L.
Labourdin.
Sub-dialect of French Basque.
Labrador.
American: dialect of Eskimo.
Labrung.
Indo-Chinese: tribe of Singpho.
Lachlan.
Australian: dialect of Regent Lake.
Laconian.
Hellenic: a dialect of modern Greek; also called Tzakonian. See [Spartan].
Laconic.
Short, pithy, terse forms of expression, derived from the mode of speech adopted in Laconia.
Ladakhi.
Sub-dialect of Bhot, vernacular at Ladakh in Thibet.
Ladiniche, Ladino.
Romance: called also Upper and Lower Enghadine. It is a corruption of Latin, spoken in the valley of the Inn, on the confines of Switzerland with the Tyrol and Italy.
Ladrones.
Micronesian: dialect of the Marianne Is. Also called Chamori.
Laghman, see [Lughman].
Lagoa.
African: Kafir of Delagoa Bay. Vocaby. in White’s Journal, London, 1800.
Lake, see [Ostiak].
Lamano or Lamissa.
American: dialect of Quichua, belonging to the district of Truxillo.
Lambich-hong.
Non-Aryan language of India, belonging to the Kiranti group, E. Nipal. Vocaby. in Hunter’s Comp. Dicty.
Lampong.
Malayan, with Javanese elements.
⁂ Dialect of the Lampong district in S. Sumatra, and written with a peculiar native character. See “Dissertation,” Crawfurd’s Malay Grammar. P. J. V.
Lamur.
Caucasian: a name for Ingush.
Lamut.
Dialect of Tungus, closely allied to Yakutsk.
Lanarkshire.
Dialect of that district in Scotland.
Lancashire.
Provincial dialect of English. See Tim Bobbin: “Lancashire Dialect, with Glossary”; Bamfords’s “Dialects of So. Lancashire,” London, 1854.
Landoma.
African: closely allied to Bago, Timmani, and Bullom. H. C.
Langobardic.
(1) Teutonic: unclassed. See Türk: “Die Langobarden,” &c., Rostock, 1835.
(2) Provincial Italian. See Margharini: “Dict. Longobardicum,” Tuderti, 1670.
Langowan.
Polynesian: a sub-dialect of Menadu. Wallace: “Malay Arch.”
Langres.
Patois of French. “Vocaby.,” Langres, 1822.
Language.
Speech: the expression or communication of ideas by means of articulate sounds, divided into written and spoken language; the form of speech peculiar to a nation. See [Classification].
Langue de si.
Mediæval name for Italian. More properly “Lingua de Si.” (“Si” means “yes.”)
Langue d’jo or ja.
Mediæval name for German. Farrar. (“Ja” means “yes.”)
Langue d’oc.
(1) Name for the ancient Provençal or Romance dialect of S. France, derived from their use of the word “oc,” for “yes,” instead of “oïl”; it was in especial the language of the early poets, called Troubadours, who cultivated the “gai-science.”
(2) Patois of French, the dialect of Toulouse. Dicty., Montpellier, 1820.
Langue d’oil.
Old name for the northern dialect of France, derived from using the word “oïl” for “yes,” since superseded by “oui”; it was especially used by that class of poets called “Trouvères.” Grammar by Burguy, 3 vols., second edit., Berlin and Paris, 1870.
Lanka-Bhasa.
Ancient Sinhalese; Ceylon being called Lanka or Lenka in Sanskrit. See [Pali].
Lanzerota.
A dialect of the Canary Is.
Laos or Law.
Indo-Chinese: a northern and central dialect of Siam, spoken along the R. Menam. See “Jnl. Asiatic Soc. of Bengal,” 1837, and Hunter’s “Comp. Dicty.”
Lap, Lapponese, or Lapponic.
Tchudic: dialect of the Ural-Altaic family of languages; it is agglutinative, closely allied to Fin, and spoken in Swedish and Russian Lapland, N. Europe. See Friis: “Lappisk Grammatik,” Christiania, 1856.
Lapanas, see [Lipan].
Lar.
Hindi: dialect of Lower Scinde. Small Vocaby. in Latham’s “Elements,” p. 229.
Lariki.
Malayan: dialect of W. Amboyna. See Wallace: “Malay Arch.”
Lasen or Lazen.
