Maas,seeMosel.
Maba,Mabang,underMobba.
Macahua.
American: dialect of Mexico. See De Nagera: “Doctrina y Ensenança,” &c., Mexico, 1637.
Macaronic.
Species of burlesque or comic speech. See “Lexicon-Macaronicum, &c.,” by Bee, London, 1825. Macaronic verse is semi-polyglot, or full of philological absurdities.
Macassar.
Polynesian, ofMalaycharacter; dialect of S. Celebes, a large island adjoining Borneo. It is written in a peculiar native character.SeeBugis.
Maccabean.
Old Hebrew: name for the numismatic alphabet found on Jewish coins of the Maccabee period, and closely allied to thePhœniciancharacters.
Macedo-Wallachian.
Sub-dialect ofRoumanian; same asKutzo-Wallachian.
Macedonian.
(1) Hellenic: sub-dialect of ancientGreek, allied to theAlexandrian. See Sturz: “De Dialecto Macedonica, &c.,” Leipsig, 1808.
(2) Sub-dialect ofRomaicorNeo-Hellenic, much corrupted byTurkish.
Machakali.
American: dialect ofBotocudo, classed asCamacan, and allied toMaconi.H. C.
Maconi.
American: dialect of Brazil, allied toCamacan. See Vocaby. in “Da Silva’s Dicty.”
⁂ It isBotocudo, and perhaps allied toNatchez.H. C.
Macos.
American: sub-dialect ofSaliva.
Macquarie.
Australian: dialect of Port Macquarie. See King’s “Narrative,” London, 1827.
Macusi,Macoussie.
American: sub-dialect ofCarib, belonging to Guiana, classed by Schomburgk asCaribi-Tamanaque.
Madagasse,seeMalagasy.
Madi,Madia.
Non-Aryandialects of Central India, allied toGondiandGayeti. Vocaby. in Hunter’s “Comp. Dicty.”H. C.
Madjar,seeHungarian.
Madlija.
Javanese: same asMadya.
Madurese.
Javanese: dialect of Madura and of the Madurese colonists in Java, very numerous in the districts east of Surabaya and Kediri. It is mixed up withBalinese,Malay, and other foreign elements, but is written with the Javanese characters; it has two sub-dialects, those of W. Madura and of Sumanap in the E. See Diss. in “Crawfurd’s Malay Grammar.”P. J. V.
Madya.
Javaneseterm for “middle,” hence “basa-madya” for the middle dialect of Java; it comes intermediate between “basa-krama,” or high, and “basa-ngoko,” or low-speech.P. J. V.
Maer.
Polynesian: a dialect ofMiriam, spoken in Darnley Islands.
Mæso-Gothic,underMœ.
Mag-Reading.
American: Indians of California. See Schoolcraft’s “Indian Tribes,” vol. iv. It is allied toCopeh.
Magadhi.
Indic: corruptBengali, some say derived fromPrakrit, spoken in the province of Bahar, S. of the Ganges. It is rather the oldPalidialect of S. India.
Magar.
Dialect of Nipal, spoken by a military tribe; hasThibetanaffinities with admixture ofHindi. Vocaby. in Hunter’s “Comp. Dicty.”A. C.
Magindanao.
Malayan: language of the Philippines, closely allied toBissayan, and spoken in several dialects.
Magyar(Madjaric).
Ugrian: native name for the dominant race of Hungary, classed asFin.
The Ugrians settled in Hungary about 894A.D., and have had a literature since the days of St. Stephen, the “Apostolic King,” aboutA.D.997-1000. ☞
Maha,seeOmaha.
Mahari,Mahri.
Sub-Semitic: dialect ofAmharic, also calledKarawi.SeeHimjarite.
Mahi.
African: a dialect of Dahomey.
Mahikan,seeMohegan.
Mahratti,Marathi,Murathee.
Indic: dialect of an extensive district, spoken chiefly in the Bombay Presidency. It is derived fromSanskrit, but largely compounded withTamil,Teloogoo, and others, and is written in the Devanagari characters. The word “Mahratta” is said to mean “Pariah” or “outcast.” Dicty. by Molesworth and Candy, Bombay, 1857; Grammar by Stevenson, 1868.
