CALICO Software Review

CALICO Journal, Volume 17 Number 2, pp. 334-350

Word Ace! for French 1.01

Paul Robberecht - University of Alberta

Product At A Glance Product type: English-French/French learning software Language Level: Beginner to advanced Activity: Translate, conjugate, verb game, synonym game Media format: 1 CD-ROM Computer platforms: Windows 3.1/95 / Macintosh System 7.1+

1. General description WordAce! Version 1.5 is a product of Transparent Language, Inc., a New Hampshire company specializing in language learning and language reference software. Its main products consist of The LanguageNow! Series, language learning software for Spanish, French, German, Italian, , Russian, and English language learners, and Transcend, advertised as a "professional-quality translation program." The company also offers a number of other products, among them:Survival Phrases, KidSpeak, GrammarPro, etc.

Describing itself as "The Indispensable Language Reference Set," WordAce! offers a translation dictionary and a French verb conjugation engine. The program can be combined with other languages in the following combinations: Spanish, German, Italian, Russian, Brazilian Portuguese, European Portuguese, Dutch, Finnish, Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian. Users have the option of purchasing and integrating any other language module. In this way, WordAce! becomes an extensive language center allowing multiple use and combinations set in the Source and Target fields of the program's Translate page.

Transparent Language is obviously a company that has built its reputation in the field of language learning and translation (its multilingual translation program is licensed form Soft-Art, Inc., and its dictionaries from Linguistic Software Inc.). The company's web site describes all its products and provides useful information regarding its corporate set up. Technical support is easily reachable and product updates are offered.

The company claims that Transparent Language products are employed by more than 6,000 schools and colleges and 200,000 users worldwide. Customer quotes are eloquent and product information includes references to awards from American Booksellers and others. A summary of critical reviews drawn from a variety of sources is available on the site. WordAce! Version 1, was first released in 1996. The Spanish module was reviewed in January 1997 in The Educational Software Report Card and on a scale of 10 obtained an overall rating of 6.8. (Educational Value 7). The user level of the Spanish module was described and evaluated as Middle to High School. A more recent CALICO review (September, 98) of version 1.5 described the Spanish module as appropriate for beginners to advanced level. We believe that the French module can likewise be adapted for use with a range of learners up to college level. In fact, the language games component of WordAce! can be very challenging, even to advanced users. In this review, we should like to focus on the product's educational usefulness at this higher level.

The product is shipped with a very comprehensive User's Guide. Installation of WordAce! is effortless and it is obvious that, in spite of sound effects that can be a bit surprising to the unwary, great care has been taken to make the product as user friendly as possible.

2. Evaluation It is obvious, from the start, that WordAce! benefits from sound technical design. In our evaluation test, we tried to push the product as much as possible (product tested on a Pentium II 267 MHz machine). Regardless of the pace it was put through, it functioned as a regular "work horse".

The product's main window consists of five tabs, Translate, Conjugate, Verb Game, Synonym Game, and Set Up pages. The program defaults to the Translate page. At the user's discretion this page can be set to two sizes, big and small.WordAce! cannot be made to fill the entire screen, but this is not a hindrance at all since one of the features of the program is to work in conjunction with other programs, particularly word processors. All five pages are designed in a very functional compact fashion. All functions are clearly indicated and Windows or Macintosh users will find buttons and configurations with which they are familiar.

Many of the program's features are self-explanatory. A beginner could start using WordAce! with a minimum amount of prompting. For instance, it is immediately tempting to type in a word in order to test the translate program. In the case of accented languages, however, some preliminary precautions must be taken to type in accents. WordAce! simplifies the task through the use of the up or down arrow key which gives all possible accented combinations to the base word. To carry out our evaluation of the program, however, we decided to use our regular "French Canada" system keyboard. Many national keyboards do not use the QWERTY configuration familiar to North Americans, but this keyboard offers easily reachable accented characters placed in the familiar configuration. It is easily learned and works seamlessly with all word processors and e-mail programs set to MIME. WordAce! functioned quite efficiently with this keyboard, though, for some reason, it was not possible to compose a circumflex accent over the letter "a" (it works with other letters).

