Languages


Dictionaries & Thesauruses
Global English

All Languages


Dictionaries


  • yourDictionary.com: A comprehensive language multi-lingual dictionary. Included are multiple English dictionaries and thesauruses and over 280 dictionaries of foreign languages. There are specialty dictionaries like medical and legal, multilingual, crossword, reverse and rhyming dictionaries. There are glossaries, antonyms and synonyms, information about courses and about linguistic research.
  • One Look Dictionaries : This site has definitions and translations. If you misspell the word you're looking up, a list of possible correct spellings appears. Consult bi-lingual dictionaries in French, German, Italian, Latin and Spanish. Read about language, linguistics, semantics, etc. in many of the dictionaries.

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Fonts


  • Freelang.net: Download free fonts for foreign languages from this site.

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Learn a Language


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Phonetics


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Phrases


  • Omniglot: A collection of phrases in many different languages with sound files for some of them.

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Translation


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Web Directories


  • Curlie: Collect the best websites for any topic! Search or browse by category

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Who Speaks What?


  • MLA Modern Language Association Language Map: Click a location on the interactive U.S. map to see which languages are spoken there and by how many people. Search by state, county, city, town or zip code to learn which languages and how many speakers of each are found there. The site is limited to the 30 most common languages.

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World Newspapers


  • BBC World Service News: Some free lessons in forty languages from Albanian to Urdu. Click Radio>languages to link to BBC broadcasts in forty languages.
  • The Newseum: The Newseum, a museum dedicated to preserving freedom of the press and free speech, consolidates a selection of front pages from every national and international newspaper.

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World Radio Online


  • Radio-Locator: Find radio station Web pages by city, zip, state, call letters or Internet streaming radio. Also find World radio lists arranged by country, station format or frequency.

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World Search Engines


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World TV Online


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Dictionaries & Thesauruses General


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Crossword Puzzle Dictionary


  • One Across: Type a clue and a word pattern to see a list of possible words.

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Reverse Dictionary


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Rhyming Dictionaries


  • Rhymer by WriteExpress: Look up end rhymes, double rhymes, last syllable rhymes, beginning rhymes and first syllable rhymes.
  • Rhymezone: Find rhymes of numerous syllables, related words, similar sounding words and related words. Also in Spanish.

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Thesaurus


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ESL English as a Second Language/Learn English


  • Chester County OIC : Offering four levels of instruction with both day and evening classes, CC-OIC instructs non-native English speakers from the very beginner to the advanced student who is thinking about entering post-secondary education.Learn English pronunciation, spelling, office skills, TOEFL preparation and more using computer programs. The Chester County OIC Program sponsors this computer-assisted instruction at the Chester County Library. (610) 280-2618
  • Volunteer English Program in Chester County - many locations : Volunteer tutors teach the English language and American culture to adult immigrants. Sessions are twice a week for 1.5 hours/session for a year.
  • Chester County Department of Human Services Resource Database: Community providers that offer English as a Second Language.
  • Dave's ESL Café: Students will find links to tutors who will answer questions, idioms, verb phrases, pronunciation, slang and more. Teachers will find links to ideas, jobs, advanced degrees, certification and more.
  • Voice of America: VOA is an international multimedia broadcasting service funded by the US government. Listen online to informational, educational and cultural programs in English and 47 other languages.
  • Voice of America YouTube Channel
  • BBC World Service Learning English: Learn grammar and vocabulary. Listen to radio programs and download supporting material. Watch videos, do interactive exercises and get tips about pronunciation. Use the links to other sites about learning English.
  • ELC Study Zone
  • English with Jennifer YouTube Channel

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Etymology


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Standard English, Varieties, Dialects & Accents


  • The Standard Language of a country is the official or "most correct" language that is found in dictionaries, taught in schools, used in courts and in literature. Varieties are forms that are different than the standard in a systematic and coherent way. Ex. Slang, Jargon, Cockney, African-American Vernacular English, etc. A variety of English used by a group living in the same region is a dialect. People speaking the same dialect are using the same pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar as one another. Ex. Caribbean English, Canadian English, Australian English, etc. Accents develop in particular geographic areas, within socio-economic or ethnic groups or by those speaking the language as their second language. Hearing people from around the world reading the same passage conveys their accents.
  • British Library/Archiva/Sound Recordings/Accents and Dialects: Hear over 680 accents and dialects from Great Britain.

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Grammar, Punctuation & Spelling

 

  • Owl Online Writing Lab: This site from Purdue University has handouts, exercises and Power Point presentations on grammar and writing.

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New Words (Fun!)  


  • OED Updates: Discover words recently added to the Oxford English Dictionary.
  • The Word Spy: Learn new terms that have appeared multiple times in books, the media and the Internet

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Phonetics


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Slang


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TOEFL Test of English as a Foreign Language & TOEIC Test of English for International Communication


  • ETS TOEFL and TOEIC: Are two standardized exams used to measure a potential student's or employee's ability to speak, read, and understand English. Learn about the test. Prepare for the test by practicing questions from the site. Find a test center. Register for the test. Learn about getting your score.

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Updated January 2017. Report problems or broken links to ref@ccls.org