Guides: Linguistics: Home

Research Toolbox

WestConnect Card - This is your university ID card. Your student identification number is encoded in the card, but is not printed on the card itself for your security. You will need this card to check out books from WCSU Libraries and obtain a Windows account.
Windows Account & Password - Every registered student is eligible to obtain a special Windows account, allowing access to networked computers on campus and to space for storing documents on the University's H drive, as well as to search WCSU databases and retrieve articles at home or another remote location.

Just getting started? Do some background research using:

Reference Books
Web searching/Wikipedia (NOTE: you should NEVER use an encyclopedia as a source!)

Think you know what you want to research? Get more information using:

Books
- broad overviews of topics
- gathering ideas
- applied research
- more vocabulary
Articles:
- specific and focused topics
- more detailed than books
- more plentiful than books, usually

The Secret Life of the English Language by Martin H. Manser; David Pickering (Editor)
ISBN: 9780753824177
Publication Date: 2008-11-04
"Fine words butter no parsnips" is an expression dating back 400 years.Twockingandchavare popular new arrivals in the ever-growing vocabulary of British slang. What do words and phrases like these have in common, and what sets them apart? That’s what this fascinating book sets out to explore. Along the way, it illuminates the whole process of word formation and proliferation. How are new words and phrases born? What’s special about the ones that enter common usage? How do mistakes and jokes affect a word’s career? Why do some words die, never to be used again? With examples ranging from Shakespeare to text messaging, this is a browsable collection rich with amusing quotations, unusual anecdotes, and clever wordplay.