Mahren,seeMoravian.
Mahunga.
African: dialect ofAngola, allied toBunda.
Maia,Maija,seeMaya.
Maiha.
African: dialect of Bornu.
Mainas.
American: dialect of Peru, allied toQuichua.
Mainot.
Romaic: local dialect ofNeo-Hellenic, allied toMessenian.
Maiongkong.
American: dialect ofCarib, closely allied toGuinau.
Maipur,seeMaypur.
Mairassis.
Negritic: a sub-dialect ofPapuan.
Maithili,Mithili.
Hindi: dialect of Tirhoot, district of Bahar.SeeTirhai.
Makoby.
American: Indians of the Gran Chaco; allied toAbiponian.
Makololo.
African: a sub-dialect ofKaffir.
Makua,Makoa.
African: dialect ofKaffir, belonging to the Mozambique; also calledMonjuandMuntu.H. C.
Malabari.
Dravidian: the same language asMalayalim; but there are local variations. See Vocaby. in Hunter’s “Comp. Dicty.”
Malagasy.
The native language of Madagascar, a large island off the S.E. coast of Africa; it is aPolynesiancompound, comprising elements from theBali,Javanese,Nias, andToba; the language and people are calledMalagash; the native term for the island is Nosindambo, “wild-boar island.” The Hovas are the dominant race. See early Catechism, 1658; Flacourt’s “Dicty.,” 1658; works by Freeman and Ellis; Introduction by Kessler, London, 1870; Grammar by Van der Tuuk.
⁂ The history of the Hovas is still very obscure, but Mr. Van der Tuuk has sufficiently proved that their language is a peculiar branch ofMalayan, showing affinities toJavanese,Batak,Dayak, &c.P. J. V.
Malali.
American: a dialect of Botocudo classed asCamacan, and allied toMaconi. See Vocaby. in Da Silva’s “Dicty.”H. C.
Malay.
(1)High-Malay: typical Polynesian; language of the peninsula of Malacca. See “Grammar and Dicty.” of Crawfurd, London, 1852; by Marsden, London, 1812; by Pynappel, by Hollander, Breda, 1864.
(2)BatavianorLow-Malay. See “Handleiding,” by Homan and Van der Tuuk. Zalt-Bommel, 1868.
⁂ Low-Malay is merely corrupt Malay, as introduced by Europeans. The best vocabulary is by Badings, Dutch-Malay and Malay-Dutch, Schoonhoven, 1872. Batavian-Malay is a dialect ofSundanese, with an admixture ofBalineseand other foreign words.P. J. V.
(3) Dialects are known asAmboynese Malay,Menang Kabaw, orSumatran Malay,Achineseand other Polynesian forms.
⁂ All languages spoken in the Indian or Malay Archipelago [except those of the Galela group], and not directly Papuan, are called “Malay languages,” and considered to belong to the one great Malayan family.
More particularly Malay is the language of a nation spread over a great part of Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, Singapore, and the archipelago of Rhio-Lingga, and which has founded many colonies on the coasts of Borneo and the eastern islands of the Indian Archipelago. Besides the common or so-called cosmopolitan Malay, it is spoken in a peculiar dialect, called the Menangkabau Malay, in the interior of Sumatra.
Malay in a very corrupt form, disfigured by ignorance of the character of the language, and the arbitrary intermixture of foreign words, has become the ordinary means of intercourse between Europeans and the natives of the Indian Archipelago. This is called Low-Malay, and differs in almost every locality.
Malay is written with the Arabic character. Through the contact with Europeans the use of the Roman alphabet is gaining ground.
The affinities of Achinese are still very obscure, and we have no vocabulary of the native language except that in Marsden’s miscellaneous works; therefore Mr. Crawfurd errs when he calls Achinese (p. lix.) “a cultivated and written language,” for the literary language of the Achinese is genuine Malay.P. J. V.
Malayalim,Malayalma.
