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[FILE: UGUIDE.DOC] LinguaPro Release 2.11a User's Guide The Spanish Version Schulenberg & Associates, Inc. P.O. Box 1005 Houston, Texas 77251 (713) 440-4444 (Voice) (713) 980-7164 (FAX) Compuserve ID: 72650,3160 I. INTRODUCTION LinguaPro/SPANISH is a PC-based program designed for the serious language student. The major capabilities of Version 2.11a are described in the following sections. NOTE: Be sure to look at Appendix B and C Appendix B: CONSTRUCTING ENGLISH VOCABULARY FILES How to use LinguaPro for the construction of English vocabularies for reference or flashcarding. Also, how to use LinguaPro for the construction of general question and answer files (e.g., historical dates, legal court cases, medical terminology, etc.) Appendix C: OPERATIONAL NOTES & PROBLEM SOLVING - THINGS TO TRY - STUDY METHODS 1.1 On-Line Dictionary Facility (ODF) The On-Line Dictionary Facility provides an initial set of 5 vocabulary files consisting of over 18,000 Spanish words. These files are named: LEVEL1.SPA LEVEL2.SPA ... LEVEL5.SPA ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: If you have the Shareware version of LinguaPro/SPANISH then you will have instead a file named SHARE1.SPA. This vocabulary file contains approximately 1,000 words and was randomly selected from LEVEL1.SPA to provide a cross-section of interesting words. You can easily add your own words, or form additional vocabulary files as described in this user's guide. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Using the ODF the user can quickly look up words either from English to Spanish or Spanish to English simply by typing the first few letters of the word. If the word is not currently in the dictionary, the user may easily add the new word so that it is available for future lookups. -2- The user can create an unlimited number of new vocabulary files in addition to the supplied files. This will permit the user to build up specialized vocabulary sets (e.g., medical terminology), or to enter the vocabulary presented in a particular textbook on a lesson-by-lesson basis. Thus, if the user is taking a Spanish course, or simply working independently in a textbook, the words and exact definitions can be added to a vocabulary file and used for memorization and review as the user progresses through the course. In addition, these vocabulary files are ideal for users who do a lot of reading or writing in Spanish. A specific word can be found in times ranging from a tenth of a second, to about a second on most PCs (out of 18,000 words). Also, all vocabulary files constructed or maintained by the ODF are available for "flashcarding". This is described in the next section. 1.2 FLASHCARD Facility for Vocabulary Items The LinguaPro Flashcard Facility provides an efficient way for users to absorb large amounts of Spanish vocabulary. Any of the vocabulary files discussed above, or any combination of them (depending on the usable memory of your PC), can be specified. The Flashcard Facility allows the user to work from Spanish to English or English to Spanish (or to choose a mixture of part English and part Spanish with specified ratios). The Flashcard Facility allows the user to specify entire vocabulary files, or one or more "subgroups" of about 100 words each. No matter how many words are specified for flashcarding, however, LinguaPro will parcel out the chosen words in "clusters" of 30-35 words. Unless overridden by the user, the Flashcard Facility will not advance to the next "cluster" until the user demonstrates a reasonable level of proficiency in the "current" cluster. (See the A and F commands). The Flashcard Facility keeps track of words that the user has missed. LinguaPro will continue to drill the user more intensively on these words even when the user has moved on to a new "cluster" of words. Furthermore, if the user saves the file before exiting (using the X command), then the statistics will be available on the next invocation of LinguaPro and the user will continue to be drilled on the troublesome words. The Flashcard Facility allows the user to KILL words that he/she no longer wishes to be tested upon. Such words are automatically removed from the selected vocabulary file and are archived into a special vocabulary file with the name "KILLED.SPA". The KILLED file can be viewed as just another vocabulary file. If desired, the user can load the KILLED file and use the Flashcard Facility to double-check that the user, in fact, fully understands the words. Words can also be moved back into the main vocabulary files if the user determines that they were "killed" prematurely. -3- 1.3 FLASHCARD Facility for Verb Forms Two separate sets of verb files are provided with LinguaPro/SPANISH. Each verb file contains 76 fully conjugated verbs or verb phrases. The first set of verb files are Verb Phrase files and are named: TVERB1.SPA TVERB2.SPA ... TVERB5.SPA ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: If you have the Shareware version of LinguaPro/SPANISH then you will only have the file TVERB1.SPA due to space reasons (each file requires about 67,000 bytes of disk space). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This set of files consists of 380 verbs and verb phrases arranged in an order similar to that encountered in a typical series of Spanish textbooks. In other words, irregular verbs are gradually introduced as the user gains familiarity with the 3 regular conjugation patterns. Also, verbs involving direct and indirect object pronouns are introduced at a later stage, as are reflexive verbs. In the "T" verb series, phrases and sentences are emphasized so that the user can learn the verb conjugations in proper context. When one of these Verb Phrase files is selected, the flashcard system will generate complete sentences that exercise the selected verbs in the tenses and persons specified. Additional vocabulary is provided within these generated sentences. The second set of verb files are Verb Conjugation files and are named: VERBS1.SPA VERBS2.SPA ... VERBS7.SPA ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ NOTE: None of these files are included with the Shareware version due to space limitations. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This set of files contains 532 Spanish verbs and is designed to cover all common irregular verbs, and all standard conjugation patterns (including rarer verb forms). No attempt is made with these Verb Conjugation files to generate complete sentences. The emphasis is totally on the verb conjugation itself. The user should generally begin with the TVERB set prior to commencing work with this set of verb forms. -4- The Flashcard Facility for Verbs provides a flexible set of screens that allow the specification of the forms to be used. After loading the desired verb file, the user must first select the Tense or Tenses desired (e.g., Present, Preterit, etc.). The user will then select any desired subset of the 76 verbs or verb phrases contained in the verb file. The user can then select the person or persons to be exercised. This gives the student of American Spanish the ability to dispense with the "vosotros" forms (used only in Spain). Finally, several additional options are provided. One of the most important of these is the ability to specify that the user is a female. This will result in the generation of sentences and adjectival genders that reflect a female speaker. Also, once the user is familiar with Spanish verb conjugation patterns and sentence structure, the option is provided here to suppress nonessential subject pronouns. Once the Flashcard Facility for Verb Forms has been configured, operation is similar to that of the Flashcard Facility for vocabulary items. Users may test themselves from English to Spanish or Spanish to English (or use a mixture of forms). The "cluster" concept mentioned above applies here, too. Verb forms are presented in "clusters" of 30-35 forms and the user is not advanced to the next cluster until the hit/miss ratio is acceptable (although users always have the option of forcing an advance to the next cluster, or of staying in the current cluster indefinitely). Verb forms that are totally mastered may be "killed" by the user. Unlike vocabulary items, however, the verb form is not moved out to the archival file but is simply suppressed. (The "killed" verb forms may be reactivated at any time by saving the verb file with the XX option rather than the normal X option. This will also, of course, erase all knowledge contained in the file about which verb forms are giving the user the most trouble.) The Flashcard Facility for Verbs provides two different styles of verb presentation. The default style is to utilize short phrases, or complete sentences (in the case of the "T" series of Verb Phrase files), without any specific clues as to Tense, Mood, and Voice. In this case the user must decide upon the correct response just as in a speaking or writing situation. In the second style of presentation, however, the user is prompted for a specific person, verb, and tense. Presentation modes may be switched back and forth by means of the S command. 1.4 VERB Reference Facility (VRF) Version 2.11a of LinguaPro(Spanish) supplies a reference capability which gives the complete definitions, and the full conjugation patterns of over 5000 Spanish verbs. This VERB Reference Facility may be entered either from the Flashcard Facility, or from the On-Line Dictionary Facility. The access to the VRF is accomplished by means of the V command. -5- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ NOTE: If you have the Shareware version of LinguaPro/SPANISH then the SPANISH.VRB file supplied only contains the definitions and conjugations for a random sampling of about 300 verbs. The 5,000 verb file requires over 200,000 bytes of disk space. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1.5 HELP Screens HELP Screens are available at any time by pressing the F1 key (Function key 1). Due to space limitations these help screens are not reproduced in this document. Also, the F2 key may be used at any time to produce a blank screen. Pressing any key will bring back the screen displayed previously. 