Somali is one of the Cushitic family of languages spoken in the horn of Africa and the official language of Somalia. This practical grammar, published in 1905, was prepared by J. W. C. Kirk, who first learnt to speak the language during his service with Somali troops during the British Empire's failed attempt in 1902–1904 to wrest control of the region from the Dervish state under Muhammad Ab…
Marathi, an official language of Maharashtra and Goa, is among the twenty most widely spoken languages in the world. The southernmost Indo-Aryan language, it is also spoken in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and Daman and Diu, and is believed to be over 1,300 years old, with its origins in Sanskrit. First published in 1805, this grammar of Marathi (then known as Mahratta) was compiled by th…
Professor Lee provides a social and cultural history of the Cyreans, the mercenaries of Xenophon's Anabasis. While they have often been portrayed as a single abstract political community, this book reveals that life in the army was mostly shaped by a set of smaller social communities: the formal unit organisation of the lochos ('company'), and the informal comradeship of the suskenia ('mess gro…
The Civil War stands vivid in the collective memory of the American public. There has always been a profound interest in the subject, and specifically the participation of black Americans in and reactions to the war and the war's outcome. Almost 200,000 African-American soldiers fought for the Union in the Civil War. Although most were illiterate ex-slaves, several thousand were well-educated, …
The Indo-Aryan language of Sanskrit is the primary language of Hinduism and also a scholarly language of Buddhism. Dating back to the second millennium BCE, it is considered to be the parent of most modern languages of India, and remains central to work in Indo-European studies, philology and linguistics today. First published in 1806, this is a comprehensive grammar of Sanskrit, compiled by th…
John Thompson (c.1866–1936) was Classics master and headmaster (1908–27) at the prestigious High School, Dublin. A competent linguist, he translated from German, produced a Latin primer, and wrote a Sanskrit course, though he opposed the teaching of Irish. He became a Member of the Royal Irish Academy (1912), President of the Classical Association (1918) and was appointed Officier d'Académ…
Pa?ini’s grammar is the oldest surviving grammar of Sanskrit, dating back to the fifth century BCE. In its completeness of coverage of linguistic elements and its theoretical and analytical sophistication, Pa?ini’s grammar is surprisingly modern. It has long provided inspiration for many ideas in modern linguistics, and continues to attract scholars’ attention in the fields of Sanskrit an…
How can you make decisions about Aboriginal people when you can’t even talk to the people you’ve got here that are blackfellas?’ So ‘Sarah’, a senior Aboriginal public servant, imagines a conversation with the Northern Territory Public Service. Her question suggests tensions for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who have accepted the long-standing invitation to join the ranks of …
The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries witnessed a revolution in the eating habits of European households with disposable incomes. Central to the culinary history of the period is the innovative French chef Georges Auguste Escoffier (1846–1935). His cooking methods, combined with a modern approach to managing professional kitchen staff, contributed to the development of a fashionab…
Marathi, an official language of Maharashtra and Goa, is among the twenty most widely spoken languages in the world. The southernmost Indo-Aryan language, it is also spoken in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and Daman and Diu, and is believed to be over 1,300 years old, with its origins in Sanskrit. First published in 1805, this grammar of Marathi (then known as Mahratta) was compiled by th…