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3 unusual facts about Karl Lentzner


Karl Lentzner

Karl Lentzner (1842–1905) was a German-born linguist who published works pertaining to Australian English vocabulary in the late 19th century.

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This is the first dictionary of colonial Australian, with slang, words introduced from Aboriginal languages and pidgin.

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Lentzner seems to have spent some years in New South Wales in the 1870s (he taught languages at Sydney Grammar and Kings School and mentions coming across "Yokahama-Pidgin" as spoken by Japanese naval officers in Sydney in 1877) which gives the Australian portions some claim to originality and importance; for the rest he relies heavily on other authorities.



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