Language Links

If you're like me, you love finding gems of interesting or useful language-related content on the web. Here, I would like to share some of those gems that I found with you!

General Language Resources

• The Wiktionary is a Wikipedia for all languages. This may seem like an insurmountable task, but the project's contributors have managed to make it a reality with a truly staggering amount of content. It has entries for over 4000 languages, from popular ones like English and Chinese to extinct ones like Latin and Old English. It even has some entries on PIE roots and similar proto-languages, although these are not fully fleshed out. Almost every entry has an etymology attached to it, too. This site is my go-to whenever I encounter a word (of any language) that I am unfamiliar with. The bad news is that it is community-driven, and is not rigorously fact-checked. The good news is that it is community-driven, and benefits tremendously from the countless volunteers who create it.
• Google Translate will translate for you. It's not terribly accurate, but it is very fun. Try translating a sentence from English to some other language, and back again!

English Resources

• The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is in my opinion one of the greatest achievements in the history of linguistics. It is the most comprehensive dictionary of the English language to date, and it is constantly being updated as the English language changes and solidifies. For every word, it provides the etymology, a timeline of its usage, and quotes throughout its past to understand how it became the word it is today. I used it extensively for a final project in an English Language history class that I took, and was blown away by everything it offers. Unfortunately, access to the dictionary requires a paid susbscription. However, many schools provide their students with free access to the site. Without paying, you can still sign up for the "word of the day" feature that sends you an interesting word once a day.
• The American Heritage Dictionary is an online English dictionary. It is a well-researched dictionary with definitions and etymologies. It is on this list because the site maintain a Proto-Indo-European Roots List. For those who are not aware, most languages spoken in Europe and some spoken in India (everything from English to Greek to Urdu to Hindu) are descended from a long-extinct early language called Proto-Indo-European (PIE). Most words in the English language can be traced back to PIE, revealing truly surprising cognates between words. They also maintain a Semitic Roots List, if you are interested in the linguistics of Semitic languages. This site is free, and great for anyone who is interested in PIE or old etymologies of English words.
• The Phrontisery is a great place to learn about obscure or beautiful words in the English language. There are some interesting word lists including Numerical Prefixes, the Compendium of Lost Words, and Contour Line Words. I guarantee that by checking it out for just five minutes, you will find a word that you have never seen before. It is created and maintained by Stephen Chrisomalis.

Old English Resources

• This Old English Core Vocabulary list is great for getting a feel for Old English words. It may help those learning to read Old English, but I haven't used it as such, and can't vouch for that. Notice how many of the Old English words have direct cognates in modern English, but are spelled or pronounced slightly differently (for example, Old English "ceald" and Modern English "cold"), but also how many words have completely been lost to time (such as the fantastic Old English "neorxnawang").
• The Old English Translator is a fantastic place to learn or verify Old English words. It only provides single-word translations to and from Old English. It's great if you find an Old English passage that you may not be able to read. It's worth learning some Old English grammar before using it, but it's really easy to use. The Old English Translate made it on the list because it can be hard to find Old English translations.

Language Learning Resources

These are just a few resources that I like from the countless available on the internet.

• Duolingo is a free language-learning software. It has a good variety of languages, and is perfect for people who want to study a language a little at a time (like me!). ~~I'm currently on a 100 day streak!~~ I once had a 100-day streak! There is also a paid version, but I don't think the additional features are worth it.
• Quizlet is a free flashcard-making website and app. It also has games to make studying with those flashcards more fun. The best thing about Quizlet is that there are already so many flashcard sets on Quizlet that you can find free study materials on almost anything you want to learn. Including languages.
• Wikipedia contains articles written in hundreds of languages. If you're learning a language, why not read some articles on Wikipedia? Plus, it's completely free!
• WordReference.com is a fantastic site for finding quick and accurate translations. It is much more accurate than Google Translate, but not as detailed as some other translation sites. It has saved me countless times in both French and Spanish class, and it's free. Whenever I'm writing in French or Spanish, I have this site open and ready for all of my queries.
• Learn To Read Koren in 15 Minutes is a fun, short comic which teaches the Korean writing system (Hangul). It does in fact deliver on its promise: Hangul was designed to be easy to learn, and this comic makes it even easier.

And of course, I want to add to this! If you have any great language-oriented gems that you would like to share, send them to me at: locallyinfiniteblog@gmail.com.