Reference Librarian/System Manager San Marino Public Library
The United States is a land of immigrants. Almost all of our citizens (saving Native Americans and the descendants of slaves) came because they wanted to be here or had ancestors who did. We are a "self-selected" people. Optimistic humans from around the planet continue to come to our country to build a better future.
The implications for information professionals are twofold. One, we have a compelling reason to learn at least snatches of languages other than English to serve our patrons better. Secondly, we have a delightful panoply of ethnic cuisines available when we go to lunch.
Wouldn't you know it -- the Web fairly vibrates with language resources, with everything from dictionaries to translators to linguistics resources. As our computers and connections become more multimedia-capable, it's a snap for us to actually hear proper pronunciation as it streams to us over the Internet and even watch video clips of dialogues. Use the Web to immerse your senses in the language and culture of other lands, all in the name of customer service.
Can one really become fluent in another language using only Web resources? If you have passed puberty the answer is probably no. Studies show that the human brain hardens to learning language after childhood. Yet, all is not lost. Even if a foreign language will always remain foreign to your cortex, patrons from other lands would still welcome a helpful word or two in their native tongue. Also, Web sites are great study aids if you seriously intend to master another language.
Language Directories
Where to start? Browse these general resources, most augmented with audio files, to see if they either fit, or point you to, resources that fit your needs.
iLoveLanguages.com
http://www.ilovelanguages.com/
This site used to be The Human-Languages Page and the Languages catalog of the WWW Virtual Library. It is designed to list, categorize, and promote Internet resources related to language learning, education, and use. "We want to make sure that people who are interested in learning a language can find information, products, and services they can use to help. We also want to promote language education by giving everyone the opportunity to delve into a language other than their own." This is a fabulous, comprehensive directory of language resources on the Web.
Say Hello to the World
http://www.ipl.org/div/kidspace/hello/
The Internet Public Library's Kidspace hosts this resource created by Lorri Mon, a graduate student at the University of Michigan's School of Information. "The goal of this project," writes Mon, "is to bring together language resources on the Internet into one convenient place for beginners who would like to learn more about languages from all over the world." Although the site does not offer its audio greetings recorded by native-language speakers, this still constitutes an excellent portal to explore a new language.
Transparent.corn Language and Culture Pages
http://www.transparent.com/languagepages/languages.htm
Transparent Language hosts an online store of products for language learning, reference, and translation. In addition, it offers free resources in almost 20 languages. Click on a language to hear "survival phrases," that is, basic greetings and dialogues that teach you to say things like, "Good morning. Do you speak English?" Also, read their language overviews, take their proficiency tests, and play language games, all for free.
Fodor's Languages for Travelers
http://www.fodors.com/traveltips/languagelindex.htm
See and hear more than 600 essential phrases for travelers in French, Spanish, German to Italian. Learn how to say, "I've lost my glasses" en francais, Only worry? That you won't have your computer with you when you enter the optometrist's office in Paris.
Traulang: Foreign Language for Travelers
http://travlang.com/languages/
First, use the pull-down menu to choose your native tongue. Then select among more than 80 languages to read and hear useful words and phrases.
Categories include basic words and numbers as well as phrases used in shopping and eating, reserving a hotel room, and finding the potty. Beware: Lots of pop-up ads here.
Yamada Language Center Language Guides and Fonts
http://babel.uoregon.edu/yamada/guides.html
Here is an excellent portal to the free resources for learning languages on the Web from the University of Oregon. Scroll down this page to get links to resources for 140 languages. The site also links to language-related newsgroups and mailing lists.
Jennifer's Language Page
http://www.elite.net/-runner/jennifers/
Jennifer Runner wants to teach us all how to say several words and phrases in hundreds of different languages. "My goal is to include every language, so that people will be able to say at least a few words to anyone they meet, anywhere in the world." One drawback: No audio files.
Specific Languages
General-language resources are fine, but patrons usually have specific language needs. Here are directories and resources that help with specific languages.
Yahoo! Directory: Specific Languages
http://dir.yahoo.com/Social_Science/Linguistics_and_Human_Languages/L anguages/Specific_Languages/
Visit this "classic" Yahoo! directory page to browse resources specific to over 100 languages.
