Customer Reviews

A Dictionary Of The Osage Language

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This dictionary was compiled by the Omaha Francis LaFlesche, a BAE ethnographer and student of Osage ritual texts. It was published postumously. The orthography is influenced by Omaha-Ponca phonetics (b d ds g bth gth for p t ts k br l, i ~ u ~ iu for u, etc.) and by LaFlesche's Omaha orthography, which uses c-cedilla for s and z (theta in LaFlesche's Omaha dialect), x for the voiced and voiceless velar fricatives, o<raised n> for all back nasal vowels, etc. In addition, the verb paradigms are mostly after the Omaha-Ponca pattern, which is especially noticeable with th-stems. The definitions are written in an elevated style with old-fashioned usages that sometimes confuse modern readers. There are some typographical errors, and verb paradigms are sometimes mixed. However, the headwords, if adjusted in spelling, are good, somewhat archaic Osage, and overall this work is an impressive feat of scholarship. Check both the Osage and English sides, as they are not always equivalent. An essential reference on Osage (and Omaha-Ponca!), and one of the best dictionaries of a Siouan language, praise in no way muted by there being so few!

This book was in mint condition and it arrived in a very timely fashion. I was very pleased. I would definitely recommend this book to others and would recommend ordering through Amazon.
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