1.6 SOUND In addition to a 'beep' tone if an error message is generated, LinguaPro/SPANISH utilizes 4 sound patterns to signal the following conditions: a. User has typed the E command to signal that he/she has missed a word (a high-low pair of notes). b. User has typed the K command to signal that the word is to 'killed' (funeral dirge). c. A low-high pair of notes provides an audible signal that the word just presented on the screen is one that has been giving trouble (has a non-zero error count). d. A 6-note flourish indicates that the program has advanced the user to the next cluster of words. NOTE: The sound patterns can be turned off (or on again) by use of the Z command. II. LinguaPro Installation and Operation 2.1 Installation Release 2.11a of LinguaPro/SPANISH consists of the following files: (Items provided on the Shareware release are marked with an asterisk). Note that the USORT.BIN and SPA.BIN files will be dynamically constructed (c) the first time they are needed (for the Shareware release). -6- *** SYSTEM FILES *** * LP.EXE The LinguaPro Program executable file * LP.LIB LinguaPro Library File c USORT.BIN LinguaPro System File c SPA.BIN LinguaPro System File (Spanish compression) * SPANISH.VRB Verb Reference File (defns and conjugations of 5000+ verbs) *** USER LOADABLE FILES *** VRBINDEX.SPA Verb Index File of 5000+ verbs * (LEVEL1.SPA) Vocabulary File (level 1) --- or --> SHARE1.SPA LEVEL2.SPA Vocabulary File (level 2) LEVEL3.SPA Vocabulary File (level 3) LEVEL4.SPA Vocabulary File (level 4) LEVEL5.SPA Vocabulary File (level 5) * TVERB1.SPA Spanish Verbs & Verb Phrases #1 TVERB2.SPA Spanish Verbs & Verb Phrases #2 TVERB3.SPA Spanish Verbs & Verb Phrases #3 TVERB4.SPA Spanish Verbs & Verb Phrases #4 TVERB5.SPA Spanish Verbs & Verb Phrases #5 VERBS1.SPA Alternate Verb Set #1 VERBS2.SPA Alternate Verb Set #2 VERBS3.SPA Alternate Verb Set #3 VERBS4.SPA Alternate Verb Set #4 VERBS5.SPA Alternate Verb Set #5 VERBS6.SPA Alternate Verb Set #6 VERBS7.SPA Alternate Verb Set #7 Version 2.11a of LinguaPro/SPANISH requires a PC with at least 450K of available memory. It will, however, utilize all available memory within the first 640K. Memory space only becomes a factor of importance for those users who wish to use LinguaPro as a comprehensive on-line dictionary. LinguaPro does not currently attempt to use expanded or extended memory. The program is activated by typing LP at a DOS prompt. Assuming that the entire contents of the release floppies have been transferred to a subdirectory named LPRO, the program is activated by typing: C:\LPRO\LP -7- 2.2 Loading Vocabulary Files When LinguaPro is activated it will request the name of a Vocabulary File as in Figure 1. At this point the user has 3 choices: 1. Specify an existing Vocabulary File such as LEVEL1.SPA or SHARE1.SPA (for the Shareware version), or a vocabulary file previously created by the user. Up to 6 such files can be loaded simultaneously depending on the capacity of the LinguaPro program. 2. Specify a Verb Phrase file such as TVERB1.SPA, or a Verb Conjugation file such as VERBS1.SPA. Unlike Vocabulary files, only one verb-type file may be loaded at a time. 3. Specify a nonexistent file name such as MEDICAL.SPA. In the third case the user will be informed that the file does not exist and the user will be asked if it should be created. If the user answers Y (or YES), then LinguaPro will automatically put the user in the On-Line Dictionary Facility (ODF) and prompt for the new Spanish word and its defin- ition. In this way the user may construct a new vocabulary file from scratch. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ NOTE: Be sure to look at Appendix B to see how to utilize this facility for the creation of English vocabulary flashcard files, or to construct general Question/Answer type files. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ NOTE: The suffix SPA is optional. If you wish to create an English or general purpose file, however, then you must specify the suffixes ENG or GEN, respectively. If a Verb file is specified, then the user is limited to exactly one file (of up to 76 fully conjugated verbs or verb phrases). In this case the user will have access only to the Flashcard Facility and to the Verb Reference Facility (the ODF is not accessible if verb files are loaded). If a Vocabulary file is specified, LinguaPro will then accept a total of up to 6 such file names. All files will then be available for flashcard drilling or for the On-Line Dictionary (ODF). Vocabulary files will be marked with the letters A, B, C, D, E, and F, respectively. All files loaded in this manner are referred to as WORKING files to distinguish them from various EXTERNAL files (such as KILLED.SPA). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LinguaPro(TM) V2.11a - The Professional Language Assistant Copyright (c) 1993, Schulenberg and Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved. What is the name of the Vocabulary File? (press F1 for HELP) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Figure 1. File Loading Screen -8- If you need help with inputting a vocabulary file name you may press the F1 key to obtain help. The help display will show you all files in your current directory with the suffix .SPA. Figure 2 shows the LinguaPro Loading Screen after the Vocabulary file LEVEL1.SPA has been loaded. Notice that 3,673 mainline entries have been loaded and that a total of 7,264 individual words are defined. LinguaPro vocabulary files generally will place several related words on a single line, e.g., a verb and a derived noun and/or adjective. Version 2.11a limits the user to 10,750 entries. This will normally correspond to a word count of over 14,000 words. It can also be seen in figure 2 (line 3) that the %Full indicators are 34.2% and 62.9%. The first figure means that LinguaPro has utilized 34% of its maximum of 10,750 mainline entries (i.e., 3673 is 34% of 10,750). The second figure means that the TEXT size is 63% of the maxi- mum. Thus, it will not be possible to immediately load the second vocabulary file (LEVEL2.SPA). Instead, the user should employ the Flashcard Facility to drill on LEVEL1. The KILL feature should then be used to remove enough of the simplest words so that LEVEL2 (and the LEVEL3, 4, 5 can be loaded). A larger capacity version of LinguaPro, however, will permit almost all of the vocabulary files to be loaded simultaneously (e.g., the 600K version). Appendix A describes additional methods for "loading" all vocabulary files for reading or reference purposes. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LinguaPro(TM) V2.11a - The Professional Language Assistant 100% Spanish->English File: LEVEL1.SPA Loaded: 3673 (ENG) Viewed: 0 Errors: 0 Batavg: 1.000 %Full: (34.2,62.9) Selected: 0 (SPA) Viewed: 0 Errors: 0 Batavg: 1.000 What is the name of the Vocabulary File? (press F1 for HELP) FILE LOADING SUMMARY File Name #Entries #Words LEVEL1.SPA 3673 7264 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Figure 2. File Loading Screen (1 File Loaded) When all desired vocabulary files have been loaded (one in this case), the user should then simply press the ENTER key. This will cause LinguaPro to advance to the Group Selection Screen shown in Figure 3. The purpose of this screen is to constrain the number of words that will be tested in the Flashcard Facility. If the user presses ENTER (or types 'ALL' and presses ENTER), all 3673 word entries will be utilized. This is still subject, however, to the clustering logic which will present the words to the user in clusters of 30-35 words. Alternatively, the user may select group 1 for example. This will select about 105 word entries (perhaps 120-130 individual words) out of the total set of 3,673. The words will be chosen at random from the full set, and will be presented in a random order. However, every time that the user selects group 1, the same set of 105 word entries will be used. This permits the user to select group 1 for practice on Monday, select group 2 for practice on Tuesday, select groups 1 and 2 for reinforcement practice on Wednesday, and so forth. In this wasy the entire contents of LEVEL1.SPA may be learned in a short time, and as words are learned (and KILLed), the size of the LEVEL1.SPA file will decrease (as the size of the KILLED.SPA file increases). This will ultimately permit the higher-level files (LEVEL2, 3, 4, and 5) to be loaded simultaneously. -9- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LinguaPro(TM) V2.11a - The Professional Language Assistant 100% Spanish->English File: LEVEL1.SPA Loaded: 3673 (ENG) Viewed: 0 Errors: 0 Batavg: 1.000 %Full: (34.2,62.9) Selected: 0 (SPA) Viewed: 0 Errors: 0 Batavg: 1.000 3673 Vocabulary items have been loaded. This will be divided into 35 groups of about 105 items each. Enter " "/"ALL" or Range of Groups, e.g., 1, 2-4, ... : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Figure 3. Group Selection Screen 2.3 The Flashcard Facility (Vocabulary) In Figure 4 we can see an example of the Flashcard Facility (for Vocabulary). In this case all words were selected from LEVEL1.SPA so it can be seen at the top of the screen that 3,673 entries have been loaded, and that 3,673 entries have been selected. The VIEW counters keep track of how many words have been viewed in English and in Spanish. In this case the words are 100% Spanish to English so that all words appearing on the left are Spanish words. The Batting Average statistics keep track of the number of words guessed correctly divided by the total number of words viewed (in that language). Another feature that is evident in Figure 4 is the Clustering Logic. It can be seen that we are in Cluster 1 (which contains 35 distinct word entries), that the cluster is 48% complete (because 17 words have been displayed thus far), and that the user has up to now not missed any of the words (Zero Cluster Errors). LinguaPro will not advance to Cluster #2 (the next 35 word entry) until the number of cluster errors is about 5 or less (unless the user types the A command to force an Advance). The advance to the next cluster is accompanied by a 6-note melody. This may be