Chapter II: Introduction: ON

THE GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF LANGUAGES,

_Chiefly from_ DR. LATHAM.

AFRICAN.—The best way to study the wide and complex philology of Africa is to begin with the frontier of the Semitic languages, remembering that the Ethiopic branch of them is, to all appearance, indigenous to Africa; then to bear in mind that the Arabic, by intrusion and extension, is spread over a great part of Northern and Eastern Africa. The Eastern frontier, however, of the Arabic and the Syriac is in Asia, and in Asia it begins where the Persian and Turk areas end. For the philological geography of Africa it will be found useful to divide the continent into the following sections, regions, or areas: (1) The first division as North-Eastern until it approaches the Equator, and the parts between it and the Red Sea—in geography, Egypt, Nubia, and Abyssinia, in philology the Coptic, Beja, Nubian, and (in its geographical sense) the Abyssinian regions. (2) The Barbary States and Canary Islands. (3) The Desert, divided into the Western or Great (the Sahara), and the Eastern (or Libyan) Desert. (4) Senegambia, or the drainages of the Senegal and Gambia. (5) Sudania. This gives us what we get nowhere else in Africa, a continuous belt or zone of languages, with fairly determined boundaries from Senegambia to Abyssinia, _i.e._, across the whole continent in its broadest part. Within the limits of this zone lie the fundamental materials for the study of African philology and ethnology. It is only, however, between the parallels of 10° and 15° N.L. that it is continuous, and this only approximately. (6) The Coast line. This means the sea-board of the Grain, Ivory, Gold, and Slave Coasts. (7) The Delta (of the Niger). This brings us within the Equator, but only on the side of the Atlantic. The Abyssinian extends to (there or thereabouts) the same parallels on the side of the Indian Ocean. Neither, however, carries us beyond a limited area inland. Where these two limits, East and West, end, South Africa begins. It is, with the exception of the few degrees of latitude just indicated, either equatorial or belonging to the Southern tropic; it falls into two divisions. (8) The Inter-Tropical, or Kaffir. (9) The Extra-Tropical, or Hottentot. All these divisions are simply what their names imply, except only that Senegambia is made to reach as far as Cape Mesurado, so as to include the parts about Sierra Leone and Cape Mount.

AMERICAN.—The primary division is that between North and South. (1) In North America the connection with Asia is decided. Through the Aleutian dialect of the Eskimo and the Kamtschatkan it is direct; through the Yukahiri and other tongues it is indirect. The Eskimo is a definite class; the Athabascan is also a definite class when compared with the Algonkin. The Chemmesyan, Hailtsa, Wakash, and Chinook are connected. The Jakon and Kallapuiah lead to the languages of the Sahaptin and Shoshoni class, among the congeners of which the sound of “tl” appears. In the Mexican it becomes prominent. Between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific the Algonkin appears to have spread from West to East, and the result has told most on the Iroquois family. The South Oregon languages graduate into the Californian, the Californian into those of the Paduca class and those of Sonora, till we come to two great divisions, the Mexican and the Maya. (2) In South America there is a reappearance of the phenomena of the North: what the Athabascan and Algonkin are in the one peninsula, the Quichua, the Carib, and, above all, the Guarani are in the other. With any South American vocabulary of adequate length, some North American root presents itself; some even from the extreme North, viz., the Eskimo area, which, along with the phenomena of transition, is the chief argument in favour of the fundamental unity of the two classes. The student from Peru finds Quichua words in every vocabulary he lights upon, whilst the student from Brazil finds Guarani words.

ASIAN.—Asia and Europe, though different quarters of the globe, form but a single continent, and as such have characteristics of their own. One great class of languages is absolutely common to the two—the great Ugrian or Fin family. We miss, no doubt, in Europe such districts as those of Caucasus, and the parts to the North of the Burmese Empire, where numerous mutually unintelligible languages are pressed together within a small area. Again, the inflected languages have their seat in Europe; the monosyllabic in Asia. On the other hand, it is only in the great central continent that Language can be studied in all its stages: the Monosyllabic stage in the South-East of Asia, and the Inflectional in Western and Southern Europe. This makes Asia and Europe the only region in which the whole (or nearly the whole) history of Language can be studied. Besides this, in Europe and Asia we have a history. We can see how languages like the English and Russian are extending themselves; how the German has extended itself; how the Latin had previously extended itself. We can see how languages like the Keltic, the Lithuanic, and the Fin recede. (1) The Western division is the one with which we are most familiar; it includes Great Britain, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, the Valley of the Danube, and Greece; allowance being made for the Turk and Hungarian, which are intrusive. (2) The great Northern area is in Russia conterminous with the Western, which means, roughly speaking, Northern Asia with a large part of Europe; the chief displacements having been effected by the great spread of the Turk language. (3) The South-Eastern area begins with the North frontier of China, and includes Thibet, Nipal, the Transgangetic peninsula, Assam, Siam, Pegu, Cambogia, Cochin-China, and China. (4) The South-Western area contains India, Persia, and the Caucasus; here the displacing languages are Indian, Persian, and Arabic, which last is treated as African.

OCEANIC.—The first thing which commands attention is its thorough insular or oceanic character; subordinate to this is the remarkable distribution of its members. In one great division, viz., the Polynesian, the diffusion has been decidedly recent. The first primary division contains the Malay; the second has been called Micronesian; the third division is Polynesia proper. The second group is called Kelenonesian or Melanesian, including Papuan, Australian, and Tasmanian (“Elements,” p. 377). Australian languages are all upon the same general grammatical construction. Mr. Moorhouse says that “not one-twentieth part of the words agree in root, and yet there is evidence sufficient to satisfy any one that they belong to the same family.” All have suffixes to show relation; a dual in substantives, adjectives, and pronouns; no sibilant sounds, no auxiliary verb, no passive voice, no “h,” they abound in the pleonastic, and distinguish genders by postfixes. The only point of agreement is in the first personal pronoun, “I”; this is “nga-nga” on the Swan River; “nga-toa” in New South Wales; “nga-ti,” Adelaide; “ngai-tyo,” Mount Barker; “gni,” Murchison River; “nga-pe,” Encounter Bay; “ngai,” Port Lincoln; “nga-ppo,” Murray River; “naddo,” Murrumbidgee River; “nga-pe,” Lower Murray; “noga-toa,” Hunter River. At the same time, the Malayan is “nga-n”; the Sumba, “nga-nga”; the Thibetian, “nga”; the Corean, “nai”; and the Burmese, “ngai.” Yet Dr. Latham finds no Australian dialects resemble those of the Asiatic Isles. Mr. Norris first detected similarity of the grammar between the Australian and the South Dravidian languages of India, spoken before the Aryan migration to the Ganges. Mr. J. R. Logan, of Singapore, thinks the Australian the most ancient of the Indo-Australian tongues. He says they are “a remnant of the Proto-Scythic era of the harmonic development, and between Chinese and American.” He regards them, with the other kindred dialects of South-Eastern Asia, as in existence “before the expansion of the numerals one, two, and three into higher binary and ternary terms.” According to him, “the pronominal roots are compounded with definitives, singular and plural, with the numeral two to form duals, with masculine and feminine definitives in the third person, and in all the three persons with each other; thus producing not only absolute and relative plurals of the first person, but several other complex plurals.”

J. B.

_October 31st, 1873._

DICTIONARY OF LANGUAGES.

☞ For Additions see Appendix. ☞

A.

AACHEN.

A sub-dialect of low-German or PLATT-DEUTSCH, vernacular at Aix-la-Chapelle, Lower Rhine. See Müller and Weitz’s “Idiomatikon,” Leipsig, 1836.

ABABDEH _or_ ABADEH.

_Semitic_: a different form of speech was formerly vernacular at Sheikh Abade, in Upper Egypt; the site of some ancient ruins on the banks of the Nile. Since superseded by ARABIC. Adelung: “Mithridates,” iv., p. 502.

⁂ A division of the BEJA, BEJAWI, or BISHARI family; they are the most northerly members of this class, which occupies the desert between the Nile and Red Sea from Cosseir to Suakim. R. G. L.

ABADJA.

African: a sub-dialect of the OTAM.

ABAK.

A dialect of the Philippine Islands, closely allied to BISSAYAN and TAGALA. See Jülg’s “Vater,” p. 1.

ABANTES.

An extinct form of speech, classed as THRACO-ILLYRIAN, formerly vernacular in the I. of Eubœa, now called Negropont or Egripos, in the Grecian Archipelago. Adelung: “Mithridates,” ii., p. 362.

ABASCI _or_ ABASSIAN, _see_ ABSNE.

ABBEVILLE.

A sub-dialect of FRENCH, vernacular in Picardy. See De Soilly’s “Idiome Picard,” Abbeville, 1833.

ABBITIBBE.

American: dialect of the Christinos or Cree Indians; classed as ALGONKIN. See Jülg’s “Vater,” p. 204.

ABENAKI _or_ ABENAQUI.

A dialect of the ALGONKIN race of N. American Indians, spoken in Lower Canada and the State of Maine. The tribe once occupied the valley of the R. Kennebeck; but the name also includes the Etchemins, Micmacs, and others. See Rasles. Dict., 1833; Vocabulary in Amer. Ethnol. Trans, ii., p. 109.

ABIPONIAN.

A name given by the early Spaniards to the language spoken on the western bank of the Parana in S. America; although on the borders of the Gran Chaco it differs considerably from the dialects spoken in that district. See Dobrizhoffer’s “Geschichte,” 3 vols., 8vo, Vienna, 1784. D. F.

ABOR.

A dialect of ASSAMESE, spoken by a hill tribe on the north-western extremity of Assam. Logan, Jnl. Indian Archipelago, 1853, p. 190. _See_ AKA.

ABSNE _or_ ABKHAZIAN.

A name for the ancient ABASCI, now represented by Abascia or Abgah (Abkasia), a country of Asiatic Russia, lying between the Caspian and Black Seas. The modern word ABSNÉ is called Abkhazi by the Georgians; with the terminal “eti” for “land,” it is Abkhazeti, and extends from Soukum-kale to Jenikale. The affinities of the Absné language are very uncertain; a large number of its words are similar to Circassian, but a larger proportion apparently not so. See Vocabularies in Güldenstädt’s “Reisen;” Klaproth’s “Reise;” “Asia Polyglotta,” &c. H. H. H.

ABYSSINIAN, _see_ AGAU, AMHARIC, GALLA, TIGRE, &c. ☞

ACADIAN.

