Ben Jelloun, Tahar

Ben Jelloun's first collection of poetry, Hommes sous linceul de silence (1971; �Men Under

Ben Jelloun, Tahar

Ben Jelloun's first collection of poetry, Hommes sous linceul de silence (1971; �Men Under

Eye Dialect

The use of misspellings that are based on standard pronunciations (such as sez for says or kow for cow) but are usually intended to suggest a speaker's illiteracy or his use of generally nonstandard pronunciations. It is sometimes used in literature for comic effect.

Waite, Morrison Remick

Seventh chief justice of the United States (1874 - 88), who frequently spoke for the Supreme Court in interpreting the post-Civil War constitutional amendments and in redefining governmental jurisdiction over commerce in view of the great expansion of American business. Reacting against the extreme nationalism predominant during

Ashmore And Cartier Islands

Officially �Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands� external territory of Australia, in the Indian Ocean. The islands lie 200 miles (320 km) northwest of Western Australia. The Ashmore Islands, comprising Middle, East, and West islands, are coral islets within a reef. Cartier Island, also lying within a reef, is more sandy in composition. Created in 1934, the territory was administratively linked to the Northern Territory of Australia

Songhai Empire

Though the Songhai people are said to have established themselves in the city of Gao about AD 800, they did not regard it as their capital until the beginning of

Siwa Oasis

Arabic �Wahat Siwah� oasis in Matruh muhafazah (governorate), western Egypt. It lies near the Libyan frontier, 350 miles (560 km) west-southwest of Cairo. The oasis is 6 miles (10 km) long by 4 - 5 miles (6 - 8 km) wide and has about 200 springs. Two rock outcrops provide the sites of the old walled settlements of Siwa and Aghurmi, which are veritable fortresses. The oasis is inhabited by Berber-speaking Sudanic peoples who live in mud-brick

Anthropoidea

Suborder of primates including the families Callitrichidae (marmoset, q.v.), Cebidae (New World monkeys), Cercopithecidae (Old World monkeys), Hylobatidae (gibbon and siamang, qq.v.), Pongidae (gorilla, chimpanzee, and orangutan, qq.v.), Hominidae (humans and fossil relatives), and the fossil group Parapithecidae.

Anti-lebanon Mountains

Arabic �Al-jabal Ash-sharqi, or Lubnan Ash-sharqi, �French �Anti-liban, � mountain range that runs northeast-southwest along the Syrian-Lebanese border parallel to the Lebanon Mountains, from which they are separated by the al-Biqa' Valley. The range averages 6,500 feet (2,000 m) above sea level, with several peaks exceeding 8,000 feet (2,400 m). As it runs south, the Anti-Lebanon range is interrupted by a broad shoulder (the Zabadani Saddle) of Mount Hermon, 9,232 feet (2,814 m) high,

Carnivore, Importance to humans

The seal is of significant importance to the survival of the Eskimos and other inhabitants of the north, who use almost every part of the animal: the meat is eaten; bones used for implements; tendons for sewing; hides for leather to make footwear, boats, shelters, bags, clothing, and ornaments; and the oil and fat for fuel, lubrication, and tanning. The ivory tusks of the walrus

Jibril

Muhammad himself could not at first identify the spirit that possessed him, and the Qur'an mentions him by name only three times. Jibril, however, became Muhammad's constant helper.

Chesnutt, Charles W.

Chesnutt was the son of free blacks who had left their native city of Fayetteville, N.C., prior to the American Civil War. Following the war his parents moved back to Fayetteville, where Chesnutt completed his education and began teaching. He was named assistant principal (1877 - 80) and then principal

Percy, Thomas

The basis of Percy's collection was a tattered 15th-century manuscript of ballads (known as the Percy folio) found in the house of a friend

Earth Sciences, Water resources and seawater chemistry

Quantitative studies of the distribution of water have revealed that an astonishingly small part of the Earth's water is contained in lakes and rivers. Ninety-seven percent of all the water is in the oceans; and, of the fresh water constituting the remainder, three-fourths is locked up in glacial ice and most of the rest is in the ground. Approximate figures are also

Mosby, John Singleton

Reared near Charlottesville, Va., Mosby entered the University of Virginia in 1849 and graduated in 1852. While there, he shot at and wounded a few students, but his resulting jail sentence

Arecibo River

Spanish �in full R�o Grande De Arecibo, � river in west-central Puerto Rico. The Arecibo River rises in the Cordillera Central just east of Mount Guilarte. It flows north-northeast about 40 miles (65 km) through a coffee-growing region and descends across the northern coastal plain to empty into the Atlantic Ocean just east of the port of Arecibo. At the northern edge of the cordilleran foothills, the river is impounded

Ijsselmeer Polders

The Zuiderzee project, which involved the construction of a dam (Afsluitdijk; completed 1932) enclosing the IJsselmeer

Eugenikos, Markos

After a classical and theological education under tutors antagonistic to Rome, Eugenikos at 26 gave his property to the poor and became a monk

Pappenheim, Gottfried Heinrich, Count (graf) Zu

Pappenheim served with the Catholic League, headed by the elector Maximilian I of Bavaria and commanded by Johann Tserclaes, Graf von Tilly. Idolized by his regiment of cuirassiers, the Pappenheimers, he proved a tempestuous cavalry officer, always

Amsterdam

To the scores of tourists who visit each year, Amsterdam is known for its historical attractions, for its collections of great art, and for the distinctive colour and flavour of its old

Blois

City, capital of Loir-et-Cher d�partement, Centre region, central France, on the Loire River, northeast of Tours. First mentioned in the 6th century by Gregory of Tours, it was by the early Middle Ages seat of the powerful counts of Blois, from whom descended the Capetian kings of France. At the end of the 14th century, Blois was acquired by Louis de France, duc d'Orl�ans. Joan of

Sackler, Arthur M.

Sackler studied at New York University (B.S., 1933; M.D., 1937) and worked as a psychiatrist at Creedmore State Hospital in Queens, New York (1944 - 46), where in 1949 he founded the Creedmore Institute of Psychobiological Studies, a field in

Amnesty International

(AI), � international organization headquartered in London that seeks to inform public opinion about violations of human rights, especially the abridgments of freedom of speech and of religion and the imprisonment and torture of political dissidents, and which actively seeks the release of political prisoners and the relief, when necessary, of their families. In

Lima

City, capital of Peru and of Lima department. It is the country's commercial and industrial centre. Central Lima is located at an elevation of 512 feet (156 metres) on the south bank of the R�o R�mac, about eight miles (13 km) inland from the Pacific Ocean port of Callao, and has an area of 27 square miles (70 square km). Its name is a corruption of the Quechua Indian name R�mac, meaning �Talker.� The

Peter, Gospel Of

Pseudepigraphal (noncanonical and unauthentic) Christian writing of the mid-2nd century AD, the extant portion of which covers the condemnation, Crucifixion, and Resurrection of Jesus. Because the work reflects the view that Christ's body had only the appearance of reality, Serapion, bishop of Antioch c. AD 190, believed it was written by a member of the heretical Docetist sect.

Stingray

The dasyatid