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Antidote Adds OQLF’s New French Term Recommendations
April 25, 2023
Press releases
The latest free update of Antidote, 11v4, adds a new feature to the acclaimed writing assistance software: French neologism recommendations. Druide Informatique and the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) have come together to develop this new functionality that showcases the Office’s recommended French-language neologisms—terms developed to replace new words borrowed from English and other languages that have only recently come into usage.
As part of its mission, the OQLF follows linguistic trends and proposes French equivalents for emerging words from other languages. These new terms, or neologisms, are then featured in the Office’s Vitrine linguistique—a comprehensive and free online tool that includes an extensive terminological database, the Grand dictionnaire terminologique. Typically, it takes time before new terms are added to traditional dictionaries, as they describe established word usage. However, this leaves something of a reference gap in French that favours the habitual use of words borrowed from other languages. With Antidote 11v4, Druide and the OQLF aim to encourage the implantation of new French terms instead by making them readily available within writing assistance tools.
When a borrowed term is used, Antidote’s French-language corrector will now propose the OQLF’s recommended French equivalent. With a single click, users will be able to learn more about the proposed term in the French dictionary, where it will bear the tag NÉOLOGISME to indicate that its usage hasn’t yet stabilized. The entry will also note the term’s source and creation date. These new words will be reviewed regularly, and once the term has entered common usage, the tag will be removed.
“We’re thrilled to make the Office’s recommendations available to our users,” says Maud Pironneau, Director of linguistic development at Druide. “This new tool should prove useful for language professionals, students and journalists.” “The popularity of Antidote’s tools will encourage the rapid spread and implantation of French terms into common usage,” adds Ginette Galarneau, President & CEO of the OQLF. “This feature grew out of the fruitful collaboration between our team of language experts and Druide’s and will help the Office in its mandate to promote the use of French throughout Québec.”
The OQLF ensures that French is the official and customary language used in the workplace, communications, trade, business and public administration in Québec. It develops terminology and provides linguistic tools and services. It also ensures compliance with the Charter of the French Language and monitors the evolution of Québec’s linguistic climate.
Druide Informatique produces and markets Antidote, the most comprehensive writing assistance software suite available for English and French, as well as Typing Pal, the renowned typing tutorial application. The company also created WebElixir, a quality-assurance service for websites. In addition to its software, Druide also publishes French-language literature and reference works through its subsidiary, Éditions Druide.