<p>I am a freshman, starting classes next week. One of my classes is beginning Japanese, which has a few “recommended” (rather than required) dictionaries in its materials. My question is, since they’re only recommended, could I go with an older version (say, mid-2000s rather than 2012) to save money? I can’t imagine dictionaries change that dramatically from edition to edition. Also, what is the difference between a “Japanese dictionary” and a “Japanese-English dictionary”? The class suggests the former, but the latter is cheaper.</p>
<p>One last question - is it really best to wait until after the first class/first week of classes to buy books, in case individual teachers don’t use certain books? I’ve heard arguments either way.</p>
<p>Japanese-English dictionary? Yes. If you hit words not in it, you can use the web. In general a “J” dictionary may give Japanese words definitions in Japanese, same as an English one gives us English wording. I’d guess they mean J-E. Especially for beginners.</p>
<p>It’s not always easy to say wait to get books. One of my kids did it, only to find the new edition was on a long backorder. It depends on the class. have you looked into renting? Or return policies?</p>
<p>Recommended books are, from my experience, meant to supplement what is being learned and I haven’t seen one referenced in a class. You could always ask the professor if older editions are fine or you could go to a bookstore and physically compare the two editions to see how they compare. I have not taken a class like a language but a lot of the books I’ve seen for my classes were either exactly the same just with different formats or were the same with a few extra practice problems. There was a $120 dollar book for a general education class that I got used for $6 since it was the last edition and the international version and I was fine, but I asked the professor beforehand. I’d say that with a dictionary an older edition is fine.</p>
<p>I have always gotten textbooks after classes have started since my first semester where I got books when the list came out and was told we would not need it. I have never really needed to use a textbook until at least the second week of classes and I knew the library had the books for one day loans just in case.</p>
<p>And I was thinking that a Japanese dictionary would be all Japanese and give words and definitions in Japanese, but that doesn’t really make sense for a beginner class so I would guess it is the same as a Japanese-English dictionary, especially if the book’s title is in English. Just a guess, though.</p>
<p>A good compromise between the “buying early” and the “wait until the class starts” arguments is to contact the professor before the class starts and ask if the textbook will be regularly used (or tested from) and if older editions would be accepted. For language classes, though, you will probably use the required textbook, and you may need something like a workbook as well. But I’ve taken language classes where they said the workbook was required but the professor never used it, so it’s always good to check with the professor first.</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, I always waited until the first day of class to see if I personally felt that I would need to textbook, and I never had a problem getting a copy online (I also had Amazon prime so I had free two-day shipping). If I needed the copy right away, I would buy it at the bookstore and then return it when my book came. Also, in many of my classes, I didn’t need the book for a week or two, and the professors generally understood that students were shuffling to get the book (if they expected students to have it right away, they’d send an email out about it).</p>
<p>For a beginner class, I would recommend a Japanese-English dictionary, but you should check with the professor to see.</p>