Ectaco ES400T User Manual
Language Teacher
®
ES400T
EnglishÙSpanish
Talking Electronic Dictionary
&
Organizer
User’s manual
Diccionario Electrónico Hablante
InglésÙEspañol
con
el Organizador
Guía del usuario
No part of this manual shall be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without
permission from Ectaco, Inc.
Language Teacher® is a registered trademark of Ectaco, Inc., NY,
USA
© 1992–2002 Ectaco, Inc., New York, USA.
All rights reserved.
2
English-Spanish Electronic Dictionary User’s Manual
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION .................................................................. 5
General View..................................................................... 6
Power Supply .................................................................... 7
Initialization........................................................................ 9
Keyboard ......................................................................... 10
Display............................................................................. 13
Main Menu....................................................................... 14
DICTIONARY...................................................................... 16
USER'S DICTIONARY........................................................ 23
GRAMMAR AND TOEFL.................................................... 27
Grammar ......................................................................... 28
TOEFL............................................................................. 29
PHRASE BOOK.................................................................. 33
IRREGULAR VERBS.......................................................... 35
POPULAR IDIOMS............................................................. 36
PHONES............................................................................. 38
SCHEDULE ........................................................................ 41
CALCULATOR.................................................................... 46
METRIC CONVERSION..................................................... 47
CURRENCY CONVERSION .............................................. 48
HANGMAN WORD GAME ................................................. 51
WORLD TIME..................................................................... 52
LOCAL TIME....................................................................... 54
PC-LINK.............................................................................. 55
SETUP ................................................................................ 58
Interface Language ......................................................... 59
Real Time Clock.............................................................. 60
Daily Alarm ...................................................................... 62
Date Format .................................................................... 63
Time Format.................................................................... 63
Memory Check ................................................................ 64
Data Deletion................................................................... 65
3
English-Spanish Electronic Dictionary User’s Manual
Set Contrast .................................................................... 66
Speech Options............................................................... 67
Advanced Search ............................................................ 68
Set Password .................................................................. 68
Security Mode ................................................................. 71
Key Tone ......................................................................... 73
Schedule Alarm ............................................................... 73
Set Sleep Time................................................................ 74
4
English-Spanish Electronic Dictionary User’s Manual
INTRODUCTION
Congratulations on purchasing the Language Teacher
®
ES400T. This product is the result of the combined efforts of
Ectaco’s linguists, engineers, and programmers, and
represents the last generation of the highest-performance
integrated educational tools available.
The Language Teacher
®
ES400T features:
Main vocabulary (English-Spanish bi-directional
dictionary) of approx. 520,000 words, including medical,
technical, legal, and business terms, as well as slang,
idioms, and general expressions
Electronic English Grammar book
Comprehensive TOEFL guide with sample tests and
instant evaluation
A selection of the most popular American idioms
English irregular verbs
12-topic book of common English phrases
Advanced English and Spanish speech reproduction
Recording function for new words
Instant reverse translation
Award-winning Vector Ultima bilingual spell-checking
system
128Kb English/Spanish personal organizer for
scheduling and telephone numbers, equipped with
search function
Local and World time
Word game
Currency exchange rate calculator
5
English-Spanish Electronic Dictionary User’s Manual
Metric converter
High-speed data exchange and synchronization with a
PC
Bilingual interface
Alarm
Audible schedule reminder
Telephone directory with exclusive lookup search and
sorting options
Data protection system
External power jack for AC operation
The text-to-speech technology employed by Language
Teacher
®
ES400T allows you to listen to a clear
pronunciation of English and Spanish words and phrases.
¾ As continuous efforts are made by the manufacturer to
ensure the best quality and performance of the
Language Teacher
the device you have purchased may slightly differ from
their description in this manual.
The Language Teacher
when in foreign countries and helps you easily communicate
with people.
®
products, some characteristics of
®
ES400T gives you confidence
General View
The general view and external features of the ES400T are
shown below.
6
English-Spanish Electronic Dictionary User’s Manual
Power Supply
The ES400T is powered by two AAA (LR03) batteries.
When the batteries become weak, a warning message will
be displayed.
7
English-Spanish Electronic Dictionary User’s Manual
In order to prevent excessively discharging the batteries and
undergoing a resulting loss of data in RAM, the Say function
and communication channels will be disabled if battery
power is low.
To restore full functionality of the device and to avoid risk of
losing user data, replace the complete set of batteries as
soon as possible. Do not mix old and new batteries.
How to replace the batteries
• Ensure the power is off. Press ON/OFF to turn the unit
off.
¾ Never try to remove batteries from the unit when the
power is on. This can seriously damage the device. If
you experience difficulty turning the unit off, press the
RESET button on the right-hand side of the keyboard
(over the O button) and reset the system. See page 9 for
additional information.
• Remove the battery compartment cover by sliding it
away from the unit.
• Remove the used batteries and replace them with new
ones.
