of the words offline.

Two very popular free dictionary apps with audio that can be listened to offline are The Offline Dictionary from Livio and the English Audio Dictionary, from Muhammad Riaz.  Neither appear to be from a major dictionary producer but both have a high level of customer satisfaction on Google Play.

There is already a lot of choice of online dictionaries and learning materials, and these are being added to every day.  We hope to update this article in the future to account for new dictionaries that become available.

For more information about the CEFR English levels, go here, and to see some free online tests for checking your level, go here.