Sub-dialect of Georgian. Rosen: “Die Sprache der Lazen,” Lemgo, 1844. See [Lazic].
Lassa.
Bhot. Lassa, capital of Thibet, is the head-quarters of the Moghol-Buddhists.
Lasta, see [Agau].
Latin.
Head of the Italic branch of the Aryan family of languages, and closely allied to Oscan, Samnite, and Umbrian; originally the vernacular speech or idiom of old Italic, spoken in Latium, a small state S. of the basin of the R. Tiber. It originated the six so-called Romance languages, viz.: (1) Italian, (2) Spanish, (3) Portuguese, (4) Wallachian, (5) Romansch, of the canton Grisons, and (6) French, the latter being further sub-divided into two principal divisions, viz., Northern-French and Provençal. The Northern-French was called by Roquefort “La Langue Romaine”; the Provençal was called by Raynouard “La Langue Roman,”—both titles are misnomers. W. W. S.
Lausitz.
Sub-dialect of High-German. See Vocaby., Anton: “Oberlausitz üblichen,” Görlitz, 1825-39. See [Lusatian].
Law, see [Laos].
Layamon.
American: dialect of Lower California. See “Nachrichten,” by Von Murr, Halle, 1809.
Lazic.
Lesghian: Georgian dialect of Lazistan, in Asia Minor; same as Lasen.
⁂ It is unwritten, and differs much from Georgian and Swan. H. C.
Lebu, see [Feejeean], &c.
Legba.
African: dialect of Kouri, closely allied to Tembu, Kaure, and Keamba. H. C.
Leghi.
Old name for Lesghian.
Lekamtshi.
African: assigned by Barth to the Hamarua.
Lekhi.
Name for the Lesghian of Daghestan.
Leki.
A dialect of Kurdish.
Lemba.
Malayan: dialect of Sumatra.
Lemozi.
That is, Limousin, one of the sub-dialects of Provençal.
Lenca.
American: vernacular in Honduras; dialects are Guajiquero, Intibuca, Opatoro, Similaton. See Squier: “Notes on Central America,” Spanish ed.; “Apuntamientos,” &c., by Alvarado, Paris, 1856.
⁂ These languages are allied to the Kouri dialects of Africa. H. C.
Lenguas, see [Juiadge].
Lenni-Lennape.
American: original Indians of Delaware State, since in Delaware county, Indiana. Tribes were (1) Minsi, “the wolves,” (2) Unalachtgo, “the turkeys,” (3) Unami, “the turtles.” Grammar by Duponceau, Philadelphia, 1827. See [Delaware].
Leonarde.
Keltic: a sub-dialect of Bas-Breton, spoken in the former diocese of St. Paul de Léon.
Lepcha or Lepsha.
Indo-Chinese: dialect of the Lepchas, a tribe of Sikim, in Trans-Himalaya. See “Jnl. Asiatic Soc. of Bengal,” vol. ix., and Hunter’s Comp. Dicty., London, 1868. A. C.
⁂ It has a written character of its own, and is closely allied to Nowgong and Abor. H. C.
Lesbian.
Provincial dialect of ancient Greek, spoken in the I. of Lesbos (Mytilene). It belonged to the form of Greek known as Æolic. G. R.
Lesghian.
Caucasian: native speech of Lesghistan, a province of Georgia, the ancient Albania.
⁂ Used as a class-name for several languages, including (1) Avar, Andi, Dido, &c.; (2) Kasi-Kumuk, Akhwash, &c.; (3) Kyra, &c. The Ude also has sometimes been placed in this group. H. C.
Lett, Lettic, or Lithuanic.
Class name for a division of the Wendic or Slavonic branch of the Aryan family of languages, represented by (1) the Old-Prussian, extinct; (2) Lithuanian, the Lettish of Lithuania; (3) Livonian, the Lettish of Livonia.
⁂ Dr. Latham considers that the Lett or Lithuanian should form a class by itself, but Prof. Max Müller combines them with the Slavonic as a branch of Wendic.
Letters.
The constituent parts of an alphabet, distinguished by form, name, and sound. The primitive forms of early letters have been traced by some to picture writing, and the objects so represented are said to have originated the early names: thus, the ox—“aleph,” used as a symbol, has become letter A; “beth”—a house, has become B; “ghimel”—a camel, has become G, or C, and so on. See [Phonology].