2.1 The Set Up Page Set Up allows users to establish the source and target languages (swapping languages is always an option). Other settings concern the number of words remembered and the action to be taken in the case of misspelled or untranslatable words (the program either automatically brings up the spelling checker or defaults to the dictionary or root word information). The sound settings allow users to turn on or off all sounds events and make it possible to listen to word entries while translating or conjugating. The Verb and Synonym pages also make it possible to turn sound on and off. The check box to do this is appropriately called "noisy." While sound effects may appeal to some users, this reviewer found them to be rather obnoxious. On the other hand, the possibility of hearing words pronounced is an interesting feature of the program. Set Up also asks for the CD-ROM drive designation. This is a convenient feature for multi-drive users. Very well designed Help screens are available for this and all other windows. In most cases, a mouse-over the graphic representation of the window activates a hand giving access to pop-up descriptive windows.

WordAce! 's French module functions as a word translation program, that is from French to English or English to French, or as a thesaurus, that is from French to French or English to English. This handy feature increases the program's versatility. This flexibility is also evident with the Conjugate page. Different users can use the program in any combination. For instance, the conjugation engine functions from language to language, or within a language, as in the case of English verbs (appropriately, tense/mood and person designations change for each language and "verb help" describes specific usage).

As stated earlier, WordAce! can be used by both beginners and advanced language learners. We believe, nonetheless, that the intermingling of simple and complex language can be daunting to beginners. This is why we suspect that the optimal value of WordAce! is best achieved when the program is used in conjunction with another language learning program, for instance the company's LanguageNow Series. Used alone, however, WordAce! functions like a dictionary and, as with paper dictionaries, a certain degree of sophistication is required on the part of the learner. Unfortunately, too many learners rely almost exclusively on the vast choice of synonyms without really understanding the difficulties associated with the passage from one language to the other. This is particularly pertinent to cross-language learning, as for instance translation studies. The problem is less acute in the case of reading programs because learners tend to integrate translated words into the contextual reference schemes of their own language. On the whole, however, it is evident that lexicographers working in the electronic reference field must take great care to adapt their programs not only to the target language, but also to the target audience. This is particularly important whenever international audiences are targeted. Dictionaries are cultural products that display a nation's deepest relationship to "words" and "things", if not to "self" and "world".

English language dictionaries are different from dictionaries because the attitude toward language is different. The question of bilingual dictionaries, however, is interesting and pertinent. Their evolution is evident in the transition from the tradition of the great "national" dictionaries such as the Harrap's to fairly new enterprises such as theRobert & Collins. Changing attitudes towards language have in fact brought national (monolingual) perspectives a little closer. The Oxford Learners dictionary, with its use of examples taken from everyday life, is perhaps an early example of a dictionary in this tradition that views language as a living entity. This practice is best exemplified by the Petit Robertand fully explained in the excellent "Présentation du dictionnaire" signed by the eminent Alain Rey. The Robert & Collinsprefaces and introductions offer a similar view on the evolution of lexicography. Jan Collins describes a truly international dictionary as one that provides the same degree of confidence to speakers from either language group (Preface, vii). This remark is not without importance because it underlines the point about national preferences (The Robert électronique is indeed different from the American Heritage). This is not the place to discuss or compare monolingual or even bilingual dictionaries, but we believe there are enough good examples to reveal the advances made in the field of lexicography. Electronic dictionaries, particularly bilingual ones must follow suit.

Changes have also taken place in the field English-language lexicography. Today, for instance, the work carried out at the University of Birmingham in England, among others, has transformed the attitude towards both English and English lexicography. The COLLINS Birmingham University International Language Database is an excellent example of what can be accomplished. It is in this spirit that we have evaluated WordAce!. This product offers a rather rich array of features, such as its rapidity and ability to seek synonyms and homonyms, its generous and efficient search engine, its interesting games (particularly the Verb Game). We are of the opinion, however, that in order to achieve a greater pedagogical fit, it must improve the way it handles lexicographical entries. In short, it must make an effort to adopt some of the positions towards lexicography described above.

