How to use Language Navigator

From: Translation Bureau

Would you like to learn how to search for content in Language Navigator or filter your search results? Read the instructions below.

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Searching for content in Language Navigator

There are two ways to access the many resources available through Language Navigator: search by keyword or by theme.

The search by keyword option allows you to find pages containing the word(s) you are looking for.

The search by theme option displays a list of all the pages related to a specific theme, such as:

  • grammar and syntax
  • spelling
  • punctuation
  • business communication
  • translation
  • vocabulary

Search by keyword

To search by keyword:

  1. Go to Language Navigator’s main page.
  2. Enter the search word(s) in the search field. For example, you could search for:
    • agreement (to find all the pages containing the word “agreement”)
    • agreement number (to find all the pages containing the word “agreement” and the word “number”)
    • "agree in number" (to find all the pages containing the expression “agree in number”)
    By default, the engine searches in all the Language Portal of Canada’s writing tools, in English and French.
  3. If you would like to search in one specific writing tool, select the writing tool from the “Writing tool” drop-down menu. You can also limit your search to only English or French tools.
  4. If you wish, you can use the "Sort by" drop-down list to select the order in which the results are displayed. By default, the results are sorted by relevance. You can also sort by number of views, an option which displays the pages most frequently viewed in Language Navigator at the beginning of the list of results.
  5. Select "Search."

Search by theme

To search by theme:

  1. Go to Language Navigator’s main page.
  2. Select "English themes" to access English resources or "French themes" to access French resources.
  3. Choose a theme in the list. English and French themes may vary as a result of the differences between the languages.
    • The English themes are:
      • Abbreviations, acronyms and symbols
      • Business communication
      • Clear communication
      • General knowledge
      • Grammar and syntax
      • Legal writing
      • Prepositions (to, for, with…)
      • Punctuation
      • Spelling
      • Translation
      • Vocabulary
      • Writing conventions
    • The French themes are:
      • Abréviations, sigles et symboles
      • Anglicismes
      • Communication claire
      • Conjugaison
      • Culture générale
      • Grammaire et syntaxe
      • Langue juridique
      • Orthographe
      • Ponctuation
      • Prépositions (à, de, en…)
      • Rédaction administrative
      • Règles d’écriture
      • Traduction
      • Vocabulaire
  4. Select a subtheme to refine your search, or select “All” to see all the results related to the theme.

Understanding and filtering your search results

For each result, the page title is followed by a short excerpt from the text (in which the keywords appear in bold), the source page and the number of times the page was viewed in Language Navigator.

You can use the filters located below “Filter your results” to refine your search results. The options are:

  • by language
  • by writing tool
  • by content type
  • by English theme and subtheme
  • by French theme and subtheme

The number of search results related to each filter is shown in brackets.

To refine your search, simply select the desired filter, or check the box next to it. The pages that do not match the selected filter will be eliminated from the list. You will then be able to select another filter, if necessary. The selected filters will be displayed above your search results, in the “Current selected search filters” box.

If you think that you have refined the results too much, deactivate one or more filters. To do so, you can:

  • click on the “X” next to the filter you want to eliminate in the “Current selected search filters” box
  • click on the “Delete selected filters” button
  • uncheck the box on the left of the filter, below “Filter your results”

Once you have found the page you are searching for, click on its title. The page will open in a new tab.