Polyglotta Africana

Polyglotta Africana is a study published in 1854 by the German missionary Sigismund Wilhelm Koelle (1823–1902), in which the author compares 280 words from 200 African languages and dialects (or about 120 separate languages according to today's classification; several varieties considered distinct by Koelle were later shown to belong to the same language). As a comparative study it was a major breakthrough at the time.

Koelle based his material on first-hand observations, mostly with freed slaves in Freetown, Sierra Leone. He transcribed the data using a uniform phonetic script. Koelle's transcriptions were not always accurate; for example, he persistently confused [s] with [z] and [tʃ] with [dʒ]. His data were consistent enough, however, to enable groupings of languages based on vocabulary resemblances. Notably, the groups which he set up correspond in a number of cases to modern groups:

  • North-West Atlantic Atlantic
  • North-Western High Sudan/Mandenga Mande
  • North-Eastern High Sudan Gur

Although Koelle's was not the first such study comparing different African languages,[1] (for example, a missionary called John Clarke had produced a similar work in 1848,[2] and still earlier Hannah Kilham had produced her Specimens of African Languages, Spoken in the Colony of Sierra Leone in 1828), yet in its accuracy and thoroughness it outclassed all the others and still proves useful today.

Value of the work

The Polyglotta Africana was the second work carried out by Koelle during his five years in Sierra Leone, the first being a grammar of the Vai language in 1849.[3] The idea of this was to use the fact that Sierra Leone was a melting pot of ex-slaves from all over Africa to compile a list of 280 basic words (a sort of early Swadesh list) in some 160 languages and dialects. These were then grouped as far as possible in families. Most of the informants who contributed to this work came from West Africa, but there were also others from as far away as Mozambique. One area that was lacking was the Swahili coast of Kenya and Tanzania, since it seems that slaves from this region were generally taken northwards to Zanzibar and Arabia rather than southward towards America and Brazil.[4] The pronunciations of all the words were carefully noted using an alphabet similar, though not identical, to that devised by Karl Richard Lepsius, which was not yet available at that time.[5] The name of the book was imitated from a well-known work called Asia Polyglotta (1823) by the German scholar Julius Klaproth.[6]

The value of the list is not merely linguistic, since the work not only includes the words themselves, but Koelle also added a short biography of each informant, with geographical information about their place of origin, and an indication of how many other people they knew in Sierra Leone who spoke the same language. This information, combined with a census of Sierra Leone conducted in 1848, has proved invaluable to historians researching the African slave trade in the 19th century.[7] Of the 210 informants, there were 179 ex-slaves (two of them women), while the rest were mostly traders or sailors.[8] An analysis of the data shows that typically Koelle's informants were middle-aged or elderly men who had been living in Freetown for ten years or more. Three-quarters of the ex-slaves had left their homeland more than ten years earlier, and half of them more than 20 years before; and three-quarters of the informants were over 40 years old.[9] Another interesting facet of the book is the manner in which the informants had been made slaves. Some had been captured in war, some kidnapped, some sold by a relative, others condemned for a debt or sentenced for a crime.[10]

Included with a book is a map of Africa showing the approximate location, as far as it could be ascertained, of each language, prepared by the cartographer August Heinrich Petermann.

The transcription

It was Koelle's aim not to use any previously published material on the languages he was writing down, but to achieve uniformity by having one person using a single phonetic system for every language. The orthography he eventually chose, after discussions in London, was not that of Karl Richard Lepsius (as is sometimes claimed), since it had not yet been published, but was based on a short document issued in 1848 by Henry Venn of the Church Missionary Society entitled Rules for Reducing Unwritten Languages to Alphabetical Writing in Roman Characters With Reference Specially to the Languages Spoken in Africa.[11] The aim of this was to produce a simple practical system of orthography for teaching purposes with the use of as few diacritics as possible. Koelle, however, sought a more accurate phonetic system, and added diacritics. He retained seven of the eight vowels of Venn's system (i, e, ẹ, a, ọ, o, u, omitting as in "but") but added length marks, a dot for nasalisation, and an accent to indicate the prominent syllable. (Unlike in Lepsius's alphabet, the dotted and are open not closed sounds.) He modified Venn's alphabet by writing dṣ for the sound of "judge" or "church" (apparently confusing these two), and n followed by a dot () for the "ng" sound of "sing". When Koelle learnt of Lepsius's alphabet in 1854, he made immediate use of it in his Kanuri grammar, in which he wrote:

