tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12643559128438441832024-03-13T23:33:18.348-05:00French Linguistics DevelopmentAnnouncement and discussion of new and future features of the French Linguistics web site. Please feel free to comment on the entries. To ask a question about French, see forum.french-linguistics.co.ukUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger251125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1264355912843844183.post-75938402423544035972015-04-23T15:29:00.004-05:002015-04-23T15:29:51.990-05:00New "slow playback" feature for Utter French!The Utter French! pronunciation guide for iPhone has been updated with a new feature. On certain screens, a red speaker (playback) icon is now displayed alongside the regular speaker icon. You can tap this red speaker icon to hear the word or example in question played back at a slower speed. This feature should help you to hear some of the individual sounds and pronunciation features mentioned Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1264355912843844183.post-91767450536662713032014-12-15T21:30:00.001-06:002014-12-15T21:30:27.190-06:00New "graphemes" tab added to the Utter French! pronunciation guideUsers of the Utter French! pronunciation guide for iPhone can now download an update from the App Store. Along with a few minor improvements and corrections, the new version includes a brand new "Graphemes" tab. This new tab lists the various letter combinations used in French and explains which sounds they typically represent under particular circumstances. In each case, the explanation is of Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1264355912843844183.post-56661898717587450322014-10-16T13:16:00.003-05:002014-10-16T13:19:27.894-05:00Updates to the French verb conjugation tablesThe French verb conjugations section of the web site is being updated with a clearer layout and menu system. Conjugation tables also now include the Past Historic and Past Anterior tenses. Example conjugations:
aller: conjugation
être: conjugation
avoir: conjugation
faire: conjugation
aimer: conjugation (regular -er verb)
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1264355912843844183.post-52025853053004790882014-10-13T16:05:00.001-05:002014-10-13T16:05:27.611-05:00New navigation menus being added to the French grammar sectionNew drop-down menus have been added to the French grammar section of the site. These will allow easier navigation of the material on this section and will eventually allow the index page of this section to be less cluttered as some of the links are removed.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1264355912843844183.post-62058418130303310132014-10-04T22:51:00.000-05:002014-10-04T22:51:52.486-05:00Vote for the new French Audio Quiz icon!Readers of the French Linguistics site are invited to vote for the icon they would like to see used in the next update to the free French Audio Quiz app for iPhone. This second vote marks the final stage of the competition; many thanks to those who entered candidate icons.
The update, which is due to feature a new "French word of the day" alert, will be released later in October.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1264355912843844183.post-4487408099614713692014-10-04T22:40:00.000-05:002014-10-04T22:40:09.688-05:00The complexity of simple synonyms: the case of "an" and "année" in FrenchA new article added to the grammar section of the French Linguistics web site looks at the question of when to use an and when to use année to translate the word "year" in French. To the English speaker (and indeed in some cases to native French speakers), the issue of which of these two synonyms to use can be surprisingly complex. The articles attempts to summarise this complexity by Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1264355912843844183.post-49969514333446562052014-10-03T10:59:00.000-05:002014-10-03T11:05:54.433-05:00Update to Utter French! pronunciation guide
The "Sounds of French" tab in the Utter French!
pronunciation guide for iPhone. Today's fix means that all
three words in the list will be read out: even on
iOS 8!
An update to the Utter French! pronunciation guide was released to the app store today. This update fixes an issue caused by an apparent bug in iOS 8 that prevented the example words from the "Sounds" tab from playing back correctlyUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1264355912843844183.post-69601214502716584952014-09-23T08:13:00.004-05:002014-09-23T08:13:50.075-05:00Site down time 22-23 September 2014The reasons why the dictionary and other parts of the site were down during some of the day 22 September 2014 and again in the early morning US of 23 September US time are currently being investigated.
Sincere apologies to all those affected.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1264355912843844183.post-4498952164377069222014-09-17T22:20:00.001-05:002014-09-17T22:20:19.955-05:00Multilingual GCSE word search apps for iPad: save money with the new iOS 8 app bundle!Well, it's finally here: iOS 8 was released to the public today. One of the new features it brings is app bundles, allowing users to purchase multiple related apps at a discounted price.
The French Word Search, Spanish Word Search and German Word Search apps are now available as an app bundle, effectively allowing you to download all three for half price.
The bundle will be ideal for GCSE Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1264355912843844183.post-11968778334030803132014-07-28T17:13:00.002-05:002014-07-28T17:13:32.723-05:00Version 3.0 of Utter French! Pronunciation app released todayThe all-singing, all-dancing, spanking new version of Utter French! Pronunciation guide for iPhone is now available in the App Store!
The app has been re-written from the ground up and now includes
a brand new modern user interface, optimised for the iPhone 5 screen size
expanded pronunciation material, with more detailed guides on how to pronounce the sounds and words of French
a new series Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1264355912843844183.post-17846650503570818802013-11-26T06:40:00.001-06:002013-11-26T06:40:35.099-06:00Minor corrections to page on 'translating French contracts'A couple of minor typos have been corrected in the page on Translating and Understanding French contracts. But I am always looking out for suggestions. Did you have an issue understanding a French contract? Was there a particular item of vocabulary that you found difficult (or perhaps still are!) that you think should be included on the page? Why not leave a comment at the bottom of the page.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1264355912843844183.post-45876206021616999112013-11-20T13:56:00.003-06:002013-11-20T13:56:28.122-06:00Article on the French "h aspiré"If you have a smattering of French, you are probably used to the notion that the h is "silent" or "not pronounced" in French. In a new article published today, I give a brief overview of why this isn't quite the case.
