Library Research Guides: ENG 210: History of the English Language: Home

Welcome!

This guide provides some useful starting places and strategies for doing remote research for this course. I'm happy to consult with you on any aspect of your research, from developing a research question to finding, evaluating, and citing sources. Email me or make a calendar Zoom appointment

- Karen Storz, Research & Instruction Librarian

Because SuperSearch contains so much content from so many different kinds of sources, the results can sometimes be overwhelming and hard to focus. At the same time, SuperSearch is also not comprehensive and can miss key sources. To search with more focus, precision, and depth, be sure to use some of the databases recommended on this guide.

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Key Databases

These databases contain a combination of full text (ready to read online) and citation information about articles, book chapters, and books.

Best Bets

MLA International Bibliography (Modern Language Association)
Scholarly articles on literature, languages, linguistics, film, folklore, and rhetoric, from all cultures.
Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts (LLBA)
Scholarly journal articles, books, book chapters, dissertations, working papers, and book reviews on all aspects of linguistics and related disciplines in the language sciences.

Etymologies & Definitions

Oxford English Dictionary (OED)
Start here to find the immediate ancestry of an English word, obsolete forms and definitions, and cognate words (particularly in Germanic and elsewhere in Indo-European.) For more complete or accurate reconstructions, further sources should be consulted.
Middle English Dictionary
English vocabulary and usage. Each definition lists quotations from historical documents (including literary, religious, medical, and legal works) exemplifying how the word is used.
Dates: 1100-1500 CE
Dictionary of Old English: A to Le
Defines the vocabulary of the first six centuries (600-1150 CE) of the English language.
Dates: 600-1150 CE

An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary
An online version of Bosworth-Toller's work, with a new alphabetical index. From the University of Texas at Austin's Linguistic Research Center.
Bosworth-Toller Anglo-Saxon Dictionary Online
Another online version of An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary. The dictionary records the state of the English language as it was used between ca. 700-1100 AD by the Anglo-Saxon inhabitants of the British Isles.

Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE)
DARE documents the full panoply of American regional words, phrases, and pronunciations. This digital edition of the respected usage dictionary features audio, interactive maps, and insights into the DARE Survey. Widely viewed as the American equivalent of the Oxford English Dictionary.

Additional Databases

Iter Bibliography
Peer-reviewed articles, scholarly books, and academic theses published from 1859 to present on all aspects of medieval and Renaissance life (400 CE to 1700 CE).
Dates: 1859 CE-Present
Historical Abstracts with Full Text
Peer reviewed articles and book reviews of world history (excluding the US and Canada), 1450 CE to present and searchable by historical time period.
America: History & Life with Full Text
Peer reviewed articles and book reviews of American and Canadian history, prehistory to present and searchable by historical time period.

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Search Tips

use synonyms and truncation to find all the ways your topic is expressed--databases are very literal
combine multiple concepts using AND / OR for best results

sample topic: Chaucer's construction of marriage

(Chaucer OR "Franklin's Tale" OR "Wife of Bath's Tale") - synonymous concepts

AND (marriage OR wyf* OR wife* OR housebonde OR husband OR [other specific examples]) - truncation

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