American: That division of the ALGONKIN family containing the languages of Lower Canada and Nova Scotia.

ACAXE.

American: a doubtful name for a probable dialect of the TUBAR.

ACCAD.

The oldest known language before the Semitic population settled in Mesopotamia. W. S. W. V. _See_ AKKADIAN.

ACCAWAY.

A dialect of native S. American, belonging to the CARIB, or Karib group. Vernacular in the Highlands of British Guiana.

⁂ CARIB of Demerara, closely allied to the CARABISI. See Hilhouse, Schomburgk, &c.

ACCRA _or_ ACCARAH.

A language of the MANDINGO branch of native African, spoken by a small nation on the Gold-coast, about lat. 5° 35′ N., long. 0° 12′ W.; it is sometimes designated the GHAH or GA, and the people are supposed to have been removed by emigration from the interior. Ghana or Gana is a city, governed by a Sultaun, near the upper course of the Niger. Rask’s “Vejledning,” 8vo, Copenhagen, 1828. _See_ AQUAPIM.

ACHÆMENIAN PERSIAN.

The name of that form of the Old PERSIAN language which is used in the inscriptions of the Achæmenian kings, or the line of native monarchs which commenced with Cyrus the Great and terminated with Darius Codomannus, the antagonist of Alexander. The language is written in an arrow-headed or cuneiform character of a simple kind, and is closely akin to the Zend, Pazend, and the modern Persian. The best work on the language is that of Spiegel, “Altpersische Keilinschriften.” G. R.

ACHAGUA.

A dialect of native S. American, vernacular on the R. Casanare, a tributary of the R. Orinoco; and closely allied to MAIPUR. “Mithridates,” iii., p. 631.

ACHASTLI.

AMERICAN: spoken on the coast of California between San Francisco and St. Diego.

ACHINESE.

A language of the MALAYAN family, spoken in the kingdom of Ache or Achin, the northernmost part of Sumatra. It is distinguished from all other Malay languages by having the accent on the terminal instead of the penultimate syllable, and by a good deal of monosyllables. It is at present very little known, but its presumed affinity to the monosyllabic languages of Asia renders its study highly interesting for investigating the origin of the Malay race. P. J. V.

ACOMA.

A dialect of native AMERICAN, vernacular in New Mexico. It is one of the dialects spoken by the Pueblo Indians on the R. Grande. It is also called LAGUNA.

ACROA-MERIM.

American: a dialect of the GEZ class, vernacular in Brazil. See Von Martius, vol. ii., p. 144.

ADAIHE _or_ ADAIHI.

A very isolated language of N. American. Spoken in Louisiana, in 1805, by forty individuals only. Vocabulary in “Archæologia Americana.” It is also called ATAYO. Vocabulary Amer. Ethn. Trans., vol. ii., p. 95.

ADALI (_pl._ ADAIEL _or_ ADAL.)

Largely SEMITIC. An Abyssinian dialect, spoken by the tribes between the Highlands and the sea-coast. See Salt’s “Voyage,” Appdx. i., p. 6. C. T. B.

ADAMPI.

A native African dialect, closely resembling ACCRA and KREPEE, vernacular on the Gold-coast, W. Africa.

ADAREB, _see_ BEJA.

ADELAIDE.

A variety of native AUSTRALIAN, formerly vernacular at Adelaide, S. Australia; it differs but little from other dialects of the Gulf St. Vincent.

ADIGE.

A name for the CIRCASSIAN proper, as opposed to the APKHAZ.

ADIYAH.

Otherwise FERNANDIAN: the language of Fernando Po, an island on the W. coast of Africa, near the mouths of the Niger.

ÆOLIC.

A dialect of ancient GREEK spoken in Bœotia, Thessaly, Ætolia, Elis, Lesbos, Chios and the N.W. part of Asia Minor. Pindar, Sappho, and Alcæus wrote in it. G. R.

ÆTHIOPIC, _under_ E.

AFER.

Native name of the DANAKIL.

AFFADEH.

African: a dialect of the BORNU.

AFFAR, _see_ ADALI.

AFGHAN, _see_ PUSHTOO.

AFNU.

African: a dialect of the HAUSSA.

AFRICAN.

A name for all native dialects of Africa, not directly SEMITIC. Works by Borth, Kölle, Bleek, Beke, Sir G. Grey, Clarke’s “Dialects of Africa.” _See_ INTRODUCTION.

AFUDU.

A native African dialect of the OTAM, vernacular on the coast of W. Africa, about 4° N.L.

AGAU _or_ AGAW.

A language of ABYSSINIA, spoken in three dialects; 1. The HHÁMARA, or AGAU of Lasta, the Tcheratz Agows of Bruce; 2. The AGÁWI or AGHAGHA of Agaumider, _i.e._ Agau-land; 3. The FALASHA spoken by the Israelitish people scattered over the northern and western parts of the country. Salt’s “Voyage,” Appdx. i., p. 6. C. T. B.

AGGLUTINATIVE.

A name applied to certain languages, when “two unaltered roots combine to form words;” and words brought into mutual relation by syntax undergo a change of form, accent, or meaning; the COPTIC, for example, is considered as essentially agglutinative. The American agglutinative languages are called polysynthetic or incorporating. These languages have generally little or no literature.

AGOLELEGMÜT.

The ESKIMO of N. America and Behring’s Straits, especially the island of Nunivok. The terminal “müt,” which is common from Behring’s Straits to the parts about Mount St. Elias, is derived from the Eskimo. See Chromtschenko’s “Reise-Journal,” 8vo, St. Petersburgh, 1824. R. G. L.

AHOM.

A nearly extinct language formerly spoken in Assam, a province of British India; it is a dialect of SIAMESE, monosyllabic in form, and appears to have been transported by emigration from the borders of China.

AHT, THE.

American: dialect of Van Couver Island; spoken by all the W. coast tribes, from S. of Quatseeno to Port San Juan on De Fucas Straits. See Sproat: “Scenes of Savage Life.” All the tribes speaking it end in “aht.” R. B.

AHTIAGO.

A dialect of MALAY, vernacular in Ceram, closely allied to TELUTI and ALFUROS.

⁂ The more correct form would be ATIAHU, the name of a village on the S. coast, with a mixed population. The vocabulary quoted by Mr. Wallace does not constitute a distinct dialect. P. J. V.

AIAWONG.

A dialect of native AUSTRALIAN, belonging to the W. coast.

AIMARA.

A dialect of the Indians of S. America, largely augmented by Spanish. The natives were subject to the Incas of Peru, at the conquest, and now inhabit the high ground near Lake Titicaca or Chucuito. They are closely allied to the Quichua or native Peruvians. _See_ AYMARA.

AIMAUK.

A dialect of MOGHOL, spoken by the Tshehar-Aimauk, N. W. Afghanistan, in the neighbourhood of Herat.

AINO.

The native name for the language of the Curile Islands, meaning “man.” ☞

AIRICA.

American: a dialect of the BETOI.

AITUTAKÌAN.

A mixed form of the TAHITIAN and the RAROTONGAN dialects. An island in the Hervey group, S. Pacific. Example, “mau-tangata” = “men.” W. G.

AKA (1).

A dialect spoken by a hill-tribe to the N. of Assam. It is almost identical with ABOR. See Brown’s Table: “Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,” 1837.

AKA (2).

African: sometimes used for the YORUBA, of which it is a sub-dialect.

AKABI, _see_ UKUAFI.

AKKADIAN.

A name sometimes given to the language used on the earliest Babylonian bricks, especially those found at Mugheir (Ur), Warka (Erech), Senkareh, Niffer, and other very ancient Mesopotamian cities. The general character of the language is TURANIAN; but its vocabulary connects it with the dialects of Southern Arabia and Abyssinia, more especially with the Mahra, Galla, and Wolaitsa. The writing is a rude and very complicated cuneiform. It is supposed that the language was spoken in Babylonia from a very early age (B.C. 2500?) to the date of the Assyrian conquest, about B.C. 1300. By that time it had become the language of an extensive literature, and as such, continued to be studied by the more learned Assyrians down to the close of the Empire, B.C. 624. The later Assyrian tablets are to a great extent translations from it. See Rawlinson’s “Ancient Monarchies,” vol. i., pp. 61-69, 2nd ed. G. R.

AKKIM.

African: a sub-dialect of FANTI.

AKO.

An African dialect, somewhat allied to AFUDU.

AKRA.

African. Language of the Gold-coast, for the parts about Cape Castle. _See_ AQUAPIM.

AKRIPON.

African: a sub-dialect of FANTI.

AKUSH.

A dialect of LESGIAN, spoken in Daghestan (the ancient Albania), a district situated between the Caspian and the Black Sea.

AKWAMBU, _see_ AQUAPIM.

ALABAMA.

AMERICAN. Derived from “Alibamon,” the original occupants of the modern State so called.

ALANI.

A people originally settled in Eastern Europe and Western Asia, very powerful from about A.D. 75 to A.D. 461. They are now generally considered to have been of the FINNISH stock, akin to the Ostiaks, Samoeids, and other races of Northern Asia. G. R.

ALARODII, _see_ URARDA.

ALATYAN.

A name used by Prof. Steinthal for the URAL-ALTAIC or TURANIAN languages.

ALBANIAN.

The vernacular tongue of modern Albania, a maritime province of European Turkey, which answers to the ancient Epirus; the inhabitants are a mixed race, including Arnauts, who are probably descended from the ancient Illyrians, Greeks, and Turks. The ancient language, called old ILLYRIAN, and closely allied to GREEK, has become mingled with SLAVONIC, written in GREEK characters. The native name of the Albanian dialect is SKIPETAR. Both terms mean “mountaineers.” The modern language is sub-divided into the GHEGH and the TOSKI. See Hahn: “Albanische Studien,” Jena, 1854.

ALEMANNIC _or_ ALLEMANIAN.

The oldest form of TEUTONIC or HIGH-GERMAN with which we are acquainted; it is the language attributed to the Suevi or Swabians, who, emigrating to the S., formed with other tribes a great confederation on the Rs. Maine, Rhine, and Danube.

⁂ See Bosworth’s “Dict. of the Anglo-Saxon Language,” ed. 1838, p. 120. W. W. S.

ALEUTIAN _or_ ALIOUT-LISEYEFF.

The dialect of the Aleutian or Fox Islands, in the N. Pacific, between Asia and America. The inhabitants resemble the MOGHOLS in physical peculiarities, but their language is allied to the ESQUIMAUX. Vocab. Amer. Ethn. Trans., vol. ii., p. 130. ☞

ALFUROS.

