bilingual-handling

Translates search terms and field names between French and English for Montréal open data queries.

1|Updated Mar 13, 2026
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/alistaircroll/montreal-open-data --skill bilingual-handling-alistaircroll
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: bilingual-handling
Source: https://github.com/alistaircroll/montreal-open-data/tree/main/skills/meta/bilingual-handling
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/alistaircroll/montreal-open-data --skill bilingual-handling-alistaircroll

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

What problem does it solve? Montréal's open data portal publishes dataset titles, descriptions, tags, and field names almost entirely in French, so English-language queries fail to find relevant datasets and results confuse English-speaking users. This Skill provides the translation patterns, field mappings, and formatting conventions needed to search in French and present results in the user's language. ## Core Features & Use Cases - Search Term Translation: Reference tables mapping English terms (trees, permits, transit, budget) to the French keywords that actually match CKAN catalog entries. - Bilingual Field Recognition: Patterns for detecting paired FR/EN columns (e.g., Essence_fr/Essence_ang, NOM_FR/NOM_AN) and handling French-only fields like ARROND_NOM. - Borough Name Reference: Complete mapping of the 19 borough codes (AHU, CDN, PLA...) to full names, with guidance on accent and dash-variant matching. - Use Case: A user asks "How many trees are in the Plateau?" The agent translates "trees" to "arbres", searches the catalog in French, filters records by ARROND_NOM = 'Le Plateau-Mont-Royal', and presents the answer in English. ## Quick Start Ask a question about Montréal open data in English, such as how many trees are in the Plateau, and have the agent search the French catalog and reply in English.

Frequently Asked Questions about bilingual-handling

High-intent search queries and answers about installing and using this skill.

FAQPage Schema
How do I search Montréal open data in English?

Translate your search terms to French before querying the catalog, since dataset titles, descriptions, and tags are French-only. For example, search "arbres" instead of "trees" or "permis" instead of "permits", then present results back in English.

How do I handle French field names in Montréal datasets?

Use the field translation table to map common columns like ARROND_NOM (borough name), Date_Plantation (planting date), and No_civique (civic number). Proper nouns such as street and park names stay as-is in both languages.

Do Montréal datasets have bilingual French-English columns?

Some datasets include paired columns using suffix patterns like Essence_fr/Essence_ang or prefix patterns like NOM_FR/NOM_AN. Most fields are French-only, so category values and data dictionary terms need translation when presenting to English users.

Why does filtering by borough name fail in Montréal data?

Borough names vary in capitalization, accents, and dash type across datasets—some use en-dashes, others hyphens in compound names like Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. Use partial matching such as LIKE '%Mercier%Hochelaga%' instead of exact equality.

What language does the Montréal CKAN API return?

API responses are language-independent JSON, but all metadata content—titles, notes, tags, and resource descriptions—is in French. The portal offers French and English web interfaces, but the underlying data remains French-first.