Library Search
Whether you are searching for books and articles through our library catalogue or in individual databases, the process is similar:
- Ensure you are in the "Advanced Search" interface
- Search for sources using a combination of terms and fields:
- e.g.: chomsky (select SU Subject or AU Author in the field drop down menu) AND universal grammar (as a keyword term)
- e.g.: (language AND (acquisition OR instinct)) (try searching it as a keyword term or SU Subject) AND 21st century
- Limit your results, e.g. by date or to relevant source types: e.g. books, academic journals...
- Remember: searching is an iterative process!
- Search multiple databases
- Have fun! Experiment/play with your search process
- Reach out if you need help!
Linguistics Databases
- Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts (LLBA) LLBA (1973 to the present) provides access to the world's literature in linguistics and its various subdisciplines. It covers articles and book reviews from journals, as well as conference proceedings, associations papers, and selected dissertations. The database provides descriptive abstracts for most records.
- Linguistic Bibliography Provides bibliographical references to scholarly publications in linguistics. The online edition contains all entries of the printed volumes as of 1993 and new records are added on a monthly basis.
- Communication & Mass Media Complete Covers communication and mass media. Originated with the merging of CommSearch (formerly produced by the National Communication Association (NCA)), and Mass Media Articles Index (formerly produced by Pennsylvania State University).
- Ethnologue: Languages of the World Provides a comprehensive reference work cataloging all of the world's known living languages.
- MLA International Bibliography MLA International Bibliography (mainly abstracts) (1926 to the present) covers literature in English and in other modern languages; linguistics; folklore. It includes books (and chapters in books), journal articles, conference papers, and dissertations concerning general and comparative literature, linguistics in general and of all modern languages, all modern literatures, and folklore. No abstracts are provided, and there are no listings for book reviews.
- Enhanced Electronic Grammars This database features comprehensive descriptions of languages from around the world. Through this unique Online Reference Work, full grammars are made available together in an interlinked and semantically-annotated format, allowing granular access to the grammatical data and enabling cross-language research of several grammars at the same time. In addition to cross-linguistic queries, each grammar can also be read and researched individually.
Select Web Resources
- Essentials of Linguistics This Open Educational Resource (OER) brings together Open Access content from around the web and enhances it with dynamic video lectures about the core areas of theoretical linguistics (phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics), supplemented with discussion of psycholinguistic and neurolinguistic findings. Essentials of Linguistics is suitable for any beginning learner of linguistics but is primarily aimed at the Canadian learner, focusing on Canadian English for learning phonetic transcription, and discussing the status of Indigenous languages in Canada. Drawing on best practices for instructional design, Essentials of Linguistics is suitable for blended classes, traditional lecture classes, and for self-directed learning. No prior knowledge of linguistics is required.
- Glottolog Glottolog provides a comprehensive catalogue of the world's languages, language families and dialects, especially lesser known languages. It assigns a unique and stable identifier (the Glottocode) to (in principle) all languoids, i.e. all families, languages, and dialects. Any variety that a linguist works on should eventually get its own entry. The languoids are organized via a genealogical classification (the Glottolog tree) that is based on available historical-comparative research (see also the Languoids information section).
- ISO 639 Language Code Tables ISO 639-3 is a set of codes that defines three-letter identifiers for all known human languages.
- Open Language Archives Community (OLAC) OLAC is an international partnership of institutions and individuals who are creating a worldwide virtual library of language resources by: (i) developing consensus on best current practice for the digital archiving of language resources, and (ii) developing a network of interoperating repositories and services for housing and accessing such resources.
- World Atlas of Language Structures (WALS) Online The World Atlas of Language Structures (WALS) is a large database of structural (phonological, grammatical, lexical) properties of languages gathered from descriptive materials (such as reference grammars) by a team of 55 authors.
