Illustrated Dictionary

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Illustrated Dictionary for learners of French in
Canada (beginner and intermediate)

• over 10 000 entries
• 12 000 sample sentences with their English
  equivalent
• comprehensive English-French index
• grammatical agreements
• conjugation keys
• about 1500 synonyms and opposites
• 34 grammar charts
• 320 language notes
• 74 cultural vignettes
• over 250 illustrated words and picture pages
  in colour

The first FSL dictionary entirely developed in
Canada, based on a corpus of teaching units
approved for Core French and immersion
curricula.
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MENU

• A Canadian First!
• The word list
• Over 10 000 entries
• English-French Index
• Sample entries
• Parts of speech
• Fixed phrases and compound nouns
• Homographs
• Verb conjugation
• Gender and number
• Abbreviations
• Sample phrases and sentences
• English translations

Grammar Language boxes Synonyms and
antonyms Names of places and people Cultural
vignettes Canadian flora and fauna
Illustrations Colour spreads Conclusion
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A Canadian First!
Le Myosotis is the first FSL dictionary developed
entirely in Canada.Designed for 9-to-15 year
old learners of French who use Englishto
communicate with each other on a daily basis. 
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The word list
Le Myosotis is based on a corpusof oral and
written texts from 224 teaching units (approx.
1500 lessons) used in core and immersion French
classes from grades 4 to 9 throughout Canada.
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The word list
abandon abréviation abuser adoption adoucir allié
altitude audace
An additional 400 frequent words from the French
database Lexique 3 were added to the list.
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The word list
tintamarre épluchette voyageur Nunavut courriel bl
ogue Fransaskois cégep virus
Vocabulary reflecting our cultural heritage and
new technologies complete the word list.
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Over 10 000 entries
9260 words from the corpus of teaching
materials 400 frequent words from Lexique 3
about one hundred cultural words variants of
verbs, nouns and adjectives
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English-French Index
All of the words used to translate the entries
and sample sentences
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Parts of speech
The parts of speech are identified after each
entry. No abbreviations are used.
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Fixed phrases and compound nouns
Le Myosotis facilitates thesearch process of
fixed phrases and compound nouns through
multiple entries.
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Homographs
Homographs have separate entries and are
numbered.
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Conjugation of verbs
French conjugation of verbs is a complex and
often confusing process even for native speakers.
In Le Myosotis, verb endings are presented in
easy-to-understand charts on the inside of
frontand back covers.
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Conjugation of verbs
The charts are accompanied by simple
instructions.
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Conjugation of verbs
For verbs ending in -er, the student is invited
to consult the chart on the back of the first
cover page ( ? ) where the endings of the most
common moods and tenses are presented.    
Stem variations are indicated within the entry
itself.
Verbs in -ir ( ? ) with the present participle
in -issant are presented on the back of the last
cover page.
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Conjugation of verbs
Common irregular verbs are conjugated in full
at their entry.
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Conjugation of verbs
All other irregular verbs are conjugated in the
most frequent tenses, or referred to a root verb.
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Gender and number of nouns and adjectives
Gender of nouns is indicated prior to the
entry through the use of determiners (le, un
la, une), thus reinforcing this characteristic
of the French language.
Masculine and feminine forms, regular and
irregular, are given in full.
Irregular forms of the plural are given at
their entry.  
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Abbreviations
Abbreviations and truncated word forms appear
next to the more formal spellings of words.  
Whenever a French abbreviation is more common
than its formal counterpart, it is afforded a
separate entry.
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Sample phrases and sentences
Multiple expressions containing the same entry
are presented in phrases and sentences.
Words that have no English equivalent are
placed in a context that makes them easy for the
student to comprehend.
Sample sentences are presented on separate
lines to make the dictionary easy to consult.
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English translations
Every entry is followed by one or more English
equivalents. Sample sentences provide the learner
with a sense of the different meanings of each
word. Each sentence, in turn, is translated into
English.
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Grammar
The basic rules of French grammar introduced
in the curriculum documents are presented in 34
charts within the dictionary.
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Grammar
Grammar charts appear as close to the
appropriate entries as possible.
Cross-referencing enables students to refer to
charts on different pages.
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Language boxes
Over 320 language boxes provide additional
information about faux amis, spelling issues
and confusing meanings.
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Synonyms and antonyms
Le Myosotis pays particular attention to
synonyms and related terms, as well as antonyms.
Approximately 1500 entries are networked in this
manner to facilitate vocabulary enrichment. Few
dictionaries go to such lengths to foster
learner independence and creativity.
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Names of places and people
The dictionary contains the names of all the
Canadian provinces and territories. It also
identifies the names of the people who live
there.
Information is also provided about most
countries of origin of Canadian people.
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Cultural vignettes
Le Myosotis contains 74 vignettes dealing with
French-Canadian and Amerindian cultural
realities.
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Cultural vignettes
  Some vignettes are identified with this
pictograph. It symbolizes the French presence
within the Canadian identity and includes aspects
of our Amerindian heritage. The circle suggests a
harmonious whole.

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Canadian fauna and flora
Each Canadian province and territory has its
official flower and bird. Illustrations of each
appear within the dictionary.
Animal entries provide the names given to the
male, female and offspring occasionally, they
also include the word describing the sounds
produced by the animal.
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Illustrations
Some 250 illustrations and colour spreads play
an important educational role in Le Myosotis.
  A first type of illustration brings together
words that might create confusion in the minds of
second language learners.
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Illustrations
A second type of illustration consists of
colour illustrations of objects or events.
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Colour spreads
Three large colour spreads (2 pages each) deal
with various topics le Canada, les saisons,
les chambres dados.
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(No Transcript)
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Black and white outlines of the colour spreads
are labeled.
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Conclusion (Extract from the preface by Pierre
Calvé)
Though a good dictionary constitutes a natural
complement to teaching materials, no-one to
date, as far as I can ascertain, has taken the
time to produce a tool based on a corpus of the
oral and written texts actually used by the FSL
learner.   One need only read the introduction to
the present dictionary to realize the undeniable
usefulness of a tool based on the themes and
linguistic content of those approved teaching
materials used within the different Canadian
educational institutions.    Whats more, one
quickly realizes that this dictionary is more
than a mere reference tool. The numerous charts
and language boxes, the illustrative examples,
the lexical and grammatical comments, the
cultural vignettes and the illustrations
constitute a rich bank of resources capable of
clarifying certain difficulties with the French
language as well as enriching and facilitating
the learning process.
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www.dicomyosotis.ca www.myosotis.ca