Word2Word
http://www.word2word.com/course.html
Bennett (Bigben) Blaustein has been collecting links to free online language courses and dictionaries since 1995. He has done this "in the hope of all people developing a better understanding of others through the use of language." Because these resources are offered gratis, "the courses vary in quality and the quantity of material presented." Still, this site serves as a doorway to free language treasures.
Chinese Resources
"Teaching Chinese on the Internet, create new shining magnificence again."
-Li Daoyu, deputy to the National People's Congress of China
In San Marino California, where I work, over 40 percent of the population consists of recent immigrants from China: Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the People's Republic. All are avid readers.
We native English-speaking librarians have a heck of a time collecting resources for this constituency. We have an even harder time cataloging Chinese language materials. A bilingual patron came in this week asking for that book that she knows we have about Chiang Kai-shek -- in Chinese. Could I find it? No way. Without Chinese language skills, we simply cannot add subject headings in our Chinese language bibliographic records. Our collection is browseable by accession number only.
Not only that, but written Chinese has no relationship to the spoken word. There are several distinct Chinese dialects. On the mainland and in Taiwan, one mostly hears Mandarin. Those from Hong Kong, Macau, and Guangzhou speak Cantonese. Yet, although the spoken languages are often unintelligible between dialects, all who can read the written language understand the meaning of the symbols. Written Chinese means the same thing today to all, as it did thousands of years ago.
It is all Greek to me, unfortunately. I can manage "How are you?" and "Thank you" in Mandarin, but even after 5 years on the San Marino reference desk, no other Chinese has stuck with me. Can these Web resources help me to bridge my gulf in understanding? Well, they can't hurt.
Learning Chinese Online
http://www.csulb.edu/-txie/online.htm
Dr. Tianwei Xie of the Department of Asian and Asian American Studies at the California State University at Long Beach has compiled this complete listing to quality Chinese language resources on the Web. See his links to an introduction to Chinese and guides to pronunciation, conversation, characters, and grammar.
Cartoon University: Learn Chinese Characters Series
http://www.sonicnovel.com/kanji.html
Characters
Here is a beautiful animated and audio guide to Chinese characters and how they evolved to look that way.
http://www.usc.edu/dept/ealc/chinese/newweb/character_ page.html
The Chinese Language Program at the University of Southern California offers this set of animations about how to draw Chinese characters. Click on the pronunciation graphic to hear how each character is spoken.
Learn Chinese Online with HwaQwan Pinin
http://www.hqpin.com/eindex.html
Jonathan Lin of the HwaQwan Pinin Book Society in Taipei offers basic Chinese lessons in several dialects along with audio enhancements.
English Top Page
http://www3.justnet.ne.jp/~LXM/english.htm
Li, a computer programmer from mainland China, says, "I have recorded my voice to every word, please hear it and imitate it. I am putting some new words on it because I am glad to be useful for you." Listen to Li and learn how to say, "Thanks for your trouble," and "Can we be friends?" She also has recorded three Chinese poems. Xie xie, Li!
Learning Cantonese
http://members.tripod.com/~Dorothy Ma/index2.html
Listen to Dorothy Ma of Hong Kong teach you to say useful phrases in Cantonese including telephone greetings and "Happy New Year!" Your patrons from Hong Kong will love you for it.
Spanish
In Southern California, immigrants from Spanish-speaking countries and their descendants now form the majority of the population. It's time for me to mix a bit of the old Espanol into my vocabulary.
Business Spanish Lessons
http://www.businessspanish.com/index.htm
Businessspanish.com offers two free, concise online lessons every weekday. Read, listen, and test yourself on practical Spanish phrases appropriate for business and travel. !Estupendo!
Learn Spanish:
A Free Online Tutorial
http://www.studyspanish.com/index.htm
In return for free registration, see and hear lessons in pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary; along with verb drills, a "travel helper," and some cultural notes. !Muy simpatico!
Other Languages
There are so many wonderful languages swirling about our communities that even a whole book about specific language links would not cover all of them. Still, here is a small sample of unusual sites of high quality.
Native American Languages
http://www.geocities.com/cheyenne_language/langlinks.htm
This unique resource links to Web sites about the languages of indigenous people of NorthAmerica Many of these pages are enhanced with sound files as well as articles about the languages and their histories.
