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Saussure, Ferdinand de

(Encyclopedia)Saussure, Ferdinand de fĕrdēnäNˈ də sōsürˈ [key], 1857–1913, Swiss linguist. One of the founders of modern linguistics, he established the structural study of language, emphasizing the arbit...

Esperanto

(Encyclopedia)Esperanto ĕspəränˈtō [key], an artificial language introduced in 1887 and intended by its inventor, Dr. Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof (1859–1917), a Polish oculist and linguist, to ease communication ...

Darius III

(Encyclopedia)Darius III (Darius Codomannus) kŏdəmănˈəs [key], d. 330 b.c., king of ancient Persia (336–330 b.c.). A cousin of Artaxerxes III, he was raised to the throne by the eunuch Bagoas, who had murder...

Pontus, ancient country, Asia

(Encyclopedia)Pontus, ancient country, NE Asia Minor (now Turkey), on the Black Sea coast. On its inland side were Cappadocia and W Armenia. It was not significantly penetrated by Persian or Hellenic civilization. ...

Middlebury College

(Encyclopedia)Middlebury College, at Middlebury, Vt.; coeducational; chartered and opened 1800. It is a small liberal arts college noted for its summer language schools, which pioneered in the development of specia...

speech

(Encyclopedia)speech: see language.

Phoenicia

(Encyclopedia)Phoenicia fĭnēˈshə [key], ancient territory occupied by Phoenicians. The name Phoenicia also appears as Phenice and Phenicia. These people were Canaanites (see Canaan), and in the 9th cent. b.c. t...

Mandarin

(Encyclopedia)Mandarin mănˈdərĭn [key] [Port. mandar=to govern, or from Malay mantri=counselor of state], a high official of imperial China. For each of the nine grades there was a different colored button worn...

Ben Yehudah, Eliezer

(Encyclopedia)Ben Yehudah, Eliezer ĕlĭĕˈzər bĕn yĕho͞oˈdă [key], 1858–1922, Jewish scholar and leader, b. Lithuania. He settled in Palestine as early as 1881, where he dedicated himself to the revival o...

Abu Said ibn Abi al-Khair

(Encyclopedia)Abu Said ibn Abi al-Khair äˈbo͞o säˈĭd ĭˈbən äbēˈ äl-khīrˈ [key], 967–1049, Persian poet, a Sufi and a dervish. He was the first to write rubaiyat (quatrains) in the Sufistic strain t...