Dialects of MALAY, spoken by uncivilized tribes of the Indian Ocean. Adelung calls them “Harafora auch Alfurier” in the Moluccas. “Mithridates,” i., p. 585. Wallace calls them the true indigines of Gilolo, and the predominant type of Ceram. “Malay Archipelago,” ii., pp. 16, 19, 96. It is the same word as in the Arafura Seas, W. of N. Guinea. ☞

ALGIERIAN.

A form of ARABIC vernacular in N. Africa.

ALGONKIN _or_ ALGONQUIN.

A very large class of native N. AMERICAN dialects, including the Chippewas, Blackfoot, Ogibeway, Ottawa, Mohican, Shawnees, and other principal eastern tribes of red Indians. Vocab. Amer. Ethn. Trans., vol. ii., pp. 78, 106.

ALIEH, _see_ EYISH.

ALIKHULIP.

A dialect of FUEGIAN, spoken in Terra del Fuego, S. America. Described in Darwin’s “The Voyage of the Beagle.” _See also_ TEKEENICA _and_ TSONECA.

ALLEUTIAC, _see_ MILCOCAYAC.

ALLOPHYLIAN.

A name for the AMERICAN and certain unclassified languages; generally used for all languages which philologists have not yet defined.

ALLOR.

A dialect of insular MALAY, vernacular in the Indian Ocean. This island belongs to the Timor group; its inhabitants are of the dark Papuan type. The language is said to differ but little from that of the neighbouring island of Solor. P. J. V.

ALMEIDA.

A dialect of S. American, belonging to the TUPI or GUARINI family, spoken in Brazil, and allied to CARIB. _See_ OMAGUA.

ALPHABET.

The English name for the collection of letters or written characters in our language, and derived from their Greek synonyms—viz., Alpha (A) + Beta (B), as in the line from Juvenal—

“Hoc discunt omnes ante _alpha et beta_ puellæ.”
—Sat. xiv., l. 209.

These letters or characters are the representatives of certain sounds or utterances; and their numbers, forms, names, and equivalents differ very materially in different countries and in different districts. Ballhorn’s “Alphabete or. und occ. Sprachen,” Leipsig, 1853; 2nd ed., London. _See_ LETTERS.

ALPINE.

A collective name for several local dialects derived from old ITALIC, but mingled with modern FRENCH.

ALSACIAN.

A sub-dialect of old HIGH-GERMAN.

ALTAIC _or_ URAL-ALTAIC.

Generic name for the MOGHOL, TUNGUS, TURK, SAMOYED, and UGRIAN languages. See Castrén’s “Altaischer Volker.”

AMAKOSA.

African. _See_ KAFFIR.

AMAT.

A dialect of older DRAVIDIAN vernacular in Nepaul.

AMAZIG.

A name for the BERBER of N. Africa. It is called AQUEL AMARIGOR AMAZIG, _i.e._ “Noble tongue;” the native dialect of Berbers.

AMAZONS.

A class of native dialects spoken by tribes along the banks of the R. Amazon, S. America; more especially the Amazonas and Humanos, formerly of the lower Putumayo. Wallace, p. 250.

AMBERBAKI.

A dialect of PAPUAN, vernacular in a village so named on the N. W. coast of N. Guinea.

AMBLAU.

An island of the Amboyna group; the language, belonging to the ALFURU, or _semi_-ALFURU, dialects of the Moluccas, seems to differ very considerably from that of the neighbouring islands; judging from the vocabulary given in Mr. Wallace’s “Malay Archipelago.” P. J. V.

AMBOYNA.

A dialect of the Molucca Islands, in the Indian Ocean; known as AMBOYNESE MALAY. The provincial dialect is termed BAHASA-TANAH, the language of the Moluccan Alfuru. See Vocabularies by Wallace and Lüdeking. P. J. V.

AMERICAN.

A name for all dialects of the aborigines throughout N. and S. America. Trübner’s “Bibliotheca Glottica,” London, 1858. _See_ INTRODUCTION.

AMHARIC.

The Court tongue of Abyssinia for many centuries. Amhara proper is that district lying between the Dender and Tacazze branches of the Nile. It closely resembles the ETHIOPIC, with alphabets that are nearly identical. The root word is probably identical with “Ham” or “Chem,” the poetical name for Egypt in the Psalms of David.

⁂ A SEMITIC dialect sprung from the ancient ETHIOPIC, which has gradually become the dominant language of Abyssinia. Its vocabulary and grammar still closely resemble the Ethiopic, but it has adopted a barbarous pronunciation, and the gutturals, which form so important a part of the Semitic alphabet, are no longer pronounced. The best memoir upon it is that by Gesenius in the Encyclopædia of Ersch and Grüber, under the heading “Amharische Sprache.” Other Abyssinian dialects are the ADARI, the AFAR, the SOMAULI, the SAHO, the languages of Tigré, Danakil, Adaiel, and of Harar. R. P. S.

AMOUR _or_ AMUR.

Dialects of TUNGUS, vernacular in E. Asia on the R. Amúr. See Latham, pp. 75, 76.

AMYRGII.

An ancient Scythic people, called “Humawarga,” by the Achæmenian Persians, and “Amyrgians” (Ἀμύργιοι) by the Greeks. They seem to have inhabited the high plateau between the Thian-Chan and the Hindu-Kush ranges. Most probably they were TURANIANS. G. R.

ANADEER _or_ ANADYR.

The upper and central parts of the R. Anadyr, on the north-eastern extremity of Asia, are occupied by the Tshuktshi, an Asiatic tribe. On the lower Anadyr, however, there is an Eskimo settlement. _See_ NAMOLLO. R. G. L.

ANAMITE _or_ ANNAMITE.

A monosyllabic tongue, closely allied to CHINESE. It is the dialect of Tonquin and Cochin-China, extensive tracts of land in S.E. Asia. Also called ANNAMESE. See Dictionaries, A-Latin and Latin-A, by Taberd and Pigneaux, 2 vols., 1838; Marshman, Serampore; and Brown’s “Comparative Table,” vol. vii., Trans. As. Soc. of Bengal.

ANDAMAN.

The dialect of the Mincopie or inhabitants of the Andaman Islands. It is considered to be allied to the BURMESE.

ANDAQUI.

AMERICAN. Dialect of New Grenada, vernacular on the eastern slope of the Andes, and upper part of the R. Putumayo. See “Los Indios del Andaqui,” pp. 27-29. R. G. L.

ANDARCOS, _see_ TEXAN.

ANDI.

A dialect of LESGHIAN, allied to AKUSH; vernacular in the Caucasus.

ANDIAN _or_ ANDO-PERUVIAN.

A collective name for certain native dialects of S. America, as AIMARA, ARAUCANIAN, QUICHUA, &c.

ANDOA.

AMERICAN. Spoken on the frontiers of New Grenada, and on the head waters of the Rs. Tigre and Pastazza. It is bounded by the Shimigas and Zaparu. Small vocabulary by Spruce. R. G. L.

ANDREANOWSKI ISLANDS, _see_ ALEUTIAN.

ANEITEUM _or_ ANNATOM.

A Polynesian dialect, allied to PAPUAN, vernacular in Aneiteum, the easternmost island of the New Hebrides group, S. Pacific Ocean. The language began to be reduced to written form, by the use of Roman letters, by the London Missionary Society; subsequently completed in books, now used by natives, by the “U. P. R. C.” Mission of Scotland. W. G. ☞

ANFUE.

A native dialect, allied to ADAMPI, from the Gold-coast, W. Africa.

ANGAMI.

A dialect of ASSAMESE, vernacular in central and lower Assam.

ANGLIAN.

A name sometimes given to that dialect of the oldest ENGLISH which was spoken in the north and east of England. It has been sub-divided into the NORTHUMBRIAN and EAST-ANGLIAN. It has also been called DANO-SAXON. See Bosworth’s “Dict. of the Anglo-Saxon Language,” ed. 1838, p. 21. W. W. S.

ANGLIAN, EAST, _under_ E.

ANGLO-SAXON.

A compound language formed by the union of several tribes of Teutonic origin, who conquered and settled in Britain, about A.D. 449, thence called England. The language is of cognate origin with the ALEMANNIC and GOTHIC; but with accretions from the SCANDINAVIAN and LOW-DUTCH.

⁂ What is called ANGLO-SAXON is really the oldest form of ENGLISH. The Anglo-Saxon of the first period extends from A.D. 450 to A.D. 1100; that of the later period from A.D. 1100 to about A.D. 1250; after which date we arrive at early Middle English. The specimens of the literature are too numerous to require mention. See the dictionaries by Lye and Manning, Bosworth, Grein, Ettmüller, and the list of MSS. in Hickes’s “Thesaurus,” vol. iii. W. W. S.

ANGOANE.

A dialect of MOZAMBIQUE, vernacular on the E. coast of Africa.

ANGOLA.

A dialect of BANTU, vernacular in S.E. Africa; classed by Bleek as BUNDA.

ANGUS.

A dialect of the Lowlands of Scotland, frequently cited in Jamieson’s Scottish Dictionary. W. W. S.

ANKARAS.

An African dialect, almost identical with WUN.

ANNAMESE, _see_ ANAMITE.

ANNATOM, _see_ ANEITEUM.

ANSOES.

A PAPUAN dialect, spoken at Port Dorey, New Guinea.

ANTES _or_ ANTIS.

A native dialect of S. American, vernacular in Peru on the eastern slope of the Andes. The nearest affinities are to the MOXOS. See D’Orbigny’s “L’homme Américain.”

ANTONIO, SAN.

Dialect of a mission, so called, current in California, N. America.

ANTSHUKH.

A dialect of LESGHIAN, allied to ANDI.

ANU.

Dialect of a tribe so named, in N. Arracan, in which are many words intelligible to the people of Munipoor. A. C.

APACHE _or_ APATSH.

A dialect of ATHABASCAN, vernacular in New Mexico.

APAING.

The same language as ARORAE. W. G.

APATSH, _see_ APACHE.

APIACA.

A dialect of Brazil, allied to GUARANI, vernacular on the R. Arias, a tributary of the Upper Tapuyos. See Castelnau’s “Expedition,” &c., appdx.

APINAGES.

American: a dialect of the GEZ class, vernacular in Brazil. See Castelnau’s “Expedition,” &c., appdx.; Von Martius, vol. ii., p. 147.

APKHAZ.

The Georgian name for the tribes between Jenikale and Soukum-Kale, as distinguished from Circassians proper.

APOLONIA.

