aoo-mozilla-en-dict

SINCE JANUARY 2026, MARCO MAINTAINS ALTERNATIVE U.S., CANADIAN, AND AUSTRALIAN DICTIONARIES.
THESE en_US, en_CA, AND en_AU DICTIONARIES ARE ALTERNATIVES TO THE UPSTREAM ONES.
The U.S., Canadian, and Australian dictionaries MAY differ slightly in coverage for some region-specific terms.

IN MARCH 2025, THE DEFAULT BRITISH AND SOUTH AFRICAN DICTIONARIES BECAME -ISE.

Update: Major fixes and improvements for US, CA, and AU on 1 Feb 2026. ✅
Update: Major fixes and improvements for US on 1 Mar 2026. ✅
Update: Critical update for US on 7 Mar 2026. ✅

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING BEFORE DOWNLOADING
LIBREOFFICE EXTENSION V2026.01.01+:
https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=167649#c19
This extension is maintained independently and is not part of LibreOffice core.

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Introduction and Scope

For many years, active maintenance of dictionaries for open-source software has been neglected. Continuing this important work involves improving existing dictionaries and creating new ones where necessary.

A significant challenge is that most dictionaries are obfuscated — encoded in formats accessible only by specific software — with the original developers no longer available to provide plaintext versions. Consequently, we sometimes must revert to the last available clean-text versions to resume development.

Maintaining, updating, and enhancing dictionaries is a complex yet vital task, ensuring ongoing accuracy and usefulness for present and future users.

This repository contains the latest available versions of dictionaries, facilitating easy use by developers for proofing or spellchecking applications (.AFF and .DIC file formats).

I, Marco Pinto, actively maintain all six primary variants of English dictionaries:

• British English (en_GB)
• British English (en_GB-oxendict) (Oxford English Dictionary)
• South African English (en_ZA)
• American English (en_US) (alt) (it took me one year of careful preparation before the initial U.S. release)
• Canadian English (en_CA) (alt)
• Australian English (en_AU) (alt)

Kevin Atkinson maintains independent versions of en_GB, en_US, en_CA, and en_AU, which have been valuable points of comparison during the development and evaluation of these dictionaries. For more details, see:

• Kevin Atkinson's GitHub
• Kevin Atkinson's Website

Dwayne Bailey previously maintained the en_ZA dictionary but has since ceased maintenance. His website, associated with the South African government, is no longer operational, and previous contact methods are inactive.

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Ethics and Principles

Language is a shared human good. It should remain free, open, and accessible to everyone, regardless of race, religion, gender, age, country, income, profession, or academic background.

My main goal is to make these English dictionaries freely available, accurate, and inclusive for all users. Everyone should have equal access to words and spelling tools, whether they are the owner of a multinational company or the person sweeping the street.

These dictionaries are maintained with the belief that language belongs to humankind as a whole. It is a tool for learning, communication, dignity, and opportunity. For that reason, this project is kept free, regularly updated, and available across English variants, so that anyone can write and use English with confidence.

I live a simple and modest life, choosing not to monetise this work so that everyone can benefit from it freely. However, if you fork these dictionaries or use them in your own projects, please credit this project somewhere visible. This work is the result of many years of maintenance, correction, expansion, and careful review; it should not be presented as someone else’s work after only adding or removing a small number of words.

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Release Cycle

Regular dictionary updates are released three times per year — on the first day of January, May, and September — unless there is something urgent to address, in which case a release may be published earlier.

Monthly releases are no longer feasible due to the considerable workload associated with maintaining six dictionary variants.

Each release enters a feature freeze approximately one week before publication, allowing time to prepare release notes, update websites, and finalise packaging. This process ensures accuracy and stability across all dictionaries.

Note:
Since late 2025, the AOO Extensions website has been read-only, so only a LibreOffice (LO) extension is now maintained. This extension can also be installed and used in Apache OpenOffice (AOO).

The LO and former AOO extensions are identical in content; they previously differed only in naming and update URLs. For more details, see this LibreOffice bug report.

A changelog for dictionary updates is available in 2025+_Release_notes.txt.