Dravidian: vernacular speech of Malabar, and other provinces of the Madras presidency; it is closely allied toTamul, using an alphabet of somewhat similar character. It has stages; anct. and mod. Grammar by Peet, Cottayam, 1860; School Dicty., Mangalore, 1870.
Malayan.
Class name for all dialects of theMalayfamily.
Malayo-Polynesian.
Crawfurd’s term.SeeMalagasy.
Maldivian.
Dravidian; mixed dialect of the Maldives, a chain of coral islands off the coast of Malabar, B. India. Vocaby. in Jnl. Asiat. Socy. of Bengal, 1841.
⁂ This is a spoken and written language with some resemblance to theAgawgroup.H. C.
Mallicollo.
Negritic:Papuandialect of New Hebrides.
Malo.
(1) Sub-dialect ofUriya, spoken by highland tribes of Orissa, B. India.
(2) Sub-dialect ofDayak, Borneo.
Maltese.
Mixed dialect of Malta; it is ofSemiticorigin, closely allied toArabic, but much infused withItalian. Dicty. by Vella: Maltese, Italian, and English, Livorno [Leghorn], 1853.
Mamalla.
Malayan: dialect of N.W. Amboyna.
MameorMam.
American: dialect of theMayaclass: same asPoko-mam; allied toKachiquel, and spoken in Guatemala. “Arte, &c.,” by Larios; Mexico, 1697.
Mami.
Negritic: sub-dialect ofPapuan. It has some affinities withFormosan,Mangarei, andGuebe.H. C.
Mana.
African: class name forMandingo, including theKrugroup; its area extends as far inland as the Niger and as far south as the Ashantee frontier; the Mandingo of Senegambia is the most N. Eastern of theManaclass. See Kölle’s “Polyglotta Africana.”R. G. L.
Manatoto.
Dialect ofPolynesianwithAustralianaffinities. Dissertation, Crawfurd’s “Malay Gr.”
Manchu,underMantshu.
Mandahar,seeMandhar.
Mandailing.
Batta: dialects of Angkola and Mandailing in So. Sumatra.P. J. V.
Mandan.
American: dialect ofSioux; Schoolcraft’s “Indian Tribes,” vol. iii., p. 446.
Mandara.
African: dialect of Lake Tschad. Denham’s “Vocaby. of Central Africa,” collected from between 10° and 9° N.L.
Mandarantshi.
African: assigned by Barth toHamarua.
Mandarin.
Chinese: the most refined dialect, also calledKuan-Hoa; used in classical literature, at Court, and in commerce. Dicty. by Perny, “Fr., Lat., Ch. (Mandarine),” Paris, 1869; Grammar by Edkins, 1864.
Mande.
ANegrospeech; Treatise by Steinthal, Berlin, 1867.
Mandhar.
District of Celebese or Macassar; the language is allied toBugis. It is little known, but has a large admixture ofMalayandJavanese.P. J. V.SeeMenado.
Mandingo.
African: class name for several languages of the W., much influenced byArabic; it is more especially the native dialect of Senegambia. Grammar and Dicty. by Macbrair, London, 1837.SeeMana.
Mandongo.
African: dialect ofKaffir.
Mandschu,underMantshu.
Mandurese,seeMadurese.
Mang.
Dravidian; a local dialect ofTamulspoken in the Mahratta territory.
Mangala.
Singalese: dialect ofKandy.
Mangarei(Mangureo).
Polynesian: dialect ofFloresorMangeyle, withAustralianaffinities. It is spoken on the W. coast; the people are subject to the Sultan of Bima.
Mangaseia.
Ugrian: dialect ofSamoied, closely allied toTungus. Small vocabulary in Latham’s “Elements,” p. 77.
Mangeea.
Polynesian: dialect of the Friendly Is., situated 158° 16′ W. long.; 21° 27′ S. lat.
Mangkasar.
Proper spelling ofMacassar. This Malayan language is spoken in the S. peninsula, viz., in the capital of Celebes and its environs; in Tallo, Gowa, Saurabone, Takalar, Turuteya, Bouthain, and part of Bulecomba. It is nearly allied toBugis, which is spoken in Maros, Pangkajene, Segéri, Tanette, Barru, the Aja Tapparang, the remaining part of Bulecomba, Boui, Soppeng, Waju, and Luwu.
