Resources for Linguists

One goal of this blog is to introduce undergraduates to sources of information on language and linguistics.  In this post, I’d like to point out some websites that provide information on the languages of the world.  Curious about what languages are spoken in Gabon?  Have you heard of Walpiri in a linguistics class but can’t remember where it’s spoken?  Want to know what languages are in danger of disappearing? Ethnologue.com can provide answers to your questions.  If, on the other hand, you are interested in the grammatical properties of other languages, you will want to check out the World Atlas of Language Structures (WALS).  WALS compiles the information contained in hundreds of grammars and translates it into useful maps.  Looking for a language that has productive reduplication, an antipassive and a moderately large consonant inventory?  The search function on WALS can help you find it (in this case you might try Nez Perce!).