This is a guide to some of the more important reference sources for linguistics. Many of them are print sources and are available in the Reference Room. Also listed are World Wide Web resources of high quality useful as basic reference sources. Linguistics: A Guide to Internet Resources [http://www2.lib.udel.edu/subj/hist/internet.htm] provides more information on Web sites relating to linguistics.

The Linguistics collections at the University of Delaware Library support undergraduate, graduate, teaching and research in several campus academic programs. The Department of Linguistics is the primary department supported by collections in general linguistics. Others include the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, the Department of Anthropology, and the English Language Institute.

Major fields and subdisciplines found in the collection are: phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, typology, sociolinguistics, neurolinguistics, psycholinguistics (language acquisition and processing), computational linguistics, natural language processing, linguistic anthropology, semiotics, discourse analysis and speech act theory, properties of grammars, lexicography, and general linguistic theory.

The linguistics collections at the University of Delaware Library are housed in the Morris Library. The Reference collection, located in the Reference Room, First Floor, includes dictionaries and bibliographic aids in general and applied linguistics. Nearby are a number of workstations for accessing Library Databases and for exploring resources on the World Wide Web. The circulating collection of materials in general linguistics are primarily in the “P” classification, on the Second Floor. The Library subscribes to major serial publications in linguistics. Current issues of journals and magazines are located in the Periodicals Room, on the First Floor. Bound volumes of linguistics journals are generally classed in “P” and are on the Second Floor.

Remember that DELCAT includes records for all books and periodicals held by the Library. You can search by author, title, subject, keyword, and call number. DELCAT does not include details of individual articles published within periodicals. To find articles on a particular subject you need to use various print and electronic indexes and abstracts described below.

Materials in the University of Delaware Library are classed according to the Library of Congress Classification system. Here is an overview of the portion of the “P” (Language and Literature) classification concerning language and linguistics:

Jump to top of page.

Jump to top of page.

Jump to top of page.

The Oxford English Dictionary can be used online. It is also available as printed volumes in the Reference Collection (Ref PE 1625 .O87 1989) and on CD-ROM (Microforms, Morris Library (CD-ROM 170)).

Jump to top of page.

Ethnologue: Languages of the World. 14th ed. Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics, 2002.
LOCATION: Morris Library - Reference (Ref P371 .E83)

The Ethnologue is a catalog of more than 6,700 languages spoken in 228 countries. The Ethnologue Name Index lists over 39,000 language names, dialect names, and alternate names. The Ethnologue Language Family Index organizes languages according to language families.

The Handbook of Contemporary Semantic Theory. Cambridge, Mass.: Blackwell Reference, 1996.
LOCATION: Morris Library (P325 .H28 1996)

The Handbook of Phonetic Sciences. Cambridge, Mass.: Blackwell, 1997.
LOCATION: Morris Library (P 221 .H28 1997)

The Handbook of Phonological Theory. Cambridge, Mass.: Blackwell, 1995.
LOCATION: Morris Library (P217 .H27 1995)

Handbook of Second Language Acquisition. San Diego: Academic Press, 1996.
LOCATION: Morris Library (P118.2 .H36 1996)

Includes an overview of second language acquisition, research and theoretical issues, and essays on topics such as deaf learners, neurolinguistics, and bilingualism.

Handbook of Sociolinguistics. Cambridge, Mass.: Blackwell, 1997.
LOCATION: Morris Library (P 40 .H3426 1997)

International Encylopedia of Linguistics. 4 vols. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991.
LOCATION: Morris Library - Reference (Ref P29 .I58 1991)

A well-organized and easy-to-read four-volume set of general linguistics, major languages, and language families. Articles are written by recognized scholars. Articles include bibliographies, and oftimes there are tables, charts and maps to illustrate concepts. Comprehensive and authoritative with special attention paid to the interrelations within branches of linguistics. Includes diagrams and maps, alphabetical order. Includes extensive glossary and index.

The Linguistics Encyclopedia. New York: Routledge, 1991.
LOCATION: Morris Library - Reference (Ref P29 .L52 1991)

Contains over 70 descriptions of major topics of study in the field of linguistics. Articles include a general topic and related subtopic descriptions, definitions of terminology and suggestions for further reading. Many articles include detailed tables and illustrations. Each major entry is listed alphabetically in the beginning of the book.