African: a sub-dialect of FANTI, vernacular at Point Apollonia, on the frontier of the Gold and Ivory coasts. R. G. L.

APONEGICRANS.

American: a dialect of the GEZ class, vernacular in Brazil. See Von Martius, vol. ii., p. 147.

APPA.

A dialect of S. Africa, allied to NUFI.

AQUAPIM.

African: collective name for certain dialects of the Gold-coast near Cape Castle; 1. The AKRA. 2. The KREPEE. 3. The OTSHI. 4. The ADAMPI. See Rühs: “Elemente des Akwapim.”

AQUITANIAN.

The dialect of Aquitania or Aquitaine, a division of ancient Gaul, lying S.W., which included the provinces of Guyenne, Gascony, &c.

ARA.

A name for the ARINI.

ARABIC.

One of the three main branches of the SEMITIC family, spoken in the peninsula of Arabia. Unknown till the century before Mahomet, it suddenly then reached its highest perfection in the poems of the Moallakât. It is the richest, the most flexible, and most exact of all the Semitic tongues, and its grammar the most subtle and perfect, probably, of all known languages. The dialect of the tribe of Koreisch, adopted by Mahomet in the Koran, has been, since the seventh century, the classical language of large parts of Asia and Africa, and has greatly influenced the Turkish, Maltese, Persian, Hindi, and other tongues, owing to the wide range of Arabian conquest. Classical Arabic must be distinguished from Arabic as actually spoken. The “vulgar” Arabic makes scarcely any distinction of vowel-sounds, has a grammar simple to rudeness, and is destitute of the richness and versatility of the tongue as employed by its most famous scholars. R. P. S.

ARAGO.

A dialect of PAPUAN, vernacular in New Guinea.

ARAIACU.

American: a dialect of N. Brazil, to the W. of Fonteboa; it is allied to the BARRÉ, BANIWA, MANOA, &c. See Von Martius, vol. ii., p. 133, who places it in his CREN or GUERENO class. R. G. L.

ARAKANESE _or_ ARRACANESE.

A monosyllabic tongue closely allied to the BURMESE, otherwise called the RECCAN or RUKHENG. The district in which it is spoken forms a narrow strip of sea-coast, about 500 miles long, extending from Cape Negrais in the S. towards Chittagong in the N., along the E. peninsula of S. Asia.

ARAMAIC.

Generic name of the languages spoken in the region extending from the Taurus and Lebanon to the R. Tigris. It is one of the main branches of the SEMITIC stem, and is itself divided into two dialects, EAST ARAMAIC, or CHALDEAN, and WEST ARAMAIC, or Syriac. The former became the medium of Jewish thought, and is the language of the Targums and the Talmud, and also of the Samaritan Pentateuch. The latter is Christian. A sub-dialect spoken by the heathen is called SABAEAN, or NABATHEAN. The oldest remains of the Aramaic are found in the name given by Laban to the Hill of Witness between him and Jacob. R. P. S.

The Aramaic alphabet was identical with, or derived from, the PHŒNICIAN.

ARAPAHO _or_ ARRAPAHO.

The dialect of a native tribe of N. American Indians of the ALGONKIN family, vernacular on the R. Platte; originally on the Upper Saskatshewan. Schoolcraft’s “Indian Tribes,” vol. iii., p. 446; Vocab. Amer. Ethn. Trans., vol. ii., p. 96.

ARAQUAJU.

American: a dialect of the BRAZILIAN class, vernacular on the Upper Amazons. See Von Martius, vol. ii., p. 17.

ARAUCANIAN.

Dialect spoken by the powerful independent Indian tribe inhabiting the western slope of the Andes, south of Chili proper. D. F.

ARAWACK.

A dialect of CARIB, spoken on the N. coast of S. America, in Surinam, Venezuela, and the Guianas (Berbice); supposed to have been introduced by aboriginal settlers from Hayti and other W. Indian islands.

ARAYAS, _see_ TAINO.

ARCHAIC GREEK.

A name for the original CADMEAN alphabet of ancient Greece, it consisted of seventeen letters only, and was derived from the PHŒNICIAN.

ARDA.

Spoken, according to Alcedo, on the Upper Napo, on the boundaries of New Grenada, Brazil, and Ecuador. A “Doctrina Christiana,” Madrid, 1658, and a “Paternoster” are the only recorded specimens of the ARDA. No philologist seems to have examined them. The fragmentary languages with which they are the most likely to have been allied are the ANDOA, the SHIMIGAES, and the ZAPARA. “Ludwig,” p. 12. R. G. L.

ARDRAH.

AFRICAN: a dialect of the Slave-coast.

ARGOT.

French _patois_, applied to cant and slang dialects. See Jülg’s “Vater,” pp. 132, 485.

ARGUBBA.

AFRICAN: a dialect of Abyssinia.

ARECUNA.

A dialect of the CARIB of Demerara, allied to MACUSI. See Schomburgk’s “British Guiana.”

ARFAK.

A PAPUAN dialect vernacular among the mountaineers inland of Doreh, New Guinea. P. J. V.

ARINI _or_ ARINZI.

A dialect of YENISEIAN, spoken in Siberia. See Castrén’s “Versuch einer Ienissei Ostiakinen Sprachlehre.” H. H. H.

ARIPE.

AMERICAN: dialect of Lower California.

ARIS.

A dialect of TOUMBULU.

ARKIKO.

A dialect of ETHIOPIC allied to Adaiel; otherwise classed as a sub-dialect of AMHARIC.

ARMENIAN.

The vernacular speech of Armenia, a mountainous country of Asiatic Turkey, bordering on the S.E. extremity of the Black Sea, including Mt. Ararat. Armenian is written from left to right, and has an alphabet peculiar to itself, which has been modernized from an older original, attributed to Miesrob, A.D. 406.

⁂ The language is essentially an ARYAN dialect, akin to ACHÆMENIAN PERSIAN and ZEND, but still distinct from either: into which have been absorbed a large number of TURANIAN roots. G. R.

ARMENIC.

A branch of the great Indo-European family of speech not yet clearly defined. It is the parent of modern ARMENIAN, and of an older form of the same language, called OLD ARMENIC, now extinct. It has, provisionally, been classed with KURDISH, OSSETIC and PUSHTOO. _See_ ARYAN.

ARMENO-KURDISH.

A name for the KURDISH dialect, written in the characters of the Armenian alphabet.

ARMORICAN.

A Celtic dialect, called also BRETON, anciently vernacular in Armorican Gaul; it was the national language of the independent Duchy of Brittany, and is still spoken in the modern French departments of Finisterre, Morbihan, and Côtes-du-Nord; the language is closely allied to WELSH, CORNISH, MANX, GAELIC, &c.

ARNAUT, _see_ ALBANIAN.

ARNIYA.

A dialect of DARDU, allied to Kashkari.

ARO _or_ ORO.

A dialect of W. Africa, allied to MBOFIA, vernacular in the locality of Brass Town.

AROO _or_ ARRU.

Dialects of PAPUAN, vernacular in a group of islands lying to the S.W. of New Guinea, in the Asiatic Archipelago.

⁂ Herr Van Rosenberg distinguishes two chief dialects. 1. A vocabulary collected at Wammer, Watelei, and Traugan. 2. His “Wanumbae Vocaby.” Others are the Wokam Uju dialects, given by Herr Von Eybergen. Mr. Wallace writes WAMMA, WOKAN and OUGIA. P. J. V.

AROPIN.

A PAPUAN dialect, vernacular in S. Pacific. See Latham, p. 332.

ARORAE.

An island of Kingsmill group, S. Pacific. The language is a mixed dialect of Samoa and Sandwich groups. First reduced by missionaries from Hawaii, 1858; now occupied by Samoan Christian teachers. W. G.

ARROW-HEAD.

A term employed to designate writing of a particular kind. The ancient inhabitants of Babylonia, Assyria, Armenia, Persia, and other adjacent regions used characters of which the ultimate element was the wedge: ► The resemblance of this form to the metallic point with which arrows were anciently tipped caused our early Oriental travellers to call all characters thus composed “arrow-headed.” Recently, the term “cuneiform,” adopted from the French, has displaced “arrow-headed,” which is now seldom used. It is important to remember that the two terms, whichever of them we employ, in no case properly designate a language, or an alphabet, but simply a manner of forming the conventional signs of speech. There are at least five quite distinct “arrow-headed” alphabets; and in one case the same cuneiform alphabet is used to give written expression to two quite different languages. G. R.

ARYAN.

A name for the INDO-EUROPEAN family of languages, derived from Ariana, a province of the ancient Persian empire. The word is widely diffused throughout Eastern Asia: _ex. gr._, the small river Arius, now Heri-Rúd, on which stands the city of Herat; also the river Arus, or Araxes, near Mt. Ararat, in Armenia; Iran, Irac, or Iron. The term “Aryan,” in Sanskrit, implies “noble,” but the root is very widely diffused in an agricultural sense; as in the Greek ἀρόω; Latin, “aro” “to plough;” English, “arable.”

The Aryan family of languages is divided into the following branches:—ARMENIC, CELTIC or KELTIC, HELLENIC, ILLYRIC, INDIC, IRANIC, ITALIC, TEUTONIC, and WENDIC (or SLAVONIC-LETTIC). Each of these groups or branches will be treated under its proper stem, with sub-branches. _See_ INTRODUCTION. ☞

ASHANTEE _or_ ASHANTI.

Sometimes called ODJII or OTSHI, the national language of the Guinea coast, W. Africa; it belongs to the MANDINGO branch, and is closely allied to the FANTEE, spoken on the Gold-coast.

ASIAN _or_ ASIATIC.

Klaproth’s “Asia Polyglotta,” Paris, 1823, 1832. _See_ INTRODUCTION.

ASILULU, _see_ AMBOYNA.

ASSAMESE.

The modern language of Assam, an extensive province of British India adjoining Bengal; it extends along the course of the R. Brahmapootra, towards Thibet. The archaic dialect known as AHOM, being extinct, has been superseded by a dialect of BENGALI; Assamese is, however, unintelligible to the natives of Bengal. It is written in the Bengali character. See Brown’s “Comparative Table of Dialects: Asiatic Society of Bengal.”

ASSAN.

A dialect of OSTIAK, or YENISEIAN, vernacular in Siberia. See Castrén’s “Versuch.”

ASSINEBOINE.

A N. American dialect, spoken by native tribes of the Saskatchewan River line, between the Red River and Rocky Mountains.

ASSINESE.

African: a sub-dialect of the FANTI.

