2. Illustrated Dictionary for learners of French in Canada
(beginner and intermediate)
over entries
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.

3. MENU • A Canadian First! • Grammar • The word list
• Over 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

4. 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 English to communicate with each other on a daily basis. 

5. The word list
Le Myosotis is based on a corpus of oral and written texts
from 224 teaching units
(approx lessons)
used in core and immersion French classes from grades 4 to 9 throughout Canada.

6. abandon abréviation abuser adoption adoucir allié altitude audace
The word list
An additional 400 frequent words
from the French database Lexique 3
were added to the list.
abandon
abréviation
abuser
adoption
adoucir
allié
altitude
audace

7. tintamarre épluchette voyageur Nunavut courriel blogue Fransaskois
The word list
Vocabulary reflecting
our cultural heritage
and new technologies
complete the word list.
tintamarre
épluchette
voyageur
Nunavut
courriel
blogue
Fransaskois
cégep
virus

8. Over 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

9. English-French Index
• All of the words used to translate the entries and sample sentences

10. Parts of speech
• The parts of speech are identified after each entry. No abbreviations are used.

11. Fixed phrases and compound nouns
• Le Myosotis facilitates the search process of fixed phrases and compound nouns through multiple entries.

12. Homographs
• Homographs have separate entries and are numbered.

13. 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 front and back covers.

14. Conjugation of verbs
• The charts are accompanied by simple instructions.

15. 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.

16. Conjugation of verbs
• Common irregular verbs are conjugated in full at their entry.

17. Conjugation of verbs
• All other irregular verbs are conjugated in the most frequent tenses, or referred to a root verb.

18. 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.  

19. 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.

20. 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.

21. 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.

22. Grammar
• The basic rules of French grammar introduced in the curriculum documents are presented in 34 charts within the dictionary.

23. Grammar
• Grammar charts appear as close to the appropriate entries as possible. Cross-referencing enables students to refer to charts on different pages.

24. Language boxes
• Over 320 language boxes provide additional information about faux amis, spelling issues and confusing meanings.

25. 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.

26. 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.

27. Cultural vignettes
• Le Myosotis contains 74 vignettes dealing with French-Canadian and Amerindian cultural realities.

28. 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.

29. 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.

30. 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.

31. Illustrations
• A second type of illustration consists of colour illustrations of objects or events.

32. Colour spreads
• Three large colour spreads (2 pages each) deal with various topics: le Canada, les saisons, les chambres d’ados.

34. • Black and white outlines of the colour spreads are labeled.

35. 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. 
What’s 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.