2.2 The Translate Page Past its striking and sonorous splash page reminiscent of a "mosquito" attack, (airplane or insect?) ñ The logo adopted byWordAce! is a WWI biplane ñ the product defaults to the "Translate" page, the program's main feature. This page is made up of left and right list boxes. Words are entered in the Word Field according to any one of three possibilities: selecting a word in LanguageNow (Version 4 or later); typing the word directly; and, finally, selecting a word from a word processing program. We shall demonstrate and test this feature by copying and pasting the word "defaults", used earlier in this paragraph, and by using French as our Target language (TL). A large "translate" button activates the query. Because our word is not in its infinitive form, the program immediately switches to the English "root finder" section of the "Ace Word Finder" window and suggests the appropriate form (or forms). Selection can be made with a mouse click.

According to the company's handbook, translation shows "all possible meanings" of a word. Our selection immediately brought up 10 meanings in the left-hand List Box. Each meaning being grouped under three source language (SL) categories: 1) Payment, 2) Data Processing, 3) Law, and again Payment and Law (entries are segregated according to grammatical function).

For the purpose of this review, we used Termium and the Office de la langue française (OLF) Grand dictionnaire terminologique, as our control databanks. By comparison then, OLF shows five categories and Termium a total of 226 meaning entries. Naturally, we are dealing on the one hand with professional translation tools, and on the other with a "language learning" program. By contrast, the paper bound Robert & Collins displays three categories consisting of numerous meaning sub- categories. The "data processing" entry is understandably not available in the 1978 (1982 reprint) edition of this dictionary. Under this category, WordAce! yields two possible meanings: "affectation implicite" and "affectation systématique".

Clicking anywhere on the above word groups highlights the group and generates an immediate sound response (also, whenever a word contained is the databank is entered in the word field, the field title conveniently changes to blue, the color of the large speaker icon. The user may press the speaker icon at any time to hear the word or word group pronounced). At least two female voices are used to reproduce sounds. Each voice displays rather different pronunciation characteristics. This is not a bad situation in that it reproduces the situation learners would encounter in real life. The only minor complaint we have concerns sound-levels. Although instruments were not used to verify this, we believe there is a noticeable level difference between the two voices. On the whole, however, we must conclude that the word-information displayed is very acceptable. We would suggest a third entry,"assignation par défaut," because it is given as a frequent alternative to "affectation," but it is evident, regardless, that anyone seeking to translate the word "default" would find a usable solution.

According to the accompanying documentation, "meaning" and "categories" can be explored further by translating them into the right-hand list box. Thus, raising "affectation implicite" translates it back into the SL under the French category "traitement de l'information" and the original meaning "default" is now shown as belonging to the (n) noun category. "Translate and raise" is an interesting feature. To test it further, we used the word "pattern." This word displays a vast complex of synonyms (Termium gives this term 36 entries listed in 1514 contexts and the Lexique analogique of Jacques Dubé [Secrétariat d'État du Canada, 1989] provides 89 equivalents).

WordAce! displays the following three categories in the left-hand list box: "decoration," "development," and "clothing." Respective meanings are given as dessin and motif, in the first one, scénario, schéma, and formule, in the second, andpatron in the third. This is six equivalents from a potential field of 89 (Dubé).

Although we are far from exhausting "all possible meanings" as claimed in the company's documentation, this is not a bad performance. It certainly compares favorably with a word search in the Robert & Collins dictionary. The one difference resides in the fact that the latter uses an additional label for compounds (mots composés). Not having such a category affects the way figurative words and set phrases are displayed.

For instance, WordAce! does not list either "pattern of living" or "pattern of behavior". Typing in either of these groups does not yield an entry. Yet swapping languages and typing in "mode de vie," treated here as a headword, yields an entry under "général" and "life style"(alternate spelling not provided). The differences between American and British usage may explain the missing "pattern of living," though we think the group is common enough to merit an entry. On the other hand, searching under "pattern of behavior" or "behavior pattern" does not yield an entry. Surprisingly, searching under "behavior" and raising the French categories does not yield an entry under "pattern," as might be expected. Why is it that in the one case "mode de vie" exists as a headword, while "behavior pattern" cannot be found? This problem with headwords can be detected in other instances. Words such as "en aval" (downstream stream) and "en amont" (upstream) appear as headwords, while a search under the more usual "aval" and "amont", does not produce any results. The weakness appears when trying to render the expression "donner son aval à quelqu'un." Similarly, we ask why "modèle déposé" does not merit an entry, while "marque déposée" appears as a headword?

