Home > Research > Subject Guides > German Language

Welcome

This guide points you to some of the Library's main resources that will support the German language classes on campus and so focuses on resources to help learn German, as well as resources that are IN German.

If you are more interested in studying the linguistics of German, please see the related subject guide: Linguistics

Make sure to also check the resources of the Language Labs on the first floor of Paterson Hall run by the School of Linguistics & Language Studies

For a list of German Language classes at Carleton see the undergraduate calendar.

Reference Materials: 

Language Dictionaries

Encyclopedias

  • Encyclopedia of contemporary German culture
    Floor 2 Reference DD290.26.E53

Books

Recommended Books: 
  • Basic German: grammar and workbook (E-Book)
  • Intermediate German: a grammar and workbook  (E-Book)
  • Developing writing skills in German  (E-Book)
  • German business situations: a spoken language guide (E-Book)
  • The German language today : a linguistic introduction
    Floor 3 PF3087.R87 and E-Book
  • German linguistics : an introduction
    Floor 3 PF3073.B42
  • Mastering German vocabulary : a practical guide to troublesome words (E-Book)
  • Modern German grammar: a practical guide (E-Book)
  • The structure of German (E-Book)

Full-Text E-book Collections:

  • Books/Bücher: A Directory of Online and Other Sources of Books in German (not all link to free sites)
  • Free German e-books This free page of a German e-book store offers a few titles, mostly as PDF files.
  • New  ngiyaw eBooks. Hard to find German works and authors are featured here, especially by and/or about women. Available in various formats.
  • NetLibrary : there are a few books in the collection in German and about Germany.
Suggested Subject Headings: 
German Language
German Language -- Grammar
German Language -- History
German Language -- Readers
German Language -- Social Aspects
German language -- Textbooks for foreign speakers -- English

Journal Articles

Key Databases for Journal Articles: 
Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts (LLBA)
MLA International Bibliography
ERIC
Additional Databases: 
Sociological Abstracts
  • Key Databases: for articles about German language, literature, and the teaching of German
  • If you are looking for journal articles about other German topics, choose a journal article database based on the topic (example Historical Abstracts for German history; Business Source Complete for German Business)
  • If you are looking for articles that are also written in German look on the database advanced search screen for the ability to limit by language. (You can ususally do your search in English since these databases often translate titles into English and sometimes translate abstracts as well).
  • Since we may not subscribe to the journals you find in German, you can use RACER, our online interlibrary loan service to order these articles.

Databases

Key Databases: 
Factiva
Additional Databases: 
Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts (LLBA)
MLA International Bibliography
ERIC
Sociological Abstracts

Key databases: for material written in German

  • The Factiva database has full-text of Italian language news sources from around the world.
    • To search just the Italian language material on Factiva select the "source category" by choosing "publications by language" or "publications by region" AND change the "Language" to German. Then, do a keyword search, in German, for your topic.

    Additional databases: for material about the German language (literature, linguistics, teaching of...)

    • If you are looking for material about other German topics, choose databases based on your topic (example Historical Abstracts for German history; MLA International Bibliography for German Literature; Business Source Complete for German Business; Linguistics & Language Behavior Abstracts for German linguistics)
    • If you are looking for material on a topic that is also IN German look on the database advanced search screen for the ability to limit by language. (You can ususally do your search in English since these databases usually translate titles into English and sometimes translate abstracts as well.)
    • Since we may not subscribe to the journals you find in German, you can use RACER, our online interlibrary loan service to order these articles.

Government Information

Foreign: 

Media

Videos: 

Videos in our Collection (For more details see our Find Videos guide)

  • You can borrow videos from the Library's collection for 3 days at a time (with 2 renewals).
  • You can pre-book a video for a specific date by using the "Book this Title" button in the catalogue
  • You can search for videos that are either in German or have German subtitles by doing a keyword search and choosing to limit to just the video collection. TIP: to browse ALL films in German/with German subtitles use * as your keyword:

Other Videos

Where to find foreign films in Ottawa:

 

Music

Music: 

Listening to German music and following along with lyrics, can be a great way to improve your language skills, especially pronunciation

Our Collection:

  • The Library has a number of operas sung in German, but not much in the way of popular music.
  • Search by keyword in our catalogue for a particular piece of music or artist, or find ALL of our German recordings by doing this:

     

Online:

These sites may help you find music you will like as well as lyrics

Websites

Language Learning

Writing & Citing

Avoid Plagiarism
Citing Your Sources

The Library has a lot of guides to help with writing papers at a university level. Some selected titles:

  • Fit to print: the Canadian student's guide to essay writing
    Floor 2 Reference LB2369.B83 2009
  • Making sense: a student's guide to resarch and writing
    5th edition, Floor 2 Reference LB2369.N67 2006
    4th updated edition, Floor 4 LB2369.N67 2004
  • Writing with sources: a guide for students
    Floor 2 Reference PE1478.H37 2008

German Grammar Books