suppressed by means of the Z command. Notice that the words are being presented in a totally random order. This would also be the case if the user had specified only one, or several groups on the Group Selection Screen. The Flashcard Facility is designed around use of the ENTER key and a set of one or two letter commands. The ENTER key will cause the display of the definition for the word currently on the left-hand side. If the user has correctly guessed the definition then the ENTER key may be pressed again to bring up the next word. If the user has missed the word, however, then the E (error) command should be used to mark the word as a problem word. -10- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LinguaPro(TM) V2.11a - The Professional Language Assistant 100% Spanish->English File: LEVEL1.SPA Loaded: 3673 (ENG) Viewed: 0 Errors: 0 Batavg: 1.000 %Full: (34.2,62.9) Selected: 0 (SPA) Viewed: 0 Errors: 0 Batavg: 1.000 Clust#: 1; 35 items; %Complete: 48%; #Clust Errs: 0; Stage#: 1; Mode: 1 parado/a stopped a la una en punto at one o'clock on the dot el vinagre the vinegar al poco rato;al poco tiempo after a short while la insistencia the insistence ofensivo/a offensive/insulting conducente conducive/leading to abrochar to fasten/button on durante mucho tiempo for a long time vencer to defeat/vanquish/overcome las tinieblas the night/hell por desgracia unfortunately el campamento the camp mecánico/a mechanical espiritualizar to spiritualize públicamente publicly el/la educando/a the student/pupil el/la suegro/a -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Figure 4. Flashcard Facility (Vocabulary) LinguaPro employs the HONOR system in evaluating the user's proficiency with vocabulary. Although a Multiple Choice approach (or Matching approach) may be beneficial in some cases, it is felt that the design of LinguaPro is far better for mature students who want the full benefits of a Flashcard facility. Far greater speed is possible with the adopted approach. If a user feels that he/she has "missed" the word, then an E (or e) command can be typed. The E (Error) command signifies that the user has missed the word, or some aspect of the word. LinguaPro will then flag the word on the screen with an "e>>" symbol, sound a 2-note acknowledgement (unless suppressed via the Z command), update the Cluster Error counter and the Batting Averages, and maintain associated statistics that will permanently record that the user has had trouble with that word. When six or more words have been marked as "errors", LinguaPro will lock-in the current cluster until the user as either gotten the words correctly on a sufficient number of subsequent tries, or until the user explicitly advances to the next cluster with the A (Advance) command. In general, if a user has gotten a word wrong once, then he/she will have to get it right on four or five subsequent attempts for the error counters to drop back to zero for that word. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *** Deleted for space reasons. HELP may be accessed at any time by use of the F1 key *** -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Figure 5. HELP Screen for Flashcard Facility -11- The first few screen columns in the Flashcard Screens are set aside for several purposes. In the first place, words flagged by the users as "incorrect" are marked with the symbol "e>>" in these columns. Also, words that have been "killed" by the user are marked with the symbol "k>>" in these initial columns. The standard use for these columns, however, is to show the user how many times he/she has seen that word previously, and to provide an estimation of how "troublesome" that word has been. Column 1 of the Flashcard Screen is reserved for a Dictionary ID. This is a letter (A, B, C...) that is assigned sequentially as the vocabulary files are loaded. The ID assignments can be seen by pressing the F1 key to access Help. If you have only loaded one vocabulary file then its ID is 'A'. In this special case no letter is shown. You will only see file IDs if you have loaded two or more vocabulary files. The next few columns of the Flashcard Screen will either show blanks or an integer value. If the field is blank it signifies that, as far as LinguaPro knows, the user has never seen this word in this or any previous session. An integer value of 1, 2, etc., signifies that the user has been exposed to this word that many times previously. These statistics are only maintained, however, if the user exits from LinguaPro with the X command. If the user simply escapes (ESC), or uses the UNLOAD (U) command, then these statistics are not updated for the current session. Furthermore, if the user exits with the XX command, then all of the statistical information is reset. To the right of the VIEWED PREVIOUSLY statistics a field is set aside to show the user approximately how many times the word has been guessed incorrectly. As mentioned previously, the user signifies that he/she has missed a word by typing the E command. As the screen scrolls the offending word off the top of the screen, LinguaPro will begin to redisplay that word (plus other troublesome words) at a frequency sufficient to permit the user to master the definition. When the word is redisplayed, it will generally show a single asterisk (*) in the ERROR columns. If the word has been missed repeatedly, however, then LinguaPro will employ the following succession of symbols to remind the user of the relative difficulty of the word: * ** *** ! !! !!! These symbols will build up (to the maximum value of !!!) as the user continues to miss the word, and will then count down (ultimately to a blank) as the user gets the word correctly on subsequent tries. Figure 5 shows the HELP Screen available within the Flashcard Facility when the user presses the F1 key (Function Key 1). Each of these commands will now be discussed in turn. All commands can be typed in either upper or lower case, and all commands must be followed by the ENTER key. -12- 1. "A" command. The A (ADVANCE) command causes an immediate advance to the next word cluster regardless of how many errors the user has made during the current cluster. However, the clustering logic is always interrupted by the injection of previous "troublesome" words. The troublesome words of all previous clusters will continue to pop up randomly (but at a reduced frequency) during the new cluster. 2. "F" command. The F (FREEZE) command is the inverse of the A command. It causes a freeze of the current cluster so that the user can drill exhaustively on the current set of 30-35 words without an automatic progression to the next cluster. Once an F command has been entered, however, a subsequent A command must be used to cause resumption of normal program sequencing. When a cluster is in a FROZEN state, this is indicated by the word FROZEN (in red) in the upper right section of the screen. 3. "D" command. The D (DICTIONARY) command causes an immediate switch from the Flashcard Facility to the On-Line Dictionary Facility (ODF). When the Dictionary Facility is exited, the user will be put back in the Flashcard Facility, and in the same cluster. 4. "E" command. The E (ERROR) command is used to signal an error. As mentioned earlier, the honor system is employed to detect words guessed incorrectly by the user. Note: The E command may be used "retroactively" to mark an error on a previous word even if a new word has appeared -- provided that the definition for the new word has not yet been shown. The K (KILL) command also works in this retroactive way. Words flagged as "errors" will be marked with the symbol "e>>". 5. "K" command. The K (KILL) command is used to KILL a word. It should be used whenever the user feels that the word being displayed has been totally mastered. The K command causes the specified word to be removed from the active working vocabulary file and moved into the KILLED.SPA file. Thus, words are never totally lost, but rather moved to archival storage where they can be subsequently reviewed or interrogated. As in the case of the E command, the K command can be used retroactively for a word provided that the definition has not yet been displayed for the subsequent word. Words that have been "killed" will be marked with the symbol "k>>". 6. "L" command. The L (LOAD) command is used to LOAD an additional vocabulary file. It causes LinguaPro to return control to the File Loading Screen where an additional file or files may be loaded (provided program limits are not exceeded). 7. "R" command. The R (RECYCLE) command causes LinguaPro to recycle back to the Group Selection Screen whereupon the user can select a different group or groups to be used in the Flashcard Facility. -13- 8. "U" command. The U (UNLOAD) command causes all current vocabulary files to be dropped, and control to be returned to the File Loading Screen. If the user has marked one or more words as "errors" (E command), or has altered the vocabulary files via the On-Line Dictionary Facility, then the user will be requested to explicitly OK the loss of this information. If the U command is used then all changes made to all active vocabulary files, plus all statistical information gathered via the E command, will be lost. Only the X command (save and exit) causes all statistics and vocabulary file changes to be permanently recorded. 9. "V" command. The V (VRF) command causes an immediate transfer to the VERB Reference Facility (described in a later section). If the current line contains a Spanish verb, then the VERB Reference Facility will position to that verb automatically so that the conjugation pattern is automatically displayed. 10. "X" and "XX" commands. The X (EXIT) command is the normal way for a user to exit from LinguaPro. It causes all information acquired during the session to be permanently updated in the various vocabulary files. Statistics on words missed, as well as any file changes resulting from kills (K command) or Dictionary operations (Purge, Modify, New word, etc.) are saved. The XX command is like the X command in that all substantive dictionary changes are saved. However, the XX command causes a "resetting" of all view and error statistics so that LinguaPro will have no future knowledge of which words the user has previously seen and which words have been causing errors. 