Letti.
Malayan: a dialect of the Serwatty Is., allied to Timorese.
Lettish.
The special language of Livonia and Kurland; it is, like the Lithuanic, a form of, or allied to the Slavonic language. Bielenstein: “Grammatik,” Mitau, 1863. See [Lief].
Lhopa.
Native name for the people of Bhotan or Bútan. Vocaby. in Hunter’s “Comp. Dicty.” See [Bhot].
Liang.
Malayan: dialect of Amboynese. Wallace: “Malay Arch.”
Libyan.
Languages often called by the vague term Berber. These languages must now be reckoned as at least five in number: the Showiah, or Algerine Berber; the Shilha, or Morocco Berber; the Tamashight, or Berber south of Mount Atlas. The last is the purest and most widely extended. Besides these there are two others of very limited extent, that of the town of Ghadames and that of the Benî Menasser. These languages were formerly all one, as Augustine says: “In Africâ barbaras gentes in unâ linguâ plurimas novimus.” Hanoteau has made the very interesting remark that to translate from the Tamashight into Arabic, and reciprocally, though the vocabulary is widely different, is peculiarly easy, yet this proves common cultivation rather than a common origin. In a preface to the 4th appendix to Barth’s fifth volume of “Travels in Africa,” a summary is given by Professor F. W. Newman of the grammatical relations of the three chief languages to one another, but it was written without the advantage of Hanoteau’s Tamashight Grammar. We can now judge pretty accurately how they are all related to Hebrew. F. W. N. See [Hebræo-African].
⁂ Many inscriptions in the ancient written languages remain, some bilingual, Phœnician, and Lybian. H. C.
Lief.
Ugrian: dialect of Fin, spoken in Kurland.
⁂ This name is the root word of Livonia or Lief-land, a Russian government on the Baltic, but the native name for the original population is “Rahwa,” and these forms of speech are separated. The Liefs of Kurland call themselves “Sea-shore men”; the true Kurlanders speak Lithuanic. See [Curish].
Lieflandic.
A dialect of Low-German. See Hüpel: “Livländisches Idiot.,” Riga, 1795.
Liegeoise.
French: Wallon dialect of Liége in Belgium, full of Keltic words. Grammar by Michiels, Liége, 1863.
Lifu.
Negrito: dialect of the Loyalty Is., S. Pacific. See [Uea].
Ligurian.
Ancient dialect of the country round Genoa, classed by some as Keltic, but really not sufficiently known to admit of exact classification. G. R.
⁂ The Ligurians appear to have accompanied the Iberians, and may represent the Kol. H. C.
Likupang.
Malayan: dialect of Celebes.
Limba-Karajia, Limba-pyu.
Dialects of Australia.
Limba-Romanesca.
A name for Wallachian.
Limbos or Limbu.
Tribe of Nipal and Sikim, Trans-Himalaya. Vocaby. in Hunter’s Comp. Dicty. A. C.
⁂ They are also called Ekthoomba, and have an alphabetic character. H. C.
Limestone-Creek.
Dialect of Australia. See King’s Survey, London, 1827.
Limosin.
(1) Romance: dialect of Spanish. See [Catalonian].
(2) Dialect of Provençal. “Dict. du patois du Bas-Limousin,” by Béronie and Vialle.
Lincoln Port, see [Parnkalla].
Lingayit.
Siva-sectaries of India. It is a phallic or Priapean worship.
Lingoa-geral.
American: name for the corrupt Guarani or Tupi, mingled with Portuguese, current in Brazil. “Diccionario,” &c., Bahia, 1854.
Lingua-rustica.
Italic: (1) Provincial or rustic dialect of classical Lingua-Latina-vulgaris. (2) Common dialect of mediæval Italy.
Linonian.
Wendic: a dialect of Slavonic, same as Polabian; formerly vernacular in Luneberg.
Lipan.
American: spoken by tribes of Apache in Texas, classed as Athabascan, and also called Lapanas. See “Jnl. Ethnol. Soc.,” London, 1850.
Lithuanian.