Lexicography is a complex science because languages are living entities. Gaps are inevitable in dictionaries, but some of them are more serious than others. For instance, the omission of the group "freedom fighter" from WordAce!'s wordbank is a good example of this problem. Not too long ago, this omission would have signaled a major gap. Today, the word is no longer in common use and dictionary users may not be motivated to seek its equivalents (combattant de la liberté, patriote). What is it then that motivates the inclusion or exclusion of some words? For instance, "septennat" and "septentrional"are both missing from WordAce!. Is it that in the one case the word was judged too specific to the French political system and in the other too technical in the face of the English word "northern"? Why is it that there is no entry for the adjective "chenu"? These are problems lexicographers must face.

On the other hand, there are omissions that cannot be explained. Someone looking for help with foreign-correspondence may wonder why "septante" and "nonante," certainly not uncommon words in Swiss or Belgian business correspondence, are missing from the wordbank. This omission is astounding!

On the whole though, the problems we have singled out above do not entirely detract from WordAce! 's other merits, particularly its capacity to gather synonyms and homonyms. This is shown by WordAce! 's "raise and translate" feature. We tested it on patron, our previous French entry. Raising this word reversed the SL in the right-hand list box. We obtained "vêtement" as a category and pattern as a meaning. In addition, we also obtained two unassociated categories (not marked by a diamond), "bar - homme" and "compagnie - homme. Double clicking on the "proprietor" category (under "bar-homme") yielded, in the left-hand list box, "bar-man" (patron, limonadier, cafetier), "bar- woman" (3 French meanings), and "property-man." Clicking on "cafetier," one of the 3 meanings under "bar-man" took us back to the beginning in the reverse order. We now had "bar-homme" in the left-hand list box and under it the English meaning "proprietor." Such a gathering of possible equivalents is impressive, though we must report the lack of labels to warn users that words such as "limonadier" and "cafetier" are no longer in general use. On the other hand, this type of omission reveals certain other lexicographical difficulties. Labels are important because they establish usage and are, therefore, indicative of the life of words. A word such as "fiel", correctly linked to the category "Behavior", must be labeled as metaphorical or figurative because it must be shown to contrast with its modern equivalent "animal bile"(missing from WordAce! 's wordbank) or even with its older meaning of "bile", a term readers are likely to encounter. It is precisely with examples such as these that the lack of contexts becomes a hindrance. An expression such as "un compliment plein de fiel" highlights the problem in both instances.

2.3The Conjugate Page This is a truly remarkable feature that compares very favorably with the numerous paperbound conjugation reference books. This page displays the same careful attention to design as the previous one. It is a compact, easy to understand page showing two larger list boxes, labeled respectively "Person" and "Tense" and three smaller fields: the "Conjugate Word Field," the "In Field" used to select the desired language, and the "Alternatives" field used to display, as required, different spellings of verb forms. Eight buttons are used to activate the following features: Help and Verb Help, the Conjugate, Speaker, Tense/Mood functions, the "Copy" and "Paste" functions, and finally, the "Verbs" function which provides the user with a list of regular and irregular verbs whose entire conjugation has been recorded. This feature is only available to sound-enabled languages. In the case of French, therefore, all the available verbs are audibly conjugated.

Users enter the infinitive form of a verb in the "Conjugate Word Field". Clicking conjugate starts the engine. If the word is not in the infinitive form or not available in the dictionary, the AceWord finder appears to help select the correct form. Verbs must be entered in the desired language. For instance, in the case of our test verb, we entered asseoir (enterings'asseoir is also possible). If working from the "Translate" page, it is necessary to copy and paste the translated word; otherwise the program defaults to the original entry "sit". At this stage, the program displays a list of tenses in the left list box. Clicking on any listed tense immediately conjugates the verb alongside the corresponding personal pronouns (displayed outside the list box, presumably to save space and reduce repetition). The process can be reversed with the "Tense/Mood" button. Clicking on this button displays the personal pronouns in the left-hand list box. Clicking on any personal pronoun conjugates the verb in the selected person and in all listed tenses.

