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English Department
UW-Eau Claire
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e-mail: bensonej@uwec.edu
Tel. 715-836-2431
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General Links
Glossaries
Exercises
University of Hertfordshire's Introduction to Linguistics Course Website
- contains a variety of exercises on phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics
Essays
Language Society of America's Essays on Linguistic Fields
- conatins essays on many linguistic fields, including applied linguistics, endangered languages, language and the brain, and prescriptivism
alphaDictionary.com's Reference Shelf: Dr. Goodword
- includes many articles with information on topics ranging from trends of the English language to English dialects
Phonetics and Phonology
General
Kevin Russell's Phonetics Website (University of Manitoba)
- provides a table of contents that informs on a variety of phonetic concepts, including:
- phonetic transcriptions of English
- vocal anatomy
- properties of consonants and vowels
- acoustic phonetics
- general phonetics
Andrew Moore's Teaching Resource Site: Phonology
- provides explanation of basic concepts
- introduces terms
Consonant and Vowel Charts of Various Languages (George Mason University)
- allows one to see the consonant and phoneme charts of many different languages
The Varieties of English (University of Arizona)
- explains and differentiates seven different types of English
- provides background information on phonetics and phonology
- includes articulation and transcription exercises, as well as exercises particular to the different varieties of English
The Phonetic Alphabet
The Sounds of American and British English
Peter Ladefoged's Course in Phonetics (UCLA)
- allows the user to hear a variety of sounds
- identifies differences in American and British English
- allows the user to watch spoken words being said through an x-ray of a human head's profile
- contains dozens of helpful exercises; including exercises on identifying vocal organs, how phonemes are performed, how phonemes sound, and transcription
- includes a language index
George Dillon's Consonant Website (University of Washington)
- consonants broken up into consonant classes; including stops, fricatives, approximants, and nasals
- allows one to hear the consonants pronounced
- shows symbols for all consonant sounds
George Dillon's Vowel Website (University of Washington)
- vowels separated into vowel classes; including front vowels, back vowels, central vowels, and diphthongs
- allows one to hear the vowel sounds
- shows symbols for all vowel sounds
George Dillon's Website of British and American English Vowel Sound (University of Washington)
- charts a sound articulation diagram for both British and American English vowel sounds
- allows one to hear the difference between British and American English by simply holding the mouse over the vowel sound
Daniel C. Hall's Interactive Sagittal Section (University of Toronto)
- helps one understand how sounds are produced
- allows the user to observe a vocal tract model
- allows the user to change voicing, nasality, lip position, and tongue position
- fun website to explore!
Morphology
General
Johanna Rubba's Overview of the English Morphological System (California Polytechnic State University)
- provides definitions and examples of basic morphological terms; such as inflectional morphology, derivational morphology, and allomorphy
- explains word formation processes
Andrew Moore's Teaching Resource Website: Morphology
- provides explanation of basic concepts
- introduces terms
Byron Bender's Morphology Website (University of Hawaii)
- contains essays focused on morphological issues
- contains morphology exercises
- "Morphology Processes" and "Inflectional Paradigm" offer definitions of terms in morphology
- "Morphological Paradox" discusses seven issues in morphology
Exercises
Identifying Word Classes Exercise
- multiple choice questions to practice identifying words by form
- characteristics and tests of the following word classes: Nouns, Verbs, Adjective, Adverbs, Determiners, Pronouns, and Auxiliaries
Michael Buckhoff's Morphology Exercises
- provides questions asking to define morphological terms
- contains questions asking to provide examples of morphological terms, especially derivational morphemes, inflectional morphemes, and roots
Natural Language Processing Language Interactive
- provides a test on general morphology terms