If you're up to date on your French cinema, then you have probably seen Kassovitz's La Haine (and if you haven't seen it, you should). But you may not have stopped to Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1264355912843844183.post-69125846482233648392013-11-13T08:19:00.003-06:002013-11-13T08:19:49.135-06:00Free French language software for iPhone and iPadOn the French Linguistics forum, I have posted a various promo codes for free copies of my French language software. These include French Vocab Games, a complete suite of activities for iPhone to re-enforce basic GCSE vocabulary, along with the Utter French! pronunciation tool.
I also regularly post codes for free software on my Twitter feed @BitterCoffey
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1264355912843844183.post-47383423963335062072013-06-03T09:05:00.000-05:002013-06-03T09:07:17.160-05:00French Vocab Games for iPhone among iTunes Top 20 GCSE Revision AppsFirstly, I have a confession. I actually didn't realise that iTunes had a "GCSE Revision Apps" section of the app store. (Did you?)
However, I was pleased to discover that French Vocab Games is listed in the top 20 apps in that section (at no. 17 in the UK at the time of writing).
For more information about French Vocab Games and other apps I have developed for iPhone and iPad, please see the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1264355912843844183.post-31361757698169456922013-04-05T13:04:00.002-05:002013-04-05T13:04:44.343-05:00Site restart tomorrow 6AM GMTThe French Linguistics site will be briefly unavailable at around 6AM GMT tomorrow morning (Saturday 6 April) for a server restart.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1264355912843844183.post-51094950379074653602013-02-20T06:13:00.004-06:002013-02-20T06:13:56.409-06:00LetterMeister for iPhone now includes GermanVersion 2.2 of LetterMeister, the multilingual word puzzle game for iPhone was released to the App Store earlier. This new version adds German to the list of languages, so that the game is now playable with English, Spanish, French or German vocabulary.
The game is free to download today. Don't miss out!
A key feature of LetterMeister is that the game is customisable to your desired language Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1264355912843844183.post-84438506175560614922013-02-16T06:04:00.002-06:002013-02-16T06:04:24.701-06:00LetterMeister update (and free copies)An update to LetterMeister word puzzle game for iPhone is due to be released soon that will allow players to play the game in German, in addition to English, French and Spanish.
In anticipation of the release, I am giving away a few free copies in various places. Don't miss out!
free copies of LetterMeister on the French Language Forum
free copies of LetterMeister on TouchArcade
free copies ofUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1264355912843844183.post-18014986008057621082013-02-12T23:18:00.002-06:002013-02-12T23:18:37.437-06:00Small bug fix to LetterMeister desktop versionVersion 0.76b of LetterMeister was released earlier today. This latest update to the desktop version of the word puzzle game includes a bug fix that affects gameplay when using German vocabulary. Specifically, under some circumstances, marking of the "s sharp" character would not appear correctly; this issue is now fixed in the latest update.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1264355912843844183.post-83991357688964420702013-01-24T15:23:00.002-06:002013-01-24T15:23:24.155-06:00Possibility of brief downtime this Sunday 27 JanuaryThere is a small chance that the French Linguistics site will be down briefly this Sunday around midday UK time for maintenance. Thank you for your patience!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1264355912843844183.post-56913066296620442522013-01-08T12:05:00.004-06:002013-01-08T12:05:46.487-06:00New article on the pronunciation of French stopsThe first of a number of articles I will be writing on various aspects of French pronunciation has just been published. This initial article looks at the pronunciation of French stop consonants, considering the important ways in which they differ from their English counterparts.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1264355912843844183.post-48691060634396927222013-01-05T10:12:00.001-06:002013-01-05T10:12:12.753-06:00French Word Searches added to info on volume discount programFrench Word Searches for iPad has been added to the information on the availability of the site's French software at half price.
The software is available to educational institutions at half price under Apple's volume discount program. Please see the aforementioned page for more information.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1264355912843844183.post-45292692137083713952013-01-04T02:29:00.001-06:002013-01-04T02:29:33.544-06:00Suitability of French apps for the Cambridge IGCSE examI received a question the other day regarding the suitability of this site's French Vocab app for students taking the IGCSE exam.
Both French Vocab Games and its sister Utter French! (pronunciation) app and French Word Searches for iPad are based on core GCSE vocabulary which is very similar to the core vocabulary specified for the Cambridge IGCSE exam. They are therefore highly suited to Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1264355912843844183.post-45050677694143353912013-01-04T02:11:00.002-06:002013-01-04T02:11:39.368-06:00Offer: free copy of French Vocab Games for iPhone or French Word Searches for iPadI am currently running an offer from the French dictionary page whereby people can request a free copy of either French Vocab Games for iPhone or French Word Searches for iPad in exchange for a review of the Utter French! pronunciation app, which will also free for the duration of the offer.
Please note that to qualify for the offer:
You must leave a review of Utter French! in the App Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1264355912843844183.post-31669724906294128092012-12-31T17:32:00.001-06:002012-12-31T17:32:11.866-06:00Price drop on LetterMeister word puzzle game for iPhoneThe LetterMeister multilingual word puzzle game for iPhone is available at a reduced price today and tomorrow. LetterMeister combines elements of Scrabble and other word/puzzle games with elements of MasterMind and general puzzle games. It is designed to be both a fun word puzzle for native speakers and also a vocabulary reinforcement game for foreign language learners, being available in EnglishUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1264355912843844183.post-34587021035460517322012-12-24T13:09:00.002-06:002012-12-24T13:09:29.428-06:00Minor improvements to dictionary entry layoutSome small changes and improvements have been made to the layout of entries in the French Dictionary. In particular, a change has been made to make verb conjugations appear further up the page in many entries, following feedback that verb conjugations were not as visible as before.
In general, every verb in the dictionary is accompanied by a mini verb table within the entry. A link also appear Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0