ABOUT THE PROJECT

Multi Linguis is an independent indie project. All work on downloading and processing sources, as well as creating books and the website, was carried out by the forces of one person - the author of the project. Although there are other dictionaries of this type, many of the ideas underlying the project are original.

The Multi Linguis Project is based on the corpus of the English version of Wiktionary as well as linguistic articles of Wikipedia and is licensed under the open license Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0.

The project offers dictionaries for more than 200 languages. These books are bilingual, with translations from the English language into foreign ones.

The Multi Linguis Dictionaries are intended to help you try out different languages, study and compare them, as well as revise the vocabulary. They can be applied separately or as additional tools for the suited educational courses. You may also use them for spelling simple broken phrases, translating and just for fun.

A database of the project includes 9'000 lemmas (that is, morphemes, words and phrases with a specific meaning). This corresponds to levels A1 - B2 by the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference), or Beginner - Upper Intermediate by other language learning systems. This number covers approximately 100 percent of self-sufficient vocabulary and 85 percent of all word use.

The Multi Linguis Dictionaries are not traditional alphabetical, but frequency-thematic. This means that entries in these books can be arranged by levels, themes, parts of speech or keywords, but never alphabetically. When you use them, you may study often used lemmas previously than rarely used ones, and thematically related groups in unity, rather than separately. In addition, this approach speeds up the process of learning languages, promotes memorization and develops associativity, flexibility and rapidity of lingual thinking.

Several different types, kinds and varieties of dictionaries are offered for the same language. They differ in the number of included lemmas, varieties of the arrangement, the completeness of contained information, external and internal design. To achieve particular purposes, using one option is more effective and convenient than the others.

For all dictionaries of the same type, a universal division into levels, themes, parts of speech and keywords is applied. This means that books of the same type, but different in language have completely equal structure. This approach promotes studying of the second and subsequent foreign languages, as well as comparing them.

The Multi Linguis Dictionaries are available in both pdf and mobile formats (epub and mobi). This means that you may use them on any device. The pdf version can be printed on paper in a convenient size for you - for example, in the form of a book A4 or brochure A5.

The dictionaries are not flawless and therefore allowed for editing. In the printed or pdf versions, you may correct the entries provided in them and add in omitted ones - with the help of writing supplies or special software.

In addition to the books, the Multi Linguis Project includes its own website, as well as pages on Facebook and Twitter. We invite you to register there.

The Multi Linguis Dictionaries include the following parts - a short description of a title language with useful links, descriptions of the project and license, a key to the IPA phonetic symbols and the main part. To make use more convenient, they also contain a table of contents, shortcuts and a index.

The main part consists of a certain number of entries that are presented in the pdf version as cards. They are joined into small subsections grouped into larger sections.

The base of the entries are lemmas - dictionary forms of lexemes. A lexeme is a linguistic abstraction that has a specific meaning - grammatical (a role in a sentence) and semantic (subject matter). In speech, lexemes are expressed in the form of particular words or phrases that differ from each other grammatically, graphically and phonologically.

In the entries, lemmas are represented by headers and flags of part of speech. Definitions are not given in the Multi Linguis Project, and therefore their semantic meaning can only be clarified through headlines of the sections. In difficult cases, short tips are offered to facilitate understanding of their meanings.

The entries also contain flags of levels.

The entries contain one or more translations into the title language with indication of its code. In some cases, translations are accompanied by grammatical flags and comments. In addition, entries in the Learner's and Survival Dictionaries can contain transcriptions (IPA characters are used), as well as transliterations for languages with non-Latin scripts.

In the pdf version, the dictionary cards are visually divided into two halves - the left (main) one with a title and translation, and the right (additional) one with a hint, transcription and flags. You may hide the right side of the card with something to make it easier to learn or revise the vocabulary.

Some entries have no translation into the title language or corresponding transcription in the database. In the pdf version, empty spaces were left in their cards. In the mobile versions, such entries were omitted.

Any division into levels and themes given in dictionaries is not indisputable. Structuring of entries is not necessary to create a perfect system (this is impossible) but to make students arrange their own vocabulary. Using proposed division by dictionaries, you will agree or disagree with it, and therefore more effectively build the studied lemmas in the appropriate order to you personally.