(1) A language classed as Wendic, and closely allied to Lettish. It is the vernacular language of old Lithuania, as now spoken in the Russian governments of Kovno, Wilna Grodno, and in E. Prussia. Kurschat: “Lithauischen Wörterbuch,” Halle, 1870.
(2) Dialects are called Polish-Lithuanian or Samogetic. See Grammar by Staniewicz, Wilna, 1829. Prussian-Lithuanian; Pott: “De Borusso-Lithuanicæ,” Halle, 1837. See [Crivingian].
Lithuanic.
Class name for the Lettic division of the Wendic family of languages.
Liudin-Kiele.
Name for the Chud, Tshud or Vesp. See [Tavastrian].
Livonian.
Wendic: a name for the Lettic of Livonia. Sjoegren: “Livische Grammatik,” St. Petersburg, 1861. See [Lettish].
Loango.
African: dialect of Kongo, classed as Kaffir.
Lobo.
Negrito: dialect of Papuan, vernacular in New Guinea, and closely allied to that of Triton Bay. H. C.
Logone.
African: dialect of Kanuri, classed as Bornu, spoken S. of Lake Tshad.
Logos.
African: sub-dialect of Timmani.
Logudore.
Italian: dialect of Sardinia.
Lohar.
Indic: Mahratta name for the Taremuki.
Lohorong.
Non-Aryan language of India, belonging to the Kiranti group, E. Nipal. Vocaby. in Hunter’s Comp. Dicty.
Lok-tai.
Tribe of Laos in Siam. See Pe-y.
Lolos.
Local dialect of Chinese.
Lombardian.
Romance: provincial dialects of Italian. See [Langobardic].
Lombok.
The island of Lombok or Salaparang, lying to the east of Bali, has a two-fold population; the original inhabitants of the island, called Sasaks, and forming the great majority, and the Balinese, who have conquered it but are greatly in the minority. The language of the Balinese is the same as in Bali; that of the Sasaks does not belong to the Java group, but seems to be nearly allied to that of the adjacent island Sumbawa. P. J. V.
Londo.
African: a dialect of Bantu.
London.
City dialect of English, sometimes called Cockney. “Pegge’s Anecdotes,” by Grose, London, 1818.
Loochooan or Luchu.
Japanese: dialect of the Loo-choo Is., off the E. coast of China.
Looshai.
Indian tribes inhabiting the hills of Cachar and Chittagong, Bengal. A. C.
Lord North’s Is.
“Memoir” by Pickering, Cambridge, 1845.
Loretto, see [Layamon].
Lori or Luri.
Dialect of Kurdish.
Lorraine or Lothringian.
Romance: patois of France. “Essai” by Oberlin, Strasburg, 1775.
Lot.
Sub-dialect of Provençal: patois of the French department of Lot and Garonne.
Lothian.
Dialect of Scotland.
Lothringian, see [Lorraine].
Loucheux, see [Kutshin].
Louisiade.
Malayan: dialects of the Coral Seas. Macgillivray’s “Voyage of the Rattlesnake,” London, 1851.
Lourenzo-marques.
African: dialect of Delagoa Bay.
⁂ There are considerable diversities, showing the survival of other elements. H. C. See [Tekeza].
Low-German, see [Dutch].
Low-Latin.
Name for the corrupted forms of Latin that survived the general use of the classical language of ancient Rome, chiefly used in many countries of Europe for legal, medical, and ecclesiastical purposes, and largely augmented from other languages, thence called Monkish and Dog-Latin. See Ducange’s Glossary by Henschel.
Low-Saxon.
Teutonic: branch of Platt-Deutsch or Low-German.
Loyalty Islands.
Melanesian: dialects are known as Lifu, Mare or Nengone, and Uea, forming a small group E. of New Caledonia. See Wallis’s Is.
Loyes.
Dialect of Annamese.
Lubalo.
African: dialect of Kaffir, allied to Songo and Kasange. H. C.
Lubu.
Malayan: dialect of Sumatra.
Lucerne.
Sub-dialect of High-German, spoken in Switzerland. See Glossary by Häffliger, Lucerne, 1815.
Lughman.
Dialect of Kohistani, spoken in Kabul. Vocaby. in “Jnl. Asiatic Soc. of Bengal,” 1838.
Lugunor.
Polynesian: a dialect of the Carolines.
Luhuppa.
