Official French Dictionary Now Includes Worldwide French Usage

 

Have you ever thrown a camel?

Camels are large and heavy animals, so it would be hard to do.

But in the French-speaking Democratic¹ Republic of the Congo, "to throw a camel" is a way of saying "to make a spelling mistake."

Here's how the phrase sounds in French.

"Lance un chameau."

In the past, a phrase like that was not accepted by the French government as an official French term.

But recently, the French Ministry² of Culture worked on a new kind of dictionary that accepts the idea that many people outside of France speak the language. The language has changed over time and is different in places like Ivory³ Coast in West Africa or Quebec in Canada, compared to how it is in Paris.

A new online dictionary, called the French speakers' dictionary, includes new French words from around the world. It was released⁴ on March 18 – just in time for International French Speaker's Day on March 20.

Supporters say the new internet dictionary is more democratic than earlier French dictionaries that only showed the way highly⁵ educated French people spoke⁶.

The new dictionary includes unofficial words like "pourriel," which means an unwanted email if you are in Canada. It is a word based on "courriel," which just means an email.

French President Emmanuel Macron proposed⁷ the idea of the dictionary in 2018. It now contains about 600,000 terms.

Roselyne Bachelot is the French Culture Minister. She said the dictionary is not just for France's 67 million citizens, but for the 300 million French speakers worldwide.

The aim, supporters say, is to recognize the way language changes. Words and expressions included in the dictionary come from over 50 countries – even from the United States. Some people in the southern U.S. state of Louisiana speak French.

People can see the dictionary on a website or with an app. Users⁸ can also send in new words they think should be included.

Official dictionaries produced by the French Academy⁹ in Paris were first published hundreds of years ago and are regularly updated.

New words in the online dictionary will be scientifically studied by a group of experts. The crowdsourced information website, Wikipedia, is said to have served as a model.

The internet dictionary, however, has a new part you cannot find in a book. If you live in Senegal, for example, you can search the dictionary, and it will give you the definition¹⁰ of a word based on its use in that country.

Introducing the project in 2018, Macron said France needed to understand that it did "not carry the destiny¹¹ of the French language on its own." He added that France is "a country among others" that learns, speaks and writes in French.

Louise Mushikiwabo is from Rwanda. She heads an international French-speaking organization. She proposed this word:

"Techniquer."

In her country, it is used to describe the process of solving problems using limited resources.

VOA's Lisa Bryant spoke with some people in Paris who speak French but are not from France. They liked the idea of the new dictionary.

Nicole Sika is from Ivory Coast. She suggested two words should be added: "Go" which means a female¹² friend, and "zo" which describes someone who is well-dressed.

Other French dictionaries are changing, too. But this is the first time a dictionary supported by the French government has included words that are not often used in France.

"The French no longer have a monopoly¹³ on French," the French magazine L'Express wrote recently, "and that is good news."

Words in This Story

spell –v. to say, write or print the letters of a word

phrase –n. a group of two or more words that express a single idea but do not usually form a complete sentence

app –n. a program that runs on a computer or mobile¹⁴ phone that performs a special function

crowd-source –v. to get information by asking a large group of people for a response

destiny –n. what will happen in the future; the thing that someone or something will experience in the future

monopoly –n. complete ownership or control of something

1 democratic   

adj.民主的；民主主义的，有民主精神的

参考例句：

• Their country has democratic government.他们国家实行民主政体。
• He has a democratic work-style.他作风民主。

2 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

3 ivory   

n.象牙，乳白色；adj.象牙制的，乳白色的

参考例句：

• My grandmother has some jewelry made of ivory.我祖母有一些象牙首饰。
• It is carved from ivory.它是用象牙雕成的。

4 released   

v.释放( release的过去式和过去分词 )；放开；发布；发行

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• With hindsight it is easy to say they should not have released him. 事后才说他们本不应该释放他，这倒容易。

5 highly   

adv.高度地，极，非常；非常赞许地

参考例句：

• It is highly important to provide for the future.预先做好准备非常重要。
• The teacher speaks very highly of the boy's behaviour.老师称赞这个男孩的表现。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 proposed   

被提议的

参考例句：

• There is widespread discontent among the staff at the proposed changes to pay and conditions. 员工对改变工资和工作环境的建议普遍不满。
• an outcry over the proposed change 对拟议的改革所发出的强烈抗议

8 users   

用户，使用者( user的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The new software will prove a boon to Internet users. 这种新软件将会对互联网用户大有益处。
• Ramps should be provided for wheelchair users. 应该给轮椅使用者提供坡道。

9 academy   

n.(高等)专科院校；学术社团，协会，研究院

参考例句：

• This is an academy of music.这是一所音乐专科学院。
• I visited Chinese Academy of Sciences yesterday.我昨天去访问了中国科学院。

10 definition   

n.定义；限定，确定；清晰度

参考例句：

• The book attempts a definition of his role in world politics.该书要阐明的是他在世界政局中的作用。
• I made a definition for this word.我给这个字下了定义。

11 destiny   

n.命运，定数，天命

参考例句：

• Nobody knows his own destiny.没有人知道自己的命运。
• It was her destiny to become famous.她命里注定出名。

12 female   

adj.雌的，女(性)的；n.雌性的动物，女子

参考例句：

• We only employ female workers.我们只雇用女工。
• The animal in the picture was a female elephant.照片上的动物是头母象。

13 monopoly   

n.垄断，专卖，垄断物（商品），专卖商品

参考例句：

• His monopoly of shipbuilding in that country has been established.他对那个国家造船业的垄断已经建立起来。
• In many countries,tobacco is a government monopoly.在许多国家，烟草由政府专营。

14 mobile   

adj.可移动的，易变的，机动的；n.运动物体

参考例句：

• The old lady sits on a mobile chair every morning.那位老妇人每天上午坐在一把可携带使用的椅子上。
• She's much more mobile now that she's bought a car.自从她买了汽车后，活动量就大多了。