[Trac #1309] kids learning to read like labels, but there are few

[Hal Murray]

> Actually, I would like to see us go much farther with that idea. I
> have a copy of the Facts on File Visual Dictionary, which consists
> almost entirely of more than 3000 labelled drawings of common or
> otherwise familiar objects, from shoes to galaxies, with more than
> 25,000 captions. If we could get permission to make editions for the
> languages of developing countries, using the same basic techniques as
> Free Software localization, we would be able to provide an amazing
> resource for language learners. I have often lamented that I did not
> have such a dictionary for languages I was studying. As far as I know,
> the Canadian authors only did French, English, and Spanish. I wonder
> whether we could talk to them about a Creative Commons-Developing
> Countries license for an electronic version? Or whether we can
> interest the Wikipedia people?

I have an Oxford-Duden Pictorial French&English Dictionary.

It's got 384 drawings and a corresponding page of English and French terms.  
The drawings use numbers for tags/labels.  The text is indexed by the numbers.

It's very handy when you can't think of the word for an object.  For example, 
if you want to know what a fork is called, look on the kitchen page 39.  
(Kitchen is in the index.)  I don't see a fork there, but flipping a few 
pages...  Page 44 is the Dining Room and page 45 is Tableware and Cutlery 
with several examples of forks.  (The bathtub on page 49 has a rubber duck.)

Using numbers for tags seems like an important idea.  It reduces the clutter 
on the drawing and lets the drawings be reused for new languages or language 
pairs.

It's an amazing collection of drawings but a bit dated.  Nothing on 
computers.  :(

I like the wiki suggestion.



What other sources of drawings are there?




-- 
These are my opinions, not necessarily my employer's.  I hate spam.