Reviews
Hundreds of resources to help you teach yourself
Endangered Language Alliance
General, Websites, Organizations
Founded in 2010, the Endangered Language Alliance, or ELA, is an “urban initiative for endangered language research and conservation.” Out of a small office on West 18th Street, in what is known as the Urban Fieldstation, dedicated ELA linguists…
Schoenhof’s Foreign Books
Arabic, Dutch, English, French, General, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Yiddish, Websites, Bookstores/Libraries, Kids
Founded in 1856, Schoenhof’s claims to have the “largest collection of foreign books in North America.” As a student at Harvard, I used to shop at their main store in Harvard Square for my language and literature course materials. I…
Jackson Heights, Queens, for Many Languages
General, Hindi, Korean, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Neighborhoods
This is a fantastically polyglottal community in northwestern Queens. Take the subway to Roosevelt Avenue/74th Street and you will find yourself in possibly the most diverse community in the world. You can hear massive amounts of Spanish along…
Interdisciplinary Centre for Social and Language Documentation
General, Websites, Organizations
Founded in 2010 and based in Minde, Portugal, the Interdisciplinary Centre for Social and Language Documentation (CIDLeS) is “dedicated to the documentation and preservation of the linguistic and cultural heritage in Europe.”
Rizzoli Bookstore
English, French, General, Italian, Spanish, Bookstores/Libraries, Kids
This is a truly gorgeous bookstore with a wonderful selection of books—in English, Italian, Spanish, and French. There are not many stores in New York with a meaningful supply of foreign-language books. This is one, and it seems to…
Lower East Side Tenement Museum
General, Museums/Cultural, Kids
This remarkable little museum teaches visitors about New York City’s immigrant past. You can enjoy it in several ways. First, you can tour 97 Orchard Street, which was constructed in the middle of the 19th century and served as home…
Linguistic Society of America
General, Organizations
Founded in 1924, the Linguistic Society of America seeks to advance the scientific study of language. The organization puts out various linguistics publications, has an annual meeting in early January that causes hundreds of linguists to converge on whatever city is…
Museum of the City of New York
General, Museums/Cultural, Kids
Founded in 1923, the Museum of the City of New York “celebrates and interprets the city, educating the public about its distinctive character, especially its heritage of diversity, opportunity, and perpetual transformation.” It offers exhibits as well as school and…
Language Resource Centers
General, Websites, Organizations, Conferences/Lectures
As of this writing, there are 15 Language Resource Centers (LRCs) across the U.S. at various universities. The first was established by the Department of Education in 1990, according to the website for the centers, “in response to the growing national…