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Ethnologue: Languages of the World is a web and print publication of SIL International (formerly known as the Summer Institute of Linguistics), a Christian linguistic service organization, which studies lesser-known languages, to provide the speakers with Bibles in their native language and support their efforts in language development.^[1]

The Ethnologue contains statistics for 7,358 languages in the 16th edition, released in 2009 (up from 6,912 in the 15th edition, released 2005 and 6,809 in the 14th edition, released 2000) and gives the number of speakers, location, dialects, linguistic affiliations, availability of the Bible and so forth. It is currently the most comprehensive existing language inventory, along with the Linguasphere Observatory Register. But, some information is dated.

In 1984, the Ethnologue released a three-letter coding system, called a SIL code, to identify each language that it describes. This set of codes significantly exceeded the scope of previous standards, e.g., ISO 639-1. The 14th edition, published in 2000, included 7148 language codes which generally did not match the ISO 639-2 codes. In 2002 the Ethnologue was asked to work with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to integrate its codes into a draft international standard. The Ethnologue now uses this standard, called ISO 639-3. The 15th edition, which was published in 2005, includes 7299 codes. A 16th edition was released in the middle of 2009.

What counts as a language depends on socio-linguistic evaluation: see Dialect. As the preface says, "Not all scholars share the same set of criteria for what constitutes a 'language' and what features define a 'dialect.'" Ethnologue follows the criteria used by ISO 639-3,^[2] which are based primarily on mutual intelligibility.

In addition to choosing a primary name for the language, Ethnologue also gives some of the names by which a language is called by its speakers, by the government, by foreigners and by neighbors, as well as how it has been named and referenced historically, regardless of which designation is considered official, politically correct or offensive or by whom.

William Bright, then editor of Language: Journal of the Linguistic Society of America, wrote of Ethnologue that it "is indispensable for any reference shelf on the languages of the world." (1986:698).^[3]

Language families[link]

Following are the 121 language families listed in the Ethnologue language family index of the 16th edition. The first column gives the Ethnologue name for the group, followed by the location by continent and Ethnologue's count of the number of languages in the family. In addition to language families, Ethnologue lists 1 artificial language, 82 creoles, 17 pidgins, 130 Deaf sign languages, 23 mixed languages, 50 language isolates, and 73 unclassified languages.

See also[link]

• Lists of languages
• List of language families

References[link]

External links[link]

• Web version of The Ethnologue
  • Ethnologue – History
• Review of the 15th edition, by Ole Stig Andersen (Danmarks Radio)
• How Linguists and Missionaries Share a Bible of 6,912 Languages (The New York Times)

Levi Strauss
Born	Löb Strauß February 26, 1829 Buttenheim, Bavaria, German Confederation
Died	September 26, 1902(1902-09-26) (aged 73) San Francisco, California, U.S.
Known for	Founded the first company to manufacture blue jeans, known as Levi Strauss & Co.

Levi Strauss ( /ˌliːvaɪ ˈstrɔːs/, born Löb Strauß, German pronunciation: [løːb ˈʃtʁaʊs]; February 26, 1829 – September 26, 1902) was a German-born American businessman who founded the first company to manufacture blue jeans. His firm, Levi Strauss & Co., began in 1853 in San Francisco, California.^[1]

Origins[link]

Levi Strauss was born in Buttenheim, in the Franconian region of Bavaria, Germany, to an Ashkenazi Jewish family.^[2] He was the son of Hirsch Strauss and his wife Rebecca (Haass) Strauss. At the age of 18, Strauss, his mother and two sisters sailed for the United States to join his brothers Jonas and Louis, who had begun a wholesale dry goods business in New York City called J. Strauss Brother & Co.^[3]

Business career[link]

The family decided to open a West Coast branch of the family dry goods business in San Francisco, which was the commercial hub of the California Gold Rush. Levi was chosen to represent the family, and after becoming an American citizen in January 1853, he then caught another steamship for San Francisco, arriving in early March 1853.

Strauss opened his dry goods wholesale business as Levi Strauss & Co. and imported fine dry goods—clothing, bedding, combs, purses, handkerchiefs—from his brothers in New York. He sold the goods to the small general stores and men's mercantiles of California and the West. Around 1856 Levi's sister Franny, her husband David Stern and their infant son Jacob moved from New York to San Francisco to join the business.

Levi's Jeans[link]

Levi's 506 back pocket with Arcuate stitching

In late 1872 Jacob Davis, a Reno, Nevada tailor, started making men's work pants with metal points of strain for greater strength. He wanted to patent the process but needed a business helper, so he turned to Levi Strauss, from whom he purchased some of his fabric.^[4] On May 20, 1873, Strauss and Davis received United States patent^[5] for using copper rivets to strengthen the pockets of denim work pants. Levi Strauss & Co. began manufacturing the famous Levi's brand of jeans, using fabric from the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company in Manchester, New Hampshire.

The "Arcuate", the double arch stitching on the back pocket, is a Levi's trademark, which the company has repeatedly defended in court. During World War II it was deemed by the US Government to be decorative only, and prohibited from being stitched into the pockets because items needed for the war effort, including thread, were being rationed. Rather than lose its trademark, the company had the Arcuate hand-painted onto the pockets.^[6]

Death[link]

Levi Strauss died on September 26, 1902 in San Francisco at the age of 73. He never married, so he left the business to his four nephews, Jacob, Sigmund, Louis, and Abraham Stern, the sons of his sister Fanny and her husband David Stern. He also left bequests to a number of charities such as the Pacific Hebrew Orphan Asylum and the Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum. Levi's fortune was estimated to be around 6 million dollars.^[7] He was buried in Colma, California.

Legacy[link]

A Levi Strauss museum is maintained in Buttenheim, Germany, located in the 1687 house where Strauss was born. There is also a Visitors Center at Levi Strauss & Co. world headquarters in San Francisco, which features a number of historical exhibits.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Levi Strauss

• Levi Strauss & Company
• Biography of Levi Strauss from the Official Levi Strauss Site.
• Levi Strauss at Findagrave
• Levi's
• Levi's India
• Levi Strauss Museum in Buttenheim, Germany (German)
• Levi Strauss designer profile at Fashion Model Directory