¾ When replacing the batteries, you have 2 minutes to
place new ones in the unit without risk of losing any data
stored in RAM. Do not exceed the 2-minute limit!
Neither the manufacturer nor the dealer may be held
responsible for loss of user data
Refer to page 9 for instructions if an initialization
message appears on the screen after replacing the
batteries.
8
English-Spanish Electronic Dictionary User’s Manual
• Make sure to place the batteries according to the polarity
marks (+ -) inside the compartment.
• Replace the battery compartment cover by sliding it
toward the unit. Make sure the cover sits in place
properly.
¾ The ES400T is equipped with a jack for external power
supply.
Use of an inappropriate external power supply may
¾
cause failure of the unit and may void the warranty.
¾ The AC/DC adapter should provide 6V and min 300mA
DC current.
¾ Communication with a PC consumes a considerable
amount of energy. Always try to use an external power
supply during these operations.
To order a compatible AC/DC adapter, contact your dealer
or call +1 (800) 710-7920 within the continental US.
Initialization
The initialization routine is started
▫ when ES400T is turned on for the first time;
▫ when you remove the batteries (e.g. during
replacement);
▫ after the system has been reset with the RESET
button.
9
English-Spanish Electronic Dictionary User’s Manual
¾ The RESET button is located on the right-hand side of
the keyboard (over the O button). It can be accessed
with any thin object like a paper clip. Never use a
needle or pin for this purpose since it can damage the
unit.
Depending on the state of the system recovery resources,
the prompt Initialize system?(y/n) may appear.
• If you see Initialize system?(y/n), press the N button to
abort initialization and customization.
The System is initialized! message signals that system
initialization has been completed and the factory defined
default settings have been restored.
• Then you will see the Delete all data? message. Press
the N button to save your data.
¾ Upon first using the ES400T, or following a completed
system initialization, the interface language will be set to
English. Users that prefer to see menus and messages
in Spanish are referred to page 59 for instructions.
Keyboard
The standard American QWERTY keyboard combined with
the Spanish standard layout allows you to easily enter any
word in seconds.
To enter a diacritic sign in Spanish, press ALT + [diacritic
button]. To enter a diacritic sign in caps, press SHIFT+ ALT+
[diacritic button].
10
English-Spanish Electronic Dictionary User’s Manual
¾ Unlike PC keyboards, with the ES400T there is no need
to keep a key (such as SHIFT) down while pressing
another one. It is enough to press it only once and
release. On the indicator line you will see the
corresponding indicator.
The available set of national characters is dependent on
which language input mode is selected. Language modes
can be toggled by pressing the Ù button. ENG or SPA, or
NUM (if number mode is available) is displayed in the upper
right corner respectively.
The function and control keys are described below.
Function shortcut keys
ON/OFF Turn device On or Off
RESET Re-initialize system
1
SPELLER
Launch spell-checker
(SHIFT+ uor t)
DICT Open main dictionary
GRAM Open grammar book and TOEFL
PHONES Open telephones
PHRASES Open phrase book
VERBS Open irregular verbs
IDIOMS Open popular idioms
SCHEDULE Open schedule
1
Key1+Key2 here and further on signifies the combination of keys
to use - first press and release Key1, then press and release
Key2.
11
English-Spanish Electronic Dictionary User’s Manual
GAME Open Hangman word game
TIME Open local time
PC-LINK Open PC communication
CALC Open calculator
SETUP Open setup
Control and edit keys
Í, Î Move cursor / highlight / switch main
menu
Ð, Ï Move cursor / highlight / scroll lines /
switch main menu
u, t
Scroll pages
ENTER Execute
SPACE Enter space
ESC Close active window / cancel
ALT Enter symbols from the Spanish two-letter
keys
2
SHIFT Type in uppercase
ÍBS Delete character to the left of the cursor
Ù
SHIFT+Ï Open additional symbols
2
Press ALT + corresponding [diacritic button] to enter lowercase
Spanish diacritic letters. To obtain the uppercase of these letters,
press SHIFT+ALT + corresponding [diacritic button].
Switch language or translation direction
3
12
English-Spanish Electronic Dictionary User’s Manual
SHIFT+Ð Open record to edit
SHIFT+BS Delete record
Display
Language Teacher® ES400T features a high-resolution
screen (160x64 pixels) that provides an efficient graphical
interface for the unit’s numerous functions and applications.
The indicator line is at the top of the display. Indicators of the
battery level, shift mode, edit mode etc. are shown on this
line.
Current Record opened in the edit mode
SHIFT key pressed
Battery low
Unit locked
Alarm on
Vertical scrolling or paging enabled (more text
available)
Horisontal scrolling enabled
Highlight bar shows an inverse display of an icon or a
portion of text.
Blinking Cursor marks the position where a character will be
entered or deleted.
3
Press u, t to move between the three lines of symbols. Press
the corresponding number button to enter the desired symbol.
13
English-Spanish Electronic Dictionary User’s Manual
Main Menu
The ES400T MAIN MENU consists of 16 functional icons,
which visually organize access to the dictionary's sections.
