Western Libraries

Linguistics

Encyclopedias, dictionaries and other research resources

Linguistics Dictionaries

Oxford English Dictionary Online (OED Online)

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is widely regarded as the accepted authority on the English language. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of 600,000 words—past and present—from across the English-speaking world. As a historical dictionary, the OED is very different from those of current English, in which the focus is on present-day meanings. You'll still find these in the OED, but you'll also find the history of individual words, and of the language—traced through 3 million quotations, from classic literature and specialist periodicals to films scripts and cookery books. The OED started life more than 150 years ago. Updates revise and extend the OED at regular intervals, each time subtly adjusting our image of the English language.

Glossary of Linguistic Terms

Compiled by the International Linguistics Department of the Summer Institute of Linguistics.

French/English glossary of linguistic terms

Compiled by the International Linguistics Department of the Summer Institute of Linguistics.

A Dictionary of Grammatical Terms in Linguistics

Available electronically, this dictionary is intended primarily for students and teachers of linguistics, though it may also prove useful to others who want to look up unfamiliar or half-remembered grammatical terms. Unlike other dictionaries of linguistics, this one concentrates exclusively on the terminology of grammar—mainly on syntax (sentence structure), but also to some extent on morphology (word structure). Also available print format, call number P152.T7 1993.

Dictionary of Historical and Comparative Linguistics

More than just a dictionary, this book provides genuine linguistic examples of most of the terms entered, detailed explanations of fundamental concepts, critical assessment of controversial ideas, cross-references to related terms, and an abundance of references to the original literature.

A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics

This dictionary is the "standard single-volume reference for the field of linguistics." It includes comprehensive coverage from experts in phonetics, phonology, syntax, semantics, sociolinguistics, and psycholinguistics.

A Dictionary of Phonetics and Phonology

Available electronically, this dictionary is intended primarily for students and teachers of phonetics and linguistics, focusing on just one major area of the linguistic sciences and providing detailed coverage of that area. Also available in print format, call number P216.T73 1996.

Lexicon of Linguistics

This is an electronic resource from the Ultrecht Institute of Linguistics. It is an extensive dictionary of linguistic terms that allows the user to browse or search for a specific term. Hyperlinks at the end of each entry lead to citations for further readings related to the specific term.