Dictionnaire Vivant de la Langue Francaise (DVLF): Expanding the French Dictionary

FAIN: HD-50978-10

University of Chicago (Chicago, IL 60637-5418)
Robert Morrissey (Project Director: October 2009 to February 2012)

Development and testing of an interactive site for an online dictionary of French that engages users in creation of the dictionary's output.

French dictionaries have been notoriously top-down in their conception and realization; even today they remain the province of a small number of academic and commercial specialists. The goal of the DVLF project is to transform this model through an experimental, interactive, and community-based approach to French lexicography. ARTFL will develop new computational methods to mine the vast digital corpora and abundant social intelligence available online. This development will enable broad public access to an unparalleled set of linguistic tools and resources, both synchronic and diachronic, with the potential to change user interaction with dictionaries significantly and lead to better descriptions of emergent word use. The DVLF will be a dynamic lexicographic search engine both informed by, and in contrast to, extant static reference works; it will offer a more responsive and inclusive vision of how language changes without forgoing the strengths of traditional dictionary compilation.

Media Coverage

NOUVEAU DICTIONNAIRE EN LIGNE (New online dictionary) (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Jacques François
Publication: Interlingua
Date: 6/29/2011
Abstract: Professor François's blog/news entry details many of the DVLF's distinguishing features.
URL: http://www.interlingua.fr/accueil/actualites/

Associated Products

DVLF Website (Web Resource)
Title: DVLF Website
Author: The ARTFL Project
Abstract: Le Dictionnaire vivant de la langue française (DVLF) represents a new way of looking at French dictionaries. While we include results from a number of traditional dictionary resources, we’ve also created a way for you to add your own definitions or word senses to the information we display. We can also show you dozens of example sentences for the words you look up so that you can see how the words you’re curious about have changed over the centuries. Additionally, you can rate and critique our example sentences, which allows the DVLF to automatically feature the best and most useful information we have. The DVLF is here to give you a better dictionary, one that reflects the way YOU use language.
Year: 2011
Primary URL: http://dvlf.uchicago.edu
Primary URL Description: Project Website

Re-imagining French Lexicography: The Dictionnaire vivant de la langue française (Article)
Title: Re-imagining French Lexicography: The Dictionnaire vivant de la langue française
Author: Glenn Roe
Author: Timothy Allen
Author: Robert Morrissey
Abstract: The Dictionnaire vivant de la langue française (DVLF), developed by The ARTFL Project at the University of Chicago, represents an experimental, interactive, and community-based approach to French lexicography. The DVLF enables broad public access to a wide variety of linguistic tools and resources, with the goal of changing user interaction with dictionaries and providing better descriptions of emergent word use. In this article we describe the history of the DVLF and provide a survey of similar community-oriented electronic dictionaries. We then proceed to a presentation of the dictionary’s many features, including the variety of its definitions and mechanisms for user interaction. The article concludes with a discussion of ARTFL’s plans for the future development of the DVLF.
Year: 2011
Primary URL: http://www.dictionarysociety.com/
Primary URL Description: Publisher website
Secondary URL: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0ByMtTGy25LXxNzM4MTIzM2YtNWJiOC00ODdiLWE4YWItMDNhNjE4OGY5MjA3&hl=en_US
Secondary URL Description: Article proof online
Access Model: Closed
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Dictionaries: The Journal of the DSNA
Publisher: Dictionary Society of North America

Seeing the dictionary again for the very first time: The Dictionnaire vivant de la langue française (Article)
Title: Seeing the dictionary again for the very first time: The Dictionnaire vivant de la langue française
Author: Timothy Allen
Abstract: This article describes the DVLF's features and outlines classroom usage scenarios for an audience of French instructors.
Year: 2011
Primary URL: http://www.frenchteachers.org/hq/nb.htm
Primary URL Description: Descriptive information for the National Bulletin of the American Association of Teachers of French.
Secondary URL: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qWjxh8JLGzoUpFqqOYJDj8Y6mQ2Pv7vypwokKwQx7yk/edit?hl=en_US
Secondary URL Description: Article text.
Access Model: Open
Format: Other
Periodical Title: National Bulletin
Publisher: American Association of Teachers of French

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