Background reading is an essential starting point to any research project. The purpose of background reading is to get an overview of your topic, and to begin to become acquainted with the key terms, names and events associated with your topic.
A good place to begin your background reading is to find and read an article in a subject-specific reference book. The Berntsen Library collects reference books in both print and online formats.
*Note: Reference books are considered tertiary sources and are not typically referred to or cited in research papers.
These subject-specific reference books are available at the Berntsen Library. They are worth a trip to the library in order to get a concise, authoritative overview of your Linguistics topic as you begin your research.
410 Linguistics
411 Writing systems
412 Etymology
413 Dictionaries
414 Phonology
415 Structural systems (Grammar)
416 No longer used
417 Dialectology & historical linguistics
418 Standard usage; Applied linguistics
419 Verbal language not spoken or written