BonPatron
BonPatron is a French online spelling and grammar checker, developed by Nadaclair Language Technologies. The site includes guides for grammar, vocabulary, phonetics, and a verb conjugator.
History
BonPatron was created as an academic project in 2001 by Terry Nadasdi and Stéfan Sinclair. BonPatron initially targeted grammatical errors typically made by anglophone learners of French. Its purpose was to see how closely a web-based grammar checker could replicate what teachers do when correcting student compositions. BonPatron was initially called LePatron but changed its name in 2007 when it became a joint academic/commercial endeavour.The site was initially designed for language learners in North America, but it is now used extensively by people whose first language is French, especially in France and Quebec.
In addition to the main grammar checker, other pedagogical resources have been added over the years.
Usage
BonPatron has two versions, one that is free and supported by ads and the other that is subscription-based. Both draw on the same error database to identify and explain errors. The main difference is that the subscription-based version accepts longer texts. Native mobile apps are available for iOS and Android, developed in partnership with Alkeo.In order to use BonPatron, the user supplies a text and hits the “Check” button. After doing so, the text is examined for typical errors. Errors will be flagged and relevant feedback will be displayed. BonPatron does not provide automatic correction. Rather, it supplies information to help the learner learn from the mistake. It is in this sense that BonPatron should be viewed as an interactive pedagogical tool rather than an editor or traditional grammar checker.
The BonPatron website averages 4.5 million unique visitors annually and processes an average of 250,000 texts per day.