ASSYRIAN.

The language of the ancient Assyrians, or people of Assyria, a tract lying upon the R. Tigris, between the thirty-fourth and thirty-seventh parallels. This language has become known to us within the last twenty years, through inscriptions disinterred from the buried cities of this region. The form of speech is found to be SEMITIC, akin to Arabic, Syriac, Chaldee, Phœnician, and especially to Hebrew. It is written, however, unlike most Semitic tongues, from left to right. The characters are very numerous and complicated; they are of the class called “cuneiform” or “arrow-headed,” being formed out of combinations of wedges. The best account of the Assyrian alphabet will be found in the “Expédition Scientifique en Mésapotamie” of M. Oppert. The language must be studied in the “Assyrian Dictionary” of Mr. Norris, and the “Elémens de la Grammaire Assyrienne” of M. Oppert. G. R.

ASTEK, _see_ AZTEC.

ASWAREK, _see_ SERAWULLI.

ATACAMA.

AMERICAN: belongs to a desert land between Chili and Peru.

ATAFU.

“DUKE OF YORK’S ISLAND.” In Tokelau group; when found it had a mixture of Eastern Polynesian dialects; but now, by use of SAMOAN books, generally speak that language. W. G.

ATHABASCAN or ATHAPASCAN.

A collective name for certain native dialects of N. America, lying to the S. of the Esquimaux. Vocaby. American Ethn. Trans., vol. ii. pp. 78-105. Buschmann: “Der Athapaskische Sprachstamm,” Berlin, 1856-63. ☞

ATIAGO, _see_ AHTIAGO.

ATINAN.

Largely TAHITIAN, with some local peculiarities, but by the use of books in the Rarotongan dialect, is fast becoming RAROTONGAN; example, “fenua-maitai” = “good land.” W. G.

ATLAS (Mount.)

The Mount Atlas languages, more or less known, are: 1. The KABAIL or SHOWIAH; more definitely the ZOAVE. 2. The SHILHA or Morocco BERBER. 3. The TOUARIK or TAMAZIGHT of the Great Desert. 4. The GHADAMSI or the WADREAGH. F. W. N.

ATNA.

A name for SELISH. It is derived from the native word for “man”—“tinni” or “tnai.” Vocaby. Trans. Amer. Ethnol. Society, vol. ii., p. 118. ☞

ATORAI.

A dialect of CARIB, vernacular in Demerara.

ATSHIN.

A dialect of MALAY, vernacular in Sumatra. _See_ ACHINESE.

ATTAKAPA.

A nearly monosyllabic dialect, vernacular among the native Americans of St. Bernard’s Bay, Texas. See Archæol. Americana, ii., p. 307. ☞

ATTIC GREEK.

A dialect of ancient GREEK, originally peculiar to Attica, but which became the parent of the so-called “common dialect,” or ordinary language of Greek literature. The ATTIC had much in common with the IONIC, but affected contractions and retained aspirates where the Ionic discarded them. G. R.

ATTIGAE.

A tribe of the Chech in Caucasia. H. C.

ATURES.

According to Humboldt, the Atures were the original occupants of the cataract on the R. Orinoco, which bears their name; their language, on the authority of Gilij, is a form of the SALIVI. ☞

ATYE, _see_ WHIDAH.

AUGSBURG.

Germanic: dialect of HIGH-GERMAN spoken in Bavaria. See “Jnl. Für Deutschland,” 1783.

AURAMOISET.

A dialect of KARELIAN, vernacular in the Government of St. Petersburgh. See “Memoirs of the St. Petersburgh Academy.”

AUSTRAL.

A group of numerous islands east of Tahiti, and so far TAHITIAN as to use books in the Tahitian language, though having some local peculiarities by the introduction of letters not in Tahitian; example, “param-akoako” = “exhortation.” W. G.

AUSTRALIAN.

The natives, now fast disappearing, had numerous dialects, all more or less closely allied; resemblances have been traced to the TAMUL and other languages of S. India; the POLYNESIAN, and PAPUAN. See Grey’s “Vocabulary” (of S. Western A.) 2nd Edit., London, 1841; and others by Ridley; Sidney, 1856, 1866: Eyre’s “Discoveries,” vol. ii., p. 391.

AUVERGNE.

Dialect of Provençal; glossaries in “Mem.: Soc. Ant.” French vols. ii., xii.

AVAN _or_ AVANI.

American: a sub-dialect of MAIPUR.

AVAR (1).

An extinct dialect, belonging to the fifth and sixth centuries A.D. It was Turkish.

AVAR (2).

The most important dialect of LESGIAN. See Vocabulary in Güldenstadt’s “Travels,” and “Asia Polyglotta.”

AVARICOTO.

AMERICAN: Carib of Cumana, belonging to the Tamanack division.

AVEKVOM.

A dialect of the Ivory-coast, W. Africa.

AWAIYA.

A dialect of MALAY, vernacular in Ceram, an island of the Indian Ocean; quoted in Wallace’s “Malay Archipelago.” _See_ AHTIAGO _and_ HAWAIIAN.

AYMARA.

The language of the Indians of the highlands around Lake Titicaca in Peru and Bolivia; by many regarded as the so-called secret language of the Incas, as, according to their traditions, Manco Capac, the founder of the Inca dynasty, came from that district; and although ruder and more primitive, it is closely allied to the QUECHUA, which, after the Inca conquest, became the general language of Peru. The oldest published works extant on Aymara are by Alcabiça, 1585; Ricardo, 1585; Bertonio, 1603-12. D. F. ☞

AZTEC.

The language of the aborigines of Mexico; extinct in its original form, it has been fused with SPANISH, and is now the native language of Mexican Indians.

ADDENDA.

ABERDEEN.

A local dialect of Scotland.

ABKHASS, _see_ ABSNE.

ABUNDA.

AFRICAN: same as BUNDA. See Vocaby. in Douville’s “Voyage,” Paris, 1832.

ACHAIAN.

A name for the ancient Greeks. ☞

ADAMAWA, _see_ HAMARUA.

ADANG.

A DAYAK dialect of N. Borneo. P. J. V. _See_ MURUT.

ADIMA.

Name for the servile class of Malabar; they have a dialect peculiar to themselves. W. E.

ADIYAR.

A sub-dialect of DRAVIDIAN origin, spoken by aborigines of Malabar. W. E.

AKHWASH.

CAUCASIAN: like ANDI, but with peculiar numerals. H. C.

AMERICANISMS.

Name for Transatlantic idioms of ENGLISH. See Webster’s Dicty., various editions: Bartlett’s Glossary, London, 1859.

AMOY.

An important dialect of CHINESE; see “Manual,” by Macgowan; Hong Khong, 1869.

ANDALUSIAN.

Romance: a sub-dialect of SPANISH.

ANDHRA.

An ancient kingdom and powerful dynasty in the Dekhan, now merely traditional: compare the Greek word ἀνδρος.

ANSPACH.

TEUTONIC: dialect of HIGH-GERMAN. See “Jnl. Für Deutschland,” 1789.

ANTILLES.

AMERICAN of the W. Indies. See “Histoire des Iles Antilles,” &c. Rotterdam, 1681.

APPENZELL.

TEUTONIC: dialect of HIGH-GERMAN. See Tobler: “A: Sprachschatz,” Zürich, 1837.

ARAYANS, ARAANS.

Important hill tribe of Travancore, called Malai-arasar, “Hill kings;” they speak a dialect of TAMUL or MALAYALIM. W. E.

ARRAGONESE.

A provincial dialect of SPANISH.

B.

BAB, _see_ PORT DOREH.

BABA.

A dialect allied to JAVANESE, vernacular in an island called Babber by the Dutch; it is one of the Serawatty group, E. of Timor in the Indian Ocean. Small Vocabulary in Latham p. 303. _See_ KISSA.

BABUMA.

A native dialect of Africa, vernacular on the Gaboon. See small Vocabulary in Latham, p. 563.

BABYLONIAN.

A SEMITIC dialect spoken in Babylonia from the Assyrian conquest of the country, about B.C. 1300, to its occupation by the followers of Mohammed. It is closely allied to the ASSYRIAN (which see), but is somewhat simpler. The language exists in numerous inscriptions found in the country which cover the interval from about B.C. 620 to B.C. 540, and also in the trilingual inscriptions of the Achæmenian Persian, where it is found regularly in the third column. The best account of the language, which is written in a cuneiform alphabet based on the ASSYRIAN, will be found in Sir H. Rawlinson’s “Analysis of the third column of the Behistun Inscription”—Journal of the Asiatic Society, 1856. G. R.

BACHAN, _see_ BATCHIAN.

BACTRIAN.

The dialect spoken in ancient Bactria (modern Balkh), now commonly supposed to be identical with the literary language called ZEND. It is not at all certain, however, that Bactria was the country in which Zend was spoken. But there can be no doubt that BACTRIAN was a very ancient form of ARYAN speech. G. R. _See_ ZEND.

BAGBA.

An African dialect allied to the BAKELE of the R. Gaboon.

BAGBALAN.

A dialect of KOURI, vernacular in Central Africa. See small Vocabulary in Latham, p. 584.

BAGHERME, _see_ BEGHARMI.

BAGNON.

A native dialect, vernacular in W. Africa, spoken on the W. coast, S. of the R. Nunez; long Vocabulary in “Mémoires de la Société Ethnologique,” Paris, 1845.

BAGO.

The dialect of several populations, vernacular in N.W. Africa; classed as a sub-dialect of TIMMANI.

BAGWAN.

A native _patois_ of British India, derived from TAMIL.

BAHASA-TANAH, _see_ AMBOYNA.

BAIKHA.

A dialect of OSTIAK of the YENISEIAN class, spoken in Asiatic Russia. See Vocabulary in Latham, p. 136.

BAJAU _or_ BAJOU.

Dialects of MALAY, spoken by the Sea-gipsies. See Vocabulary in Wallace; Appdx. to “Malay Archipelago.”

⁂ “Fishmen of Borneo.” BAJAU properly belongs to all Borneo. The Bugis traders, who belong to all that Archipelago, cannot properly speak Bajau. BUGIS is perhaps truly the language of the pirates of those seas, their head-quarters being (the Illanons) Illanon Bay, S.W. of Mindanao, one of the Philippines. E. B. _See_ BIAJUK.

BAKELE.

A dialect of KAFFIR, somewhat allied to MPONGWE, spoken on the R. Gaboon, W. Africa. See Vocabulary in Latham, p. 561.

BALADEA.