- includes exercises on identifying basic morphemes and inflectional and derivational morphemes
Johanna Rubba's Morphology Exercises (California Polytechnic State University)
- contains morpheme, affix, and root recognition exercises
- contains morpheme analyzing exercises
Morphology and Language Acquisition
BrainConnection.com- Beyond Root Words: Morphology and the Connection to Reading Skills
- contains basic morphological information, including terms
- explains why morphological skills are important for text comprehension and reading
- describes the relationship between morphology and meaning, syntax, and phonology
- explains how students learn word meaning through morphology
Michael Gasser's Notes on Morphology Learning (Indiana University)
- explains how children learn morphological rules and recognize morphemes
Syntax
General
Andrew Moore's Teaching Resource Site: Syntax and Syntactic Structures
- provides explanation of basic concepts
- introduces terms
Richard C. DeArmond's Theta Roles Website (Simon Fraser University)
- introduces the concept of theta roles and explains it in detail
Exercises
Michael Buckhoff's Syntax Exercises
- provides sample tree diagrams
- contains exercises on identifying parts of speech and phrases
- contains exercises on active and passive voice identification
University College of London's Syntax Exercises
- contains many exercises on parts of speech, phrases, clauses, and sentences
Natural Language Processing Syntax Interactive
- provides a test on general syntactic terms and their application
- contains an exercise dedicated to identifying parts of speech and phrases
Mount Allison University Syntax Exercises
- provides tree diagram and phrase structure exercises
Stockholm University Syntax Exercises
- contains exercises on identifying elements of noun phrases, adjective phrases, and clauses
- contains exercises on clause type and function
Semantics
General
Andrew Moore's Teaching Resource Website: Semantics
- provides explanation of basic concepts
- introduces terms
John M. Lawler's Lecture on Metaphors (University of Michigan)
- explains the role of metaphor within semantics
WordNet (Princeton University)
- a reference tool that allows the user to search word meanings
- words are placed into synonym sets, which places words together that have the same meaning
Ken Bach's Essay on Semantics and Pragmatics
- gives an explanation of the differences of semantics and pragmatics and why these differences are important
Exercises
Michael Buckhoff's Semantics Exercise
- quizzes the user on term examples
Pragmatics
General
Andrew Moore's Teaching Resource Website: Pragmatics and Speech Acts
- provides explanation of basic concepts
- introduces terms
Mike Gasser's Pragmatics Website (Indiana University)
- provides information on introductory pragmatics
- provides examples of concepts
- easy-to-use and understand bullet format
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association: "Pragmatics, Socially Speaking"
- article that describes the communication skills associated with pragmatics
- describes pragmatic problems in children's communication
Exercises
Michael Buckhoff's Pragmatics Exercise
- quizzes the user on a variety of concepts, including speech acts and conversational maxims
Language Acquisition
General
Student Language Acquisition Project: Language Acquisition (University of Pacific)
- discusses the critical period hypothesis in first language acquisition and second language learning
- introduces a variety of factors affecting second language learning, including student, family, and teacher roles
- includes references
First Language Acquisition
Edward Vadja’s Notes on First Language Acquisition (Western Washington University)
- includes a short history of the study of first language acquisition
- introduces many terms
- explains many common mistakes that occur in a child’s language
Thomas McFadden's First Language Acquisition Lecture Notes (University of Pennsylvania)
- an in-depth look at first language acquisition
- includes a discussion of the critical period hypothesis, stages of language learning, phonological development, syntax learning, and morphological acquisition
Second Language Learning
Vivian Cook's Second Language Learning Topics
- website prepared by a professor from the University of Newcastle
- includes information on many topics, including approaches to researching second language acquisition and learning and using a second language
- provides references
Language and the Brain
General
Ted Eastwick’s Notes on Language and the Brain (University of Delaware)
