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Translation and editing essentials
Collins English DictionaryCollins English Dictionary by Collins
Buy used from: £19.00
The English dictionary that gets you to the information you want with the least fuss.
Write Right: A Desktop Digest of Punctuation, Grammar and StyleWrite Right: A Desktop Digest of Punctuation, Grammar and Style by Jan Venolia
Buy new: £9.99 / Used from: £6.86
A real desktop essential.
Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome WordsBryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words by Bill Bryson
Buy used from: £10.78
Sorts out the most common misunderstandings with wit and clarity. The only grammar book I've read all the way through in the bath.
Mother Tongue: The English LanguageMother Tongue: The English Language by Bill Bryson
Buy new: £6.69 / Used from: £2.05
One of only two works of historical linguistics I know that are laugh-out-loud funny. Bryson also wrote the other one.
Made in AmericaMade in America by Bill Bryson
Buy new: £6.99 / Used from: £0.01
This is the other one.
The Cambridge EncyclopediaThe Cambridge Encyclopedia
Buy used from: £20.93
Can never repalce a search engine but the precision and clarity of the entries keeps me reading long after I've found what I want.
Office Standard Edition 2003 (Excel, Outlook, Word, Powerpoint)Office Standard Edition 2003 (Excel, Outlook, Word, Powerpoint)
Buy used from: £180.00
Contains the word processor all the best translation and proofing tools are written for
StarOffice 7.0StarOffice 7.0
Buy used from: £9.00
This has been widely used in Germany for years and it does support Unicode, so I've decided to give it a go.
Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases: 150th Anniversary EditionRoget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases: 150th Anniversary Edition by Peter Roget
Buy new: £17.50 / Used from: £14.06
If a synonym isn't in this, you probably shouldn't be using it anyway.
The New Routledge Dutch Dictionary Dutch-English/English-DutchThe New Routledge Dutch Dictionary Dutch-English/English-Dutch by R. Hempelman
Buy new: £19.54 / Used from: £16.75
Not as extensive as the Van Dale but based on it and portable
Collins German Dictionary: Complete & Unabridged (Dictionary)Collins German Dictionary: Complete & Unabridged (Dictionary)
Buy used from: £22.50
The only general German-English dictionary I now use.