11. "Z" command. The Z (SOUND) command will turn off the sound effects, if they are on, or turn them on if they are off. 12. Mixture commands (< , <<, >, >>). The mixture commands are used to change from Spanish to English or English to Spanish (or a percentage mixture of both). Initially, LinguaPro defaults to all Spanish on the left-hand side. This is based on the presumption that it is natural for English-speaking persons to learn words initially from Spanish to English before attempting the reverse direction. Use of the < command tells LinguaPro to use LESS Spanish on the left-hand side. Several usages of the < command will result in a 50-50 mixture (half of the time the word on the left will be Spanish and the rest of the time it will be English). Even more usages of the < command will cause NO Spanish on the left, that is, all words on the left-hand side will be English words. The << command, however, causes an immediate switch to 100% English to Spanish. In a similar manner, the > command tells LinguaPro to use MORE Spanish on the left-hand side. Again, this command may be repeated to achieve several intermediate mixtures. Similarly, the >> command causes an immediate switch to 100% Spanish to English. The current Mixture setting is shown in the upper right-hand corner of the LinguaPro Screen (see Figure 4). -14- It should also be noticed that the HELP screen (F1 key) shows the vocabulary files currently loaded (marked as A, B, C, D, E, and F) and indicates the number of "kills" and "purges" that have taken place for that particular file (Purges are discussed in the next section which is devoted to the On-Line Dictionary Facility). 2.4 The On-Line Dictionary Facility The On-Line Dictionary Facility (ODF) is not accessible if a VERB file has been loaded. The On-Line Dictionary Facility is accessed from the Flashcard Facility by using the "D" command. The Dictionary Facility is exited by using the ESC key. This will cause control to be transferred back into the Flashcard Facility at the point it was exited (in the same cluster and with the same cluster statistics). The Dictionary Facility works with the files already loaded, and in some cases, with an additional EXTERNAL File. The dictionary is searched by typing at least three initial characters of a desired word, and then pressing the ENTER key. By typing more letters, of course, the number of "hits" will be reduced, and the resultant list will be shorter. If too many "hits" result, the screen will show "..." at the bottom which indicates that the list of words is incomplete. If the desired word does not appear on the partial list, then the search should be retried with a longer search string. The default for LinguaPro/SPANISH is for a Spanish word lookup. In Figure 6 the search string entered was "pare" and LinguaPro displayed all words in LEVEL1.SPA which START with the letters p-a-r-e. LinguaPro ignores all accent marks and capital letters when making its searches. This makes it easier for the user to enter the search string, and the desired word is sure to be found even if it is stored with an initial capital letter (or an unexpected accent mark). To narrow the search farther, the user may terminate the search string with the dollar ($) sign. This tells LinguaPro to ignore any words that contain LETTERs following the search string. In other words, if the user types "para", the displayed list will be of all words that START with the letters "para" (parado, paraguas, parasol, etc.). If the user types "para$", however, then only occurrences of the word "para" will be located. In order to search for English words, the user must PREFIX the word with a pound sign (#). The same rules apply as in the case of Spanish lookups. The dollar sign ($) terminator may again be used. Thus if the user types "#man" the resultant list will be too long, and will include such words as many, manner, manager, etc. If the user types "#man$", however, then only words or phrases containing "man " will be located. -15- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LinguaPro(TM) V2.11a - The Professional Language Assistant 100% Spanish->English File: LEVEL1.SPA Knn (Kill) TnnX (Transfer) Pnn (Purge) Mnn (Modify) %Full: (34.2,62.9) nn (Select) <Please indicate which was the desired word> N (New) 3 to 20 Chars (Search) <ESC> (Exit) F1 (HELP) F2 (BLANK) Specify Command or SEARCH string: A 1 the couple/pair/mates;equal/like \ la pareja;parejo/a A 2 similar/alike/resembling;good looking \ parecido/a;bien parecido/a A 3 to seem(appear);to resemble/look alike;the opinion/mind/looks parecer;parecerse(a);el parecer A 4 the wall(inside);the strong,thick wall \ la pared;el paredón A 5 apparently;it is hard to believe/it appears to be a lie al parecer;parece mentira Lookup String: pare TYPEOVER -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Figure 6. The On-Line Dictionary Screen In Figure 6 all 5 dictionary items are flagged with an A in column 1. This signals that the words were all found in vocabulary file A (LEVEL1.SPA). If other vocabulary files had been loaded then the user might see B, C, D, etc. in column 1. The Dictionary Facility has its own HELP Screen (See Figure 7). It is also accessed by pressing F1 (Function Key 1). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *** Deleted for space reasons. HELP may be accessed at any time by use of the F1 key *** -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Figure 7. Dictionary HELP Screen The Dictionary Facility has its own set of commands. Each command (except for the ESC key to exit) requires that the command be followed by the ENTER key. The Dictionary commands are as follows: 1. "ESC" key. The ESC key causes LinguaPro to exit back to the Flashcard Facility. The user will be back in the same "cluster" as when the Flashcard Facility was exited, and the cluster statistics will be as before. -16- 2. "nn" Command. This command simply consists of typing the number of one of the displayed words and pressing the ENTER key. For example, if the user types 4 ENTER, he/she is signifying that the fourth line (see Figure 6), containing the word "pared", was the desired word or words. LinguaPro will mark this line with an asterisk (*) in column 1. LinguaPro will regard this as an Error, similar to the use of the E command in the Flashcard Facility. When the user returns to the Flashcard Facility, the word "pared" will be more intensively drilled because the user has admitted having trouble with it. This again is an example of the honor system employed by LinguaPro. Words that have to be looked up in the course of reading a book are treated as though they had been guessed incorrectly during a Flashcard session. If the user employs the X command to exit from LinguaPro, then these statistics will be kept for the next session as well. 3. "string". By typing a string of characters and pressing the ENTER key, the user is requesting LinguaPro to find all Spanish words in the loaded vocabulary files that START with that character sequence. The string may be terminated with a dollar sign ($), as discussed above, to limit the search further. 4. "#string". By typing a pound sign (#) followed by a string of characters and pressing the ENTER key, the user is requesting LinguaPro to find all English words in the loaded vocabulary files that START with that character sequence. The string may be terminated with a dollar sign ($), as discussed above, to limit the search further. 5. "Knn". By typing a K followed by an item number, LinguaPro will KILL all words on that line. All words will be moved to the KILLED.SPA file and taken out of the working vocabulary file. Remember, however, that no changes are permanently effective until the user employs the X command (or XX) to exit from LinguaPro. If the user exits via an ESC (escape), or by use of the U command, then all such changes are discarded. In the example of Figure 6, if the user types K1 and ENTER then both of the words "la pareja" and "parejo/a" will be KILLed, that is, removed from LEVEL1.SPA and moved into KILLED.SPA. Thus the KILL command within the Dictionary Facility is more encompassing than the K command within the Flashcard Facility. Within the Flashcard Facility, use of the K command causes the multi-word entry to be split. Only the word actually being being displayed will be KILLed. Thus if the user is employing the Flashcard Facility and the displayed word is "la pareja", use of the K command will cause "la pareja" to be moved to the KILLED.SPA file but the word "parejo/a" will be kept. The Dictionary Facility K command removes ALL words on the displayed line. 6. "Mnn". The MODIFY command is used to modify or correct an existing vocabulary file entry (or to add an additional word and its definition to a line entry). It operates like the N (NEW) command except that the Spanish and English sections are already filled in with the current text. -17- 7. "N, NA, NB". The NEW command is the means whereby the user can add wholly new words to new or existing LinguaPro vocabulary files. If only a single vocabulary file is loaded, then the N command may be used by itself. If more than one vocabulary file has been loaded, however, then the letter A, B, C, etc., must be affixed to indicate the vocabulary file which is to contain the new word. If the user omits the vocabulary file ID, the word will auto- matically go into the last vocabulary file loaded, that is, the file with the highest letter. Figure 8 shows the LinguaPro Dictionary Screen after the N command has been entered. The user is first prompted for the Spanish word (or words) to be added. The user may type up to 125 characters of text to define the Spanish word or phrase. The ENTER key will then result in a prompt to enter the English word or phrase. A final ENTER key will cause the new word to go into the indicated vocabulary file, and onto the screen as a new line item. NOTE: NEW or Modified line items will be moved to the bottom of the screen. Use of the ESC (escape) key will back LinguaPro up so that if the user is in the process of entering the English definition and sees that an error has been made in the initial Spanish word, the ESC key will return control to the Spanish section. Alternatively, the user may simply continue, knowing that LinguaPro will provide a final opportunity to get the entries correct before they are committed. All languages, particulary Spanish, require accent marks. Within LinguaPro, accent marks are entered by first typing the parent letter (a, e, i, o, u, n) and then pressing the ALT A key one or more times to cycle through the available choices (hold down the ALT key and press the A key at the same time). Thus the user may type the letter n (or N), and immediately press the ALT A key to get the ñ. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Enter the SPANISH word(s) to be added: A 1 the couple/pair/mates;equal/like \ la pareja;parejo/a A 2 similar/alike/resembling;good looking \ parecido/a;bien parecido/a A 3 to seem(appear);to resemble/look alike;the opinion/mind/looks parecer;parecerse(a);el parecer A 4 the wall(inside);the strong,thick wall \ la pared;el paredón A 5 apparently;it is hard to believe/it appears to be a lie al parecer;parece mentira -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Figure 8. The NEW Command 8. "Pnn". The PURGE command is like the KILL command except that ALL words on the line are totally removed and discarded. The words are not archived into the KILLED.SPA file. Be careful with this command! -18- 9. "Tnn". The TRANSFER command permits an entry (often more than one word) to be moved from one of the loaded vocabulary files to another. For example, if the user had loaded both LEVEL1.SPA and LEVEL2.SPA, then the letter A would be assigned to LEVEL1 and the letter B would be assigned to LEVEL2 (this can be checked by using F1 to bring up the HELP Screen as in Figure 7). The user can then shuttle words back and forth between the two vocabulary files. If only a single vocabulary file is loaded then the Transfer command is illegal. If exactly two vocabulary files have been loaded, the Transfer command will simply move the word(s) to the OTHER vocabulary file. If three or more vocabulary files have been loaded, however, then the user must specify the TARGET vocabulary file. Thus the syntax for transferring, say, line #3 to another vocabulary file would be: T3 or T3B or T3C .... The first example is only valid for two vocabulary files. The second example would transfer the words INTO vocabulary file B, and the third example would transfer the third entry into vocabulary file C. Note that a word cannot be transferred within the same vocabulary file. The TRANSFER command is especially useful for users who would like to isolate specialized vocabulary items. For example, LEVEL1.SPA can be loaded. MEDICAL.SPA and BUSINESS.SPA can then be "loaded" as NEW (empty) vocabulary files (these will be marked as B and C, respectively). The user can then use the TRANSFER command to remove medical terminology from LEVEL1.SPA and insert it into MEDICAL.SPA. Similarly, business terminology can be transferred into BUSINESS.SPA. Note again, however, that NO change is permanently effective until the user employs the X command to terminate LinguaPro. NOTES ON INPUTTING/MODIFYING WORDS: a. When inputting or modifying Spanish or English text, it has already been pointed out that the ALT-A key may be used to install the proper accent mark. Type the base letter (a, e, i, o, u, n) and immediately press ALT A. If the text already exists, position the cursor to the FOLLOWING letter and use the ALT A sequence. Nothing will happen if the cursor is on the letter itself. b. The HOME key will take the cursor to the beginning of the item. The END key will take the cursor to the end of the item. The left and right cursor keys (<- and ->) will move the cursor left and right within the line. c. The CTRL END combination (hold down the CTRL key and press the END key) will delete the current character through the end of the line. The CTRL HOME combination will delete the entire line. -19- d. The INSERT (INS) key will toggle LinguaPro back and forth between INSERT mode and TYPEOVER mode. The bottom of the On-Line Dictionary Screen will display the word INSERT or the word TYPEOVER. e. LinguaPro utilizes a convention that preserves memory space by combining several related words and their definitions within a single line entry (remember that the program has a limit of 10,750 line entries). Individual words or phrases are set off by semicolons. Users are encouraged to follow this convention. For example, in Figure 6 we see that line 2 has the following structure: similar/alike/resembling;good looking \ parecido/a;bien parcido/a According to the convention employed by LinguaPro, "similar/alike/resembling" matches up with "parecido/a", and "good looking" matches up with "bien parecido/a". Notice also that slashes (/) are used to delimit closely related synonyms, that the word "to" is always prefixed to English verbs, that the word "the" always precedes English nouns, and that Spanish adjectival endings are usually shown as "o/a" to indicate the masculine and feminine endings. 10. "V". The V command (VERB) is used to access the Verb Reference Facility. It is identical to the V command within the Flashcard Facility. The last search argument used in the Dictionary Facility is used to establish a starting point in the Verb Reference Facility. In other words, if the user had last typed "para", the Verb Reference Facility would position the user at the first verb that begins with the letters "para" (this might be the verb "parabolizar"). When the user exits the Verb Reference Facility by using the ESC key, control will be returned to the Dictionary Facility. 2.5 The VERB Reference Facility The VERB Reference Facility (VRF) is accessed by typing a V command in either the Flashcard or Dictionary Facilities. The initial position in the VRF depends on which Facility the user entered from. If the user entered from the Dictionary Facility, then the last inputted search string is used to pre- position to a verb. If the user entered from the Flashcard Facility, LinguaPro attempts to find a legitimate Spanish verb on the last displayed line and will position to that. If no verb can be identified, the VRF will position to the first verb in the database. In Figure 9, the VRF is positioned at the verb "suspender". Notice that the verb "suspender" is verb number 4726 out of the total of 5,044 verbs currently documented in the VRF. The conjugation information for this verb actually takes up 5 Screens (Page # 1 of 5). Notice that the conjugation shown on the Main Screen is a thumbnail sketch of the entire conjugation: Gerund, Past Participle, Present, Imperfect, Preterit, Future, Conditional, Present Subjunctive, Past Subjunctive, and Imperative. -20- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LinguaPro(TM) V2.11a - The Professional Language Assistant 100% Spanish->English What is the Spanish Verb? VERB: suspender Pattern: std VERB#: 4726 of 5044 PAGE#: 1 of 5 suspender: to suspend suspendiendo suspendido suspend- -o -es -e -emos -éis -en suspend- -ía -ías -ía -íamos -íais -ían suspend- -í -iste -ió -imos -isteis -ieron suspender- -é -ás -á -emos -éis -án suspender- -ía -ías -ía -íamos -íais -ían suspend- -a -as -a -amos -áis -an suspend- -iera/-iese -ieras/-ieses -iera/-iese -iéramos/-iésemos -ierais/-ieseis -ieran/-iesen suspend- -- -e;no/-as -a -amos -ed;no/-áis -an -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Figure 9. VERB Reference Facility (screen 1) Users can position to a different verb in one of two ways. If the user types in the first few letters (the more the better) of the desired verb and presses the ENTER key, LinguaPro will position to the first verb that begins with those characters. If no verb exists within the database that begins with those letters, then a beep will be sounded and the screen will not change. Alternatively, the user may utilize the left and right cursor control keys to step sequentially through the available verbs. If the left arrow (<-) is used, LinguaPro will go to the preceding verb. If the right arrow (->) is used, LinguaPro will go to the succeeding verb. The ENTER key alone will also step to the next verb in sequence. To go to the first verb in the VRF, the user could type the letter "a" and press the ENTER key. Similarly, to access the last verb in the VRF, the user could type the sequence "zz". NOTE: Unlike the Online Dictionary Facility (ODF) where text searches ignore accent marks, accents MUST be included when positioning to a verb. Accents can be entered in the usual manner (see the ODF section) by typing the letter and then pressing the ALT A key (several times if necessary to cycle through the available accent marks). You may type an a,e,i,o,u, or n and then hold down the ALT key while pressing the a (or A) key. Thus, to position to the verb "tañer" you should at least enter the three characters "tañ". Similarly, to position to the verb "freír", you should specify at least "freí". To see the expanded details of the conjugation, the user can employ the up and down arrow keys. The down arrow will cause the display of screens 2, 3, 4, and 5, successively. Pressing the down arrow again will cause the redisplay of screen 1. Similarly, pressing the up arrow key will cause the display of screen 5, and then 4, 3, 2, and 1. HELP is available within the VRF by pressing the F1 key. Also, the F2 key will produce a blank screen. -21- The F3 key may be used to achieve a "flashcarding" effect within the VRF. It will cause a verb to be randomly selected and displayed (and will preserve the screen page setting). This is an additional way of drilling on specific tenses for a very large number of verb forms. Figure 10 - 13 show the successive screens accessed via the down arrow key for the verb "suspender". -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LinguaPro(TM) V2.11a - The Professional Language Assistant 100% Spanish->English What is the Spanish Verb? VERB: suspender Pattern: std VERB#: 4726 of 5044 #IOs: 16 PAGE#: 2 of 5 suspender: to suspend PRESENT suspend- -o -es -e -emos -éis -en yo suspendo tú suspendes él suspende nosotros suspendemos