- provides a background of basic concepts
- includes a clear diagram of the parts of the brain
Edward Vajda’s Notes on Language and the Brain (Western Washington University)
- explains language and brain concepts, including brain structure and disease
Disorders Associated With Language and the Brain
Jean Gawron's Brain Disorder Website (San Diego State University)
- uses text and visuals to explain a variety of language disorders, including split brains, Broca's aphasia, and Wernicke's aphasia
- provides patient scenario exercises, but does not include answers
Language and the Brain Website Provided by Students from Princeton University
- a helpful website that explains:
- technology associated with studying language and the brain
- the anatomy of the brain
- the brain in its natural and disease state
- the social impact of brain imaging
- provides references and links
Nobelprize.org’s Resources on Roger Sperry, Winner of the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine
- helpful website that includes the following Roger Sperry resources:
- 1981 Physiology/Medicine Nobel Prize Press Release
- 1981 Physiology/Medicine Nobel Prize Presentation Speech
- a biographical article on Roger Sperry
- Roger Sperry’s autobiography
- Roger Sperry's Nobel lecture
- educational “split-brain experiment game,” which allows the user to understand the process of Roger Sperry's Nobel-winning research
National Aphasia Association’s Asia Information Packet
- includes much information on aphasia, such as an explanation of the different types, articles, and personal accounts of people with aphasia
University of Idaho’s College of Science’s Description of Nervous System Diseases: Broca’s Aphasia
- provides a short description of Broca’s aphasia
- provides background information on Dr. Paul Broca
University of Idaho’s College of Science’s Description of Nervous System Diseases: Wernicke’s Aphasia
- provides a short description of Wernicke’s aphasia
- provides background information on Dr. Carl Wernicke
Regional and Social Dialects
General
Dialect Website (University of Tampere)
- provides information on a variety of topics, including Britain and American English, ethnic and regional dialects, and the influence of loan words
PBS’s “Do You Speak American?” Website: From Sea to Shining Sea
- discusses the varieties of American English
- discusses “Standard” American English
- discusses the controversy over having an “official” language in the United States
PBS’s “Do You Speak American?” Website: What Speech Do We Like Best?
- discusses language prejudices, sociolinguistics, language as prestige, and descriptivism vs. prescriptivism
Urban Dictionary
Languages of the World
Ethnologue: Languages of the World by SIL International
- catalogues all of the world’s languages
- allows one to browse languges by selecting a region on a global map, then selecting a country within that region
- allows browsing by language
- explains where each language is spoken and by how many people
The Linguist List (Eastern Michigan University, Wayne State University)
- profiles many languages
- includes alternate names and dialects of each language
- gives information on where the language is spoken
- allows one to search by name, country, or family tree
Dialects of English
The Varieties of English (University of Arizona)
- explains and differentiates seven different types of English
- provides background information on phonetics and phonology
- includes articulation and transcription exercises, as well as exercises particular to the different varieties of English
The Speech Accent Archive (George Mason University)
- allows one to browse many English accents
- provides audio to allow one to hear the accents
American English Dialects
A National Map of the Regional Dialects of American English (University of Pennsylvania)
Student Regional Dialects in the United States Website (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee)
- discusses properties of dialects from the South, Northeast, West, and transitional regions
- allows one to hear an audio clip of the dialects
Bert Vaux and Scott Golder’s Dialect Survey (Harvard University)
- shows results of surveys of different American pronunciations and terms
- includes 122 different surveys
Barbara Johnstone and Scott F. Kiesling’s Pittsburgh Speech and Society Website (Carnegie Mellon University)
- discusses the “Pittsburghese” dialect
- provides a glossary of “Pittsburghese” terms
Language Change
General
PBS’s “Do You Speak American?” Website: Words That Shouldn’t Be?
