Other Language Sites

Back to Linguistics Links

Language Encyclopedias

• UCLA Language Profiles
• Ethnologue.Com - Basic language profiles and regional maps
• Omniglot.Com - Writing Systems

Regional Links

Links to gateway sites about languages

• Your Dictionary.com - Links to dictionaries and sources from around the world
• Stanford South of the Sahara
• Penn African Languages Resources - Covers the major African languages
• European Minority Languages - Languages are in native name
• MENIC Middle Eastern Language Resources
• WWW Viartual Libraries American Indian Languages
• Native Languages Pages - Covers continental US, Canada, Hawaii, and Latin America
• LANIC Latin American Languages and Language Groups - Covers indigenous languages of Central and South America
• SEASite Southeast Asian Studies Site - Includes Vietnamene, Indonesian and others
• Aboriginal Languages of Australia

Wikipedia Tips

Wikipedia is a controversial source, because anyone can edit pages. However, some pages are worthwhile (and others are terrible). Some things to look for

Characteristics of Good Wikipedia Language Page

1. Relatively long - the longer the outline, the better your chances are
2. Provides examples - If the page says the language has nasal vowels, I want to see some sample words
3. Includes IPA symbols - it's not a 100% guarantee, but few people take the time to "fake" phonetic notation
4. Avoids "cutsey" native stereotypes - if a page mentions how "colorful", "beautiful" or "noble" a language is, the author may be biased.
   Note: Languages are beautiful, but Wikipedia is not necessarily the best place to go into that kind of discussion
5. Controversial topics are always a little suspect. These pages are the ones which tend to be vandalized or have dubious rhetoric. You should always read multiple sources in this case.
6. Linguistic theory pages tend to be weak - not enough linguists come to edit these pages.

Don't Forget to Double Check Facts

If you are crucially relying on Wikipedia for some information, you check against another source. Doublechecking good rule of thumb for any non-academic reference, even CNN.