vosotros suspendéis ellos suspenden IMPERFECT suspend- -ía -ías -ía -íamos -íais -ían yo suspendía tú suspendías él suspendía nosotros suspendíamos vosotros suspendíais ellos suspendían -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Figure 10. VERB Reference Facility (screen 2) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *** Deleted for space reasons *** -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Figure 11. VERB Reference Facility (screen 3) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *** Deleted for space reasons *** -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Figure 12. VERB Reference Facility (screen 4) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *** Deleted for space reasons *** -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Figure 13. VERB Reference Facility (screen 5) The Pattern field displayed at the top of the VRF Screen shows the conjugation pattern that LinguaPro employs for that verb. A pattern of "std" indicates that the conjugation is totally regular except for possible ORTHO- GRAPHIC changes. -22- The file VRBINDEX.SPA (not included with the Shareware version for space reasons) is designed to work in conjunction with the VRF. This special vocabulary file contains the same verbs and definitions that are documented within the VRF database. You can learn the verbs and definitions in the same way that you would use for any other vocabulary file. However, if you use the V command you are guaranteed to automatically enter the VRF and see the complete conjugation of the verb. 2.6 Exiting from LinguaPro If the user has not made any real changes to the loaded vocabulary files, then the ESC key is sufficient to exit from LinguaPro. If changes have been made, however, then either a Caution or a Warning screen will appear to protect the user from the loss of data. The objective is to get the user to employ the X command to preserve all statistics and data changes. If the only changes made to the vocabulary files has been to flag some missed words in the Flashcard Facility (E command), then the yellow CAUTION screen (Figure 14) will show up. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LinguaPro(TM) V2.11a - The Professional Language Assistant 100% Spanish->English C A U T I O N You have altered the statistics of the loaded vocabulary files by marking words that you have missed (E command). If you wish this information to be recorded, press ENTER and then use the X command. A LEVEL1.SPA #Entries: 3673 #Words: 7264 #Kills: 0 #Purges: 0 Press F10 Key to SKIP Updates (or any other key to CONTINUE) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Figure 14. CAUTION Screen This screen will appear if the user has marked words as "incorrect" and has then tried to exit either by use of the ESC key or by use of the U command (UNLOAD). If the user really wishes to terminate the session and NOT preserve the error statistics, then the F10 key should be pressed. If the user wishes to save the statistical information then any key may be pressed to return to the Flashcard Facility and then the X command may be used to exit properly. If, however, the user has made more major changes to the working vocabulary files, then a red WARNING Screen will appear (Figure 15). This will happen if the user has performed KILLs (K command) within the Flashcard Facility, or performed KILLs (K), PURGEs (P), MODIFYs (M), TRANSFERs (T), or added NEW words (N) while within the Dictionary Facility. If the user does NOT wish to commit to the changes, then the F10 key should be pressed. If the user wishes to make the changes permanent, however, then any key should be pressed to return to the Flashcard Facility and then the X command should be used to exit properly. -23- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LinguaPro(TM) V2.11a - The Professional Language Assistant 100% Spanish->English !!! W A R N I N G !!! You have made substantial changes to the loaded vocabulary files by killing (K), purging (P), adding (N), or modifying (M) words. If you wish these changes to be recorded, press ENTER and then use the X command. A LEVEL1.SPA #Entries: 3673 #Words: 7263 #Kills: 1 #Purges: 0 Press F10 Key to SKIP Updates (or any other key to CONTINUE) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Figure 15. WARNING Screen 2.7 The Flashcard Facility (VERBS) If one of the verb files is loaded into LinguaPro, the user will be presented with a different set of selection screens that will define the precise verb forms to be exercised. In the following example the user has loaded the file TVERB1.SPA. Figure 16 shows the VERB Tense Selection Screen that first appears. If this is the first time that the user has loaded this verb file then the Present Tense menu entry will be prefixed by an asterisk (*). This means that if the user simply accepts this screen then only the the Present Tense will be exercised. The user can alter the selections in two different ways. In the first place, pressing the ESC key once will reset all asterisks to blanks (pressing the ESC key a second time will take the user back to the File Loading Screen). Once the screen has been cleared, the user may select particular tenses by typing a number and pressing ENTER, e.g., 4 ENTER, or specifying a range of tenses, e.g., 1-4 ENTER. HELP is available at any point during these prologue screens by means of the F1 key. If a menu item is selected that already has an asterisk, then the asterisk is cleared. In other words, the VERB Tense Selection Screen "toggles" the selected items. Thus, rather than press the ESC key to clear the menu totally, the user could have typed 1 ENTER to clear the Present Tense line. LinguaPro saves the user's desired VERB configuration in a file with a SPC suffix (for Spanish). In this case the file name will be TVERB1.SPC. On subsequent reloads of this same verb file, LinguaPro will initially default to the same tense selection that the user previously chose for this set of verbs. -24- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LinguaPro(TM) V2.11a - The Professional Language Assistant 100% Spanish->English File: TVERB1.SPA Loaded: 3850 (ENG) Viewed: 0 Errors: 0 BatAvg: 1.000 %Full: (35.8,18.3) Selected: 0 (SPA) Viewed: 0 Errors: 0 BatAvg: 1.000 Specify Range of Tenses to Enable/Disable (press F1 for HELP): 0 -> Participles (Presente/Pasado Participio) * 1 -> Present (Presente de Indicativo) 2 -> Imperfect (Imperfecto de Indicativo) 3 -> Preterite (Pretérito) 4 -> Future (Futuro) 5 -> Conditional (Potencial Simple) 6 -> Present Subjunctive (Presente de Subjuntivo) 7 -> Past Subjunctive (Imperfecto de Subjuntivo) 8 -> Imperative (Imperativo) 9 -> Present Perfect (Perfecto de Indicativo) 10 -> Past Perfect/Pluperfect (Pluscuamperfecto de Indicativo) 11 -> Preterit Perfect (Pretérito Anterior) <<formal writing>> 12 -> Future Perfect (Futuro Perfecto) 13 -> Conditional Perfect (Potencial Compuesto) 14 -> Present Perfect Subj. (Perfecto de Subjuntivo) 15 -> Past Perfect Subj. (Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Figure 16. VERB Tense Selection Screen Once the user has completed the VERB Tense selection process by pressing just the ENTER key, the VERB Selection Screen (Figure 17) will appear. LinguaPro Release 2.11a limits the maximum size of a verb file to 76 fully conjugated verbs or verb phrases. The verbs contained within the selected verb file (in this case, TVERB1.SPA) will be shown in four columns of 19 verbs each. Again, since this is the first time that this verb file has been loaded, all verbs will be marked with an asterisk to indicate that they have been selected. The same options exist for modifying the VERB Selection Screen that were available on the VERB Tense Selection Screen. The user can press the ESC key once to clear all asterisks and then type explicit item numbers (or ranges of numbers) to "turn on" desired verbs. Note that pressing the ESC key a second time (when all items are already cleared) will cause control to be transferred back to the Verb Tense Selection Screen. Alternatively, the "toggling" feature can be used by typing in the number of undesired verbs to turn them off! Once the desired slate of verbs has been established, the user should press the ENTER key a final time to advance to the next selection screen, the Person Selection Screen. -25- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LinguaPro(TM) V2.11a - The Professional Language Assistant 100% Spanish->English File: TVERB1.SPA Loaded: 3850 (ENG) Viewed: 0 Errors: 0 BatAvg: 1.000 %Full: (35.8,18.3) Selected: 0 (SPA) Viewed: 0 Errors: 0 BatAvg: 1.000 Specify Range of Verbs to Enable/Disable (press F1 for HELP): * 1 acompañar *20 decir (1) *39 invitar (1) *58 repasar * 2 aprender *21 decir (2) *40 invitar (2) *59 saber * 3 arreglar (1) *22 decir (3) *41 ir (1) *60 saludar * 4 arreglar (2) *23 decir (4) *42 ir (2) *61 ser * 5 ayudar (1) *24 desear *43 ir (3) *62 tener (1) * 6 ayudar (2) *25 doler (1) *44 llamar (1) *63 tener (2) * 7 bailar *26 doler (2) *45 llamar (2) *64 tener (3) * 8 buscar *27 empezar *46 llegar *65 tener (4) * 9 cantar *28 enseñar (1) *47 llevar (1) *66 terminar *10 cenar *29 enseñar (2) *48 llevar (2) *67 tocar *11 cerrar (1) *30 enseñar (3) *49 llevar (3) *68 tomar (1) *12 cerrar (2) *31 entrar *50 mirar (1) *69 tomar (2) *13 comer *32 escribir *51 mirar (2) *70 tomar (3) *14 comprar *33 escuchar (1) *52 necesitar *71 trabajar *15 conocer *34 escuchar (2) *53 parecer *72 traer *16 creer *35 estar *54 pensar *73 vender *17 cuidar (1) *36 estudiar *55 poder *74 ver *18 cuidar (2) *37 gustar *56 preparar *75 vivir *19 dar *38 hablar *57 querer *76 volver -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Figure 17. VERB Selection Screen The Person Selection Screen works analogously to the preceding two screens. Again, whatever options are selected by the user will be saved in a file named TVERB1.SPC and will be used to set the initial defaults for the next LinguaPro session. For Spanish students, turning off item 2 will disable the 'tú' forms of verbs. Similarly, turning off item 5 will disable the 'vosotros' forms (used mainly in Spain). Items 3 and 6, of course, will generate the formal 'usted' and 'ustedes' forms in addition to the usual 3rd person forms. