Inevitably, for anyone living in Ukraine it is useful to have a passing familiarity with Russian or Ukrainian languages, if not complete fluency. When a sudden on-the-job linguistic obstacle pops up, it's important to be prepared. Whether or not you are learning to speak the foreign language fluently or just trying to get by, everyone needs help and technology can save the day -it's only a click away! Thanks to the power of the Internet, most of these hi-tech solutions won't cost you a dime (or kopiyok)!
Software-based Solutions
Without a doubt, the most popular software dictionary is ABBYY Lingvo. This essential program, is releasing its 11th version with full support for Russian and Ukrainian. Lingvo boasts exhaustive dictionaries, usage examples, pronunciation keys and a flash-card utility. A Three Languages version (English-Russian-Ukrainian) can be purchased from most local software stores and at the Petrivka market.
abbyy.com/lingvo/
Another answer may be StarDict, a free, cross-platform and open source dictionary. A wide variety of foreign languages are supported (as well as functionality as an English-thesaurus and terminology dictionary). Once installed, the program is easy to use and has full support for Russian and Ukrainian. The most interesting feature is the ability to scan a word in another program (such as Word) and translations pop up in a contextual window as you move around the document. Free.
stardict.sourceforge.net/
Web-based Solutions
Free, online dictionaries are also useful for quick translations of words or understanding the gist of a text. Even the best online dictionaries are no substitute for a competent human translator and do not provide completely accurate word-for-word meaning. Still, they can be helpful and certainly have their place.
world.altavista.com/
www.slovnyk.org/
dictionary.reference.com/translate/text.html
Language Learning Aids
Eventually, all serious language learners, users of technology and business people will want to also be proficient in typing. Stamina is a typing tutor that has support for both local languages in one easy-to-use program. The program has progressively difficult lessons, a timer, sounds, a customizable appearance, progress graphs and statistics. Free.
http://typingsoft.com/stamina.htm
Flashcards are another essential for language learning. There are several free, open-source programs available through the Internet (but work great offline) that make memorization efficient, productive and fun! jMemorize is one such program that has categories, statistics and a user-friendly interface. Pauker is another solution that also has statistics but its strength is in working combination with your short-term and long-term memory. Both programs are free.
riad.de/jmemorize/
pauker.sourceforge.net/
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