|
| |
Linguistic material in the George A. Smathers Libraries
In conjunction with the 27th Annual Conference on African Languages at the University
of Florida, this display was available from March 28 until mid-April in the lobby of the
Humanities and Social Sciences Library (Library West). It represents the development of
African linguistics in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. In particular, the
pieces included represent indigenous Vai orthography (Johnston's 1906 Liberia), a
sociolinguistic effort to unify Shona orthography (the Doke letters, his 1931 Report on
the Unification of Shona Dialects), and the role of religious missions (Alves 1939 Maphembero
a Akristau a Romano, and Raban's 1830 Vocabulary of the Eyo). The development
of indigenous African literature is represented by Tracey's 1934 Songs from the Kraals
of Southern Rhodesia.
- Alves, P. Albano. 1939. Maphembero a Akristau a Romano. Braga: Missoes
Franciscanas.
- Prepared by a Portuguese Franciscan mission to Mozambique at Chipanga, this miniature
catechism represents one product of missionary efforts in African linguistics (here,
Chichewa?). In many cases such translations employed categories derived from classical
linguistics, unsuited to the study of African languages. Some scholars were able to
improve upon such early experiences to develop more appropriate, useful grammars and
orthographies.
- Doke, Clement M. 1931. Report on the Unification of Shona Dialects. Salisbury,
Southern Rhodesia: Government Press.
- -----. Typescript and manuscript letters to Father A. Burbridge regarding Shona
orthography. November 2, 1929; July 25 & 28, 1930.
- Doke was sent in 1929 to report on the possibility of serving all dialects of Shona with
a single orthography. Burbridge was a member of the reporting team who apparently
disagreed with some aspects of Doke's presentation. The letters elaborate the latter's
view of these differences.
- Fortune, George. Chindau lessons and exercises. Typescript.
- Typescript lessons provide a sense of the scholarly workmanship of linguistic fieldwork,
an example of one product of years of grammatical description and analysis. Careful, neat
formatting seems to reflect a labor of love on the part of Professor Fortune, better known
for his work in Shona.
- Johnston, Harry Hamilton, Sir. 1906. Liberia. London: Hutchinson & Co.
- This beautifully-made tome describes Liberia generally at the turn of the century. It
includes more than 400 black and white illustrations, about 50 colored botanical and other
drawings and photographs, and 22 maps. Here it demonstrates the indigenous orthography
(writing system) of the Vai language.
- Kolbe, Rev. F.W. 1869. The Vowels; their primeval laws and bearing upon the formation
of roots in Herero, a dialect of South-West Africa. Cape Town: J. C. Juta.
- This rare item from Fortune's collection is an early example of linguistic scholarship
in Southern Africa.
- Raban, John. 1830. A vocabulary of the Eyo, or Aku, a dialect of western Africa.
London: Printed for the Church-Missionary Society (C.M.S.) by Richard Watts.
- A very early example of linguistic scholarship in West Africa, this vocabulary of Yoruba
is particularly rare. A holographic (handwritten by the author) inscription on the flyleaf
reads: "With the Christian regards of the compiler."
- Tracey, Hugh. 1934. Songs from the Kraals of Southern Rhodesia. Reprint.
Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia: Rhodesian Printing and Publishing Co.
- Folksongs included here are presented in Shona with Tracey's translations to English on
the facing pages.
|