A Basic Dictionary of ASL Terms
http://www.masterstech-home.com/ASLDict.html
This online dictionary of American Sign Language features animated and text definitions. The text definitions also have letter or number sign images to aid in visualizing the sign. This allows users to read how to sign a word then click-through to view the animated sign.
TESL/TEFL/TESOL/ESL/EFL/ESOL Links:
Links of Interest to Students & Teachers of English as a Second Language
http://iteslj.org/links/
Got non-English-speaking patrons who want to learn more? Set them up with this site, a no-frills, well-maintained set of links to tools to help anyone learn more English over the Web, courtesy of the Internet TESL Journal.
Dictionaries and Translators
Perhaps you don't want to learn a whole new language. Maybe you just need to get the meaning of something right now!
Systran
http://www.bconnex.net/~randys/
Systran is the pioneer of machine translation on the Web. Its engine drives AltaVista's Babel Fish translation service [http://babelflsh.altavista.com/], among others. It has added several languages to its bidirectional translation menu, including Russian, Greek, and Chinese. Coming soon: Arabic!
WorldLingo Text and Web Translator http://www.worldlingo.com/products_ services/worldlingo_translator.html
Machine-translate text and Web pages between 12 languages, including Greek and Traditional Chinese.
LOGOS -- Multilingual E-Translation Portal
http://www.logos.it/lang/transl_en.html
LOGOS is an international translation service based in Modena, Italy. Use its free online dictionary to translate between over 200 languages. It will conjugate your verbs for you, too. It will even read children's stories to you out loud, in several languages. LOGOS is non solo parole: "more than just words"!
PROMT-Reverso Free Translation Online
http://translation2.paralink.com/
Designed to facilitate understanding of international instant messaging, this site will machine-translate phrases and entire Web pages (in URL mode) between several major European languages, particularly English and Russian.
yourDictionary.com
http://www.yourdictionary.com/
If a dictionary exists online, your-Dictionary links to it. Here are English and multilingual dictionaries that cover many different subjects including sports, telecommunications, and hydrology. Thorough and well organized, this directory of dictionaries is the site of choice for word lovers the world over.
American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
http://www.bartleby.com/61/
Bartleby.com hosts this fourth edition of the Dictionary, published in 2000. Word entries include not only definitions, but etymology and sound clips demonstrating proper pronunciation.
WordNet
http://www.cogsci.princeron.edu/cgi-bin/webwn
It's a dictionary. It's a thesaurus. You're both right -- and wrong. WordNet, developed by the Cognitive Science Laboratory at Princeton University, is an online lexical reference system using a design inspired by current psycholinguistic theories of human lexical memory. English nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs are organized into synonym sets, each representing one underlying lexical concept. Got that? So let's say you type in a word like "beam." WordNet will give you all the meanings for it, then ask if you want synonyms based on the different meanings. It's an artificial intelligence kind of thing. Hmm. Might help searchers building search strategies or even catalogers building databases, too.
C'est Fini
According to yourDictionary.com, "There are 6,800 known languages spoken in the 191 countries of the world; 2,261 have writing systems (the others are only spoken), and about 260 are represented by online dictionaries." In this space, of course, I could only bring you a fraction of them. Still, I hope that some of these links will help in fostering understanding not only between us librarians and our patrons, but among all the people on our tiny planet. Peace.
These links worked fine in March 2003.
RELATED ARTICLE: Commercial online language resources
If you really want to learn another language online the easiest way is just to break down and pay for lessons. Commercial services offer the most complete lessons to both written and spoken languages. Here are some commercial vendors of online language classes.
Parlo
http://www.parlo.com/
Learn Spanish, French, Italian, or English online. A single payment of $39 to $69 U.S. dollars provides you 3 months of access to course resources. Take their assessment tests to see what courses would suit you best.
The Rosetta Stone
http://www.rosettastone.com/home
Buy their $200 CD-ROM products to learn one of 24 languages, including Arabic, Welsh, and Swahili. Or, pay less than $25 per month for access to their lessons online.
WorldLanguage.com
http://www.worldlanguage.com/
Here is an extensive catalog of commercial language products. These are not Web-based materials, but rather books, tapes, and software. This company also sells other language-related accessories such as keyboards and videos.
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