"I much regret that this System was not propounded sooner, so that I might also have adopted it in my Vei-Grammar and Polyglotta Africana. Happily, however, the Orthography which I employed in those books already so nearly approaches the System of Prof. Lepsius, as to only require some minor alterations."[12]

Koelle's word list

In the introduction Koelle tells us that he wanted a selection of words that would be simple enough for each informant to be interviewed on a single day, and for this reason he omitted pronouns, which would have taken much longer to elicit. He adds that a few years earlier[13] during a long vacation he had made a similar such list, of just 71 languages, and that in making the present list he had learnt from that experience.

The actual list (the spelling is Koelle's) is as follows:

  1. One
  2. Two
  3. Three
  4. Four
  5. Five
  6. Six
  7. Seven
  8. Eight
  9. Nine
  10. Ten
  11. Eleven
  12. Twelve
  13. Thirteen
  14. Fourteen
  15. Fifteen
  16. Sixteen
  17. Seventeen
  18. Eighteen
  19. Nineteen
  20. Twenty
  21. Man
  22. Woman
  23. Boy
  24. Girl
  25. Father
  26. Mother
  27. Grandfather
  28. Grandmother
  29. Son
  30. Daughter
  31. Elder Brother
  32. Younger Brother
  33. Elder Sister
  34. Younger Sister
  35. Friend
  36. Stranger
  37. King
  38. Male Slave
  39. Female Slave
  40. Doctor
  41. Medicine
  42. Head
  43. Hair
  44. Face
  45. Forehead
  46. Nose
  47. Eye
  48. Ear
  49. Mouth
  50. Tooth
  51. Tongue
  52. Throat
  53. Gullet
  54. Neck
  55. Shoulder
  56. Arm
  57. Arm between Shoulder and Elbow
  58. Arm between Elbow and Wrist
  59. Leg
  60. Outer Hand, or Hand
  61. Inner Hand
  62. Foot, or Instep of the Foot
  63. Foot-sole
  64. Finger
  65. Toe
  66. Elbow
  67. Rib
  68. Chest
  69. Female breast
  70. Belly
  71. Navel
  72. Thigh
  73. Knee
  74. Heel
  75. Nail (of Finger and Toe)
  76. Skin
  77. Bone
  78. Vein
  79. Blood
  80. Itch
  81. Small-pox
  82. Hat
  83. Cap
  84. Shoe
  85. Shirt
  86. Trousers
  87. Waist-cloth
  88. Town (Village)
  89. Market
  90. House
  91. Door
  92. Doorway
  93. Bed
  94. Mat
  95. Knife
  96. Spoon
  97. Ear-ring
  98. Armlet or Bracelet
  99. Pot
  100. Calabash
  101. Gun
  102. Powder
  103. Sword
  104. Spear
  105. Bow
  106. Arrow
  107. Quiver
  108. War
  109. God
  110. Devil
  111. Idol
  112. Greegree
  113. Sacrifice
  114. Heaven (sky)
  115. Hell
  116. Fire
  117. Water
  118. Soup
  119. Meat (often Animal)
  120. Salt
  121. Gold
  122. Iron
  123. Stone
  124. Hoe
  125. Axe
  126. Book
  127. Ink
  128. Sun
  129. Moon (? full)
  130. New Moon
  131. Day
  132. Night
  133. Dry Season
  134. Rainy Season
  135. Rain
  136. Dew
  137. Coal
  138. Smoke
  139. Soap
  140. Sand
  141. Canoe
  142. Bench, Chair
  143. Needle
  144. Thread
  145. Rope
  146. Chain (Fetters?)
  147. Drum
  148. Tree
  149. Firewood
  150. Walking-stick
  151. Leaf
  152. Root
  153. Palm-tree
  154. Palm-Oil
  155. Guinea-Corn (bearing like Maize)
  156. Kuskus (bearing like Oats)
  157. Cotton
  158. Cotton-plant (a Shrub)
  159. Cotton-tree
  160. Camwood
  161. Rice (uncooked)
  162. Yam
  163. Cassada
  164. Ground-nut
  165. Pepper
  166. Onion
  167. Maize
  168. Beans
  169. Farm
  170. Forest
  171. Horse
  172. Mare
  173. Cow
  174. Bull
  175. Milk
  176. Butter
  177. Ewe (Sheep)
  178. Ram (Sheep)
  179. Goat
  180. Buck
  181. Cat
  182. Rat
  183. Pig
  184. Bat
  185. Pigeon
  186. Parrot
  187. Fowl (Hen)
  188. Cock
  189. Egg
  190. Bird
  191. Fish
  192. Serpent
  193. Scorpion
  194. Mosquito
  195. Butterfly
  196. Spider
  197. Wasp
  198. Bee
  199. Honey
  200. Lion
  201. Leopard
  202. Elephant
  203. Ivory
  204. Alligator
  205. Monkey
  206. Chamelion
  207. Lizard (the common one)
  208. The large red-headed Lizard
  209. Toad
  210. Frog
  211. Dog
  212. Great, large
  213. Little, small
  214. White
  215. Black
  216. White Man
  217. Black Man (Negro)
  218. Good
  219. Bad
  220. Old
  221. New (young)
  222. Sick
  223. Well
  224. Hot
  225. Cold
  226. Wet
  227. Dry
  228. Greedy
  229. Stupid
  230. Rich
  231. Poor
  232. Straight
  233. Crooked (bent)
  234. I go
  235. I come
  236. I run
  237. I stop
  238. I sit down
  239. I lie down
  240. I breathe
  241. I cough
  242. I sneeze
  243. I snore
  244. I laugh
  245. I weep
  246. I kneel
  247. I dream
  248. I sleep
  249. I die
  250. I fall
  251. I rise
  252. I speak
  253. I hear
  254. I beg
  255. I bathe (wash myself)
  256. I see
  257. I take
  258. I buy
  259. I sell
  260. I love thee
  261. I give thee
  262. I eat rice (yam)
  263. I drink water
  264. I cook meat
  265. I kill a fowl
  266. I cut a tree
  267. I flog a child
  268. I catch a fish
  269. I break a stick
  270. I call a slave
  271. I cover a pot
  272. I sew a shirt (cloth)
  273. I pray to God (beg God)
  274. I play
  275. I do not play
  276. I dance
  277. I do not dance
  278. Yesterday
  279. Today
  280. To-morrow

