World Languages & Cultures

WLC Website Resources (General)

WLC General Website Resources

Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

ASL-LEX
A database of lexical and phonological properties of American Sign Language signs.
Beolingus Dictionary
A German-to-English and English-to-German dictionary that provides pronunciations spoken by native speakers.
Cambridge Japanese Dictionary
A Japanese-to-English and English-to-Japanese dictionary
Collins French Dictionary
A French-to-English and English-to-French dictionary.
Collins Spanish Dictionary
A Spanish-to-English and English-to-Spanish dictionary.
Ethnologue, Languages of the World
An encyclopedic reference work cataloging all of the world’s 6,909 known living languages
Lexilogos
Arabic-to-English and English-to-Arabic dictionary.
Reverso
An Italian-to-English dictionary containing commonly used words and expressions. Also, provides English-to-Italian translations.

Interactive Language Learning

ASL-LEX
A database of lexical and phonological properties of American Sign Language signs.
ASLPRO.CC
Provides free, easy-to-use reference and learning tools to enhance in-classroom learning for ASL Educators and their Students.
Foreign Service Instititute Language Courses
This is the home for language courses developed by the Foreign Service Institute. These courses were developed by the United States government and are in the public domain. This site is dedicated to making these language courses freely available in an electronic format.
Forvo: All the words of the world pronounced
"Forvo is the largest pronunciation guide in the world. Ever wondered how a word is pronounced? Ask for that word or name, and another user will pronounce it for you."
Handspeak
An online database of American Sign Language resources.

Library Catalogs

Arabic Collections Online
A digital library of Arabic language resources supported by NYU Abu Dhabi, Arcadia, and Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Biblioteca Luis Ángel Arango
Biographical articles, historical documents, music and culture of Colombia
Biblioteca Nacional de España
The National Library of Spain includes collections of manuscripts, maps, music, newspapers, etc.
CALIS Online Catalog CALIS
A union catalog of Chinese higher education institution libraries.
Catalogue Collectif de France (CCFr)
A French national union catalog that allows the search of multiple French libraries, archives and museums.
Centro Virtual Cervantes
Developed to spread interest in Spanish language and culture, the site (in Spanish) includes sections on instruction, literature, language, art and science.
CiNii Books
Searches various Japanese university online catalogs.
Gallaudet University Archives
Gallaudet University has the world’s largest collection on deaf people, deaf culture, deaf history, sign languages, audiology, speech, deaf education and deaf related organizations (excerpt from the Archives introduction).
Gallica
The digital library of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BnF). Contains electronic texts, images, maps, animation, and sound files.
German National Bibliography (Deutsche Nationalbibliografie)
The National Library of Germany includes books, journals, maps, atlases, and dissertations.
Islamic Heritage Project (Harvard Library)
A digital collection of Islamic manuscripts, published texts, and maps in Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman Turkish, Urdu, Chagatai, Malay, Gujarati, Indic languages, and several Western languages.
Karlsruhe Virtual Catalog
Provides users with the ability to search for books in 14 different German catalogs. The site is available in both German and English.
La Biblioteca Digitale Italiana -- Internet Culturale
An Italian digital library that searches various regional libraries, archives, museums, research institutes.
Latin American Network Information Center (University of Texas)
Links to online resources by country or subject: all topics Latin American
Manuscripts of the Islamic World
A digital collection of manuscripts in Arabic, Persian and Ottoman Turkish.
National Center On Deafness (NCOD) Resource Center
Provides deaf-related books, journals, dissertations, videotapes, DVDs, CDs and documents.
National Central Library in Taiwan
Searches books, journals and other materials on Chinese language and culture.
NDL-OPAC (National Diet Library, Japan; OPAC)
The National Library of Japan.
NII Webcat Plus
The National Institute of Informatics (NII).
OPAC of National Library Service (Catalogo del Servizio Bibliotecario Nazionale)
A union Italian catalog that allows the search of libraries participating in the Italian National Library Service.

