George W Bush can’t say ‘nuclear’. Does it matter? He is the most powerful person in the world. But he is ridiculed for his vocabulary and use of words. Would you want power as well as respect? With the daily use of a good electronic dictionary, you will begin to improve your pronunciation as well as your vocabulary.

From my research, I know that with the latest sound technology pronunciations of difficult words are much more audible and copiable. The searches are that much quicker than they used to be and the handheld electronic dictionary now sits snugly in your pocket, unlike your old-style paper dictionary.

There was a little boy who asked for a hamburger but he was never able to have it cooked the way he liked or with different kinds of filling due to his limited vocabulary. That little boy was all of us. Most of us are still unable to ask for things exactly the way we want them.

If you are like me and live in a foreign country, not having enough words to express yourself becomes even more problematic.

After consulting my paper dictionary I found out that the microphone is spelled the same way as in English. I went up to the shopping assistant and asked for a ‘microphone’ for my PC in my best Spanish accent but he didn’t understand me. I then whipped out my PDA and got it to say the word ‘microphone’ to him as a test. I thought then that these things really work.

An electronic dictionary can now be used whenever you need it as they are small, fast, and audible. They can be standalone handheld or downloaded to your PDA and cellphone or you can use free online dictionaries.

I suggest you try out some of the free resources available that can be found on the internet. Download some free, shareware, or trial software and use a few of the free online dictionaries. There are dictionaries available for topics such as languages, legal, medical, science, technical, business, and math to name a few.