- allows one to track origins of words
- discusses what makes language change
- discusses the introduction of slang terms
PBS’s “Do You Speak American?” Website: What Lies Ahead
- discusses language change, as well as America’s role in changing other languages and the power of the mass media in controlling language
Andrew Moore’s Teaching Resource Website: Language Change in English
- provides basic concepts of language change, including conversion and word formation
- contains exercises on language change terms
Satoshi Tomioka’s Language Change Lecture (University of Delaware)
- provides basic information regarding language change
Language Evolution and Computation Bibliography (University of Illinois)
- allows one to browse over 1,000 scholarly references dealing with language change
- all articles include an abstract and many have full-text inclusions
National Science Foundation’s Webpage on Language Change
- provides basic information on how and why languages change
History of the English Language
General
Daniel Mosser’s Evolution of Present-Day English Website (Virginia Tech)
- a detailed account of the history of the English language
- examines changes in lexicon, phonology, syntax, and grammar
- discusses dialects, pidgins, and creoles
William E. Rogers’ History of English Phonemes (Furman University)
- explains the history of consonant and vowel sounds in Old English, Middle English, Early Modern English, and Present-Day English
- allows the user to hear the sounds
Suzanne Kemmer’s Chronology of Events in the History of English (Rice University)
- provides a timeline of the important events that contributed to the development of the English language
Peter Erdmann and See-Young Cho’s Brief History of English Lexicography (Technical University of Berlin)
- provides a timeline of English dictionaries
- timeline starts with the early Latin dictionaries and continues to the present-day English dictionaries
Luminarium English Literature Anthology
- an anthology of works from Middle, 16th century Renaissance, and early 17th century English literature
- contains short author biographies
- contains critical essays
Suzanne Kemmer’s English Loanword Website (Rice University)
- explains what loanwords are
- gives examples of loanwords from many different languages and time periods
Old English
Proto Indo European Language Demonstration and Exploration Website: Old English (University of Texas-San Antonio)
- explains the development of Old English
- notes similarities between Old English words and Modern English and foreign language words
- explains Grimm’s Law
Michael Drought’s Old English Grammar Book (Wheaton College)
- gives a complete explanation of the grammar of Old English
Old English Aerobics (University of Virginia)
- designed to help one learn the basic grammar of Old English
- allows the user to hear Old English spoken
- provides exercises on the grammar of Old English
Murray McGillivray and Cindy McMann’s Old English Course (University of Calgary)
- explains the basic principles of the Old English language
- provides helpful charts
- allows the user to hear Old English spoken
Catherine Ball’s Old English Pages (Georgetown University)
- contains many resources, including historical texts, diagrams, Old English literature, and pictures
Old English Made Easy Dictionary
- a dictionary that translates Old English to modern English and modern English to Old English
Modern English/Old English Glossary (Memorial University of Newfoundland)
- a glossary that translates modern English words into Old English words
Middle English
Jan Tillery’s Notes on Middle English (University of Texas-San Antonio)
- provides a detailed outline of the historical events during the Middle English period
- describes sound changes and explains possible explanations for English changes during this period
The Language and Linguistics of Chaucer’s Time (Harvard University)
- allows one to hear pronunciations of phonemes
- provides information on Middle English and Middle English dialects
- allows one to search for words in Chaucer’s texts
Teach Yourself to Read Chaucer’s Middle English (Harvard University)
- provides lessons for learning middle English
- explains pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar
Edwin Duncan’s Chaucer Glossary (Towson University)
- provides a glossary of Middle English words found in Geoffrey Chaucer’s writing
- asterisks mark the one-hundred most-used words
Early Modern English
The Great Vowel Shift (Furman University)
- explains the Great Vowel Shift
- provides evidence of the Great Vowel Shift in literature
- allows the user to hear word pronunciation
The Great Vowel Shift (Harvard University)
- explains the Great Vowel Shift
- allows the user to hear the vowel pronunciation
Elizabethan Accents for Renaissance Faire Workers
- provides information on grammar and vocabulary
- provides pronunciation drills
- allows the user to hear the language being pronounced
Language and Gender
