Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, & Handbooks

The most familiar type of dictionary is the one used to define words or terms, give the history of their use (etymology), or prescribe how the world or term should be used. The thesaurus, which give words of similar and opposite meaning, is a type of dictionary. The Spanish-English English-Spanish (translating) dictionary, or vice versa, is technically a "dual-language" dictionary. Many other books are described as dictionaries that are actually somewhere between an encyclopedia and a dictionary, but on a narrower subject. All that the following listed items have in common is being useful.

Cortes, E. (Ed.) (1992). Dictionary of Mexican Literature. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. [Call Number REF PQ7106.D53 1992] These 500 to 600 entries about major writers, literary schools, and cultural movements of Mexican literature, mostly 20th century, taken as a whole, show the subject to a college student. Taken individually or as groups, they are useful for class papers.

Cuyas, A. (1940). Appleton's New English-Spanish and Spanish-English Dictionary (Rev. & enlarged ed.). NY: Appleton-Century-Crofts. [Call Number MAIN PC4640.C8 1940c] It is ancient and not in perfect shape but you can check it out of the building.

Garcia-Pelayo y Gross, R. (1994b). Gran Diccionario Espanol-Ingles = English-Spanish Dictionary (Unabridged ed., revised & enlarged). Mexico, D.F.: Ediciones Larousse. [Call Number REF PC4640.G73 1994b] One of the most highly rated or standard, extensive, two way translating dictionaries, but not too large.

Kern, R. & Dodge, M. (1990). Historical Dictionary of Modern Spain, 1700-1988. NY: Greenwood Press. [Call Number REF DP192.H57 1990] In dictionary format, articles and/or entries from A - Z, this covers material not found elsewhere.

Muniz Castro, E. (1998). Routledge Spanish Dictionary of Business, Commerce, and Finance. NY: Routledge. [Call Number REF HF1002.R687 1998] While the title well states what this is and suggests its use, some reviewers accused it of being too literal while others loved it (Amazon). It should be good enough to translate to English if needed.

Nash, R. (1997). NTC's Dictionary of Spanish Cognates. Chicago, IL: NTC Publishing Group. [Call Number REF PC4640.N35 1997] If a regular translating dictionary is not enough, this gives groups of words by theme, such as "feelings and emotions" or "kinds of foods."

Nunez, B. (1980). Dictionary of Afro-Latin American Civilization. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. [Call Number REF F1408.3.N86] A compilation of words and terms, not articles over about a quarter page long, from many other sources.

Encyclopedias cover the widest range of material and have articles ranging from small dictionary sized entries to chapters of a regular book. Because this topic is so broad, and not every facet is covered in a book specifically on things Hispanic, I include the top two general encyclopedias.

Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. (2001). Encyclopaedia Britannica 2002 (Set, 16th? ed.). Chicago, IL: Author. [Call Number REF AE5.E63 latest year] It is usually worth trying this and/or World Book first.

Rogers, E. (Ed.) (1999). Encyclopedia of Contemporary Spanish Culture. London: Routledge. [Call Number REF DP233.5.#63 1999] The 750 A-Z entries cover the cultural and political developments throughout Spain, including the culture of Catalonia, Galicia and the Basque country from the end of the Civil War in 1939 to the present day, with emphasis on the changes made since the demise of the Franco dictatorship in 1975 (Amazon).

Smith, V. (Ed.) (1997). Encyclopedia of Latin American Literature. London: Fitzroy Dearborn. [Call Number REF PQ7081.A1 E56] A collection of essays on authors, books, and themes related to the literature of Latin America and the Caribbean. They range in length from one page for minor authors to ten for some country descriptions (Amazon).

Turner, J. (Ed.) (2000?). Encyclopedia of Latin American & Caribbean Art. NY: Grove. [Call Number REF N6502 E53 2000]

World Book (2000). World Book Encyclopedia 2000. Chicago, IL: Author. [Call Number REF AE5.W55 latest year] It is usually worth trying this and/or Encyclopaedia Britannica first.

Handbooks pack a large amount of information on a single subject into one book. They tend to be arranged in chapters rather than the A to Z of dictionaries or encyclopedias, but otherwise have no set format. Here are the most useful of what said they were handbooks.

Foster, D. (Ed.) (1992). Handbook of Latin American Literature (Rev. & expanded ed.). NY: Garland Pub. [Call Number MAIN & REF PQ7081.A1 H36 1992] The main advantage of this volume is that, unlike the encyclopedia of the same name, you can check it out of the building.

Kanellos, N. & Jimenez, A. (Ed.) (1993). Handbook of Hispanic Cultures in the United States: History. Houston, TX: Arte Publico Press. [Call Number REF 184.S75 H365 1993] This is one of a four-volume set, largely written by US Hispanics, that explores four major areas: history, anthropology, sociology, and literature and art. This volume, confronting a serious deficiency in American historiography--namely the Anglocentrism of US history--is divided into four parts: Spain and the New World; on the early history of the United States; Hispanic tradition in historical perspective; and the recent past. (Amazon)

Stanton, E. (1999). Handbook of Spanish Popular Culture. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. [Call Number MAIN DP48.S68 1999] Languages, religion, fiestas, bulls, sports, games, music, film, radio and television, the press, and popular literature. You can even check this one out and read it for fun.