⁂ The grammatical structure and syntax are alike in Bugis and Mangkasar, though the difference of words is considerable, and the alphabet is the same in the main, with slight modifications, but not sufficient to justify the assertion of Mr. Wallace (“Malay. Archip.,” vol. ii., p. 472) that Bugis is written in a native character distinct from that of Macassar. There still exist some ancient MSS., written in an older alphabet, now quite obsolete. See “Makassaarche Spraak-Kunst,” by Matthes, Amsterdam, 1858; “Woordenbock,” 1859: “Chrestomathie,” 1860.P. J. V.
Mangri.
African: spoken S. of the Gambia.
Manikolo,seeMallicollo.
Manipoora,seeMunipoori.
ManksorManx.
Keltic: theGaelicorGadhelicof the I. of Man. It is a written language, and is closely allied to theErseand theGaelicof Scotland. Dicty. by Cregan, Douglas, 1835.
Manoa.
American: dialect of the Rio Negro, allied toBarree.
Manona,Manono.
Polynesian: dialects of the Navigator’s Is., S. Pacific. It is the same asSamoan.W. G.
Mansurmur.
Bhotya; sub-dialect ofThibetan.
Mantawai,Mantawei.
Malayan: language of Mantawai and Pagai or Poggy, islands to W. of Sumatra.P. J. V.
Mantshu,Manchu.
Moghol: typical language ofTuranian, vernacular with the Mantshu Tatars, now the reigning dynasty of China, but originally from the R. Amur, Chinese Tartary. The characters are written in vertical columns and read from left to right. Vocaby. by Gabelentz, Leipsig, 1864; “Sketch” by Castrén, St. Petersburg, 1856.
Mantuan.
Sub-dialect ofItalian; Vocaby. by Cherubini, Milan, 1827.
Manua.
Polynesian: it is theSamoanwith a few words of the E. Islands.W. G.
Manyak.
Bhotya: tribe of E. Nipal. Vocaby. in Hunter’s “Comp. Dicty.”
Manyunya,seeSandeh.
Maori.
Polynesian: native name of the New Zealanders, closely allied toKanakaandTahitian. The word “Maori,” pronounced “Mowry,” means “natural,” “native,” “indigenous.” “Dictionary and Grammar,” by Williams. London, 1852.
Maplu.
Dialect ofPeguese, classed asKaren.
Mapoje.
American: dialect ofSaliva, in New Granada; same asQuaquas.
Maqua.
American: same asMohawk; extinct language of theIroquoisfamily; closely allied toOnondaga. The name was applied by the Dutch. See vocabulary in “Bulletin Hist. Soc. of Pennsylvania,” 1848.SeeMingo.
Mara.
Dialect ofAdali.
Maradiços.
American: Spanish name forShoshones.
Maraha.
OlderDravidian: dialect of Nipal.
Maram.
Indo-Chinese: dialect of the Nagas or Kookies. See “Jnl. Asiatic S. of Bengal,” 1837.
Maramomisios.
American: Indians of Brazil. See Pinelo’s “Epitome, &c.,” Madrid, 1737-8.
Marathi,seeMahratti.
Marauha,seeMaroa.
Maravi.
African: dialect of N.E. Kaffir, spoken on the Mozambique coast. Vocaby. in Kölle’s “Polyglot.”H. C.
Mare.
Negritic: dialect ofPapuan, spoken in the Loyalty Islands.SeeNengone.
Margantshi.
African: assigned by Barth to theHamarua.
Marianne.
Polynesian: dialect of the Ladrone Islands.
Mariate.
American: spoken near the junction of the Iça with the Amazons, and allied toBarreeandManoa. See Von Martius, vol. ii., p. 266.
Maring.
Indo-Chinese: dialect of the Nagas.
Markish.
Teutonic: sub-dialect ofLow-German. Vocaby. in “Weddigen’s Magazine,” Lemgo, 1790.
Maroa,Marauha.
American: dialect ofBaniwaorCarib. Vocaby. by Wallace.H. C.
Marocco,seeMorocco.
