CMU LibGuides: Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics (LCAL): Home

Tips for finding non-English sources

Need to find non-English sources? Here are some tips that will work for all languages.

Use Advanced Search and limit by language (if available). In general, most online databases support direct target language searching. When searching library catalogs (such as Carnegie Mellon University's catalog - CAMEO), or any of our online databases and web search engines such as Wikipedia, Google Scholar, or Google Books, use the target language.
Look for foreign-language reference books. Many are available here at CMU, but also check the University of Pittsburgh's catalog and make sure to visit their specialized collections such as the East Asian Library, and the Eduardo Lozano Latin American Collection.
Check one of the following sources:

Ethnic NewsWatch This link opens in a new window
Full text articles from newspapers and periodicals published by the ethnic, minority and native press in the U.S. Coverage is from 1960 to date
Ethnic Newspapers (NewsBank) This link opens in a new window
Search and display articles from ethnic newspapers culled from the Access World News database from NewsBank. Exact dates vary by title, but most ca. 2000 - present.
Hispanic American Newspapers, 1808-1980 This link opens in a new window
The single largest compilation of Spanish-language newspapers printed in the U.S. during the 19th and 20th centuries. Features hundreds of titles, including many published bilingually in Spanish and English.
ProQuest U.S. Hispanic Newsstream This link opens in a new window
U.S. Hispanic Newsstream offers access to the largest collection of leading Hispanic newspapers, news wires, websites and blogs in full text from U.S. publishers in both Spanish and English including El Diario/La Prensa (New York City), La Opinión (Los Angeles), La Prensa (San Antonio) and Extra (Chicago).
Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
One of the most comprehensive foreign language newspaper and news sources. You can browse by type of resource and country.
HathiTrust This link opens in a new window
Digitized books, journals, and government documents from all countries and time periods.
Text-mine (full text search) over 17 million digitized works and create customized collections. HathiTrust is a not-for-profit collaborative of academic and research libraries. Offers reading access to the fullest extent allowable by U.S. copyright law, computational access to the entire corpus for scholarly research, and other emerging services based on the combined collection.

Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)
This service covers free, full text, quality controlled scientific and scholarly journals. We aim to cover all subjects and languages. There are now 5458 journals in the directory. Currently, you can search 2293 journals at article level. As of today 448731 articles are included in the DOAJ service.

General Databases for Language & Culture Research

Other databases for language and cultural research vary based upon the context. Some that may be helpful to start are listed below. You can always contact your librarian for more assistance.

Ethnic Diversity Source This link opens in a new window
This full-text database is a dedicated resource covering the culture, traditions, social treatment and lived experiences of different ethnic groups in America. It provides full text from a growing list of sources including peer-reviewed journals, magazines, e-books, biographies, videos, and primary source documents. Complete with robust collections of videos and e-books.
Communication Source This link opens in a new window
The most comprehensive resource on the market for communication research and offers abstracts and indexing as well as full-text content from publications worldwide pertaining to Communication, Linguistics, Rhetoric and Discourse, Speech-Language Pathology, Media Studies and other fields relevant to the discipline.
Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts (LLBA) This link opens in a new window
This database abstracts and indexes the international literature in linguistics and related disciplines in the language sciences and includes journal articles, book reviews, books, book chapters, dissertations and working papers. The database covers all aspects of the study of language including phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics. Database Guide
MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window
Citations to critical research of language, literature, and folklore for all periods beginning with the Middle Ages.
Linguistics Database This link opens in a new window
Full-text database with scholarly journal articles and other sources covering linguistics (coverage varies; ranging from 80s to present). Includes articles in French, German, Spanish, Italian and some in a number of other languages.

Interdisciplinary Databases

ProQuest Central This link opens in a new window
Provides access to databases across all major subject areas, including business, health and medical, social sciences, arts, humanities, religion, education, science, and technology.
International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS) This link opens in a new window
Citations and abstracts to journal articles, books, reviews and selected chapters written from 1951 to the present. Links to full text of journal articles. Strong international coverage, incorporating over 100 languages and countries. Covers all areas of social sciences. Database Guide
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Articles in important academic journals from all disciplines (latest few years not available); also eBooks from leading academic publishers, as well as some images.
ScienceDirect This link opens in a new window
ScienceDirect is SciVerse's leading full-text scientific database offering science, medical and technical (STM) journal articles and book chapters from more than 2,500 peer-reviewed journals and over 11,000 books. Content may be mined for noncommercial purposes using the ScienceDirect APIs. Please view the terms and conditions for more information and how to gain access. Or contact your liaison librarian for more information.