Indo-Chinese: dialect of Burmah, closely allied to Koreng. See “Jnl. Asiatic Soc. of Bengal,” 1837.
Luis, San, Obispo; Luis, San, Rey.
American: Kechi Indians of California, classed as Diegunos.
Luitizian.
Slavonic: a dialect of Polabian, also called Wiltzian, allied to Linonian.
Lule.
American: dialect of the Chaco district, considered to resemble Vilela. Vocaby. by Machoni, Madrid, 1732.
⁂ Spoken on the R. Vermejo, on the drainage of R. de la Plata. The Isiftene, Tokistine, and Oristine are considered to be dialects of Lule, but no specimens are known. See [Tonocote].
Lumbari.
Name for the Gohurs or Benjari of Rajputana and Gujerat.
Lummi.
A dialect of N. America. Vocaby. by Gibbs, N. York, 1863.
Lung-khe.
A dialect of Arrakan.
Luoh, see [Dyur].
Lupaka.
American: a dialect of the Aymara.
Lusatian.
A sub-dialect of Wendish, allied to Livonian and Polabian. It is a name for the Serb, Sorb, or Sorabian dialect of Sclavonic, vernacular in the German province of Lausitz, belonging in part to Prussia and in part to Saxony, and sub-divided into Upper and Lower Sorbian. See [Wendic].
Lusitanian.
Classical name for the language spoken in the country now known as Portugal. G. R.
Lutheran.
Teutonic: a name for modern High-German; it is the Saxon of Meissen or Misnia, an ancient province, now parted by Prussia and Saxony. This dialect represents the old standard of High-German, as popularised by Martin Luther in his magnificent version of the Scriptures. See [Saxon].
Lutuami.
American: spoken at Lake Clamet, or Klamath, on the boundary of Oregon and California; also called Clamets and Tlamatl, and allied to Palaik, Shasti, and Sahaptin. See “Amer. Ethnol.,” vol. ii.
⁂ Gallatin treats this as distinct; it has affinities with the Aino. H. C.
Lybian.
African: same as Libyan. See [Thugga].
Lycaonian.
Ancient dialect of Lycaonia in Asia Minor. See “Disquisition,” by Jablonski, Berlin, 1714: frequently reprinted.
Lycian.
Extinct dialect of Asia Minor, known only by inscriptions. See Fellow’s “Lycia,” London, 1841; “Asiatic Researches,” vol. xii.
⁂ It is Aryan in character, and more like the Zend than any other Aryan form of speech. G. R.
Lydian.
An extinct dialect of Asia Minor, known very imperfectly; classed by some as Semitic (Lassen, Bunsen, Bötticher), by others as Indo-European. G. R.
⁂ Dr. Hyde Clarke classes both Lycian and Lydian as Palæo-Georgian.
ADDENDA.
Lacondona.
American: a language of Verapaz. H. C.
Laktho.
Indo-Chinese: a dialect of Annamitic.
Lamurek.
Malayan: a dialect of Ulea, grouped with the Carolines.
Landoro.
African: a language said to be Mandingo. Vocaby. in “Polyglotta Africana.” H. C.
Leicestershire.
A dialect of England. Glossary by Dr. Evans. W. W. S.
Lekhian.
Slavonic: a name for the old language of Poland. G. R.
Leuvuche.
American: tribe of Puelche, on the boundary of Chili.
Lincolnshire.
A dialect of England. Glossary by Brogden. W. W. S.
Lingua Franca.
Mixed dialect, said to be used in the Levant, but where I never met with it. H. C.
Lingua de Si.
A name for Italian. (“Si” = “yes.”)
Lohitic.
A class name for the languages spoken in the valley of the Lohita or Brahmaputra, east of the peninsula of Hindustan. See Bunsen: “Philosophy of History,” vol. iii., pp. 371-386. G. R.
Lonsdale.
A sub-dialect of Lancashire. See “Glossary of the Hundred of Lonsdale,” by R. B. Peacock (Phil. Soc.), London, 1869. W. W. S.
Lower California.
American: the Fico appear to be the same as the Peco or Pico, who are Yemes, and are classed as Pueblo Indians. Dr. Latham suggests that they are identical with the Ika. Vocaby. by Simpson Washington, 1850.
Luri, see [Lori].