Maronite.
(1) Semitic: sub-dialect ofArabic. Grammar by Sionita, Paris, 1616.
(2) An alphabetic character ofSyriac.
Maros.
(1)Malayan: district of Nias, a small island near Sumatra.
(2)Bugis: district of Celebes.
Marquees(Lourenzo),seeTekeza.
Marquesan.
Polynesian: a dialect of Eastern Polynesia, closely allied toTahitian, vernacular in the Marquesas Islands, S. Pacific, situated in 7°-10° S. Lat., 139°-141° W. Lon. De Gembloux, “Idiomologie des îles Marquises,” Bourges, 1843.W. G. L.
Marrane,Marron.
French: people of Moorish extraction; “a renegade.”
Maru.
Japanese: hard accent on consonants.
Maruvi,Maruwi.
Malayan: language of the Banyak islands, and of Si-Malu, W. Sumatra; it is said to bear great affinity to theBattaandNias.P. J. V.
Marwari.
Hindi: dialect of Joudpoor or Jodpur in Rajpootana.
Masacara.
American: dialect ofGesspoken in Brasil. Von Martius, vol. ii., p. 144.
MasayaorMasya.
American: dialect ofNicaragua, but allied to theSioux.H. C.
Masoretic.
Hebrew: “Masora,”i.e.“traditional”; applied to the received Jewish version of the O. T. It owes its value to the system of points introduced to supply the want of vowels.
Massachusett.
American: extinct dialect ofAlgonkin. Vocaby.: “Amer. Ethnol.,” vol. ii., p. 110.
⁂ The name carries with it its own geographical position. The town of Boston, U.S., now stands on the land of the Massachusett Indians. I find thatNatikorNadickis rather a synonym forMassachusettsthan the name of a separate form of speech, whether language or dialect; on the coast, the name changed, and the language also, which isNarraganset. The two forms are closely allied, butMassachusettsmeans the parts about Boston,Narragansetthe language of Connecticut and Rhode Island. The greatest work in any American language is, undoubtedly, the translation of the Bible by Eliot; but no one knows whether the language is to be calledNatickorMassachusett. Eliot also wrote a Grammar, datedA.D.1666; the author merely calls itIndian; reprinted at Boston in 1832.R. G. L.
Massaratty.
Malayan: dialect ofBooroo, closely allied toCajeli. See Wallace: “Malay Archip.”
⁂ The language of Booroo is a dialect of the MoluccanAlfuru.P. J. V.
Massied.
Dialect of Australian, allied toGudung.
Massina.
African: dialect of theFulah.
Massit.
American: Indians of Q. Charlotte’s Is.
Masuric.
Slavonian: sub-dialect ofPOLISH.
Matabello.
Negritic: sub-dialect ofPapuan. Wallace: Appx. (Malay Archip.).
⁂ According to the best authorities it should be writtenWatubello.P. J. V.
Matabili.
African: sub-dialect ofBechuana.
Mataguaya.
American: dialect of the district of Gran Chaco, classed asPatagonian, and related to theAbiponian.H. C.
Matara.
American: Indians of Paraguay, closely allied toVilela.
Matheo, San.
Negritic: dialect of the Philippines.
Matlazinga.
American: Archaic dialect of Mexico. See Pinelo’s “Epitome,” Madrid, 1737-8.
Maturnantshi.
African: assigned by Barth to theHAMARUA.
Mau.
Polynesian: dialect ofMaori, vernacular in the New Hebrides.
Mauhe,seeUainambeu.
Maukor(Maikor).
Negritic: dialect ofPapuan, belonging to the Aroo Islands.
Maurish,seeMoorish.
Mawakwa.
American: dialect ofCaribspoken in Guiana, most closely allied toSoerikong.
Mawi,seeMaori.
MayaorMayan.