General
Andrew Moore’s Teaching Resource Website: Language and Gender
- provides explanation of basic concepts
- introduces terms
Clive Grey’s Overview of Historical Research on Gender and Language Variation (Edge Hill University)
- provides a history of research on gender differences in language
- includes work in the 1800’s through the 1990’s and provides an outlook for the future
Mark Liberman’s Language and Gender Website (University of Pennsylvania)
- explains differences in the language used by men and women
- explains how biological differences between men and women affect language
- explores possible stereotypes involved with language and gender
Beth Vanfossen’s Website on Gender Differences in Communication (University of Towson)
- provides answers to several questions regarding gender communication differences, including topics on who talks more, who interrupts, and gender communication patterns in group meetings
Linguistik Online’s Reports on Language and Gender: I, II, and III
- includes several essays discussing the future of language and gender research
Language and Sexism
Carolyn Jacobson’s Notes on Gender-Neutral Language (University of Pennsylvania)
- provides a history of gender-specific language in English
Dawnelle Loiselle’s Sexism and Language Website (Towson University)
- provides basic information on sexism in the English language
- explains how to avoid sexist language
Linguistic Society of America's Guidelines for Non-Sexist Language Usage
- provides guidelines on how to avoid sexist language
The American Philosophical Association’s Guidelines for Non-Sexist Use of Language (University of Delaware)
- an in-depth explanation of how to avoid sexist language
Guidelines on Anti-Sexist Language (University of Connecticut)
- provides information on avoiding sexist language
Gender-Sensitive Language Website (University of North Carolina)
- explains gender issues in language
- provides ways to be “gender-neutral” when writing
Kelley Ross’ Essay, “Against the Theory of ‘Sexist Language’”
- essay that argues against sexism in language
Maeve Conrick’s Essay, “Gender and Linguistic Stereotyping” (University College Cork)
- discusses linguistic stereotyping of women
- includes a list of the controversial stereotypes
Prescriptivism vs. Descriptivism
General
PBS’s “Do You Speak American?” Website: Correct American
- discusses prescriptivism and descriptivism
- discusses the proposed decline of English grammar
- provides a list of commonly mispronunciated words
Ted Eastwick’s Prescriptive vs. Descriptive Grammar Website (University of Delaware)
- explains basic concepts of prescriptive and descriptive grammar
- provides examples of prescriptive and descriptive rules
Spike Gildea’s Notes on The Origins and Developments of the English Language
- provides a history of our current perceptions of “correct” English
Prescriptive Grammar Rules
Debra Knutson’s Prescriptive Rules Website
- provides examples of prescriptive grammar rules
Paul Brians’ List of Non-Errors (Washington State University)
- provides a list of English prescriptive grammar errors that are actually standard in the English language
Essays
Excerpt from The Sixties Book by Alex Gross
- discusses the theory of British English being the “correct” form of English
- discusses the implications of the contrasting English styles for students learning English as a second language
Geoffrey Nunberg’s Essay “The Decline of Grammar”
- discusses the theory of language degeneration
Barbara Wallraff’s Essay “What Global Language”
- discusses the thought of English becoming the universal language
Etymology
General
Michael Quinn’s “World Wide Words” Website
- a large website that contains over 1,500 pages of information about English words and phrases
- includes a question and answer section, alphabetical word and phrase lists, and a variety of articles about etymology
- offers a free newsletter to users who subscribe
- fun to explore!
David Wilton’s “Word Origins” Website
- provides the word origins of many words and phrases
- the “Topics” link provides several short explanatory essays regarding etymology
- includes a useful bibliography of sources
Dictionaries
Oxford English Dictionary (for University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Students only)
- the ultimate word history resource
Online Etymology Dictionary
- provides the word history of many words
Urban Dictionary
Language Play and Language Games
General
John Burkardt’s Word Play Website
- introduces several word games
- provides interesting word facts
Wikipedia.org's Language Games Encyclopedia Entry
- a very informative website that gives background information on language games
- provides examples of many language games in several languages
Jennifer Greenald’s Language Play Notes
- introduces linguistics terms associated with word play
Language Games
- a website dedicated to providing language games, including crosswords, word searches, and hangman
- fun to play!
