Assistive Technology & Information Centre

Student Disability Services Trinity College Dublin

A Students Guide to the Franklin Speaking Dictionary and Thesaurus

Introduction:

The primary functions of the Merriam-Webster’s Speaking Dictionary and Thesaurus are:

• to find over 120,000 words (with definitions). • to see a word’s synonyms, antonyms, and other related words using the built in thesaurus. • to hear the pronunciation of headwords and definitions. • to use a grammar guide. • to use the Matchmaker function to find words whose spelling your unsure. • to play some educational games.

First Glance:

Although it may at first look confusing, accessing the main functions of the dictionary is simple.

Power on the Franklin Dictionary with the power button

Using the Speaking Dictionary and Thesaurus.

The following keys are useful: dict: Goes to the dictionary thes: Goes to the thesaurus games: Goes to the games menu. learn: Goes to the learning exercises menu.

The main other components are the screen and the keyboard.

Also on the keyboard are the following useful keys:

menu: This function displays the main menu for the dictionary. enter: Enters a word or select an item. say: Says a word. back: Backs up, erases a letter, or turns off the highlight an entry. clear: Clears the screen, allowing new entry

directional keys: Move cursor around the screen fn: This key when held down changes what other keys do, depending on what is written in yellow beside them. eg, ‘say’ (say the word) goes to ‘read’ (read the word and the entire definition).

Using the Dictionary:

• Press the power on button to start. • Press the menu button to access the options. • Choose an option by pressing enter on the desired option. Use the cursor key to locate the option that you want. • Choose the dict button and then enter a word (eg. Eulogy). This screen lets you enter in the text of the word you want to look up. • Press enter to view a definition. • Press the cursor down to read the definition. • If you don’t know how to spell the word correctly, type the word with ? in place of the letters, that you are unsure of. eg. sear?h, press enter, and enter again to select the word you were looking for. • To hear the pronunciation of a word press say. To hear the definition press fn + say. • Press clear when done.

Using the Thesaurus:

• Press the thes button. • Type in a word. • Press the enter button to view the thesaurus entry. • Press the down button on the cursor panel plus space to read the entry and press fn and then say to hear the text being read for you.

There is also a, a volume control button, headphone jack and an inbuilt speaker. There is also a demonstration tutorial, which will guide you through a demonstration. It is possible to save up to 40 words in My Word List for personal study. To add a word choose My Word List from the main menu and add a word.

Book cards.

There are a limited number of books that can be read with for the Franklin. These come in the form of cards you fit into the device.

If you need to install a book card:

• Turn your unit off. • Turn the unit over. • Align the tabs on the book card with the notches in the slot. • Press the book card down until it snaps into place.

Further information on Franklin Speaking Dictionary and Thesaurus can be found at www.franklin.com or contact Hugh O’Neill - Assistive Technology Support Officer on 608 1153 or email [email protected] for further help. Information on other assistive technology devices can be found on our web page at http://www.tcd.ie/disability/aticcont.html