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Linguistics

Signed Languages

Online Encyclopedias

The following links will take you to online encyclopedias and reference manuals that you can search to help you get started on your research. Here you can find general background information, definitions, and history on many linguistic terms and concepts. 

Print Encyclopedias and Reference

The library also has a number of print encyclopedias that can be found in the Reference section on the second floor of the library. Reference books cannot be checked out of the library but there are scanners available on the second floor that can be used to scan information from these texts into a PDF which you can email to yourself. 

Good Starting Databases for Signed Languages

The following databases are good places to go to start researching your topic. Each database has a slightly different focus, so you might need to try out a couple of  databases before finding one that returns the sort of results you are looking for. 

Good Starting Journals for Signed Languages

The following are links to specific academic journals which are published and peer-reviewed by experts in the field. If you want to narrow your search to a specific topic or issue, finding a journal that publishes in that area can help. 

Search the entire library catalog here.

Materials on Linguistics topics are found under the "P" category. Materials on the social sciences are found under the "H" category. Both can be found on the 3rd floor of the library. 

P99.5-99.6 Nonverbal communication
HV1551-3024  People with disabilities including blind, deaf, people with physical and mental disabilities 

Featured Books

Currently, the featured books section highlights some of the library's best handbooks & companions for signed languages, which typically offer the reader an opportunity to survey and learn about a broad field of scholarship in a comprehensive way.  They give a snap shop of the discipline covered at the time the book is published.  Unlike a retrospective collection of articles, these guides are written or edited as a planned and intentional effort, with chapters and sections interrelating and complimenting one another and thereby tend to be more readable and integrated research works.