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Welsh literature

(Encyclopedia)Welsh literature, literary writings in the Welsh language. In the 20th cent. attempts at language purification, interest in Welsh mythology, and a turning away from earlier Welsh puritanism accompan...

Coeur d'Alene, indigenous people of North America

(Encyclopedia)Coeur d'Alene kûrdəlānˈ [key], indigenous people of North America whose language belongs to the Salishan branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). They oc...

Finnbogadóttir, Vigdís

(Encyclopedia)Finnbogadóttir, Vigdís vĭgˈdēs fĭnˌbōgədôˈtĭr [key], 1930–, Icelandic teacher and politician, president of Iceland (1980–96). She first became a public figure as the director of the Re...

Isleta

(Encyclopedia)Isleta ĭslĕtˈə [key], pueblo, Bernalillo co., central N.Mex., on the east bank of the Rio ...

Gravier, Jacques

(Encyclopedia)Gravier, Jacques zhäk grävyāˈ [key], 1651–1708, French Jesuit missionary to the tribes of the Illinois region. He went to Canada in 1685. He was sent west to the St. Ignace mission at Mackinac i...

Mande

(Encyclopedia)Mande mänˈdā [key], language group, W Africa, including the Malinke, Dyula, Marka, Mende, Bambara, and Soninke subgroups. The Mande-speakers today number about 3 million and live mainly in Senegal,...

Bembo, Pietro

(Encyclopedia)Bembo, Pietro pyāˈtrō bĕmˈbō [key], 1470–1547, Italian humanist, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. A favorite of the Medici, he was secretary to Pope Leo X and was made a cardinal by Paul...

Selwyn, George Augustus

(Encyclopedia)Selwyn, George Augustus sĕlˈwĭn [key], 1809–78, English prelate. In 1841 he was appointed to the colonial diocese of New Zealand, becoming the first Anglican bishop of the island. Having prepared...

Carbonari

(Encyclopedia)Carbonari kärbōnäˈrē [key] [Ital.,=charcoal burners], members of a secret society that flourished in Italy, Spain, and France early in the 19th cent. Possibly derived from Freemasonry, the societ...

Pinyin

(Encyclopedia)Pinyin pĭnˈyĭnˈ [key] [Chin. Hanyu pinyin = Chinese phonetic alphabet], system of romanization of Chinese written characters, approved in 1958 by the government of the People's Republic of Chi...