The list of tenses is fairly complete, although we should like to point to some omissions that cannot be justified from a grammatical perspective. Why is it, for instance, that the subjonctif plus-que- parfait merits an entry while theconditionnel passé 2e forme does not. Similarly, why are moods and tenses such as impératif passé, participe présent and passé, and infinitif passé, absent from the list? Were these omissions motivated by design and programming imperatives? In our opinion, gaps such as these put a pedagogical blemish on an otherwise rather good program. Finally, the surcomposé tenses, a frequent feature of spoken French, merit at least a brief mention in the Verb Help section.

The way tenses are listed is also worth mentioning. In this list, simple tenses precede compound tenses. For instance, there is no demarcation line to mark the change from the subjonctif imparfait to the passé composé. This is rather unusual because moods are intermingled. On the other hand, there is no justification for having the impératif appear as the last entry (the impératif passé is not listed). We are of the opinion that grouping according to similarities in structure (for instance, placing the imparfait next to the plus-que-parfait) is a sounder pedagogical approach. Furthermore, there is also some merit to grouping moods to facilitate recognition. Finally, we also believe that subjunctive tenses can best be taught with the que in place because students should be able to pick it up as a subjunctive mood marker within a verbal group. This is the traditional approach also taken by dictionaries such as Le Bescherelle.

Notwithstanding the above difficulties, we found WordAce! 's conjugation engine to be a powerful tool. Used in conjunction with Verb Help, the list of regular and irregular verbs (Verb button) and, as we shall see later, the Verb Game, the program becomes an efficient integrated teaching tool.

In order to discover its potential, we put the program to the test by using common verbs first, especially those that present some peculiarity such as alternative spellings or different forms as in the case of reflexive verbs (verbe pronominal), then by entering a number of less frequently used verbs. WordAce! came out with flying colors: s'asseoir (asseoir), se laver (laver), and apitoyer, or again appâter, atteler, exhéréder, exsuder, farfouiller, fayoter, feignanterwere all flawlessly conjugated. Only one minor difficulty had us wonder about the relationship between the verb list and the wordbank. The Translate page was unable to render fayoter or its alternate spelling fayotter (to show excess zeal, to suck up [Robert & Collins]) and exhéréder (to disinherit [in Harrap's but not in Robert & Collins])!

2.4 The Verb Game Page

Used in tandem with the Conjugate page, the Verb Game page turns WordACe! into a powerful learning tool. Here students can have fun learning French or English tenses. The game is played on a compact, well-designed window. Its lower half displays the game control settings. Users can set the game's speed, the language field, and, if desired, use the Person and tenses button (displays a dialog box enabling the user to select tenses and persons). Finally, the Noisy box turns the sound effects on or off. The bottom right side also displays the time elapsed and the total score. The Stop and Help buttons are handily situated on the extreme right of the window.

The upper half of the window displays, to the left of the main playing area, the Get Verbs From Field. This is a handy feature that allows users to click a button to determine the location from which the program will take the verbs to play the game. Three choices are possible: "Random" which randomly selects verbs in the language specified; "History" lets the Game pick verbs translated or conjugated before (the Set up page allows users to select the number of words saved by the Game); "Here" lets the user type a verb in the specified language.

Clicking Play starts the game. Users are asked to conjugate a verb for a particular tense and person. If so desired, clues appear in the Clue box. The reply is then entered in the Answer box. Pressing Enter or clicking on "Right" evaluates the answer. Clicking "Skip" allows the user to skip a particular challenge. The Program indicates the correct answer as the game continues. Should help be required, the program displays handy help screens that include search and glossary functions. With a set up like this one, learning and testing skill is a simple and pleasant matter.

2.5 The Synonym Game The main claim of the Synonym Game is that it users "improve vocabulary by translating words from one language into synonyms in another". In our opinion, the pedagogical value of this page is comparable to a game of Scrabble. Advanced users can have a lot of fun, even find themselves challenged, but the learning function is certainly below that of the preceding games. Scrabble-like games are fascinating and challenging, but they foster a rather artificial relationship to words. A Scrabble player need not know the meaning of a word. The purpose of the game is to play tiles that make up acceptable words. A good player is one who has learned the game's strategies and memorized acceptable, if not useless words. Nothing could be further from the way vocabulary should be learned. Furthermore, we are of the opinion that the question of synonyms is far too complex to be approached in this manner. The Game is fun, nonetheless!