American: Class name for many languages of Central America, especially those of Yucatan and Guatemala. In the former it rules exclusively; in the latter it is a closely allied form of speech. ThePoconchi(with the exception of certain rude dialects belonging to the same class) is the representative language. TheKachiquelis a third language of equal importance. In Vera Cruz, for the parts about Tampico, an allied language, theHuasteca, separated from its congeners, is (or was) the original vernacular. Grammatical sketches, “artes,” as they are called by early missionaries are as early and fully as numerous for the Maya languages and dialects as for any in America, dating from the seventeenth century. A short but valuable work by Squier is the chief authority for them. “States of Central America,” by T. G. Squier, N. York, 1858; “Etudes,” by Brassier De Bourbourg, Paris, 1869-70; “Silabario,” by Ruz, Merida, 1845; “Phonetic Alphabet,” described by Brinton.R. G. L.SeeVey.
Mayorga.
Polynesian: dialect of the Friendly Islands.
Mayoruna.
American: Indians of the Rio Yavari, in the province of Rio Negro, Brasil.
⁂ This language has affinities with theSuntaha Sowlanguages of Borneo, and belongs to thePygmeanorMincopieclass of Colebrook.H. C.
Maypur.
American: dialect of theOrinoco, closely allied toMoxos, also toBaniwa,Coretu,Saravica, &c.H. C.☞
Mazenderan.
Sub-dialect ofPersian, spoken on the S. shores of the Caspian. Klaproth: “Beschreibung,” Berlin, 1814.
Mbamba.
African: dialect of the Gaboon. It is allied toKanyoka,Musentando,Netere, &c.H. C.
Mbaya.
American: same asGuaykuru. They are calledCavallerosby the Spaniards; Paraguay Indians of Cujaba, and allied toMbokobi.H. C.
Mbofia.
African: dialect of Brass-town, allied toAbo,Isoama, andIsioli.H. C.
Mbokobi.
American: dialect of the district of Gran Chaco, classed withAbiponianandToba,MataguayaandMbaya.
Mech.
Trans-Himalayan: language of the Meches, a lowland tribe of the Terai, at base of Himalaya in Nipal, noted for enjoying immunity from malarious fever. No written character. “Jnl. A. S. of Bengal,” 1840.A. C.SeeDhimal.
Mech-chaooh.
American: same asMohegan.SeeMeko.
Mecklenburg.
Teutonic: sub-dialect ofLow-German. Grammar by Ritter, Rostock, 1832.
Meckley,seeMoitay.
Median.
Properly the language of the ancient Medes, a people of the high country between Mesopotamia and the Persian desert, only known through names and a few words, which show it to have beenAryan, and closely allied to ancientPersian. The term “Median” was at one time applied to the language of the third column of Achæmenian cuneiform inscriptions, but it is now admitted that this was a misnomer. On the real Median language, see Rawlinson: “Ancient Monarchies,” Media, vol. iii., pp. 137-156.G. R.
Medo-Persian.
Class name for the branch ofAryanspeech, with slight differences, common to the ancient Medes and Persians.G. R.
Medo-Scythian.
Dr. Hincks’ name for the language of Scythic tribes dwelling in Media and Persia, known to us by a peculiar form of inscriptions in cuneiform.
⁂ The best account of the language, which is decidedlyTuranian, will be found in Norris’s “Scythic Inscriptions of Behistun,” “Jnl. of R. As. Soc.,” vol. xv.G. R.
Mefur.
Negritic: dialect ofPapuan, vernacular in New Guinea.
Meherrin.
American: name for the Tuteloes.
Meistersangeren,seeMinnesingers.
Meko.
American: old race of Mexico, prior to the Nahuatl. Same asCici-mech.
Mekri.
Dialect ofKurdish.
Melanesian.
Same asKelenonesian; it represents the S.W. Islands of the Pacific, consisting of the Loyalty group, Bank’s Santa Cruz, the Solomon Archipelago extending W. by N., to include New Guinea.
Mellele.
Class ofGipsey.
Melon.
African: allied toNhotenandNhalemoe.H. C.
Memphitic.
Egyptian: an extinct dialect ofCoptic; it was spoken over the district about Memphis, and represented the language of middle rather than upper or lower Egypt.R. G. L.
MenadoorMenadu.
A large class of dialects spoken in Celebes or Macassar, classed asAlfuru, and somewhat allied toBugis. (Wallace.)SeeMinahassa.
