Dictionnaire des Francophones: A New Paradigm in Francophone Lexicography

Abstract

Dictionnaire des francophones (DDF) is a general francophone dictionary, the result of an institutional-collaborative project, the goal of which is to provide a new online resource. It aims to cover all varieties of the French lexicon from a descriptive point of view and to highlight the plurality of linguistic norms while endeavouring to treat different linguistic varieties equally. The paper focuses on the dictionary-making process and lexicography technologies used in the project. Some particularly innovative aspects of the DDF are discussed, such as the institutional support and the scientific background in which the project is grounded; the hybrid nature of the dictionary, combining imported resources in a relational database, enriched by a complex speaker-based collaborative input; inclusivity of linguistic variation and the modes of its representation. Taking into account these characteristics as well as some other features of the dictionary lead us to the conclusion that the DDF is a unique object in comparison to existing traditional and collaborative resources, providing a new paradigm in francophone lexicography.