Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Google Dictionary Tool for China?

The Chinese Google news blog DWGoogle reports that Google is about to release a dictionary tool in China in some kind of cooperation with Kingsoft. This tool (pictured) is an adaption of Kingsoft’s existing popular tool PowerWord, and it allows the look-up of words as before but also brings new features added by Google.

According to Wikipedia, PowerWord* “is a collection of Chinese, English and bilingual dictionaries and supporting proprietary software, published on CD-ROM in China by Kingsoft, which claims to have 20 million users including 50,000 organisations.” A text to speech tool can be triggered for words by clicking on a loudspeaker icon. DWGoogle writes that Google’s adaption of this Windows desktop application will be added to Google Pack. Perhaps Google PowerWord will also be useful to English users with an interest in Chinese content, as, according to Wikipedia, the user interface of at least the existing PowerWord can be set to either English or Chinese.

If you speak Chinese and can add more details of what DWGoogle talks about or related information, it would be helpful!

[Screenshot by DWGoogle.]

*PowerWord is written 金山词霸 in simplified Chinese, 金山詞霸 in traditional Chinese, and “Jīn shān cí bà” in Pinyin.

Google Dictionary Tool fo ... by Philipp Lenssen | Comments (18)

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