Menak.
Javanese: in theSundanesedialect “Ménak” means “a noble, one of high birth;” hence high-Sundanese is calledBasa-Menak.P. J. V.
Menangkabaw.
Malayan: dialect of the Dutch residency in the highlands of Padang, Sumatra, which was anciently an independent monarchy calledMenang Kabaw. It differs considerably from ordinary Malay. Vocabulary, &c., edited by Pynappel (Dialogues: Menangkabaw and Malay).P. J. V.
Menasser(Beni).
Language of theBeni Menasser, a branch of theBerber. SeeLibyan. Baron de Slane first published the pronouns of this language, which differ so much from the other Libyan languages that it must be unintelligible to those who know only the others; yet it is small and unimportant. H. Duveyrier (1857) places the tribes near to the Hhallûla Lake, and says that they have adopted Arab manners, an Arabic name, and an immensity of the Arabic language. He gives an extremely limited vocabulary. He thinks that it and the dialect called that of the Benî Mezâb, is a branch of theZenatiadialect, and is connected with that spoken in the oasis of Touât. But the last is supposed to beTamashight.F. W. N.
Mende,seeTschur.
Mendi.
African: quoted from “Outline of a Vocabulary,” London, 1841.
Menemoni,seeMenomeni.
Menero-downs.
Dialect ofAustralian. Vocaby. “Jnl. R. Geog. Soc.,” 1839.
Mengwe,seeMaqua.
Menieng.
American: dialect of Brazil, mixed withNegro-Portuguese, and sometimes called S. AmericanJargon.SeeKamakan.
Menomeni.
American: dialect ofAlgonkinspoken to the S. of L. Superior. “Amer. Ethnol,” vol. ii., p. 113; Schoolcraft’s “Indian Tribes,” vol. ii., p. 470.
Menyamnyam,seeSandeh.
Mequachake.
American: tribe of Shawnees.
Meri.
Sub-dialect ofDyakin Borneo.
Merusy.
Persic: sub-dialect of Khorassan.
Meshtsheriak.
Turkee: tribes of Ugrians speaking Turkish.
Meso-Gothic,underMœ.
Messenian.
Hellenic: a provincial dialect of ModernGreek.
Messissaugi.
American:Algonkintribes S. of Lake Superior and N.E. of the Huron.
Mestizo.
Ethnological: issue of whites and native Americans. In Spanish the word “Mestizo” means “a mongrel.”
Metz,Meurthe,Meuse.
Romance: sub-dialects ofFrench. (1) Vocaby. by François, Metz, 1773; (2) Vocaby., “Fr. Socy. Antiq.,” vol. ix.; (3) “Dissertation” by Cordier, Bar-le-Duc, 1843.
Mewara.
Same asRhatore, sub-dialect ofBowri.
Mexican.
It is of some importance to remember thatMexicanis not a philological but a geographical term, and that the indigenous name of the occupants of the parts about the present city of Mexico was Nahuatl, akin to whom were the Tlaskala. The Asteks were conquerors and intruders—the Chetimacha probably the same. This is important when we remember that the three names, Nahuatl, Huasteca, and Tlaskala are to be found in three different districts far away from Mexico. At presentMexicanandAstekare nearly synonymous; just like Quichua and Peruvian. See “Dialogues,” by Arenas, Paris, 1862; Glossary by Biondelli, Milan, 1869; “Cuadro Descriptivo,” by Pimentel, 1862-5. For Picture Character, see Humboldt’s “Atlas Pittoresque.”R. G. L.SeeAztec.
Mfut.
African: language of the Gaboon, closely allied toAfudu.
Miami.
American: tribes ofAlgonkin, W. of the Mississippi. Vocaby. in Schoolcraft’s “Indian Tribes,” vol. ii.
Miaos,Miau.
Sub-dialect ofChinese;Miautszemeans “children of the soil,”i.e., Aborigines. Vocaby. by Edkins, Foochow.
Mic-mac.
American:Frenchname for the native Indians of Nova Scotia, &c.
⁂ (1) As a special name it means theAlgonkinof New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, and Prince Edward’s Island. The still more special name for the present dialect isMiramichi.