The native name of New Caledonia. The language is allied to ANNATOM, also called DUAURA. _See_ ANEITEUM.

BALI.

An insular dialect of JAVANESE, vernacular in the Indian Archipelago. See Crawfurd’s Dissertation in “Malay Grammar,” p. 75. ☞

BALU.

African: a dialect allied to the BAKELE, vernacular on the R. Gaboon.

BAMBARRA.

African: a division of the MANA class, spoken on the Upper Niger; including also the JALLUNKA, the SOKKO, and the SUSU. It is bounded on the E. by the Songho of Timbuctu, with which a new class begins.

BAMON.

African: a dialect of the N. W. division of KAFFIR, allied to RALU.

BANCA _or_ BANGKA.

Besides the Chinese who work in the tin mines, Banca has a native population who speak a dialect of Malay, with some intermixture of Javanese, derived from Palembang, an ancient colony of Javanese, and other foreign elements. P. J. V.

BANFFSHIRE.

A dialect of the lowlands of Scotland. See “Remarks on the dialect of Banffshire, with a glossary of words not in Jamieson’s Scottish Dictionary,” by Rev. W. Gregor, Philol. Socy. Trans., 1866. W. W. S.

BANGA.

A dialect of BENGALI, vernacular in Arracan. See “Asiatic Researches,” vol. v., p. 238.

BANGBAY.

African: short vocabulary communicated by Dr. Barth to the Geographical Society.

BANIWA.

A variety of native S. American dialects, allied to CHIMANOS, vernacular between Brazil and Venezuela. ☞

BANJAK.

Name of an island off Sumatra. The natives have two dialects:—(1) the primitive language called BATTA, and (2) the MALAY of Sumatra. _See_ MARUWI.

BANTEK _or_ BANTIK.

An ALFURU dialect vernacular in N. Celebes.

BANTU.

African: Dr. Bleek’s name for a very large class of languages, including the KAYO, BUNDA, ZANGIAN, and MOZAMBIQUE branches.

BARABA _or_ BARAMA.

A dialect of Asia; in its Russian form called BARABINSKI.

BARABINSKI.

A dialect of the _Siberian Turkish_ spoken in the steppe of Baraba, or Barama, between the upper Irtysch and the R. Obi in Asiatic Russia. See Klaproth’s “Asia Polyglotta,” p. 226. H. H. H.

BARAKI.

A dialect of PERSIAN, spoken at Barak in Affghanistan, and at Kàniguram. ☞

BARBARA, SANTA.

A native dialect, vernacular on W. Coast of N. America. Jnl. R. Geogl. Socy., 1841. xi., 246-51.

BARBARY, _see_ BERBER.

BAREA.

African: a Negro dialect on the Nubian and Abyssinian frontier. Vocabulary in Salt’s “Voyage to Abyssinia.”

BARI _or_ BARREE.

A dialect of Central Africa. Mitterrutzner: “Die Sprache der Bari,” Brixen, 1867. _See_ BAREA.

BARRE.

American: closely akin to the BANIWA, TARIANA, and UAINAMBEU; it is probably the same as the PARENI of Humboldt, but Wallace uses it as a class-name. “Travels on the Amazon,” &c., 8vo, 1853.

BASA _or_ BHASA-KRAMA.

A form of JAVANESE. Literally “The polite language.” _See_ BHASA.

BASA, BASSA, _or_ BASSAH.

A dialect of W. Africa, belonging to the GREBO family and allied to MANDINGO, vernacular in parts of Liberia.

⁂ A geographical or national division of Africa. See Kilham’s “Specimens.”

BAS-BRETON, _see_ ARMORICAN.

BASHEE _or_ BASHI.

A dialect of NEGRITIC, vernacular in the China Sea, S. of Formosa; a group of the Philippines. See Vocaby.: Belcher’s “Voyage of the Samarang,” vol. ii.

BASHKIR.

A dialect of TURKISH, spoken in Orenburg, Asiatic Russia.

⁂ The Baskir now speak TURKISH, but there are many reasons for believing them to be of Ugrian descent. See Klaproth, A. P., and Müller, “Ugrische Volkstamm.” H. H. H.

BASHMURIC.

A dialect of COPTIC, formerly spoken at Bashmur, a province in the delta of the Nile; it was largely infused with GREEK.

BASIAN.

A dialect of TURKISH spoken in the Caucasus, almost identical with NOGAY. See Klaproth, “Reise in den Kaukasus.” H. H. H.

BASPA _or_ BHASPA, _see_ MOGHOL.

BASQUE _or_ ESCUARA.

A language spoken in the Spanish provinces, Guipuzcoa and Biscay, partially in Alava and Navarre; in France, only in the arrondissements of Mauléon and Bayonne in the department of the Lower Pyrenees. Five principal dialects, with several sub-dialects:—GUIPUZCOAN, BISCAYAN (and the dialect of Llodia) in Spain; and the BAS-NAVARRAIS, SOULETIN and LABOURDIN, in France. Clearly agglutinative. Analogies detected with the FINNISH, by Prince L. L. Buonaparte and others; and N. American (ALGONKIN) by Pruner-Bey and Charency; also with the KHAMITIC by D’Abbadie, and ACCADIAN by Sayce. Fabre’s “Dict. Français-Basque,” Bayonne, 1870, “Essai de Grammaire,” par W. J. Van Eys, Amsterdam, 1867. W. W. _See_ ESCUARA.

BASUNDO.

A native dialect of Africa, belonging to the N.W. division of the Kaffir group, vernacular in the R. Gaboon.

BATAK, _or_ BATTA.

A native dialect of wild Malays in Sumatra; it is allied to BUGIS, with written characters imitated from the DEVANAGIRI alphabet of SANSKRIT.

⁂ The Orang Batta are the indigines of Sumatra; BANJAK, PAKPAK, ZINGKAL, TOBA, are all sub-dialects of BATTA in Sumatra. See Van der Tunk’s “Collection of Battak Texts, with Notes and Translations,” 4 vols., Amsterdam, 1860-62; “Bataksch Leesboek”; and “Bataksch-Nederduitsch Woordenboek,” Amsterdam, 1861. ☞

BATAR, _see_ BOR.

BATAVIAN-MALAY.

What is called BATAVIAN-MALAY is perhaps rather a Sundanese than a Malay dialect. It is the language of the natives of Batavia and its environs, a population sprung from the conflux of individuals from almost every part of the Archipelago; yet the SUNDANESE element seems to predominate. This language ought not to be confounded with the low-Malay spoken at Batavia by Europeans and natives in their ordinary intercourse, which is merely Malay corrupted by the introduction of foreign words and forms of speech. To these Europeans the language which the natives use among themselves is quite unintelligible. P. J. V.

BATCHIAN.

A dialect of MALAY, somewhat allied to GILOLO.

⁂ This island is one of the Moluccas; it has no indigenous population, but the so-called Malay colonists are of a mixed race, and the dialect they speak is mixed with Papuan or Alfuru elements. P. J. V.

BATEMDAKAIEE, _see_ KULANAPO.

BATHURST.

A dialect vernacular in N. S. Wales.

BATTA (1), _see_ BATAK.

BATTA (2).

A family of languages, vernacular in Africa.

⁂ One of the thirty languages of the Adamawa, spoken under 9° N.L.

BATU-MERAH (“Red-rock” in MALAY).

A dialect of the Mohammedan suburb of Amboyna, closely allied to LIANG. _See_ MORELLA.

BAURÉ, _see_ MOXOS.

BAURO _or_ SAN CRISTOVAL.

A dialect of the Solomon Isles, or Isles of Danger, in the Pacific Ocean.

BAVARIAN (BAIERISCHE).

A dialect of TEUTONIC, typical High-German. See “Bayerisches Wörterbuch,” by Schmeller, 4 vols., Stuttgard, 1827-37. W. W. S.

BAYANO.

A dialect of Central America, vernacular at San Salvador, Guatemala. _See_ DARIEN _and_ SAVANERIC.

BAYEIYE.

African: a sub-dialect of BANTU, vernacular in the interior.

BAYON _or_ BAYUNG.

A dialect of KAFFIR, vernacular on the R. Gaboon.

⁂ The name is important because it is the last of the languages on the W. half of equatorial Africa of which any specimen is known.

BEAK.

A dialect of PAPUAN, vernacular in New Guinea.

BÉARNAIS.

The dialect of Béarn, in the S. of France. See Hatoulet et Picot’s “Proverbes Béarnais, avec un Vocabulaire,” 8vo, Paris, 1862. W. W. S.

BEAVER.

American: dialect of the Beaver Indians, N. of the Hudson’s Bay country; sometimes classed as CHIPEWAYAN.

BECHUANA.

African: a dialect of KAFFIR. Moffat’s “Spelling-book,” London 1826; “Bukauiane A B C,” Kapstadt, 1839. _See_ SECHUANA.

BEDFORDSHIRE.

A dialect of England. See “An Analysis of English, with an Analysis of the dialect of Bedfordshire,” by T. Batchelor, London, 1809. W. W. S.

BEGHARMI.

A dialect of central Africa, spoken to the S.E. of Lake Tshad; Dr. Barth assigns it to the SHILUK class. Vocabulary in Klaproth’s “Essai sur la Langue du Bornou,” Paris, 1826.

BEJA _or_ BOJE.

A dialect of N.E. Africa, vernacular at Kosseir, the ancient Apollonopolis Parva, in Egypt. It is also called BISHARI. See Burckhardt’s “Travels in Nubia,” pp. 160-1.

BELANG _or_ BILONG.

A native dialect of Celebes, somewhat allied to LANGOWAN. _See_ BENTENANG.

BELGIC _or_ BELGIAN.

Old Belgic was Teutonic, Low-German, classed as a dialect of Frisian. Modern Belgian is a dialect of French. See De Reiffenberg’s “Nouv. Obs. sur les patois Romans de la Belgique,” “Echo du Monde Savant,” 1840.

BELONESE.

Dialects of E. Timor, spoken by the Belonese under Portuguese dominion; sub-dialects are Teto, Vaiqueno, Viale, Manatuta. Vocaby. by Mr. Heymering, in “Tyd. _v._ Ned. Ins.” viii., 3. P. J. V.

BELOOCHI _or_ BILUCH.

The native dialect of Beloochistan, the tract between Affghanistan and the Indian Ocean, N. India; it is allied to PERSIAN.

BELTIN.

A dialect of TURKISH, spoken by a small tribe on the R. Abakan in Siberia. “Asia P.” p. 229. H. H. H.

