English Linguistic Resources
Elizabeth Pyatt >> Region >> English Linguistics
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Page Contents
Etymology | HEL | Old English | Middle English | Dialects | Sociolinguistics | AAVE | ESL | Prescriptive Grammar | Word Trivia
See additional resources on the Germanic Page.
Etymology
Penn State Oxford English Dictionary Link - Lets you log into the online Oxford English Dictionary. Must have a Penn State Access ID to use.
Word Origins - Website on English etymology.
Richard Lederer Language Links - Links on English language and grammar from a professional language maven.
World Wide Words - Fun facts about English (UK) etymology and usage. Uses IPA.
Acronym Finder Query - Fill in some initials, and see what real-life acronyms are out there. NASA is not just for space cowboys.
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HEL (History of the English Language)
HEL-L (History of the English Language) - Website for HEL-L. Includes links for website relating to all areas of HEL including Indo-European and Nostratic (ack)
Towson English Language History Online Resources - Links to information on HEL
History of English Phonemes - Overview of phonetic development of English phonemic system. Gives the history or development of individual phonemes. No frames available.
See and Hear English Great Vowel Shift - Reruns the Creat Vowel Shift visually and aurally. Java applet.
BBC Routes of English - Site for Routes of English show with games (Flash), audio samples, links and message board.
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Old English
Penn State Old English and Icelandic Internationalization - How to those thorns and eth's online
Catherine Ball's Old English Pages - Information on Old English language and culture. Has sound files of reconstructed readings. Includes maps and the free O.E. Times font.
King Alfred’s Old English Grammar - Online version of Old English grammar
University of Michigan Old English Corpus (LIAS Link) - Goes to Old English Corpus at the University of Michigan. Must have a Penn State Access ID to use.
Old English at UVA - Includes some downloads and exercises. See alphabet image for funky paleographic script.
Sounds of Old English Online Book - From Robert D. Stevick of Oxford.
PRACTICAL OLD ENGLISH
Winlandes Scir: Þa Engliscan Geðias - A Society for Creative Anachronism Site with good resources including "Conversational Old English."
Awritan on Englisc Old English Composition Site - If you want to write original Old English - come here. Listserv home page with links and texts. It’s black and white (which means black underline IS a link). Includes Old English rendition of Ðæt Gettysburg Gemaþel!
Circolwyrd Wordhord - Old English Computer Technology - Computer terms from days of yore. Some excellent compounds.
Rudolph Tundra Wanderer - The "original" version of the Christmas classic starring a tundra beast with shiny nostrils.
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Middle English
Chaucer Middle English Language - Information about Chaucerian Middle English. Part of Geoffrey Chaucer’s Web Pages.
Goucher Middle English Phonology - Middle English reading rules for non-linguists. Links to someone else reading Chaucer.
University of Michigan Middle English Corpus - Includes search engine and searchable bibliography.
University of Virginia Middle English Collection - "Part of the UVA Electronic Text Center. Search engine. Includes funky characters for thorn, edh, yogh.
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Dialects
GENERAL
Lowlands-L English Links - Covers the entire English-speaking universe including Middle English and Anglo-Saxon. Includes an English dialect section.
George Mason University Speech Samples - Collects non-English speakers reading
the same paragraph in English. Includes detailed IPA inscriptions showing how
the speakers adapt native English phonology to their own system.
The Paragraph: Please call Stella. Ask her to bring these things with her from
the store: Six spoons of fresh snow peas, five thick slabs of blue cheese,
and maybe a snack for her brother Bob...
NORTH AMERICA
Vaux American Dialect Links - Links sorted by type and region.
Vaux Dialectal Surveys - Harvard Linguistic students answer longish survey and results are plotted on a map.
Shm Reduplication Survey - Participate in a survey about Yiddish based Shm reduplication. (Dialect-Schmialect, just take the survey).
University of Arizona Languages Samples Project - Basic dialect archive for US and one UK. Includes exercises and some sound files. Uses William Jefferson Clinton for Elvis speak.
UNE Language Varieties - "Samples and descriptions for selected English varieties around the world including Hawiian creole and some world Englishes. From U of New England, Australia.