(2) As a class name it may conveniently be made to include (i.) on the North the Skoffi and Sheshatapoosh of Labrador; (ii.) theMic-macproper of the South; (iii.) the New England forms of speech, as theAbenaki,Penobscot, andEtchemin, whence we derived the present name for the State of Mayne. It corresponds thus with theAcadianandGaspesianof the French, including the French denominations Souriquois, Montagnard, and others. Grammar by Maillard, New York, 1864.R. G. L.
Micronesian.
Lesser-Polynesian: class of oceanic dialects in the lesser islands of the Pacific.
Middle-High-German.
Teutonic: period of language from 12th century until Luther. Dicty. by Benecke, Leipsig, 1854-60.
Middlesex.
Local dialect ofEnglish; sometimes called Language of the Metropolis, sometimesCockney.SeeLondon.
Mien-ting.
Local dialect ofChinese.
Miguel, St.
Negrito: a dialect of the Philippines.
Miguel, San.
American: dialect of Californian Mission, allied toSan Antonio, and classed asDiegunos.
Miktlantongo.
American: same asMitlantongo.
Milanese.
Italic: sub-dialect of Milan. Vocaby. by Cherubini, Milano, 1814; by Cappeletti, Milano, 1848.
Milchan.
Indo-Chinese: vernacular dialect of Rampoor, B. India.
Milcocayac.
American: dialect of the Guarpes, Indians of Chili, almost identical withAlleutiac.
Milicite.
American: Indians of New Brunswick, usingIroquoisnumerals.
Millanow.
Sub-dialect ofDyakin Borneo.
Mille.
Polynesian: dialect of the Ladrones or Marianne Islands.
Mincopie.
Dialect of the Andaman Islands.
⁂ In the Great Andaman island of the Indian Seas at least two distinct languages are known, viz., that of Colebrooke’s Vocabulary, and that of Tickell’s. These people are Negritos of small stature and with glossy skins. Their affinities are with those of the short races in other parts of the world, and they have probably the most ancient languages yet known. See “Asiatic Researches,” vol. iv., p. 393; x., 218. H. C.SeePygmean.
Mindanao,seeMagindanao.
Minetari.
American: dialect ofSioux, N. division, called “Grosventre,”i.e.“big-bellies,”Ehatsar; other dialects areAlasar, or Fall-Indians, andKattanahaws. Ludewig, London, 1858, p. 119.
⁂ Dr. Latham objects to the word “Alasar.” According to that great authority it is a misnomer, arising from some confusion between the words “Ahnenin” and “Atsina.” The former are classed by Gallatin asArrapahoes. See “Amer. Ethnol.,” vol. ii., where the same vocabulary is printed asAtsina. We have no original authority for the word “Alasar,” but it appears in Jülg’s “Vater,” p. 253. See Trübner’s “Ludewig,” p. 12; also Latham’s “Elements,” p. 457, where it is shown that there are two different tribes called Fall-Indians, oneAlgonkinand oneSioux.
Mingo.
American: tribes of Iroquois, now extinct. Sometimes calledMaqua,Mengwe.
Mingrelian.
Caucasian: sub-dialect ofGeorgian, closely allied toLazic. Klaproth: “Jnl. Asiatique,” 1829.
Minnesingers.
Early minstrels of Germany, using theSwabianand other dialects. See “Manessische Handschrift,” by Vander Hagen, 1838; “Die Deutschen Minnesänger,” 4 vols. 4to. TheMeistersangersare of a later date.
Minsi.
American: classed asAlgonkin. Also calledMinistiorMunseyi, meaning “Wolf-tribe.”
⁂ A tribe of the Lenni-Lenape or Delaware Indians; of the others, the Unalachtgo speak a similar dialect, but the Unami is different.
Miramichi.
American:Mic-macof New Brunswick.
Miranha.
American: dialect of the U. Japura, allied toBarree. See Vocaby. in Von Martius, vol. ii., p. 279.
Mirbat.
Extinct dialect ofArabic.
Mirdites.
A local dialect ofSkipetar, spoken in a political division of Albania.