BENGA _or_ BENGUELAN.

A dialect of W. Africa, classed by Bleek as a sub-dialect of BANTU, N.W. branch. Mackey’s “Grammar,” N. York, 1855. _See_ BIENGA.

BENGALI.

The vernacular dialect of the province of Bengal, British India; it is derived from SANSKRIT, and written in characters modified from the Divanagari alphabet. See Carey’s “Dict. of the Bengalee Language,” &c., 2 vols., Serampore, 1825; Yates’s “Introd. to Bengali,” Calcutta, 1847.

BENI, BENIN, _or_ BINI.

A general name for the native dialects, vernacular in the Bight of Benin, W. Africa. Applied more particularly to the MOKO. Other dialects are the BONNY, the IBO, and ARO. See Clarke’s “Dialects of Africa,” p. 35.

BENI MENASSER, _see under_ M.

BENTENANG.

Alfuru dialect of N. Celebes, spoken in the districts of Pasan, Ratahan, and Ponasakan, sometimes called PASAN BANGKO. P. J. V.

BERBER.

A language spoken in many parts of N. Africa by supposed descendants of the ancient Lybians and Mauritanians; it somewhat resembles COPTIC in construction, with an African vocabulary. The word Berber is a form of οἰ βάρβαροι, “people whose speech is not intelligible; gibberish.”

⁂ More properly a name given by the Arabs and Europeans to several widely spread languages of N. Africa. “Dict. Français-Berbère,” Paris, 1844. F. W. N. _See_ LIBYAN.

BERBERINI.

A language spoken on the Upper Nile, which has no relation to the BERBER, properly so called. F. W. N.

BERESOV.

The Ostiaks of Beresov speak a dialect of OSTIACK. See Klaproth, “Asia P.” H. H. H.

BERGAMASCO.

A provincial dialect of ITALIAN.

BERKSHIRE.

A few remarks on this dialect occur in Nichol’s “Bibliotheca Typographica Britannica,” 4to, 1783, vol. iv., p. 44; see also T. Hughes’s “Scouring of the White Horse.” W. W. S.

BETHUCK.

The native dialect of Newfoundland; it is allied to ALGONQUIN.

BETOI.

American dialect of New Grenada, on the eastern slope of the Andes. Sub-dialects are the AIRICO, ELE, GIRARI, and SITUFA.

BHASA.

Native word for speech or language, used both in combination and composition. 1. In BHASA-KRAMA, the ceremonial language of Java, and in the BAHASA-TANAH of Amboyna, it precedes; 2. In BRIJ-BHASA, it follows the word. Compare SANSKRIT, वाचा, _vâchâ_, “speech.” _See_ AMBOYNA.

BHATUI, _or_ BHATORE.

A dialect of TAMUL.

⁂ One of the cant, slang, or artificial languages of India; its basis is MARATHI. Balfour’s “Languages of the Wandering Tribes of India.”

BHIL _or_ BHEEL.

A name for the BILUCH of Beloochistan. _See_ BELOOCHI. ☞

BHOJEPOORA.

A dialect of HINDUWI, spoken throughout the neighbourhood of Benares, in the N. of British India.

BHOOTANESE.

A dialect of the BHOTIYA family, spoken in the modern Bhootan; it is allied to TAMUL. G. R.

BHOT _or_ BHOTIA.

The language of BHOT or BOOTAN. The people of all Thibet, from Ladak to Lassa, are BHOTIÄS, and inhabit the whole length of the Himalaya, along the snowy range on its S. face in Kumaon, Nipal and Sikim. Papers by Mr. Hodgson, in the “Asiatic Society’s Journal of Bengal.” A.C.

⁂ Bhot or Bhotiya: native name for Thibet or Tibet and the Tibetans; Bútan and Bultistan are from the same root, and serve to indicate the great spread of the Tibetan race. The Bútanis call themselves Lhopa. R. G. L. _See_ THIBETAN.

BHOTIYA.

A general name for the Sub-Himalayan languages. G. R.

BHRAMU.

A dialect of Nepaul, allied to DAHL. _See_ BRAMHU.

BIAFADA.

A negro dialect, allied to PADSADE, vernacular in the Bissagos, or Bijugas islands at the mouth of Rio, W. Africa.

BIAJUK _or_ BIAJÚ.

A dialect of MALAY, of certain ruder populations of Borneo.

⁂ Properly Biajus or Beajus, the Dayaks of S. Borneo, in the ancient kingdom of Banyarmarsin, now under Dutch rule. P. J. V. ☞

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

An attempt has been made to quote authorities under each leading article; but, for the general knowledge of all languages in a collective form, the following list of books is here supplied:—

Hervas: “Catalogo delle lingue conosciute,” &c., Cesena, 1785 (Italy).

Empress Catherine and Pallas: “Linguarum totius orbis Vocabularia comparativa,” 3 vols., St. Petersburgh, 1786-9.

Adelung and Vater: “Mithridates, oder allgemeine Sprachenkunde,” &c., 4 vols., 8vo, Berlin, 1806-17.

Vater and Jülg: “Litteratur der Grammatiken, Lexiker, und Wörtersammlungen aller Sprachen der Erde,” 2nd edit., Berlin, 1847.

Balbi: “Atlas Ethnographique du Globe,” &c., Paris, 1826.

Migne: “Dictionnaire de Linguistique et de philologie comparée,” &c., Paris, 1864.

Latham: “Elements of Comparative Philology,” London, 1862.

Tregelles and others: “The Bible of every Land: a History of the Sacred Scriptures in every language and dialect, with specimens, alphabets, maps,” &c., S. Bagster and Sons, London.

Müller: “Lectures on the Science of Language,” by Prof. Max Müller, London, 1862-64.

Farrar: “Families of Speech,” by the Rev. F. W. Farrar, &c., London, 1870.

⁂ For the later authorities quoted throughout the Dictionary, see published catalogues of Messrs. Trübner, Quaritch, and other dealers.

BIDDUMA, _see_ BUDUMA.

BIENGA.

AFRICAN: language of the I. of Corisco.

BIGHT-HEAD.

A native dialect of Australia.

BIJENELUMBO.

A native dialect of Australia.

BIKANIRA.

A dialect of HINDUWI, spoken in Rajpootana, N.W. India; using characters of the Divanagari alphabet.

BILUCH, _see_ BELOOCHI.

BIMA.

A dialect of MALAYAN, vernacular in E. Sumbawa, an island to the S.E. of Java. ☞

BIMBPA, _see_ CAMEROONS.

BINI, _see_ BENIN and MOKO.

BISAYA _or_ BISSAYAN.

A dialect of the Philippine Islands. See Crawfurd’s “Malay Grammar,” dissertation, p. 239. Dicty. by Mentrida, Manila, 1841. ☞

⁂ Also the name of a Dayak tribe on the R. Limbang, N. Borneo. Vocaby. in St. John’s “Life in the Forests of the Far East;” appdx. p. 407. P. J. V.

BISCAYAN, _see_ BASQUE.

BISHARI.

African: a collective name for the DANAKIL, ILMORMO, and SOMAULI. _See_ BEJA.

BISSAGO.

AFRICAN: numerous and diverse dialects, vernacular in a small Archipelago, so called, between 8° and 10° N.L. _See_ BIAFADA.

BLACKFOOT.

A native dialect of N. America, classed as ALGONQUIN. It is now spoken by several tribes on the Saskatchewan river line. See Butler’s “Great Lone Land,” London, 1873, p. 385; “Trans. Amer. Ethn. Soc.,” vol. ii., Introd. p. cxii., p. 88; Schoolcraft’s “Indian Tribes,” vol. ii., p. 494.

BLACKMOUTHS, _see_ JURIPIXUNHA.

BOBIA.

AFRICAN: a sub-dialect of OTAM.

BODE.

A dialect of BORNU. See Kölle’s “Africa Pol.”

BODEGA, _see_ OLAMENTKE.

BODO.

A dialect of THIBETAN vernacular in the Sikhim Himalayas. Hodgson (H. B.) “Aborigines of India.” _See_ MECH.

BOËRO, _see_ CAJELI.

BOHEMIAN.

Sometimes called CHEKH or TSCHEKH, spoken in Bohemia, a province of the Austrian Empire; it is of SLOVACK origin, and closely allied to RUSSIAN. “Slownjk Cesko-Nemecky,” by Jungmann. Five vols. 4to. A Bohemian-Latin-German Dictionary; published by the Royal Academy of Prague. W. W. S. _See_ ROMANY.

BOKHARA _or_ BOKAREE.

A dialect of PERSIAN, vernacular in Bokhara. See Klaproth “Asia Pol.,” pp. 242-54. Pallas’s “Vocab. Cath.” p. 102.

BOKSA, _see_ KUMAON.

BOLAANGO.

Alfuru dialects of N. Celebes, spoken in the districts Boloöng, Uki, Bentaüna and Andagile of Kattingola. P. J. V.

BOLAR.

A negro dialect, allied to BULANDA.

BOLONG, BOLAANG, _or_ BULONG.

A dialect of Celebes or Macassar, allied to BUGIS; and sub-divided into BOLONG-ITANG-OTA and BOLONG-MONGONDO. Respectively Upper and Lower, the former is the BOLANG-ITAM or HITAM of Wallace’s App. “Malay Archipelago.” Classed as sub-dialects of MENADU. ☞

BONNY.

A class of native African dialects, vernacular in Guinea. _See_ OBANY.

BOORO, _see_ CAJELI.

BOR.

A sub-TURANIAN dialect spoken by a broken tribe of Nepaul.

BORABORA.

POLYNESIAN: A TAHITIAN language. Vernacular in one of the Society’s Is. W. G. _See_ TAHITIAN.

BORAIPER.

A dialect of Australia, allied to AIAWONG.

BORGIA, SAN.

A native dialect of California, N. America.

BORITSU.

A dialect of KAFFIR (N. W. division), vernacular on the R. Gaboon. See Kölle: “Polyg. Afric.”

BORMIO.

A dialect of ITALIAN, vernacular in Lombardy.

BORNEO.

The populations of Borneo are of mixed races, known as Biajuks, Biajús or Bajows, Dyaks, &c., as well as Malays. We have dialects of KAGAN or KAYAN, KUPUA, MALO, MERI, MILLANOW, MURUNG, SAKARRON, SANGOUW, SIBNOW, SOW, SUNTAB. Works by Crawfurd, Brooke (Sir J.), Keppel (Adml.), Marsden, &c.; for details see Latham, pp. 305-7; Vater, p. 465. _See_ DAJAK.

