Multilingual Dictionaries

The second type useful for translation are known as multilingual or polyglot dictionaries. They provide similar words in three or more languages. The arrangement of entries in the polyglot dictionaries have not been standardised.

They are arranged alphabetically by the main language with the equivalent words in the other language covered in a tabular form. Separate alphabetical indexes for each language represented are given as appendices at the end.

Naravane's multilingual dictionary of simple and common words of day-to-day use covers fifteen Indian languages and English. Words of the other languages are transliterated in Nagari script, except English.

As explained above, multilingual dictionaries restrict themselves in providing equivalent term in other than base language. They have become common only after the advent of computers. Elsevier of Amsterdam have published a few multilingual dictionaries. These are found in subject dictionaries. Such dictionaries restrict themselves generally to one subject and are very common science and technology