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LinguaPro(TM) V2.11a - The Professional Language Assistant 100% Spanish->English File: TVERB1.SPA Loaded: 3850 (ENG) Viewed: 0 Errors: 0 BatAvg: 1.000 %Full: (35.8,18.3) Selected: 0 (SPA) Viewed: 0 Errors: 0 BatAvg: 1.000 Specify Range of Persons to Enable/Disable (press F1 for HELP): *1 -> yo *2 -> tú *3 -> él/ella/usted *4 -> nosotros/nosotras *5 -> vosotros/vosotras (SPAIN) *6 -> ellos/ellas/ustedes -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Figure 18. Person Selection Screen -26- After completing the Person Selection Screen the user will be confronted with the Option Selection Screen shown in Figure 19. Option 1, if set, will indicate that the user is a female. This will result in the generation of adjectives with the proper gender as well as permitting the occurrence of occasional 'nosotras' subject pronouns. The second option causes the suppression of unnecessary subject pronouns. Since the subject of a Spanish verb (at least in the 1st and 2nd persons) is quite clear from the ending of the verb, it is normal for these pronouns to be omitted in normal conversation. Exceptions are the Usted and Ustedes pronouns which are generally always utilized. Option 2 will suppress the normal subject pronouns but retain the Usted and Ustedes forms and any other 3rd person pronouns needed for clarity. Option 3 allows the user to select a desired form for the Past Subjunctive (the 'ara' form is used as the default). Finally, option 4 causes LinguaPro to generate the 'le' form for a direct object pronoun if the recipient is a male human being. This practice (Leísmo) is quite common in Spain but not encountered in Latin America where the 'lo' form is standard. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LinguaPro(TM) V2.11a - The Professional Language Assistant 100% Spanish->English File: TVERB1.SPA Loaded: 3850 (ENG) Viewed: 0 Errors: 0 BatAvg: 1.000 %Full: (35.8,18.3) Selected: 0 (SPA) Viewed: 0 Errors: 0 BatAvg: 1.000 Specify Range of Options to Enable/Disable (press F1 for HELP): 1 -> Female Speaker (yo) 2 -> Suppress optional subject personal pronouns 3 -> -se (Imperfect Subjunctive: -ase/-iese) 4 -> le (Male Direct Object Pronoun) (SPAIN) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Figure 19. Option Selection Screen When the user has finished setting any desired options, a final ENTER key will cause LinguaPro to enter the Flashcard Facility for Verbs. Unlike the Vocabulary Flashcard facility, the VERB Flashcard Facility does not currently permit entry to the On-Line Dictionary Facility (ODF). It does allow access, however, to the Verb Reference Facility by use of the V command. The VERB Flashcard Facility is very similar to the Vocabulary Facility. In particular, the "clustering" logic ensures that the user is never confronted by more than about 30-35 verb forms at a time (taken from the selected set). The default is for Spanish to English and for the NORMAL mode of presentation in which verb forms are presented in a format representative of reading, writing, and speaking (phrases and sentences). -27- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LinguaPro(TM) V2.11a - The Professional Language Assistant 100% Spanish->English File: TVERB1.SPA Loaded: 3850 (ENG) Viewed: 0 Errors: 0 BatAvg:1.000 %Full: (96.3,82.1) Selected: 3383 (SPA) Viewed: 22 Errors: 0 BatAvg:1.000 Clust#: 1; 28 items; %Complete: 75%; #Clust Errs: 0; Stage#: 1; Mode: 1 you(m.pl) have prepared the lessons this morning vosotros volveríais al teatro raremente si ... you(m.pl) would rarely return to the theater if ... vosotros escucharéis a la profesora tarde o temprano you(m.pl) will listen to the teacher(f.) sooner or later Ud. toma cereal en el desayuno YOU(f.) are having cereal for breakfast tú hubiste escuchado cuidadosamente you(m.) HAD listened carefully él ha dicho los datos esta noche he has told the facts tonight yo volveré de vez en cuando I will return from time to time ella la escucharía a ella a menudo si ... she would listen to her often if ... tú irás al campo en seguida you(m.) will go to the country right away vosotras trajisteis los paquetes por la mañana temprano you(f.pl) brought the packages early in the morning ellas saludan a Roberto y a Paco siempre they(f.) always greet Roberto and Paco yo tendría tiempo para estudiar el plan la semana que viene si ... I would have time to study the plan next week if ... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Figure 20. VERB Flashcard Screen (NORMAL mode)(Spanish to English) LinguaPro employs the following convention for Spanish pronouns. The English word "you" is used to represent the Spanish familiar pronoun "tú". The expression "you(pl)" is used to represent the Spanish pronoun "vosotros". The complete table is: you tú you(pl) vosotros YOU usted YOU(pl) ustedes Due to the poverty of English personal pronouns, use of this convention makes it unambiguous which specific Spanish pronoun is desired. Also, the word HAD, as in HAD gotten, is used to signify the Spanish Preterit Perfect rather than the standard Past Perfect or Pluperfect (which would be expressed as "had gotten"). It should be noted that the Preterit Perfect is rarely used in spoken Spanish, but has been included for the sake of completeness. This tense selection should generally be turned off. -28- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LinguaPro(TM) V2.11a - The Professional Language Assistant 100% Spanish->English File: TVERB1.SPA Loaded: 3850 (ENG) Viewed: 35 Errors: 0 BatAvg:1.000 %Full: (96.3,82.1) Selected: 3383 (SPA) Viewed: 1 Errors: 0 BatAvg:1.000 Clust#: 2; 28 items; %Complete: 25%; #Clust Errs: 0; Stage#: 1; Mode: 1 tú habías comido jamón con frecuencia we(m.) would begin to write the letter again if ... nosotros empezaríamos a escribir la carta otra vez si ... you(m.pl) will desire to paint the house at midnight vosotros desearéis pintar la casa a la medianoche you(f.) will have been able to close the door tú habrás podido cerrar la puerta it was strange that she had brought the grapefruits the day before yesterday fue extraño que ella hubiera traído las toronjas anteayer you(m.pl) HAD known Juanita vosotros hubisteis conocido a Juanita YOU(m.pl) believe Carlos Uds. creen a Carlos I was sorry that they(f.) did not have time to complete the project last Sunday yo sentí que ellas no tuvieran tiempo para completar el proyecto el domingo pasado YOU(f.) aren't sure that she will have lunch with her friends(f.) Ud. no está segura de que ella tome el almuerzo con sus amigas he will have said it(m.) with feeling -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Figure 21. VERB Flashcard Screen (NORMAL Mode) (English to Spanish) Figure 21 shows the Flashcard system when it has been directed to display English on the left-hand side. The HELP Screen (Figure 5) is available if the user presses F1. Let us now review all of the Flashcard commands giving emphasis to those commands that are unique to the VERB flashcard system: 1. "A" command. Advance to the next "cluster". 2. "F" command. Freeze the current "cluster". 3. "C" command. This command will show the complete CONJUGATION of the verb form being displayed as soon as the line is complete, that is, as soon as the Spanish or English translation has been presented. The conjugation will show all 6 persons for the Tense in question. NOTE: If the user signals an "error" for the verb form (using the E command, then LinguaPro will pretend that the user has also typed the C command and will display the full conjugation for the verb in that tense. -29- The "CC" command will enable a continuous conjugation of all displayed verb forms. It can only be turned off by typing a subsequent "CC" command. This allows the user to quickly review ALL persons of a given verb form once the particular form being tested has been completed. 4. "D" command. This command will be ignored by the VERB Flashcard Facility. 5. "E" command. This command is used to signal that the user has "missed" the verb form just displayed. (Note: As mentioned above, a full conjugation for that verb in the current tense will be displayed as though the user had also typed a C command). 6. "K" command. This command will SUPPRESS the verb form just displayed. The verb form will, however, not be removed from the verb file and it will reappear if the user ever resets the statistics for the verb file by exiting with the XX command. 7. "L" command. The LOAD command will be ignored by the VERB Flashcard Facility. 8. "R" command. The RECYCLE command will return control to the VERB Tense Selection Screen. This will allow the user to alter the selected slate of verb forms without exiting from LinguaPro. 9. "S" command. The SWITCH command will cause the presentation style of the VERB Flashcard Facility to switch to the GRAMMATICAL mode, or from the GRAMMATICAL mode back to the NORMAL mode. The GRAMMATICAL mode is especially useful for a student in the beginning stages of mastering a new verb tense. In GRAMMATICAL mode the user likewise has the choice of a Spanish to English or an English to Spanish drill. Additionally, the Mixture control commands (<,<<,>,>>) can be used to select an intermediate mixture. 10. "U" command. The UNLOAD command will cause the current verb file to be dropped. Control will then pass back to the File Loading Screen. If, however, the user has flagged one or more verb forms as "missed" by using the E (error) command, then the CAUTION Screen (Figure 14) will appear and the user can press F10 to throw away the statistical information if desired. 11. "V" command. The VERB command will cause control to be passed to the VERB Reference Facility (VRF) and the screen will be positioned at the current verb. 12. "X" and "XX" commands. The X (EXIT) command is recommended as the best way to exit from a LinguaPro session since it "saves" all changes and statistics. If the user employs the XX command then all statistics will be reset. 