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The FAQ states:

But please, don’t ask any questions about these topics. They are out of scope for this site.

. . .

  • general reference
    This question is too basic; it can be definitively and permanently answered by a single link to a standard internet reference source designed specifically to find that type of information.

It might be good to have a list of such general references. Perhaps it could be posted on the FAQ; in any case, if a question is closed as general reference, it would be great if we could link the OP to this question so he could find the answer himself the next time. I think this would reduce a lot of the general reference questions asked on EL&U, as well as enabling people like me who don't know much beyond dictionaries and thesauri to more intelligently search.

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Yeah, it's related, but my goal here is a) to have a more easily accessible list, and b) to have a more complete one (e.g. I remember seeing a few days ago an idiom dictionary). – zpletan Apr 11 '12 at 12:37
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Related: What are your favorite English language tools? – Mitch Apr 11 '12 at 17:36
@Mitch, that one's related as well, but I think it differs in a) trying to provide broader sets or types of references, and b) setting forth a list of standard references. – zpletan Apr 11 '12 at 17:39
another section/answer would be grammar/style guides. – Mitch Apr 11 '12 at 19:19
I honestly don't know too many (read: any) of those—if you do, go ahead and add 'em. – zpletan Apr 11 '12 at 19:22
The answers are providing a great list of general reference tools. Now can we please get the FAQ and the "closed due to general reference" message to link here? – Old Pro Jun 4 '12 at 7:58

6 Answers

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Dictionaries

Useful for finding words’ definitions, etymologies, and pronunciations.

The following are good for motivation but shouldn’t be taken as definitive since they can be modified to purposefully support a claim:

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Urban Dictionary can be very useful to check first/early definitions and most popular definitions, but of course care must be taken. – Hugo May 22 '12 at 18:40
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It should be noted that dictionaries published in the United States do not use standard Kenyon-Knott phonemic transcription, but rather an archaic, unscientific, and ultimately useless pronunciation system invented in the 18th century by Noah Webster. They are thus not suitable for non-native English speakers, nor for speakers of any English dialect except American English. – John Lawler Dec 28 '12 at 20:44
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Thesauri

Useful for finding synonyms of specific words.

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up vote 7 down vote

Corpora

Useful for finding word usages and collocations.

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Are Google Books/Ngrams considered a corpus? – zpletan Apr 11 '12 at 17:44
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sure, it's the text of 'all' books. You won't get the same kinds of things out it as like COCA or BNC. Also, NGrams has a number of difficulties: poor metadata (wrong dates/authors), OCR errors (FPs and FNs because of misreading), poor dealing with punctuation. – Mitch Apr 11 '12 at 18:47
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Style

Some feel that Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style, despite having lots of advice for beginning writers, is not to be wholly trusted on grammatical matters.

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Grammar and Style are completely different categories and should have separate entries. The last three entries on the list above contain no useful information on English grammar, and to say that Strunk and White "has too many controversial rules to be definitive" is a massive understatement. – John Lawler May 18 '12 at 18:46
   
@JohnLawler: Thanks for your comments...please feel free to edit. I realize that grammar and style are not the same, but there is somewhat of a tendency to lump them together. Also, I didn't feel like there were enough entries for either to warrant a single entry. If you know of other resources, please add. – Mitch May 18 '12 at 19:29
up vote 4 down vote

General Language and English Language Reference

  • The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, 2nd ed. 2003.
  • The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language, 3rd ed. 2010.

Both are written and edited by David Crystal. They should be in every Anglophone classroom in the world, and should be consulted first about questions bearing on English.

All works by David Crystal are trustworthy, but these encyclopedias are really well-organized, and full of useful information.

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John, the third edition of the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language was published in 2010. – Alex B. May 19 '12 at 23:18
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Really? That's terrific. No doubt it's even better and more up to date. I'll have to get one. Thanks. – John Lawler May 19 '12 at 23:32

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