BORNU _or_ BORNUI.

A large class of native African, allied to the HAUSSA. Klaproth: “Essai, &c.” 8vo, Paris, 1826. Clarke: “Dialects of Africa,” p. 35. Kölle: “Grammar of the Bornu language.” _See_ KANURI.

BORO.

A dialect of THIBETAN, allied to BODO.

BORORO.

An unclassed dialect of S. AMERICAN, vernacular in S.W. Brazil.

BOSJESMAN.

Dutch name for the Bushmen or Hottentots.

BOSNIAN.

SLAVIC, the dialect of Bosnia, European Turkey.

BOTANGO.

A sub-dialect of MENADU. Small Vocaby. in Latham, p. 309. _See_ BOLONG.

BOTIA _or_ BOTYA, _see_ BHOT.

BOTOCUDO.

A large class of native languages, vernacular in Brazil, S. America.

⁂ The dialect is quite distinct from the GUARANI. D. F. ☞

BOUSTROPHEDON.

“To turn,” as the ox in ploughing; a term used of early Greek writing, which went alternately in different directions; Solon’s laws were thus written. It comes intermediate between the SEMITIC order of writing, viz., from right to left, and the EUROPEAN form from left to right.

BOUTON, _see_ BUTON.

BOWDITCH ISLAND.

The most easterly reef island of S. Pacific, occupied by Roman Catholic and Protestant missionaries. Had no _written_ language before visited by missionaries, and so nearly resembles the SAMOAN that its books are easily read and understood by the people. W. G.

BOWRI.

A dialect of TAMUL.

BRAHMINIC.

A name for SANSKRIT.

BRAHOOI _or_ BRAHUI.

A dialect spoken in parts of Beloochistan, allied to TAMIL. See Caldwell’s “Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian Languages,” 1861; Leech: Paper in Jnl. Asiatic Soc. of Bengal, July, 1838.

⁂ Interesting as showing affinities to JAPANESE, LOOCHOO, KOREAN, and BASQUE. H. C. _See_ BELOOCHI.

BRAI.

A dialect of France; Cambrai (Nord)? See “Dictionnaire du Patois du Pays de Brai,” 1852. W. W. S.

BRAJ-BHAKA, _see_ BRUJ.

BRAMHU _or_ BHRAMU.

A dialect of THIBETAN, vernacular in Nepaul.

BRASILIAN, _see_ BRAZILIAN.

BRASS-TOWN.

A class of negro dialects allied to ARO. _See_ ORU.

BRAZILIAN.

A name for the written language of the Tupi and Guarani races of Indians in S. America, as spoken in Brazil and Paraguay; it is largely infused with PORTUGUESE, and much used by residents. In Portuguese the “lingua Brasilica” means the “lingua geral.” See Da Silva: “Diccionario da Lingua geral dos Indios de Brasil,” &c., Bahia, 1854.

BREMISCH.

A name for the LOW-GERMAN dialect of Bremen, N. Germany. See “Bremisch-Niedersächsisches Wörterbuch,” Bremen, 1767-71, with Supplement, 1869. W. W. S.

BRESCIAN.

An ITALIAN _patois_, vernacular in Lombardy.

BRETON.

See “Dictionnaire Breton-Français et Français-Breton,” par Villemarqué, 2 vols., 1847-50; and “Dict. Celto-Breton and Breton-Français,” par Legonidec, 1807-21. ☞

BRISSI.

A native dialect of W. Timor, closely allied to TETO. Vocaby. in Wallace: Appdx. _See_ KUPANG.

BRITISH.

A name for the PRE-ROMAN dialects of England. _See_ CELTIC _or_ KELTIC.

BRUJ.

A dialect of HINDUWI, otherwise called BRIJ-BHAKA, spoken in the province of Agra, Hindustan.

BUBONKO.

Alfuru dialect of the Togean or Toühia Islands, in the Gulf of Tomini, N. Celebes. P. J. V.

BUCHAN.

A dialect of Scotland.

BUDUGUR.

A dialect of CANARESE, vernacular in the Nilghery Hills, S. India.

BUDUMA.

A native dialect of Africa, allied to KANURI. Spoken by the islanders of Lake Tshad.

BUGHELCUNDI.

A corrupted HINDUWI, otherwise called BAGHELCUNDI, vernacular in Boghela, in the province of Allahabad, British India.

BUGIS _or_ BUJI.

A dialect of the MALAYAN family spoken in the Island of Celebes or Macassar, an island adjoining Borneo, and written in a different character from OLD MACASSAR. See Crawfurd’s “Malay Grammar,” Dissertation p. 88. “Vocabulary,” Mission Press, 1833; “Chrestomathies,” Paris. _See_ MANGKASAR.

BUJI.

African: a sub-dialect of KABYLE.

BULANDA.

A dialect of W. Africa, allied to BAGO.

BULGARIAN.

Also called CYRILLIC; a dialect of SLOVACK origin, brought into Europe by the Bulgars, an Asiatic race who settled in ancient Mœsia, S. of the Danube, in E. Europe. Bulgaria, so named from them, is a province of European Turkey. Morse and Vasilief, Grammar, &c., Constantinople, 1859-60. ☞

BULGARIAN, OLD, _see_ SLAVONIC.

BULLOM.

A dialect of MANDINGO, vernacular near Sierra Leone, W. Africa.

⁂ It is in contact with TIMMANI, but totally different therefrom.

BULOCHI, _see_ BELOOCHI.

BUMBETE.

A native dialect of Africa, vernacular in the R. Gaboon. It is classed as a N.W. form of KAFFIR.

BUNDA.

The native dialect of Angola, W. Africa. Classed by Bleek as a sub-genus of BANTU, including also ANGOLA, NANO, OTZIHERERO, and SINDONGA. See Cannecattim’s Dicty. Lisboa, 1804.

BUNDELCOONDI.

A dialect of HINDUWI, spoken in the district of Bundelcund, Allahabad, British India.

BUOL _or_ BUOOL.

ALFURU dialect of N. Celebes or Macassar, allied to BUGIS.

BURGUNDIAN.

The dialect of Burgundy, E. France. One of the four principal dialects of the old LANGUE D’OIL; the others being the PICARD, the NORMAN, and the FRENCH of the I. de France. W. W. S.

BURIAT.

A Mongolian dialect of the TURANIAN family of languages, vernacular near Lake Baikal, in the province of Irkutsh, Eastern Siberia, Russia in Asia. Castrén: “Versuch einer Burjätischen Sprachlehre,” by Schiefner, 8vo, St. Petersburgh, 1857. _See_ KALKA. ☞

BURMESE.

A monosyllabic language, vernacular in the Burman Empire, S. Asia; originally conformable to CHINESE, it has been modified by the fusion with PALI, a Buddhistic dialect of Sanskrit. See Crawfurd: “Embassy to Ava,” Vocaby. in Appendix, p. 35. Dictionaries: Hough (Maulmein, 1845); Judson (Rangoon, 1866).

BUSHMAN.

A dialect of African, remotely related to the HOTTENTOT; it is also called SAAB.

BUTAN.

A dialect of THIBETAN, spoken by the Lhopa, people of Bhootan. _See_ BHOOTANESE and BHOT.

BUTON _or_ BOUTANG.

A dialect allied to BUGIS, vernacular in Boutong, a large island to the S. of Celebes. Only known by Vocaby. in Wallace’s “Malay Arch.”

BUTTANIR.

A dialect of HINDUWI, spoken by the Bhattis, a race of Rajpootana, N.W. India; it is sometimes called VIRAT.

BYZANTINE.

A name for the GREEK of the Eastern Empire. Sophocles: Lex., Boston, U.S., 1870.

ADDENDA.

BADAGRY.

A language of W. Africa.

BADAKSHAN, _see_ SHIGHNIS.

BANGSA.

African: a tribe of KOURI.

BARABRA, BERABRA.

African: names for the NUBIANS.

BARBA.

African: a dialect of the W., like MOSE and FANTI. H. C.

BEHISTUN.

Trilingual inscription.

BELAKAN.

A tribe of MARULAT in Caucasia. H. C.

BENUA.

Orang Benua: people of Malacca. _See_ JAKUN.

BERNE.

A sub-dialect of HIGH-GERMAN.

BERRY _or_ BERRICHON.

A _patois_ of FRENCH; “Vocabulaire,” by Jaubert, Paris, 1839.

BESLEYEUTSI.

A sub-dialect of CIRCASSIAN.

BHUMIJ.

A Kol tribe of India, allied to Sontal. H. C.

BOHMEN.

A sub-dialect of HIGH-GERMAN. See “Geschichte,” by Pelzel, Vienna and Prague, 1788-91.

BOJE _or_ BOYE.

African: a name for the TAKA or TAKUE.

BOKO.

African: a dialect like BANGBAY. H. C.

BOLA.

African: allied to PEPEL. H. C.

BOLOGNESE.

ITALIAN: dialect of Bologna. See Vocabulary by Verrari, Bologna, 1835.

BORA, _see_ MABANG.

BORTLYKH.

A tribe of KASI-KUMUK, in Caucasia. H. C.

BOTLIK.

Caucasian: a dialect of ANDI, allied to Akhwash. H. C.

BOURGES, _see_ CHER.

BOURGOGNE.

FRENCH: dialect of Burgundy. Glossary by Barôzai and Monnoye, Châtillon, 1825.

BRABANT.

Provincial dialects of Holland; sub-dialects of N. Brabant are BOSCH and BREDAASCH.

BRANDENBURG.

Sub-dialect of LOW-GERMAN. See Moritz: “Märkischer Dialekt,” Berlin, 1781.

BREDAASCH.

LOW-GERMAN: dialect of the Netherlands. See Hoeufft: “Proeve van B. taal-eigen,” Breda, 1837.

BREGENTZISH.

Sub-dialect of HIGH-GERMAN. See Bergmann: “Ueber die Volkssprache-Bregenzerwalde,” Innspruch, 1827.

BRESCIAN.

Sub-dialect of ITALIAN. Vocabulary by Melchiori, Brescia, 1817-20.

BRINNI.

African: name of a KOURI tribe.

BURRAH-BURRAH.

Also written BOORA-BOORA: a dialect of the Lower Murray R., Victoria; named after the negative, says Mr. Peter Beveridge. J. B.

BURTUNA.

Caucasian; a tribe of Marulat. H. C.

BUTE.

African: allied to BANGBAY.

BZUB.

Caucasian: the best known dialect of the UDE. See Schiefner’s Grammar. H. C.