Ruhlen, Merritt. A Guide to the World’s Languages. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1987-
LOCATION: Morris Library (P203 .R8 1987)

Trask, R.L. A Dictionary of Grammatical Terms in Linguistics. London: Routledge, 1993.
LOCATION: Morris Library - Reference (Ref P152 .T7 1993)

Covers terms from traditional grammar and the major modern theories.

Trask, R. L. A Student’s Dictionary of Language and Linguistics. New York: Distributed by St. Martin's Press, 1997.
LOCATION: Morris Library - Reference (Ref P 29 .T73x 1997)

Voegelin, C. F. Classification and Index of the World’s Languages. New York: Elsevier, 1977.
LOCATION: Morris Library (P203 .V6)

The World’s Major Languages. New York: Oxford University Press, 1987.
LOCATION: Morris Library - Reference (Ref P371 .W6 1987)

The World’s Writing Systems. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.
LOCATION: Morris Library (P211 .W714 1996)

Handbook of writing systems, ancient to modern, by region. Includes scripts invented in modern times, music and shorthand notation, and analog and digital writing.

Jump to top of page.

DELCAT
LOCATION: Library Databases

The online catalog of the University of Delaware Library.

WorldCat
LOCATION: Library Databases

WorldCat contains cataloging records for more than 30 million items held at libraries around the world. It includes records for a range of materials including books, computer data files, computer programs, films, journals, magazines, manuscripts, musical scores, newspapers, slides, sound recordings, videotapes. WorldCat does not include individual articles or stories in journals, magazines, newspapers, or book chapters.

ProQuest Digital Dissertations
LOCATION: Library Databases

Online access to citations (and sometimes abstracts) for published academic dissertations. Citations for dissertations published from 1980 forward also include 350-word abstracts, written by the author. Some 70,000 dissertations have been digitized and are available in full text. Those University of Delaware dissertations which have been digitized are free to University of Delaware faculty, students, and staff.

To find articles in journals, conference papers, book reviews, etc.:

Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts
LOCATION: Library Databases

Provides abstracts of articles from approximately 2,000 serials published worldwide, coverage of monographs, recent books, technical reports, occasional papers, enhanced dissertation listings from Dissertation Abstracts International, and bibliographic citations for book reviews that appear in journals abstracted for LLBA.

Anthropology Plus
LOCATION: Library Databases

Provides indexing to the scholarly literature in anthropology, including general anthropology, physical anthropology, archaeology and cultural anthropology, ethnography, and linguistics.

Arts & Humanities Citation Index
LOCATION: Library Databases

A component of the Web version of the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI)’s citation databases. ISI Citation Databases (Web of Science) are multidisciplinary databases of bibliographic information indexed so that you can search for specific articles by subject, author, journal, and/or author address. Because the information stored about each article includes its cited reference list, you can also search for articles that cite a known author or work.

ERIC
LOCATION: Library Databases

References with summaries from education journals and documents (i.e., books, pamphlets, conference reports, symposia, studies, tests, etc.).

Ethnic NewsWatch
LOCATION: Library Databases

Full-text articles from hundreds of ethnic newspapers and magazines in the United States. This is a place to get articles written by and for African-Americans, Native Americans, Mexican-Americans, Cuban Americans and representatives of many other ethnic groups. Includes many Spanish language publictions.

MLA International Bibliography
LOCATION: Library Databases

Indexes published scholarly journals and books in literature, language, linguistics, and folklore.

PsycINFO
LOCATION: Library Databases

Includes bibliographic citations and abstracts of the professional and academic literature in psychology and related disciplines. It provides access to books, book chapters, journal articles, dissertations, and technical reports in psychology and related disciplines including medicine, psychiatry, nursing, sociology, education, pharmacology, physiology, linguistics, and other areas.

Sociological Abstracts
LOCATION: Library Databases

Covers sociology and related disciplines, including sociolinguistics, from 1974 to the present.

Jump to top of page.

Jump to top of page.

---

Home DELCAT Databases Electronic Journals Subjects A-Z Forms Reserves Ask a Librarian

---

Copyright © 2009 University of Delaware Library