Recent updates for Mozilla, BlueGriffon, and LO are documented on the Proofing Tool GUI website.

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Repository Folder Structure

Each dictionary folder on GitHub includes:

• .AFF file (Hunspell affix rules)
• .DIC file (dictionary entries)
• README file (.txt format)
• WORDLIST file (.txt format)
• Compressed (zipped) folder files

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Licence

All dictionaries maintained by Marco Pinto are licensed under the latest LGPL (Lesser General Public Licence).

The licences for the dictionaries can be found at the bottom of the file: README_en_GB_ZA_US_CA_AU.txt.

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Canadian English and the -ise/-ize Question

Canadian English is probably the most difficult variety to support because it combines features from both British and U.S. English.

In general, modern Canadian English often aligns with British -ise spellings, although both -ise and -ize can be found depending on the source, publisher, or style guide.

Similarly, modern British English tends to prefer -ise spellings, although -ize remains common in some scientific, academic, and Oxford-style publications.

As a result, the Canadian dictionary may not always accept every -ize form that some users expect.

I am doing my best to balance the different spelling conventions found in contemporary Canadian English.

Users who prefer -ize spellings may wish to use the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) variant included in my LibreOffice extension, which follows British spelling conventions while preferring -ize endings.

EN_CA UPDATE: Starting on 1 September 2026, the Canadian dictionary will accept both -ise and -ize verb forms, together with commonly used U.S. medical terms.

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Suggesting Words and Corrections

Please verify the wordlist (.txt file) within the latest dictionary release before submitting suggestions.

If a word is absent or incorrect, you may either:

• Open an issue on GitHub
• E-mail Marco Pinto directly: marcoagpinto @ sapo.pt

User feedback is critical for continually enhancing dictionary accuracy. Report incorrectly categorised words (e.g., U.S. English appearing in en_GB) with reputable dictionary references. Corrections, missing words, and general suggestions should include supportive documentation for easier evaluation and inclusion.

Please pay special attention to words ending with “ise” and “ize”, as conversions sometimes lead to inadvertent omissions. Feedback helps reinstate valid entries as exceptions.

To check words that may have been incorrectly removed in specific “-ise”/“-ize” variants, consult the full wordlists of both forms in the respective ise+ize folder above in this GitHub repository. This ensures you are reviewing the complete set of entries for both variants.

Significant enhancements to the .AFF file have been made, particularly addressing issues with U.S. English verb derivations ending in “r” (e.g., “color” → “colored”, previously incorrectly listed as “colorred”). While extensive efforts have been made to correct these, please report any remaining errors.

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Plans for 2027 and Beyond

Update (completed ahead of schedule):
Two key goals planned for 2027 were successfully completed earlier:..

• ✅ Merged the GB dictionary into the ZA dictionary
• ✅ Aligned all six dictionaries to the GB versioning format for consistency

These items are therefore already in place prior to the V5 transition timeline.

Starting in 2027, all dictionaries will move to the fifth generation (V5) — a major upgrade designed to make them faster, cleaner, and easier to maintain.

Key Changes in V5

1. No more PFX flags

   • Prefix (PFX) flags will be removed from .DIC files.
   • This simplifies file structure, reduces complexity, and speeds up decoding.

2. One version number for all ✅ (completed early)

   • All dictionary locales will share the same versioning system.
   • Makes it easier for developers and users to track updates across different English variants.

3. Smaller, more efficient dictionaries

   • Merging and reorganising word flags will cut down on duplicates.
   • This reduces file size and improves consistency.

4. Merging en_GB into en_ZA ✅ (completed early)

   • The British English (en_GB) wordlist will be merged into the South African English (en_ZA) dictionary.
   • This will create a larger and more complete South African dictionary, benefiting both locales.

Why This Matters

These improvements will:

• Make the dictionaries easier to maintain for years to come.
• Reduce the chance of errors during updates.
• Improve performance for software using these dictionaries.

Community feedback will be essential during this transition. Any unexpected issues or missing words should be reported quickly so they can be fixed before the new system becomes the standard.