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.