News

Al-Jazeera
Qatari government-funded news organization provides multilingual news.
Al-Watan
A Saudi Arabian news source.
China Daily - online newspaper in English
Reports on Chinese business, politics, society and culture.
The Daily Moth
Trending news and deaf topics presented in American Sign Language.
Deaf Nation
Provides news and videos of deaf people in the United States and worldwide.
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
A German newspaper that provides coverage on politics, economics, sports, culture and finance.
Gazzetta del Sud
An Italian language national daily newspaper for the south of Italy.
Il Centro
An Italian language local daily newspaper based in Pescara, Italy.
The Japan News
A publication of the Yomiuri newspaper provides news in English about Japan and the world.
La Presse
A Montreal French-language digital newspaper.
Latin American Network Information Cetner (LANIC)
Managed by the University of Texas at Austin, LANIC's mission is to facilitate access to Internet-based information to, from, or on Latin America. While many of the resources are designed to facilitate research and academic endeavors, the site has also become an important gateway to Latin America for primary and secondary school teachers and students, private and public sector professionals, and just about anyone looking for information about this region.
Le Monde
A French daily newspaper.
Middle East Channel (Foreign Policy)
A foreign policy journal.
NACLA (North American Congress on Latin America
News, information and analysis on Latin America and the Caribbean (in English).
NHK World-Japan (English)
Provides news in English about Japan and the world. Includes articles, TV/radio programs, podcasts and Japanese lessons.
Online Newspapers - China
Links to a number of Chinese newspapers including some in English.
Sign1News
News in American Sign Language in partnership with CNN.
Tagesschau
A German news source that provides national and international coverage. Includes video and audio resources.

Organizations

American Association of Teachers of Arabic
Promotes the study and teaching of the Arabic language and culture.
American Association of Teachers of French
Promotes the study and teaching of the French language and culture.
American Association of Teachers of German
Promotes the study and teaching of the German language and culture.
American Association of Teachers of Italian
Promotes the study and teaching of the Italian language and culture.
American Association of Teachers of Japanese
Promotes the study and teaching of the Japanese language, literature, and linguistics.
American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese
"Promotes the study and teaching of the Spanish and Portuguese languages and their corresponding Hispanic, Luso-Brazilian and other related literatures and cultures at all levels of education" (excerpt from mission).
American Sign Language Teachers Association
Promotes the teaching of American Sign Language (ASL) and Deaf Culture.
Asia Society
The society promotes mutual understanding between U.S. and Asian countries in the arts, education, policy, business and lifestyle.
Association for Asian Studies
Scholarly association for people interested in Asian studies with links to jobs, study programs, publications and resources.
Association for French Language Studies
Promotes French-language teaching and French linguistics research in Higher Education.
Center on U.S.-China Relations
News on current U.S./China cooperative projects
Centro Internazionale Studi Emigrazione Italiana
International Center for Studies on Italian Emigration.
Chinese Language Teachers Association
Promotes the study and teaching of the Chinese language and culture.
Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute
"Provides leadership, public service, and policy experiences to outstanding Latino students and young professionals ((excerpt from introduction).
Embassy of the Peoples Republic of China in Washington
Official information and news on China. Includes visa information for traveling to China.
Goethe Institut
A German worldwide cultural institute.
Historians of Islamic Art Association (HIAA)
Promotes the study and teaching of the art, architecture and archaeology of Islamic cultures.
International and Foreign Language Education (U.S. Office of Post-Secondary Education)
IFLE is "responsible for encouraging and promoting the study of foreign languages and cultures of other countries." The site has links to U.S. domestic and overseas programs.
Italian American Studies Association
Supports the "interdisciplinary study of the culture, history, literature, sociology, demography, folklore, and politics of Italians in America" (excerpt from the IASA's about page).
The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL)
An organizations focused on the civil and human rights of Asian and Pacific Islander Americans.
The Japan Foundation
Supports cultural exchange programs to foster friendship, trust and mutual understanding.
Middle East Studies Association
Promotes the study and teaching of the Middle East.
National Association of the Deaf
A civil rights organization of, by, and for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals in the United States of America.
North American Language and Culture Assistants Program NALCAP
"A public diplomacy program sponsored by the Education Office of the Embassy of Spain in the United States, the Ministry of Education of Spain and the regional education offices in the 17 regions of Spain" (excerpt from the "About Us" section of the website).
Thrive Together
An organization that empowers Deaf and individuals with hearing loss through Advocacy, Education & Collaboration
United States Embassy in China
Official U.S. information and news for Chinese and U.S. citizens.

Streaming Video

Kanopy (Des Moines Public Library)
A video streaming platform provided by the Des Moines Public Library that offers free access to movies with a Des Moines Public Library card.

World Languages & Cultures

WLC Website Resources (General)

WLC General Website Resources

Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

Interactive Language Learning

Library Catalogs

News

Organizations

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