science

Intercontinental Dictionary Series

Intercontinental Dictionary Series is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Intercontinental Dictionary Series rather than just read about it. In short: The Intercontinental Dictionary Series (commonly abbreviated as IDS) is a large database of topical vocabulary lists in various world languages. The general editor of the database is Bernard Comrie of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig.

Key takeaways

Intercontinental Dictionary Series belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Intercontinental Dictionary Series to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Intercontinental Dictionary Series from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Intercontinental Dictionary Series (commonly abbreviated as IDS) is a large database of topical vocabulary lists in various world languages. The general editor of the database is Bernard Comrie of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig. Mary Ritchie Key of the University of California, Irvine is the founding editor. The database has an especially large selection of indigenous South American languages and Northeast Caucasian languages. The Intercontinental Dictionary Series' advanced browsing function allows users to make custom tables which compare languages in side-by-side columns. Below are the languages that are currently included in the Intercontinental Dictionary Series. The languages are grouped by language families, some of which are still hypothetical. It is part of the Cross-Linguistic Linked Data project hosted by the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.

Amerindian

North America Tlingit Haida Tsimshian Wakashan Nootka Salishan Bella Coola Chehalis Hokan? Karok Seri Zuni Nahuatl (Sierra de Zacapoaxtla, Puebla) Chatino, Zacatepec

Northern South America Chocoan Emberá Embera – Colombia Epena – Colombia Chibchan Muisca – Colombia Barí – Colombia / Venezuela Cofán – Colombia / Ecuador Barbacoan Cayapa (Cha'palaachi) – Ecuador Colorado (Tsafiki) – Ecuador Páez – Colombia Yanomaman Yanomami Ninam Yaruro – Venezuela Tucanoan Siona – Ecuador Tuyuca – Colombia / Brazil Jivaroan Aguaruna – Peru / Ecuador Waorani (Huaorani) – Ecuador

Amazonia Arawakan Goajiro (Wayuu) – Colombia Wapishana – Guyana / Brazil Yavitero – Venezuela (extinct) Mashco Piro (Yine) – Peru / Brazil Waurá – Brazil Baure – Bolivia Moxos – Bolivia Ignaciano – Bolivia Trinitario – Bolivia Macro-Gê Karajá Gê Kaingáng Canela Tupian Tupinambá – Brazil Guaraní – Paraguay Chiriguano – Bolivia Aché – Paraguay Mundurukú – Brazil Sirionó – Bolivia Wayampi – French Guiana Cariban Carib (De'kwana) Panare – Venezuela Macushi – Brazil / Guyana Wai Wai – Brazil / Guyana Panoan Cashibo – Peru Shipibo-Conibo – Peru Yaminahua – Peru Chácobo – Bolivia Pacahuara – Bolivia Tacanan Ese Ejja (Huarayo) – Peru / Bolivia Tacana – Bolivia Cavineña – Bolivia Araona – Bolivia Catuquina – Acre, Brazil Puinavean (Nadahup/Makú) Hup – Brazil / Colombia Yuwana (Hodï)? – Venezuela Peba-Yaguan Yagua – Brazil Chapacuran Pacaas Novos – Brazil Uru-Chipaya Chipaya – Bolivia Trumai – Brazil Aymara Cayuvava – Bolivia (extinct) Itonama – Bolivia Movima – Bolivia

Southern South America Guaicuruan Pilagá – Argentina Toba – Argentina / Paraguay Mocoví – Argentina Matacoan Chorote – Argentina Maká – Paraguay Nivaclé – Paraguay Wichi – Argentina Zamucoan Ayoreo – Paraguay / Bolivia Mascoian Sanapaná – Paraguay Moseten Mosetén (Tsimané) – Bolivia Chon Selkʼnam (Ona) Tehuelche Qawasqar Puelche (Gününa Küne) – Argentina Pampas Kunza – Chile (extinct) Mapudungun – Chile / Argentina Yagán (Yaghan)

Northeast Caucasian Northeast Caucasian Nakh Chechen Avar–Andic Avar Andi Botlikh Chamalal Ghodoberi Bagvalin (Bagvalal) Tindi Karata Akhvakh Tsezic Tsez Hinukh Bezhta Hunzib Khvarshi Lak (isolate) Khinalug (isolate) Dargi Dargwa Lezgic Archi Udi Lezgi Aghul Tabasaran Budukh Rutul Tsakhur

Indo-European Indo-European Hittite Tocharian A/B Armenian (Eastern, Western) Albanian, Tosk Greek (Ancient, Modern) Indo-Iranian Persian Avestan Tats (Judeo-Tat) Sanskrit Romani Celtic Irish (Old, Modern) Breton Welsh Germanic Core Germanic English (Old, Middle, Modern) German (Old, Middle, Modern) Yiddish Dutch Gothic Scandinavian Old Norse Danish Swedish Balto-Slavic Baltic Lithuanian Latvian Prussian Slavic Russian Old Church Slavonic Bulgarian Serbo-Croatian Polish Czech Romance Latin Spanish Portuguese Catalan French Italian Romanian

Uralic Uralic Finnic languages Finnish Estonian Võro Hungarian Mordvinic languages Erzya-Mordvin Komi Khanty Udmurt Mansi Mari Samic languages Northern Sami Samoyedic Nenets Selkup

Tai-Kadai Tai-Kadai Kra Gelao (Qau) Gelao (Hakei) Buyang (Langjia) Buyang (Ecun) Hlai Li (Baoting) Kam-Sui Lakkja Mulam Maonan Chadong Kam, Southern Sui Tai Zhuang (Longzhou) Nung (Fengshan) Nung (Lazhai) Nung (Ningbei) Tai Khuen Tai Lue Dehong Shan Thai (standard) Thai (central) Thai (Khorat) Thai (Songkhla)

Others Basque Elamite Turkic Azerbaijan Nogai Kumyk Chulym Austronesian Proto Austronesian Proto Polynesian Rotuman – Fiji Tongan Marquesan Tuamotuan Hawaiian Māori Rapa Nui Afro-Asiatic Semitic Arabic Aramaic Chadic Hausa Polci Nilo-Saharan Ghulfan Creoles Negerhollands (Dutch-based) – U.S. Virgin Islands Limonese Creole (English-based) – Costa Rica Lengua (Quechua-based) – Ecuador (mixed)

See also All Species Foundation, another project of the foundation Comparative linguistics Comparative method Endangered language Ethnologue Language death Language revitalization Lexibank Mass comparison Rosetta Project Swadesh list World Atlas of Language Structures

References

Key, Mary Ritchie & Comrie, Bernard (eds.) 2015. The Intercontinental Dictionary Series. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.

External links Intercontinental Dictionary Series Guide to the Intercontinental Dictionary Series project CD-ROMs. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Intercontinental Dictionary Series

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Intercontinental Dictionary Series claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Intercontinental Dictionary Series before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Intercontinental Dictionary Series ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Intercontinental Dictionary Series

In research: Intercontinental Dictionary Series appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Intercontinental Dictionary Series in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Intercontinental Dictionary Series is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Cross-Linguistic Linked Data, Educational projects, Lexical databases, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Intercontinental Dictionary Series outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Intercontinental Dictionary Series in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Intercontinental Dictionary Series means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Intercontinental Dictionary Series out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Intercontinental Dictionary Series in simple terms?

Why does Intercontinental Dictionary Series matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Intercontinental Dictionary Series?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Intercontinental Dictionary Series.