Check spelling in more than one language, or rather dictionaries

[André Pirard]

Binary package hint: hunspell

Ubuntu 10.04 up to date.

This problem also concerns programs using hunspell, but there may be a solution within hunspell alone, see below.

 1. What you expect to happen
The same as what happens, but without the stated inconveniences

 2. What actually happens

All the applications I have seen checking my spelling propose in a menu to choose "a language", if not "your language" as if I were allowed to write only one.

The product they're using is introducing itself as follows:
hunspell [-1aDGHhLlmnstvw] [-d dict[,dict2,...]] ... [file(s)]
In particular:
  -d dict,dict2,...
Set dictionaries by their base names with or without paths.
Example of the syntax:
       -d en_US,en_geo,en_med,de_DE,de_med
en_US and de_DE are base dictionaries, they consist of aff and dic file
pairs: en_US.aff, en_US.dic and de_DE.aff, de_DE.dic. En_geo, en_med,
de_med are special dictionaries: dictionaries without affix file.
Special dictionaries are optional extension of the base dictionaries
usually with special (medical, law etc.) terms. There is no naming
convention for special dictionaries, only the ".dic" extension:
dictionaries without affix file will be an extension of the preceding
base dictionary (right order of the parameter list needs for good
suggestions). First item of -d parameter list must be a base
dictionary.

Obviously, spell-checking in the eyes of hunspell is not a matter of one language but of several dictionaries.
And, as can be seen from hunspell's example (being also my own experience), spelling in more than one language and specialized dictionaries is EXTREMELY useful.

I have been able to add non-Ubuntu dictionaries to hunspell, but not to use several concurrently.
I tried a hack: creating a "fr_FR,en_US.aff" file in hope that the syntax -d fr_FR,en_US would trick hunspell.
But it didn't work.

The best I can imagine as a present or future feature is a dictionary-list keyword in a .aff file to indicate a list of files to use and a tool for the user to add it, such as fr+en.aff meaning that the list fr.FR,en.US, en.GB must be used.

hunspell et al is badly documented beyond "click your language".
How can multiple dictionaries spell-checking be done?

3. The minimal series of steps necessary to make it happen, where step 1 is "start the program"
all of the above plus "start the programs"

[André Pirard (a.pirard)]

See also Bug #662840, similar but different.

[André Pirard (a.pirard)]

Please note that many people consider multilingual spelling a key feature of a spell checker.
Please note that only Evolution allows check marking several languages.
https://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=detail&aid=3364837&group_id=143754&atid=756398

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.