TERMIUM is now free!

"Until now, TERMIUM Plus®, one of the largest terminology and linguistic data banks in the world, was available only to employees of the Government of Canada and to subscribers. Those days are over! All Canadians-and all Web surfers, wherever they are-can now consult the Translation Bureau's flagship product free of charge."

txtng is gd 4 lrng

"Texting does not erode children’s ability to read and write. On the contrary, literacy improves. The latest studies (from a team at Coventry University) have found strong positive links between the use of text language and the skills underlying success in standard English in pre-teenage children. The more abbreviations in their messages, the higher they scored on tests of reading and vocabulary. The children who were better at spelling and writing used the most textisms. And the younger they received their first phone, the higher their scores."

Ten Mistakes Writers Don’t See (But Can Easily Fix When They Do)

An excellent article containing at least one tip for each of us who do any writing at all. "...most of the time the author...is too close to the manuscript to make corrections. ...the 10 ouchies listed here crop up everywhere. They’re so pernicious that even respected Internet columnists are not immune."

Websites for word lovers & writers

Wordsmith.org...A.Word.A.Day: "Wordsmith is a worldwide online community of some half-million readers who share a love for words, wordplay, language, and literature." Visit their Scheduled Chats page, where word lovers from all over the world meet to chat with others about words, languages, literature, and ideas.

World Wide Words: An etymologist's delight! "...a fascinating website ... All word buffs should pay the website a visit. They will be well rewarded." [Quote from University of the Third Age (March 2004)] Categories are numerous; to name a few: Articles, Q&As, Reviews, Topical Words, Turns of Phrase, Weird Words, Pronunciation Guide. Weekly newsletter by email subscription or feed.

Please visit the Writers' Resources tab on my WORDS website for a huge, categorized list of resources.

Affixes: the Building Blocks of English

The Dictionary of Affixes: "It is based on Michael Quinion’s book Ologies and Isms: Word Beginnings and Endings, published by Oxford University Press in 2002. This work is now out of print and has been edited and presented here as a free service. These pages contain examples of all four of the types of affixes that appear in English: prefixes, suffixes, combining forms and infixes."

Urban Dictionary

If you can't find the word anywhere else it might be in this one. Look up street lingo: words, images, sounds. Time magazine named it one of the 50 best websites of 2008. Here's their self-definition (on Facebook):

"I am a dictionary with over a million definitions you wrote. I stand for free speech and having a good time. urban dictionary started in 1999 as a parody of dictionary.com, with definitions written by the people. in the last 7 years, people have written more than 2,000,000 definitions...wikipedia says it well: 'urban dictionary allows for many truths, rather than an authoritative guide.'"

IEEE Professional Communication Society

For Engineering & other technical professionals & students: the IEEE Professional Communications Society.

"The PCS field of interest includes the study, development, improvement, and promotion of effective techniques for preparing, organizing, processing, editing, collecting, conserving, teaching, and disseminating any form of technical information by and to individuals and groups by any method of communication. It also includes technical, scientific, industrial, and other activities that contribute to the techniques and products used in this field."

Online games

Web games to learn with. K-12 geography, chemistry, vocabulary, animals, history, math, and some quiz games.

Grammar and Writing

A few links to assist in the review of the basic conventions of standard English: grammar, sentence structure, punctuation, and word usage.

University of Ottawa: HyperGrammar electronic grammar course: Brief reviews of the basics, from parts of speech through to building sentences and writing paragraphs.

The OWL (Online Writing Lab) at Perdue: "Free writing help and teaching resources, open 24/7." Here are some of their categories: The Writing Process; Professional, Technical, and Scientific Writing; Job Search Writing; General Academic Writing; Research & Citation; ESL; Literary Analysis & Criticism; Writing in the Social Sciences; Writing in Engineering; Creative Writing; Teaching Writing. -- and each one has many sub-menu items. I can't describe it; you'll just have to check it out for yourself!

University of Victoria English Language Centre Study Zone: Index To Grammar Materials: "It includes grammar presentations, interactive practice exercises, and help pages for basic writing skills."

University of Victoria: The UVic Writer’s Guide: The site includes the topics:
- Planning, Organizing, and Presenting Essays
- Developing and Ordering Paragraphs
- Writing Clear Sentences
- Choosing and Using Words
- Acknowledging Your Sources
- Literary and Rhetorical Terms (By Category)
- Preparing Summaries
- Presenting Arguments Logically
- Knowing The Basics of Grammar

University of Toronto: Advice on Academic Writing: Includes these topics:
- Planning & Organizing
- Reading & Researching
- Using Sources
- Specific Types of Writing
- Style and Editing
- Grammar and Punctuation
- Some Answers for Writers of English as a Second Language

University of Calgary: The Basic Elements of English: Four major sections: Parts of Speech, Sentence Elements, Punctuation and Word Use. Includes Interactive exercises to help you "test your grammar skills and get immediate feedback by trying the exercises at the end of the tutorials. "

Guide to Grammar and Writing

This Guides is sponsored by the Capital Community College Foundation, a nonprofit 501 c-3 organization that supports scholarships, faculty development, and curriculum innovation.

Top Ten Grammar Errors that Haunt Web Pages

Robin Nobles lists some common grammar errors we see ANYWHERE, not just on web pages.

Also, see her Resources for Writers site.

Grammar Grater: PODCASTS

"...a weekly podcast about English words, grammar and usage for the Information Age. Because we live in a time of e-mail, blogs, instant messaging, even online product reviews—everybody's a writer. And with the global nature of communication, there's not a single style guide everyone uses. To help sort through some of the confusion, host Luke Taylor and the Grammatis Personae Players (Cory Busse and Amy Ault) take linguistic bugbears and put 'em through the Grammar Grater."

Grammar Girl: PODCASTS

I've seen this referred to as "one of the most downloaded educational podcasts on iTunes" [reference]. A "real-life science writer", Mignon Fogarty, has built up a great resource site of "Quick and Dirty Tips: Clean Up Your Writing". My title link is to this week's tip; scroll down to see others (they're all on one page). The left panel has links to titles and a search box. I like the fact that the podcast also appears in text form.

Bedford Handbook Online Resources

Lots of free goodies here at the "companion web site for The Bedford Handbook. Includes online resources for writing, gramma, and research. No charge. No activation code required." Includes peer review tools, grammar helpers, writing and research tools, and special sections for Instructors & students.

Audio learning, Podcasting, and what it means for learners and trainers

This Clive Shepherd interview (podcast) is divided up into short segments, each labelled so you can zoom in on your particular interest. Titles of the sections include

• Why use audio for learning?
• Podcasting needs learning design too
• What is the grammar of podcast design?
• Soft skills and podcasting
• Music and podcasting

...and more...