Multi Linguis proposes an original division of lemmas into levels, performed as follows:
1. In the Learner's Dictionaries - into 6 so-called learning steps of 1'500 lemmas each: steps 1-2 include the first 3'000 and correspond to levels A1-A2 CEFR, steps 3-4 - the second 3'000 (B1), steps 5-6 - third 3'000 (B2.1-B2.2);
2. In the Survival Dictionaries, there is no division into levels - all lemmas have the same importance (A1 - A2 CEFR).

The levels follow each other in decreasing importance to speakers and frequency of use - that is, the lemmas related to the first one are the most necessary and frequently encountered. Linguistic studies show that the level A1 CEFR covers 10% of self-sufficient vocabulary and 30% of all word use, A1-A2 - 30 and 55, A1-B1 - 60 and 75, A1-B2 - 100 and 85 percent respectively.

Levels are indicated in the entries by special flags.

You may study the Multi Linguis Dictionaries at any convenient speed, and the uniform division used in them will allow you to determine the approximate time that will be spent on each level. For example, at a rate of 5 lemmas per day, it will take as long as 300 days to study a group of 1'500 ones, and at a rate of 50 lemmas per day - only 30.

In addition, Multi Linguis proposes an original division of lemmas into themes:
1. In the Learner's and Survival Dictionaries - into 150 themes.

All themes are joined into 30 super themes and divided into over 2'000 subthemes.

The proposed division describes such vast semantic areas as Properties of objects, Actions, Time, Natural world, Body, Mind, Communication, Society, Economics and others.

Themes and super themes are indicated in the headlines of the sections. Subthemes are indicated only in the Learner's Dictionaries by the alternating gray-white coloring of blocks that include lemmas. There is no indication of themes in the Survival Dictionaries.

Also in the Learner's Dictionaries especially close lemmas are grouped into unbroken sequences to facilitate their studying (for example, "North - East - South- West"). In this case, the entries, initially referring to different levels by their weights, turn out to be at the same.

Multi Linguis offers 2 types of dictionaries - Learner's and Survival.

The Learner's Dictionaries can include up to 9'000 lemmas, which are divided into 6 learning steps of 1'500 ones each (corresponding to levels A1 - B2 CEFR), as well as 150 themes grouped into 30 super themes. The entries contain shortened texts of translations from the Wiktionary corpus, and also contain transcriptions.

There are the following kinds of the Learner's dictionaries:
1. For Learning - intended to help you learn all necessary lemmas at once, regardless of their levels. For this, the entries are arranged only by themes.
2. For Learning Step by Step - intended to help you learn necessary lemmas gradually, according to their levels. For this, the entries are arranged by steps and then by themes. This kind is an alternative to the previous one.
3. For Revising - intended to help you revise lemmas in an unusual way. For this, the entries can be arranged by parts of speech or keywords and then by themes.

The Survival Dictionaries are sets of small vocabularies of related languages, which include up to 999 lemmas. These books are intended to help you get a list of elementary lemmas. The entries are arranged by parts of speech and then by themes.

Currently, Multi Linguis is able to create the Learner's Dictionaries for more than 70 languages, and the Survival Dictionaries for more than 200 ones.

Lemmas are complex phenomena that have the following characteristics:
1. Level - shows the importance of a lemma in the vocabulary and approximate frequency of its use;
2. Theme - semantic meaning that it conveys;
3. Part of speech - a grammatical role that it plays in a sentence;
4. Keyword – a group of related words that it belongs to;
5. Rhyme – a group of words with which it is similar in sound or spelling.

The Multi Linguis Dictionaries differ from each other not only in types and range of levels but also in varieties of the arrangement. Entries in them can be arranged by one or two of those characteristics. This is made for you can view the studying language from different angles.

The last (respectively, the second or third) level of arrangement is by parts of speech. It corresponds to gray-white blocks in the Learner's Dictionaries.

The Multi Linguis Project is based on the Wiktionary corpus, which contains a huge number of English lemmas, their definitions, grammatical and etymological information, as well as translations into many languages and related transcriptions. Wiktionary is maintained by enthusiasts, including native speakers and professional linguists, that makes this source authentic and modern.

At the time of the download, the Wiktionary corpus included approximately 350'000 lemmas, of which approximately 120'000 were translated into at least one language.

Of these, 20'000 lemmas were selected according to their weight. In the Multi Linguis Dictionaries, the main principle of assigning weight is the number of its translations into 80 key languages ​​of the world. Although this approach is an alternative to the standard selection by frequency of use in books, TV programs or spoken speech, it also has the right to exist. Additional principles are the occurrence of the lemma in open frequency lists given on simple.wiktionary.org, as well as the personal opinion of the author of the project about its importance.