Once again, the design of this page is excellent. Its main graphic feature is the WordAce! animated biplane. Too many attempts at guessing the synonym will eventually crash the plane. The game can be played in any language combination: English to French, French to English, English to English or French to French. Words to "translate" appear in the clue box. In the Guess the Characters box, a row of asterisks displays the possible synonyms. Letters are typed one at a time and the Game replaces the asterisk where the character appears in the synonym. If the letter is not found, WordAce! places the character in the Missed box and the plane starts its dive. Five incorrect characters will crash the plane!

Summary Scaled rating below (1 low-5 high)

Implementation possibilities: 2.5 WordAce! is sold as a "translation dictionary and conjugation engine" that will help learn a new language, expand vocabulary, "understand foreign-correspondence, and more." We do not dispute this claim. The product can indeed "help learn a new language" and in this, we find the conjugation engine and the Verb Game to be well designed and pedagogically sound. The dictionary, however, cannot become a learning tool unless some form of guidance is offered. For all its ability to build lexical chains, its limits are quickly reached because of the semantic complexity of lexical items. In the hands of a good teacher, however, it is possible to exploit this weakness. For instance, the product's capacity to produce synonym clusters could become the starting point for vocabulary development classes. Students could be asked to research the synonym's appropriate context, etc. There is, however, one strong advantage to the dictionary. Hearing words pronounced by a native speaker is a definite plus. The Synonym Game is an amusing feature, but we also dispute its pedagogical fit for the reasons outlined above.

Socio-Linguistic accuracy: 3.5 As far as we could determine, great care has been taken to ensure a quality product. We described some of our reservations regarding the selection of headwords, and generally speaking the limitations of this type of dictionary approach.

Pedagogical features: 2 The "translation dictionary" is unquestionably well designed from a technical point of view, but our evaluation shows that its lexical content is moderately adequate to the task and we have some serious reservations about its pedagogical fit. Languages are not inert collections of words and learners must be steered away from an over-reliance on word-to-word translation. This problem can be somewhat overcome if the program is used as a tool to generate words to be studied in a wider controlled pedagogical context.

Use of computer capabilities: 4.5 A very well designed product that takes full advantage of a multimedia environment.

Ease of use: 5 This product is extremely easy to use, either as a stand-alone program or as a program that runs in the background. Its windows are cleverly designed.

Over-all evaluation: 3-3.5 A fairly good product from a company that takes its mission to produce tools for language study very seriously. This product rates a 3 if used alone. Used in conjunction with a translation program or under the supervision of a teacher, we rate it as a 3.5.

Value for money: 5 WordAce! 's very competitive price makes it a bargain.

Technical Details Developer/distributor: Phone: (800) 567-9619 - Customer Service (800) 752-1767 - Sales (603) 465-2230 - technical support Fax: (603) 465-2779

Email: [email protected] - Comments, Suggestions [email protected] - Ordering Information [email protected] - Technical Support

WWW: http://www.transparent.com

Hardware requirements: To be effective under Windows, WordAce! requires a 486 Processor or higher and anywhere from 7MB of hard disk space (English and one other language) to 11 MB (5-language set). The minimum memory is set at 4 MB RAM. Under Macintosh, it requires a 68020, 68030, 68040, or PowerPC processor with anywhere from 7.5 to 13 MB of disk space. 4 MB RAM or 3 MB of available memory is recommended. With a sound card, CD-ROM drive, speakers or headphones (Sound Manger 3.0 or better on the Macintosh side). WordAce! can also be made to function as a "talking dictionary." A feature which language learners will find most useful.

Price $39.95. It can be purchased On-Line directly from Transparent Language or from at least 10 US retail location (linked on the Site) and from Compucentre in Canada.

Reviewer Information Paul Robberecht is Associate Professor at the University of Alberta where he holds an appointment in the Departments of Modern Languages & Cultural Studies (French language and literature) and Comparative Literature, Religion, Film and Media Studies (Poetics, Rhetoric, Hermeneutics). He works in the area of French-English Comparative Stylistics and has a strong interest in CALL. He is a French- speaking Belgian native who studied at the Université de Strasbourg (France) before moving to Canada.

Reviewer contact: University of Alberta Department of Modern Languages & Cultural Studies Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2E6

Tel. : (403) 492-5833 Fax : (403) 436-9027 [email protected]