Types of Language Games
Pig Latin Website (Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology)
- explains the rules of Pig Latin
Suzanne Kemmer’s Cockney Rhyming Slang Website (Rice University)
- explains the rules and origins of Cockney Rhyming Slang
Eggy-Peggy Website (University of Texas)
- explains the rules of Eggy-Peggy
Little Hallingbury Village History Society’s Backslang Website
- explains the history of backslang
- provides several backslang rules
Suzanne Kemmer’s Internet Slang Website (Rice University)
- introduces many examples of internet slang
Essays
Erik Miller’s Essay “Verbal Play and Language Acquisition (University of Pennsylvania)
- discusses how verbal play might assist children with language acquisition
International English(es)
General
C. George Boeree’s International English Website (Shippensburg University)
- gives detailed characteristics of English spoken in England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, and the United States
- explains the historical aspects of the differences of each type of English
Johannes Reese’s International English Website
- describes in detail the Englishes of England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Canada (with details on Newfoundland), Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa
International English Dialect Website (George Mason University)
- allows one to hear pronunciation of English in many different international dialects
- includes voices of males and females
The Varieties of English (University of Arizona)
- explains and differentiates seven different types of English
- provides background information on phonetics and phonology
- includes articulation and transcription exercises, as well as exercises particular to the different varieties of English
Fonetiks’ Pronunciation Website
- allows one to hear the phonemes of American, British, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Australian, Canadian, Indian, and South African English
Sean Coughlan’s Article “English ‘World Language’ Forecast” (BBC News)
- discusses the globalization of the English language
England's English
The British Library's English Accents and Dialects Website
- explains the different accents of England
- includes audio recordings
David Adam's Article "The Queen's English Dethroned" (Nature.com)
- examines changes in the way Queen Elizabeth II speaks
Canadian English
Dane Jurcic’s Canadian English Website
- explains the vocabulary, pronunciation, and style and syntax associated with Canadian English
Taylor Roberts’ Notes on Canadian English Raising (York University)
- explains “rasing,” a phonological process associated with Canadian English
- allows the user to hear examples
Stephanie Pelhe’s (Student) Essay on Canadian English (University of New Hampshire)
- describes the state and history of Canadian English
- explains influential factors in Canadian English
- provides references
Australian and New Zealand English
Scott Kleinman’s Australian and New Zealand English Notes (California State University at Northridge)
- explains characteristics of Australian and New Zealand English
- contains excerpts on early thoughts of Australian and New Zealand English
Qin Yan’s Overview of Australian English (University of Brunel)
- explains the phonological differences of Australian English
Australian English Glossary
- introduces Australian English terms not commonly used in American English
Indian English
Scott Kleinman’s South Asian English Notes (California State University at Northridge)
- provides information on South Asian vocabulary and syntax
- contains excerpts on early thoughts on South Asian English
Siddharth Srivastava’s Article “English, the Indian Way” (Worldpress.org)
- explains the recent developments of Indian English
African English
Scott Kleinman’s African English Notes (California State University at Northridge)
- provides examples of African English
- contains excerpts on the attitudes toward African English
Names and Naming
Name Etymology
ProGeneoligists Surname Study
- allows one to see the surname (last name) distribution over the United States in the years 1850, 1880, 1920, and 1990
The Baby Names Box
- provides the meaning and origin of many first names
Behind the Name
- provides the etymology and history behind first names
The Social Security Administration's Popular Baby Name Website
- allows one to see the top twenty most popular baby first names in every year since 1880
- allows one to see the most 1000 popular baby first names by decade
- provides several other sorting options
Onomastics
Gymnastics with Onomastics
- defines onomastics terms
- explains the structure of names
- explains how names of people and nations are formed
Donald Jackman’s Notes on Germanic Onomastics (University of Pennsylvania)
- explains the development of early Germanic names
Peter Dunne’s Article “What’s in a Name?”
- explains how surnames are created
Compiled by Garett Pankratz
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