Of these, 9'000 lemmas with the highest weight were included in the database of the Learner's Dictionaries, 999 - of the Survival Dictionaries.

For comparison, the total number of lemmas of levels A1-B2 CEFR in professional projects (Cambridge, Oxford, Longman, Macmillan) is approximately 9-10'000.

Levels, themes and keywords were defined for the selected lemmas, also parts of speech were checked and corrected. Morphemes and proper names, as well as unnecessary synonyms, were removed from the databases of the Learner's and Survival Dictionaries.

Related translations and transcriptions from Wiktionary were standardized, errors and typos were corrected whenever possible. They were cut off as close to the beginning as possible, since this is where the most accurate and important varieties of them are located.

Despite strict recommendations for adding new entries, conducting regular rechecks and fighting vandalism, there are still more or less serious errors in the Wiktionary corpus, and therefore in the Multi Linguis database. According to made estimates, the percentage of entries with errors for the corpus of the Russian translations does not exceed 2.5%, and for other languages, the percentage may be slightly higher.

Since the project is carried out by one person, it is likely that errors occurred when processing the source entries. According to made estimates, the percentage of such entries does not exceed 0.5%.

The Wiktionary corpus is constantly updated and supplemented. According to made estimates, the current rate of updating and adding new entries does not exceed 3% per year.

Lemmas and translations for the Multi Linguis Project were downloaded from Wiktionary about 2 years ago, transcriptions - more than a year ago.

The Multi Linguis Dictionaries are offered for sale in some e-book stores. The main store is Payhip - links from the website of the project lead there. In the store you may get both mobile and pdf versions of the dictionaries.

The prices of the Multi Linguis Dictionaries do not exceed $8, which is significantly lower than the prices of professional analogues.

The price of a particular dictionary is determined by the range of levels that make it up. The book that includes a wider range has a higher price. You may first buy a small book at a more affordable price to appreciate it and then buy a more voluminous and expensive one.

The price also depends on the completeness of translations of its entries. This means that for books that have at least one of its levels filled with translations of less than 80% (of the Learner's Dictionaries) the prices are reduced by $1. If this rate is lower than 60%, then such books are not created and offered at all. For the Survival Dictionaries, the creation threshold is 333 lemmas. We hope that you will find this approach to price and quality fair.

For the Payhip store visitors, Multi Linguis offers the following discounts:
1. 10% discount on the purchase of other dictionaries of a specific language while buying any of them;
2. 20% discount on the purchase of any dictionaries subject to repost on social networks;
(These discounts are offered automatically when you make a purchase on Payhip.)

3. 10% discount on the purchase of any dictionaries after buying the highest level ones;
(This discount requires entering the coupon code, which you may find in a separate pdf file attached to your previous purchase.)

Discounts are added up. The total depth of the discount can exceed 40%.

Multi Linguis is ready to offer a special 20% discount to customers intending to purchase more than 20 dictionaries at a time, as well as agents of educational institutions. To get it, you may contact the author of the project through the form on the Feedback and Commentaries page.

In addition, special conditions are offered for members of the affiliate program.

On the Multi Linguis website and pages of the project in social networks, the promotion of dictionaries of a specific language (languages) is regularly carried out. They are offered a 20% discount off the regular price.

In the future, it is planned to republish the Learner's and Survival Dictionaries. The following updates are outlined:
1. Correction of errors in the database;
2. Increase of the number of translations into various languages;
3. Publication of new dictionaries for both already submitted and novel languages.

It is also possible to be implemented:
1. Redesign of the Learner's and Survival Dictionaries into 3 columns;
2. Publication of the Original Dictionaries (include up to 12'000 lemmas, divided into 4 levels and 300 themes; contain complete translations; include proper names, phrases and morphemes; there are many different types and kinds);
3. Creation of a collection of cards;
4. Creation of a mobile application.

Multi Linguis is able to publish non-standard varieties of the Original and Learner's Dictionaries to order. You may determine a kind and variety of the arrangement of this book, range of levels, as well as select its themes, parts of speech and keywords. If a similar need arises, you can contact the author of the project through the form on the Feedback and Commentaries page. The possibility, price and time of production will be notified to you in a reply letter.