George Ellis’s 130 English Words and Their Equivalents in Caucasian Languages (Evidence from his 18th c. book)

Abstract

In the present paper we describe the lexicographic segment of George Ellisřs book Memoir of a Map of the Countries Comprehended Between the Black Sea and the Caspian; with an Account of the Caucasian Nations, and Vocabularies of Their Languages (1788). The final part of the book provides specimina of Caucasian languages. This lexicographic segment is divided into six tables. The English wordlist consists of 130 items; they are translated into various Caucasian languages (more exactly, languages of the Caucasus). This is the earliest English-Caucasian lexicographic resource