The Dictionary of Francophones, the first of its kind, was launched on Tuesday, March 16, during the Week of the Francophonie. This online dictionary was commissioned by French President Emmanuel Macron. It is developed by a scientific council of academics from several French-speaking countries.
The 300,000 French speakers around the world now have their own dictionary that lists nearly 600,000 terms and expressions. A few examples cited by Paul de Sinety, general delegate for the French language at the Ministry of Culture: “girafer”, in West Africa, means “to copy” when at school; “soulaison”, in Reunion Island, means “drunkenness”.
There is also “baisser les pieds”, which means “to give up” in Senegal, while in France we say “baisser les bras”. And yesterday, a new word entered the dictionary, suggested by Louise Mushikiwabo, the Secretary General of La Francophonie. It is the verb “techniquer”, used in Rwanda, meaning “to find a solution with few means”. Because this dictionary is evolving and participatory.
Each user will be able to suggest terms or expressions,” notes Paul de Sinety. And once they have been validated by the scientific council coordinated by the eminent linguist Bernard Cerquiglini, with whom more than 15 academics from all over the world work in the French-speaking world, once these terms or expressions have been validated, they will be freely accessible in this dictionary of French speakers.