• To display the MAIN MENU, turn the device on, or close
a current section using ESC.
• Move between icons using Ð,Ï or Í, Î.
• To open a section, whose icon is highlighted, press
ENTER.
The icons shown in the MAIN MENU represent the following
sections of the ES400T:
Dictionary
User’s Dictionary
Grammar and TOEFL
Phrase Book
Irregular Verbs
14
English-Spanish Electronic Dictionary User’s Manual
Popular Idioms
Phones
Schedule
Calculator
Metric Conversion
Currency Conversion
Hangman Word Game
World Time
Local Time
15
English-Spanish Electronic Dictionary User’s Manual
PC-Link
Setup
DICTIONARY
The most important part of the ES400T, the Dictionary
section includes English-Spanish and Spanish-English
dictionaries containing approximately 260,000 words each.
• Select the Dictionary section from the MAIN MENU or
press the DICT hotkey.
¾ Following system initialization, the English-Spanish
dictionary is selected by default.
16
English-Spanish Electronic Dictionary User’s Manual
Viewing entries
• To view a translation of a word, enter it from the
keyboard.
• While you are typing, the headword closest in spelling to
the portion you have entered so far will be displayed
under the input line. When the desired word is
displayed, press ENTER to see its translation(s) or
explanation(s).
¾ The dictionary search is not case-sensitive, so you can
type in any case you want.
¾ You can speed up your Dictionary work by turning the
Advanced Search mode OFF (see page 68).
Use:
17
English-Spanish Electronic Dictionary User’s Manual
• Ð,Ï to scroll through the translations
• t, u to switch between adjacent entries
• Press ESC or any letter button to return to the input line
and translate another word in the same dictionary.
You can change the translation direction by pressing Ù.
Parts of Speech and Gender Labels
Translations or explanations of a headword are listed in the
alphabetical order by part of speech.
A – adjective NPR – proper noun
ABBR – abbreviation NUM – numeral
ADV – adverb PART- particle
ART – article PHR – phrase
AUX – auxiliary PREF – prefix
CONJ – conjunction PREP – preposition
ID – idiom PRON – pronoun
INTRJ – interjection SUFF - suffix
N – noun V – verb
18
English-Spanish Electronic Dictionary User’s Manual
Spanish nouns are marked with gender and number labels.
F – feminine MN – masculine or neuter
FN – feminine or neuter MPL – masculine plural
FPL – feminine plural N – neuter
M – masculine NPL – neuter plural
MF – masculine or feminine PL – plural
MFPL – masculine or
feminine plural
Instant Reverse Translation
For your convenience, ES400T provides an Instant Reverse
Translation for all words and expressions in the Dictionary.
• Press Í, Î to select a word or expression for reverse
translation.
• Press ENTER to obtain its instant reverse translation.
19
English-Spanish Electronic Dictionary User’s Manual
You can make up to 4 reverse translations in succession
(without closing windows). The message Last translation is
displayed if the limit is reached.
Use:
4
• ESC to close the Reverse translation windows
• DICT to return to the input line
• any letter button to return to the inputted word
Spell-checker Vector Ultima
The multilingual spell-checker Vector Ultima is one of the
most advanced on the market. When you are unsure of the
spelling of a word, the Vector Ultima allows you to enter
the word as you hear it and choose a spelling version from a
list of suggestions.
• Type the word as you hear it.
4
Windows will be closed in the reverse order.
20
English-Spanish Electronic Dictionary User’s Manual
• Press SHIFT+SPELLER on the keyboard (SHIFT and
either of the t, u buttons). A list of suggested Variants
appears on the screen.
• Select the desired word by using Ð,Ï and press
ENTER. You will see the translation(s) of this word.
21
English-Spanish Electronic Dictionary User’s Manual
¾ If the spell-checker is unable to suggest alternative
words, the No variants message is shown.
Pronunciation of words and sentences
One of the most exciting features of the ES400T is the TTS
(Text-To-Speech) technology, which can pronounce English
and Spanish words and phrases for you.
• Display an entry.
Use:
• SAY to listen to the pronunciation of the headword
• SHIFT+SAY to listen to the pronunciation of all
translations
• You also can listen to any selected words or phrases.
Simply make the selection by using Í, Î and press
SAY.
22
English-Spanish Electronic Dictionary User’s Manual
¾ Device is able to generate pronunciation of any text, not
limited to dictionary entries. Simply type a word or
phrase in the input line of the corresponding Dictionary
and press SAY to listen to its pronunciation.
¾ In the Speech Options subsection of the Setup section
(see page 67) you may adjust speech frequency and
speed to suit your own pronunciation style. Volume can
be conveniently changed “on the fly” by using the
external switch (see General view, page 6).
USER'S DICTIONARY
ES400T allows you to create your own vocabulary.
• Select the User’s Dictionary section from the MAIN
MENU and choose one of the dictionaries.
23
Loading...