TERMIUM Plus® users have on-line access to several writing assistance tools to obtain guidance on questions of style and usage in English and in French.

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TERMIUM Plus® is a terminological and linguistic database. We have done our best to ensure its accessibility. Should you have any questions regarding the TERMIUM Plus® database, please contact us.

To launch a tool, click on the corresponding image.

Since 1999, the Translation Bureau has published worthwhile articles about various aspects of the Spanish language in "El Rincón Español" (the Spanish corner) of L'Actualité langagière/ Language Update, its specialized publication on linguistic issues. Caleidoscopio del español (Spanish kaleidoscope) brings these articles together and makes them available with just a click.

Caleidoscopio del español offers articles written by translators and terminologists from the Translation Bureau and by outside contributors of recognized prestige. These may be detailed articles about topics of ongoing interest or trilingual glossaries with new and useful terminology for all those who live with English, French and Spanish. Readers are advised to consider when the articles were published and, if necessary, to check with more recent sources, since usage may have evolved.

The Caleidoscopio del español collection is growing as new issues of "El Rincón Español" are published in L'Actualité langagière/ Language Update.

Caleidoscopio del español is available only in Spanish.

The Translation Bureau's quarterly journal for language professionals, Language Update/L'Actualité langagière (formerly Terminology Update), has published articles on language problems for decades and now many of these articles are available at the click of your mouse.

Chroniques de langue offers a look at trends in French usage over the years, as seen by language professionals, some of them regular contributors. Their well-researched articles are of continuing interest but must be read in context and checked against more up-to-date sources, since some aspects of usage may have evolved.

Chroniques de langue will be regularly augmented as new issues of Language Update/L'Actualité langagière are published.

Chroniques de langue:Available in French only.

Clefs du français pratique deals with the problems of grammar, syntax and usage that regularly confront anyone who is called upon to write in French. Rules are briefly stated and accompanied by clear examples related to the Canadian context.

Clefs du français pratique is updated regularly.

Clefs du français pratique: Available in French only.

ConjugArt presents the conjugations in all tenses and moods of some 8 000 French verbs, including technical verbs, Canadianisms and European regionalisms.

Two search methods are available: simple and advanced search. The advanced search function lets you target groups of 10 or more verbs and display them on screen. Using the copy-and-paste feature allows you to insert the desired conjugation into the text you are working on.

ConjugArt Available in French only.

The Dictionnaire des coocurrences by Jacques Beauchesne is a useful tool for anyone who hesitates when choosing a word, unsure of the most appropriate adjective or verb.

The author proposes an impressive list of suggestions for many nouns and for the new words that appear every day. His inspiration comes from the great novelists, contemporary authors, wide-circulation newspapers and magazines and specialized journals in the French language.

The Dictionnaire des coocurrences is an original work by Jacques Beauchesne, published in paper format by Guérin.

Dictionnaire des coocurrences: Available in French only.

At the click of a mouse, you can now read selected articles from past issues of Language Update (formerly Terminology Update) that deal with English language usage and style, translation problems, and other language-related matters.

We invite you to look at our sampling of articles produced over the last thirty years by a diverse group of contributors who have written clearly and succinctly about subjects of continuing interest.

Favourite Articles will be regularly augmented as new issues of Language Update are published.

Favourite Articles: Available in English only.

HyperGrammar2 is an intuitive self-teaching tool designed to help you improve your knowledge of grammar whether English is your first language or not. Made up of 13 modules, this tutorial deals with such topics as parts of speech, spelling, punctuation, capitalization and much more. At your own pace, you can navigate through the course one module at a time or you can choose to focus on a single topic using the hyperlinks. All site modules include examples and most have question-and-answer review pages to help you understand and assimilate the subject matter.

This product has been adapted from HyperGrammar, the very popular on-line tutorial developed between 1994 and 1996 by the Department of English, Faculty of Arts, University of Ottawa. Work on this site is ongoing, with new data being added at regular intervals.

HyperGrammar2 is available in English only. Note, however, that you can access similar content in French in Le Bellerive, one of the writing tools in the TERMIUM Plus® collection.

This jurilinguistic work is an invaluable tool, filling the need for legal translation and writing guides. It helps solve the many language problems associated with the distinctive nature of legal language, the co-existence and interaction of two systems of law, the influence of common law on Canadian public law and its language, and the gradual and subtle anglicization not only of vocabulary, but also of syntax and style.

The Juridictionnaire is a compendium of the difficulties and expressions in legal French, in and-to a lesser extent-outside Canada.

Juridictionnaire Available in French only.

Le Bellerive - Didacticiel sur les principales conventions typographiques françaises is an on-line self-instruction tool that helps users learn the main rules of word division, capitalization, numerical expressions, italics and punctuation at their own pace.

Exercises and review tests follow the lesson screens to enable users to assess how much they have learned. Le Bellerive is based on sources that are considered authoritative in Canada and in the rest of the Francophonie.

Le Bellerive : Available in French only.

Le guide du rédacteur provides answers to a multitude of questions, including such topics as capitalization, italics, punctuation, numerical expressions in written text, abbreviations, quotations and hyphenation at the end of a line.

It outlines the many techniques available to incorporate the feminine gender, general rules for correspondence, principles of plain language and detailed rules for bibliographic references.

Lastly, an entire chapter is devoted to geographical names.

Le guide du rédacteur: Available in French only.

The Lexique analogique is a useful tool which lists French equivalents for widespread English terms that are difficult to translate. It analyzes a number of common problems, English buzzwords and vogue words, and helps the user generate ideas to find the right shade of meaning and eventually the mot juste.

Lexique analogique: Available in French only.

The Canadian Style gives concise answers to questions concerning written English in the Canadian context. It covers such topics as the decimal point, abbreviations, capital letters and punctuation marks, hyphenation, spelling and frequently misused or confused words. It deals with letters, memos and report formats, notes, indexes and bibliographies, and Canadian geographical names.

The Canadian Style includes techniques for writing clearly and concisely, editing documents, and avoiding stereotyping in communications.

The Canadian Style: Available in English only.

Word Tailoring is an easy-to-consult dictionary-style reference tool that allows you to access a wealth of information quickly and easily. With a few clicks you can find a number of English equivalents for a given French word or phrase used in everyday administrative writing. As these French keywords often have multiple meanings, Word Tailoring contains concise examples in both official languages for each equivalent to help you select the best possible translation for your context. The examples are taken from bilingual government documents and are edited for conciseness and clarity.

Work on this site is ongoing, with new data being added at regular intervals.

Word Tailoring is available in English only. Note, however, that you can access similar content in French in the Lexique analogique, one of the writing tools in the TERMIUM Plus® collection.

Writing Tips contains concise observations on and examples of English grammar, usage and style problems encountered daily by writers. Writing Tips explains modern-day Canadian usage in a straightforward and uncluttered manner. The examples used to illustrate these language problems reflect Canadian society, past and present.

Work on this site is ongoing, with new data being added to Writing Tips at regular intervals.

Writing Tips: Available in English only.