TELSUR North American Phonology Maps - Maps and articles describing dialects of North America. Project headed by William Labov.
Organization of Dialect Diversity in North America - Overview of major vocalic differences in North America.
Linguistic Atlas Projects (USA) - Select the region to find the maps you need.
Soda vs. Pop Map - Plots of occurrence of "pop" vs. "soda" in the U.S. The soda/pop border runs through central PA.
American Dialect Society - Sponsors a listserv and lists "Words of the Year".
EAST COAST
American in the Mid Atlantic - Organized by State.
Pittsburghese Dictionary - An informal list.
Pittsburghese.Com - Includes quizzes and a translator.
Lexicon of Baltimorese - A completely native dictionary in which terms are also defined in "Balmorese".
Baltimore Hon.com Baltimorese Lexicon - "Actually it’s the Bawlamerse Lexicon. An informal, yet frighteningly accurate, list of Baltimorisms. Includes an audio clip at the bottom. (Hint: /ay/ > /a/ in Baltimorese).
Wicked Good Guide to Boston English - From Boston online. Includes informal pronunciation guide and vocabulary.
Claudio Salvucci Mid-Atlantic Dialect Bibliography - Very detailed
Kirk Hazen Appalachian English Bilbliography - Includes bibliography of Appalachian English in 2 parts.
UK AND ELSEWHERE
IPA with British English Examples - Quick reference to IPA in English with transcription of UK police bulletin.
Web Documents for Estuary English (Cockney) - Covers London and Southeast England towards the estuary. Includes Cockney.
World English (English: The Mother Tongue) - Associated Press articles and resources on World Englishes.
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Sociolinguistics
A Dictionary of Slang - From the U.K.
Evaluating English Accents Worldwide Study - Study asks different nationality to rate different characteristics of four accents (US, UK, Australia, New Zealand). Just about every bad sterotype gets repeated by subjects. Subjects also had to identify regional accent.
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ESL (English as a Second Language)
Dave’s ESL Cafe - “The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World!” Has quizzes (culture & grammar), slang center, pronunciation power, etc.
English Practice.Com - Free lessons, chat rooms, pen pals and contests for ESL students.
Boggle’s World - ESL for KidsLesson plans and exercises for the K-6 ESL learnerBoggle’s World
Green River Community College ESL Reading Activities - Includes links to fables, news stories and so forth geared for ESL learners.
Internet TESL Journal - Online ESL journal with teaching material and interactive quizzes. From Japan.
EFL Com - Web information for ESL teachers and practice exercises for students. Based in the UK with information on ESL in the UKEFLweb
ESL Teacher and Tutor Resources - Links to resources for ESL teachers.
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Prescriptive Grammar
Although I feel that anything a native speaker says is grammatical, my mother and my boss don't always agree with this viewpoint. Here are some interesting sites on the subject.
University of Illinois Grammar Book - A complete reference.
Creative Grammar Rules - The list of grammar rules which violate prescriptive grammar rules.
UCL Internet Grammar of English (UK) - Full course from the UK, but they really want you to buy the £25 CD-ROM.
A Spelling Test - This is the spelling test you've been dreading. Fifty of the most misspelled words in English (ugh)!
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Word Trivia
I'm okay with etymology, but ask for a seven letter palindrome beginning with "L" and I'm toast. Here are some emergency sites for when these issues come up.
John Higgins Homographs & Heteronyms - Useful, yet agonizing demonstration of the inconsitencies of English spelling. Includes a nice R.P. British English Minimal Pairs page.
Craven's Havens Homographs (Heteronyms) - These are words that are spelled the same, but pronounced differently. A surprising number of these exist in English.
Devil's Dictionary Online - The classic work - online!
Bulwer Lytton Bad Writing Contest - Surely there are texts worthy of linguistic inquiry available at this facility.
My attempt - "The content as repurporsed by the Internet community. Although the personal commication style within this institution may never approach industry standard exemplified in this document, it is mission critical to envision a goal of obtaining best of breed implementation within our local community of practice. "