The West Flemish Dictionary released before Christmas
The first edition Grand Dictionnaire du Flamand Occidental de France is not the first dictionary dedicated to the West Flemish used in France. Tegaere Toegaen, a French association, released a pocket dictionary in 1985 and the Davidsfonds, a Belgian organisation, published another one in 2005. Yet this West Flemish dictionary by the Institut de la Langue Régionale Flamande is an unprecedented initiative because of its scope and comprehensiveness. After 8 years of collecting, some 12,300 West Flemish words in use have been gathered together in this reference book which provides its readers with such essential information as pronunciation, gender, plural, conjugation and also 5,000 expressions for a better understanding of all the subtleties of the language. Neologisms created by native speakers have also been added into the dictionary as they are required to linguistically encompass today’s reality and show the creative dynamism of the language. The dictionary contains more than 23,500 entries with the French version. The spelling used complies with the conventions set after the works of linguists and recommended by recommended by the Institut de la Langue Flamand. Because it has been composed with the help of West Flemish native speakers from France, the Grand Dictionnaire du Flamand-Occidental de France perfectly reflects the language as it is spoken in the 21st century in our region and facilitates the intercomprehension with the West Flemish spoken abroad.
You can get it :
- on our website : Woordenboek van 't West-Vlamsch
- in our office : 27 bis place Norbert Segard in Steenvoorde on Saturday Dec. 22nd from 9 am to 8 pm, on Monday Dec. 24th from 9 am to 4 pm and then during opening hours
- in some good bookshops