13. "Z" command. The Z command will disable (or re-enable) the use of sound effects. -30- 14. "<,<<,>,>>" commands. The Mixture Control commands work identically in the VERB Flashcard Facility. The command ">>" will cause the left-hand side to be entirely Spanish. The "<<" command will cause the left-hand side to be entirely English. Use of the "<" and ">" commands will result in LESS Spanish and MORE Spanish, respectively, on the left-hand side. Figure 22 shows the screen format when the operational mode has been SWITCHed (S command) from the NORMAL mode to the GRAMMATICAL mode. Also, the left-hand side has been set to English via the "<<" command. In this mode of operation the user is told the required tense, English pronoun, English verb, and desired Spanish verb. When the user presses the ENTER key, the required Spanish equivalent is displayed. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LinguaPro(TM) V2.11a - The Professional Language Assistant 100% Spanish->English File: TVERB1.SPA Loaded: 3850 (ENG) Viewed: 52 Errors: 0 BatAvg:1.000 %Full: (96.3,82.1) Selected: 3383 (SPA) Viewed: 1 Errors: 0 BatAvg:1.000 Clust#: 2; 28 items; %Complete: 85%; #Clust Errs: 0; Stage#: 1; Mode: 1 PrPerfSub: we(m.) /learn (aprender) que nosotros hayamos aprendido PaPerfSub: we(m.) /close (cerrar) que nosotros hubiéramos cerrado Imperf.: they(f.) /review (repasar) ellas repasaban Pres Subj: they(f.) /see (ver) que ellas vean Fut. Perf: you(f.pl) /teach (enseñar) vosotras habréis enseñado Past Perf: you(f.pl) /say (decir) vosotras habíais dicho Present: you(f.pl) /listen to (escuchar) vosotras escucháis Imperf.: I /have (tener) yo tenía Pret Perf: we(m.) /straighten up (arreglar) nosotros hubimos arreglado Present: we(m.) /look for (buscar) nosotros buscamos Future: you(m.) /need (necesitar) tú necesitarás Imperf.: he /take (tomar) él tomaba Cond Perf: you(f.pl) /say (decir) vosotras habríais dicho Cond Perf: you(f.pl) /help (ayudar) vosotras habríais ayudado Cond Perf: they(m.) /arrange (arreglar) ellos habrían arreglado Fut. Perf: you(m.) /give (dar) tú habrás dado Pret Perf: I /work (trabajar) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Figure 22. VERB Flashcard Screen (GRAMMATICAL Mode) -31- APPENDIX A -- ADVANCED FILE LOADING TECHNIQUES If your PC has an insufficient amount of available memory (in the first 640K), then it will be impossible to load all five supplied vocabulary files as WORKING (or internal) files. For users who wish to drill vocabulary, of course, each of the five vocabulary files can be loaded separately and practised individually. For users who wish to immediately utilize LinguaPro for reading, or who desire total access to all available words, there are two approaches that can be taken. A.1 Build the KILLED.SPA File In this approach the user should load LEVEL1.SPA and begin to KILL (K command) all words that are truly well memorized. This will quickly reduce the size of the LEVEL1.SPA file as the words are moved into the KILLED.SPA file. The user may then load LEVEL2.SPA and knock out its easier words in a similar fashion. When sufficient words have been "killed" the user will be able to load the entire vocabulary set: LEVEL1.SPA LEVEL2.SPA ... LEVEL5.SPA Now, when the user enters the On-Line Dictionary Facility (ODF) and begins to search for words, LinguaPro will automatically treat the KILLED.SPA file as an EXTERNAL file and it will be searched as well. In this case the user has access to all available words. As new words are added in the course of reading, they will by default be placed in the LEVEL5.SPA. Alternatively, the user can create a new file by specifying the desired name at the File Loading Screen. In this case all new words to be added will be appended to the user- supplied vocabulary file (unless a different file is selected). Remember that dictionary adds (N command) by default go into the "last" vocabulary file loaded. When a SEARCH is performed, any words located within the "kill" file (KILLED.SPA) will be marked with a red letter "K" in column 1. These words cannot be manipulated by normal dictionary commands since they are coming from an EXTERNAL file. A2. Omit the File LEVEL1.SPA The second option open to the user is leaving out the loading of the file LEVEL1.SPA. In this case any searches made within the On-Line Dictionary Facility will interrogate the LEVEL1.SPA file as an EXTERNAL file. Again, words located within the LEVEL1.SPA file will be marked with a red letter "K" because they are acting as though they had come from the KILLED.SPA file. With this approach LinguaPro will have plenty of reserve capacity to allow large numbers of words to be added to the LEVEL5.SPA file. Ultimately, however, the user should switch to the first approach so that all active dictionary files can be loaded simultaneously. Also, bear in mind that if the LEVEL1.SPA is being viewed as the EXTERNAL file, then the KILLED.SPA file will not be searched. Release 2.11a of LinguaPro allows only one external file to be active at a time. -32- APPENDIX B -- CONSTRUCTING ENGLISH VOCABULARY FILES LinguaPro release 2.11a permits the user to utilize the power of the Flashcard and Dictionary facilities for English, and General categories. B1. ENGLISH Vocabulary Files English vocabulary files are constructed simply by the user specifying the suffix ENG when entering a file name at the File Loading Screen. The English "words" take the part of the Spanish words in a SPA file. The definitions of the English words act in a similar manner to the English equivalents of Spanish words. This can be summarized as follows: English Vocabulary Item <-----> Spanish Vocabulary Item English Definition <-----> English equivalent of Spanish word Within the On-Line Dictionary Facility (ODF), English vocabulary words can be found by simply typing the first few letters of the word. The '#' sign prefix is then used to find desired keywords within the definitions of the English words. Similarly, when entering new English vocabulary words the ODF will first request the English vocabulary word and then its definition. B2. General Question and Answer Files In addition to the SPA and ENG categories, LinguaPro supports a General category. General category files are marked by a suffix of GEN. These may be created by typing a file name such as HISTORY.GEN at the File Loading Screen. In this case the counterpart to a Spanish vocabulary item is a QUESTION, and the counterpart to the English definition is the ANSWER (to the question). Within the On-Line Dictionary Facility, QUESTIONs may be located by typing in the first few letters of any word forming part of the question. Locating ANSWERs is then performed by using the # sign prefix. The General Category item file provides a convenient way for users to build up lists of things to be memorized such as Medical terminology, court cases (Law), historical events, and so forth. -33- APPENDIX C -- OPERATIONAL NOTES & PROBLEM SOLVING - THINGS TO TRY - STUDY METHODS C1. OPERATIONAL NOTES & PROBLEM SOLVING - If you are making frequent changes to vocabulary files by performing KILLs, adding words, or modifying words, it is strongly recommended that you copy the various *.SPA (or *.ENG, *.GEN) files to a backup medium on a regular basis. Remember that when you save a file (the X command), the previous file is being overwritten. If you run out of disk space during the store operation, or if you suffer a power transient, then your file may be corrupted. - If you are using LinguaPro in an environment in which you may be interrupted occasionally by people curious about what you are doing, remember that the F2 key will instantly give you a blank screen. Also, the Z command will shut off the musical sounds employed by the program. You will still get beeps, of course, if you type something incorrectly. - If you inadvertently HOLD the ENTER key down for more than a few seconds while you are in the Flashcard System, your PC may hang. This problem has been observed occasionally on a few systems and can be prevented either by proper use of the ENTER key, or by disabling the sound effects with the Z command. C2. THINGS TO TRY - The verb capabilities of LinguaPro are quite extensive. Be sure that you load the file TVERB1.SPA (for example) and try the following: a. Use the << and >> mixture commands to select Spanish on the left or English on the left. b. Try the autoconjugating command (CC) to get the complete conjugations of the verb form interspersed with the generated sentences. c. Try the S command to SWITCH presentation modes to the GRAMMATICAL mode of presentation (while in this mode, also try the << and >> mixture control commands). d. Try the V command to get to the Verb Reference Facility (VRF). While in the VRF, try typing 'a ENTER', 'b ENTER', ... to position to the first verb beginning with the letter 'a', 'b', etc. Try the cursor control keys to select previous/successor verbs or to step up and down through the complete conjugation of the verb. - Load the file VRBINDEX.SPA (not included with the Shareware release) and drill on the verbs as vocabulary items. Whenever a conjugation is in doubt, use the V command to enter the VRF. The complete conjugation of the selected verb will be immediately displayed. -34- C3. SUGGESTED STUDY APPROACHES - When learning Vocabulary Items: a. Load LEVEL1.SPA (or SHARE1.SPA) and select group 1 only! When this group has been mastered, use the R command to RECYCLE and pick group 2 only! When this group has been mastered, use the R command again and pick groups 1-2 for review. Then do group 3, groups 1-3, group 4, etc. b. If you are an English-speaking person then first learn the various groups in the Spanish to English mode before attempting the reverse direction. - When learning Verb Items: a. Load TVERB1.SPA, select the Present Tense only, pick a single verb, turn off the 'vosotros' forms (unless you are immediately taking a trip to Spain), and be sure to indicate if you are a female speaker. Be sure to leave all subject pronouns enabled until you have thoroughly mastered them. b. Use the S command (SWITCH) to enter GRAMMATICAL mode. Set the mixture controls to display Spanish on the left. You should use grammatical mode until you are comfortable with the verb conjugation in that selected tense before switching back to NORMAL mode wherein the verb forms are presented in sentence form.