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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.

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

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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