Search Engine Colossus and Search Engine Guide are comprehensive global master directories of local search engines for regional, country, or language-specific searches. Yahoo! provides country-specific, regional, and official government site search options. Google offers a comprehensive Language Tools Page to search in specific languages or countries, translate text, change language interfaces, or link to country-specific Google sites. Internet broadcasts in many languages are accessible through the International Radio and Television Broadcasts page of this WWW Virtual Library: International Affairs Resources.

• Try Babel Fish from AltaVista and FreeTranslation.com to get the essence of foreign language text and web pages. Dictionary.com translates text and Web pages between several European and Asian languages. IATE, the European Union's inter-institutional terminology database, gives translations of technical terms, abbreviations, acronyms, and phraseology among two dozen European languages.

• Cambridge International Dictionaries Online-- Look up meanings of English-language words, idioms, and phrasal verbs.

• Dictionary of Slang-- Rich and searchable source for English-language slang, from a UK perspective. The links section is an excellent compendium of sources on slang usage in English and a few other languages.

• Foreignword.com-- Links to find translations of terms, word meanings, and phrase contexts in hundreds of  free online translation tools, dictionaries, and glossaries.

• Free Dictionary-- "English, medical, legal, financial, and computer dictionaries, thesaurus, acronyms, encyclopedia, a literature reference library, and a search engine all in one!"

• Language Dictionaries and Translators-- From Word2Word, links to numerous dictionaries and translators, online language courses, chat sites in many languages, audio, language-specific search engines, and language learning and practice aids.

• Lexicool-- Directory with "links to over 4000 bilingual and multilingual dictionaries and glossaries freely available on the Internet."

• Merriam-Webster Online-- "The most up-to-date [English-language] dictionary on the Web," with thesaurus, online audio pronunciations, word of the day, and word games.

• MetaGlossary-- Thorough definitions for millions of English language words, terms, phrases, and acronyms through a constantly updated web search technology.

• OneLook Dictionaries-- Look up the meaning of words in English and several other languages, millions of  words in hundreds of online dictionaries.

• Verbix-- "Independent non-profit organization that aims to promote and protect linguistic diversity... This site contains verb conjugations for hundreds of languages, ranging from national and international languages to regional and even extinct languages."

• xlation.com-- A fine site for translators, with links to about 1700 dictionaries and scores of online grammars, plus essays, news for translators, forums (including listings of jobs), freelance translators, and announcements.

• yourDictionary.com -- A really excellent site, "the most comprehensive and authoritative language portal on the web with more than 2500 dictionaries and grammars in over 300 languages." Features online grammars, translators, language identifiers, forum, word games, articles, Endangered Language Repository, and more.

• Atlas on Endangered Languages-- From UNESCO, "information collected on a large number of endangered languages in all parts of the world" and on UNESCO's work in that area.

• Center for Applied Linguistics-- From a private, non-profit American organization of language scholars and educators, an excellent online reference for the best language learning and teaching resources for teachers and students. Free online resources include "downloadable digests, informational brochures, frequently asked questions and more."

• EFL.NET-- News items, features, poetry, songs, puzzles, online games for EFL students, with ComAudio played while the corresponding text is displayed on your screen.

• English, Baby!-- Fun site to learn American English, with chat, weekly lessons, audio, movie and music references, slang, etc.

• English as 2nd Language-- About.com's colorful and helpful guide to ESL.

• ESLgold-- An excellent interactive ESL site with "over a thousand pages of free information and resources for both teachers and students. All materials are organized by skill and level for quick and easy access."

• Ethnologue-- Excellent catalog and analysis of more than 6,912 languages spoken in 228 countries and territories. The site includes a country index with maps, and searchable indices by language names, codes, and families.

• Foreign Language Teaching Forum-- Integrated service for foreign language teachers, with this web site, academic discussion list with archives, and the FLNews server, from the State University of New York College at Cortland.

• Goethe-Tests-- Directory of links to thousands of free online language tests in many languages, with answers, from the Goethe-Verlag in Munich.

• Human Language: Resources from Linguistics and Beyond-- Annotated article on Internet resources in the topic, as of March 2005, in full-text and with hypertext links, from the "College and Research Libraries News" of the Association of College and Research Libraries.

 • iLoveLanguages-- "Comprehensive catalog of language-related Internet resources... online language lessons, translating dictionaries, native literature, translation services, software, language schools," and more about language learning, education, and use.

• Language Materials Project-- From the University of California, Los Angeles, a large database of learning resources for over 100 less commonly taught languages of the world, such as bibliographies of and links to dictionaries, texts, grammars, phrasebooks, videos, language profiles, and teaching institutions.

• Languages of the World-- From the National Virtual Translation Center, a U. S. governmental agency, "the main purpose of this website is to provide information about the language families of the world and their most important and populous members, including their history, status, their linguistic characteristics, and their writing in as simple and concise a way as possible."

• LINGUIST List-- Run by linguistics professors and graduate students, "dedicated to providing information on language and language analysis, and to providing the discipline of linguistics with the infrastructure necessary to function in the digital world." Superlative for all kinds of  language and linguistics resources--"world's largest online linguistic resource."

• Using English-- Excellent "general English language site, specialising in English as a Second Language with a wide range of resources for learners and teachers of English... Different varieties of English are used; there are contributors from the United States, Canada, Pakistan and non-native speakers, but much of the site uses British English as it was set up in the UK." Includes weblog and forum.