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Effective Words


Wired Style
http://www.hotwired.com/hardwired/wiredstyle/
Advice on how to use the new language of the digital age.

Merriam Webster's Dictionary on the Net
http://www.m-w.com/netdict.htm
Wild card searches: if you recall how to spell only the beginning of carabiner (an oblong, hinged metal ring used in climbing), you can enter carab* and choose carabiner from the list of words that begin with cara.

A Web of Online Dictionaries
http://www.bucknell.edu/~rbeard/diction.html
Links to 400 dictionaries in over 130 languages.

Synonyms Dictionary
http://vancouver-webpages.com/synonyms.html
Type in a word and this online dictionary will find its synonym.

Word for Word
http://peg.pegasus.oz.au/~toconnor/
Explores the history and origins of words and phrases.

Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases on the Web
http://www.thesaurus.com/
A wonderful tool site offering hypertextual searches of the famed thesaurus.

The Use of Clichés
http://www.nexus.edu.au/teachstud/dexed/docs/cliche.html
The account of an English teacher named Ms. English with an ax to grind who told her students to avoid clichés like the plague, this piece by Graeden Horsell says that sometimes clichés are needed, and that one should never say "never."

Language Policy Web Site and Emporium
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/JWCRAWFORD/home.htm
Links to articles and Web sites on many language policy issues, including the English Only movement, bilingual education, Ebonics, endangered languages, and language rights.

African American English
http://www.cal.org/ebonics/
The Center for Applied Linguistics sponsors this page about African American vernacular English; it includes many useful links.

Nonsexist Language
http://www.stetson.edu/~history/nongenderlang.html
An essay exploring the origins of the practice of assigning masculine pronouns in gender-neutral or gender-inclusive situations and offering alternatives to the practice.

The New Hacker's Dictionary
http://www.infowar.com/hacker/hack_042198f_j.shtml
Definitions of online jargon and discussions of such topics as "how jargon works," "hacker writing style," and so on.