Collins Memorial Library: ENGL 433: History of the English Language: Articles

Featured Journals

If you're not sure yet what you're interested in, or you're interested in so many different aspects of the English language that you can't decide where to focus, you might want to just browse through scholarly journals to see what catches your eye. Collins Library provides access to several scholarly journals in the field, including the journals listed below.

Key Database

The MLA International Bibliography is the primary database to use when searching for scholarly articles on the history and development of the English language. Click the link below to begin your search with the advanced search option.

MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window

Researching Linguistics in the MLA International Bibliography

Additional Databases for Finding Scholarly Journal Articles

Depending on your topic and your angle, you may wish to search additional subject databases.

Anthropology Plus
Especially good for finding articles relating to language and culture.
Communication & Mass Media Complete
Provides access to research in areas related to communication and mass media.
Historical Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Good for exploring scholarship on the political and cultural uses of language.
JSTOR
JSTOR includes archives of over one thousand leading academic journals across the humanities, social sciences, and sciences, as well as select monographs and other materials valuable for academic work. Filter your results by choosing "Linguistics" from the list of disciplines.
Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts (LLBA)
This database abstracts and indexes the international literature in linguistics and related disciplines in the language sciences.
Philosophers Index
Useful especially for finding scholarship where linguistics and social philosophy intersect.
PsycINFO
Good for cognitive linguistics.
Sociological Abstracts
Major database for sociological literature; a good database to use for topics dealing with the social aspects of learning English as a second language.

General Database Search Tips

Try these strategies to become a better, more efficient searcher -- and help you find articles that you can actually use:

Build your search vocabulary -- keep a running list of key words, phrases, concepts, synonyms, and any related terms or ideas that you find.
Use advanced search features -- narrow your search with "AND," expand your search with "OR," or search in specified fields (i.e., author, title, publication, abstract).
Use search limits -- control the types of results you get (academic journals? language?) and how they are displayed (date? relevance?) so that you're only looking at results you can use.
Try multiple searches and evaluate your results -- try to figure out why you got the results you did, and adjust your search until you get closer to results you can use.
Use database descriptors -- once you find an article that looks good, see what descriptors or "subject headings" were assigned to it in the database. You can use these to search only for articles that have the same descriptors attached.

Tipasa: Interlibrary Loan

If your article is not available at Collins Library, you've got another option for getting it. Use Tipasa, our interlibrary loan service.

Tipasa is linked to your library account so you'll need to log in to use it.

Once you are logged in, either go directly to Tipasa and manually enter the information, or, if you're using a database, look for a shortcut link to automatically fill out the form:

Allow at least a week for the article to come. If your article is delivered in electronic format, you'll receive an email with a link to follow as soon as it's arrived.