French Language Resources at Belk
This page will help you find resources in French about the history and culture of the French-speaking world.
Quick Call Numbers
Here are the general locations of books about French language and culture. For more specific sources, use the Belk library catalog.
440s - French grammar and language
840s - French literature (including Caribbean, African, and other literatures in French)
944s - French history
914.4 - Geography and travel in France
306.0944 - Culture of France
791.430944 - French cinema
French/English Dictionaries
- Belk Library French dictionariesBelk Library has print dictionaries available in the reference collection on the 1st floor. They can not be checked out, but can be used in the library.
- Online dictionary at WordReferenceThe Oxford French/English dictionary is now online on the WordReference site.
Books
Don't be afraid to use books! Often books contain chapters or essays relevant to your topic. Here are two places to find books, in both French and English:
- Belk Library catalog advanced search to find materials by language.Enter your search terms, and then use the menu to limit the language to French. If you see something we don't own, use the "Request Item" button to borrow it from another library!
- Google BooksGoogle has digitized millions of books. Some of the older works are available for free. Unfortunately many books are not free, but sometimes a preview of the texts or the table of contents is available. This is the French version of Google Books, so search in French for best results.
Articles
Use these databases to find articles in scholarly journals, newspapers, and magazines.
Figuring out the best search terms is the most important step in finding the information that you need. Keyword searching allows you to combine terms for a more targeted, powerful search. Use "and", "or", and "not" to link your search terms.
- MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new windowScholarly articles about literature and cultural topics. Limit to French by using the drop-down menu at the bottom of the screen.
- Linguistics Database This link opens in a new windowThis database includes full-text journals and other sources in linguistics, covering all aspects of the study of language including phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics.
- JSTORThousands of full-text articles on every topic. Use the check boxes to select the subjects you need - for example History, Language & Literature, Art & Art History, or Film Studies. You can limit by language using the drop-down menu.
- Humanities International Complete This link opens in a new windowAn index of humanities journals, including topics in literature, art, music, film, and other disciplines. You can go to Advanced Search to limit by language.
- Project Muse This link opens in a new windowScholarly journals covering the humanities and social sciences. Do the search first, and then the results can be filtered by language.
- Historical Abstracts This link opens in a new windowScholarly articles about world history and culture from 1450 to the present day. Limit to French by using the drop-down menu at the bottom of the screen.
- Web of Science Citation indexIndex and abstracts to articles in the sciences, social sciences, and arts & humanities. After you do a search, you can limit the results by language using the menu on the left-hand side of the screen.
- Google Scholar FrenchA Google search that finds primarily scholarly sources. Links are provided to Elon's catalog and databases, as well as to the full-text if available. NOTE: your search terms must be in French!
- Wikipédia, l'encyclopédie libreJust like the English version, but in French! You should use the same caution that you do with the original. Check with your professor to make sure this source is acceptable for your assignment.