Web resources for Linguistics 211


Starting points:

Web pages with links to information about lots of different languages:
The Yamada Center
The Yamada Center's list of language links--one of the best starting places, right in our own yard.
iLoveLanguages (formerly The Human Languages Page)
Another good starting place. Check the Languages & Literatures page.
Languages-on-the-web
Presented as a teaching aid; has useful lists of links for dozens of languages.
Yourdictionary.com
Lots of language-related stuff, including links to on-line dictionaries and grammars for a long list of languages.
GeoNative
A site devoted to minority languages around the world. Very good page of links for particular languages. Especially strong on Basque.
WISDOM - Literary Search: Languages
I haven't looked at this one too much, but it seems to have some interesting links.
Ethnologue
The Summer Institute of Linguistics' Ethnologue--the most comprehensive list there is of the world's living languages.
Language Resources Area
From The Linguist List, the Web's most useful resource for linguistics, and the home of Ask a Linguist.

Native North American languages

NB: Other peoples' languages and cultures are not toys or playgrounds. If you feel like getting frisky with any of the information you find in these sites ("I need to find a Native American name for my cat", "The Raven is very meaningful to me and I want to have its Indian name tattooed on my butt", whatever), PLEASE read "A Line in the Sand", especially the Cultural Property pages.

General North America

Native Languages Page
Maintained by Lisa Mitten--this is one of the best resources on the Web for this topic
First Voices
Assembling dictionaries and other (mainly teaching) materials for indigenous languages, primarily (at least so far) North American
Indigenous Languages
A nice page maintained by Glenn Welker.
SSILA
The Society for the Study of the Indigenous Languages of the Americas--the professional organization for linguists interested in Native American languages. See especially their Learning Aids page.
Living Languages of the Americas page
Maintained by the Summer Institute of Linguistics--mostly from the Ethnologue, with some additional information.
First People's Language Resources
a nice page with lots of useful links (including some for aboriginal languages outside the U.S.)

Specific families, languages, and regions

Penutian
A family of languages of Oregon and California.
American Indian Languages of Western Oregon
List of languages & dialects arranged by family, with their locations
Map of western Oregon languages
Owens Valley Paiute--Language Revitalization
A dialect of Northern Paiute, which is also one of the last living Native languages of Oregon.
Wakashan languages
Language family of British Columbia and Washington, includes Nootka (and Makah) and Kwakwala (also known as Kwakiutl)
Karuk Language Resources on the Web
Karuk is a Hokan language of northern California, on the lower Klamath River. Susan Smith, who prepared this site, did her MA in linguistics at UO.
Bibliography of the Siuslaw and Kuitsh Indians
Suislaw and Kiutsh ("Lower Umpquaa") are two closely-related dialects of western Oregon; this site has notes on culture and language
Cheyenne Language Web Site
Here are some language lesson sites that are intended for public use:

Aymara (Bolivia)
Karuk (California)

European languages

There are lots of sites for European minority languages (not all of them in English, for obvious reasons!). Use European minority (or minoritized!) languages or GeoNative to get started. The others listed here are just samples.

Eurolang
Information and current news about European minority languages.
European minority (or minoritized!) languages
Don't be scared because parts of the page are in German; a lot of the links are in English.
UNESCO RED BOOK ON ENDANGERED LANGUAGES: EUROPE
Lowlands-L
"Lowlands languages" are those Germanic languages that developed in the "Lowlands": the low-lying areas adjacent to the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. These are primarily Dutch, Frisian, and Low Saxon (Low German). Also included are those languages that descended from autochtonous Lowlands languages and are used elsewhere; for example, Afrikaans, Emigre Dutch/Frisian/Low Saxon, Lowlands-based pidgins and creoles, and also English and Scots.
Scuil Wab
A site devoted to Scots (="Lallans", i.e. the Anglo-Saxon language of Scotland, not the Celtic one). Primarily for learners; has amusing stuff, including a Scots spell-checker!
Failte go PanuNet
A good site, but difficult for our purposes, as it's mostly in Irish. Read the "WARNING TO THOSE WHO KNOW ONLY ENGLISH!"
References to Shelta, the language of the Irish "Travellers"

Languages of Africa

Classification of African Languages
Council on African Studies (Yale)
Mostly about language courses at Yale, but has useful capsule descriptions and links for Swahili, Twi, Yoruba, and Zulu.
African Languages at Michigan State University
Mostly a guide to language programs at MSU, but has good capsules and links.
Languages of Africa
South African Languages Web
UCLA Hausa Home Page

Languages of Asia

Tibeto-Burman Languages
A place to start for information on the Tibeto-Burman family and Tibeto-Burman languages.
Sino-Tibetan Etymological Dictionary and Thesaurus Project
This site has useful basic information on Sino-Tibetan
Himalayan Languages Project
Basic information on a number of Tibeto-Burman and other languages of the Himalayas.
Koryak Net
Lots of information on the Koryak and Chukchi people, including language.
Documentation of Kolyma Yukaghir
A Uralic (probably) language of Siberia.

Endangered Language Issues

Endangered Native American Languages: What Is to Be Done, and Why?
Article by James Crawford.
ELL page
archives of the Endangered-Languages-L e-mail list
ELL links
Some web pages cited in Endangered-languages-L discussions
The Conservation of Endangered Languages
Quick & simple overview of some of the issues surrounding language extinction.
Terralingua
An organization dedicated to the preservation of linguistic diversity
The Endangered Languages Fund
A relatively new organization devoted to funding language preservation projects. Some UO graduate students (Janne Underriner, Tim Thornes) have carried out ELF projects.

Language Policy and Politics

James Crawford's language policy website
Writings on the "Ebonics" issue
by John Rickford, a sociolinguist at Stanford

Other useful or interesting sites

Ask a Linguist
Might as well ask me, while you're here, but this is a useful resource. You might enjoy browsing through other questions & answers.