The languages

As the list of languages and countries below shows, most of Koelle's languages came from West Africa. This is mainly because the majority of the slaves themselves who were intercepted by the British Navy and taken to Sierra Leone were from that region.[14] Another factor was that the number of different languages in West Africa is greater than in some other parts of Africa. For example, Cameroon alone is said to have 255 different languages.[15] One area missing is the Swahili coast of Kenya and Tanzania, apparently because slaves intercepted there were taken not to Sierra Leone but to Zanzibar.

Koelle's language names are given in the left-hand column of the table below: some of the diacritics (such as the dot beneath ẹ and ọ, and the acute accent) have been omitted. The groupings are Koelle's own. The larger groups are subdivided by Koelle into smaller groups, which are not shown in the table.

Names in square brackets such as [Aku] are subheadings of a group of languages, and do not themselves have any words. The number of languages or dialects represented on each double-page spread of Koelle's book is therefore exactly 200, divided into four columns of 50 languages each.

Koelle's Name Modern Name[16] Country[17]
I. North-West Atlantic
Fulup Dyola (Huluf) Senegal
Fīlham Dyola (Filham) Senegal
Bōla Mankanya (Bulama) Senegal
Sarār Mankanya (Sadar) Senegal
Pepēl Pepel, Papel Guinea-Bissau
Kanyōp Mandyak / Manjak / Kanyop Guinea-Bissau, Senegal
Biāfada Biafada / Bidyola Guinea-Bissau
Padṣāde Badyar, Badyara / Padjade Guinea, Guinea-Bissau
Baga Baga (Koba) Guinea
Timne Temne (Western) Sierra Leone
Bulom Bullom (Kafu) Sierra Leone
Mampa Bullom (Sherbro) Sierra Leone
Kisi Kissi Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia
II. North-western High Sudan or Mandenga
Mandenga Mandinka The Gambia, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea
Kābunga Mandinka (Sidyanka?) Guinea-Bissau
Toronka Mandinka (Toronka) Guinea
Dṣalunka Mandinka (Futa Jallon) Guinea
Kankanka Mandinka (Kankanka) Guinea
Bambara Bambara Mali
Vei Vai Liberia, Sierra Leone
Kono Kono Sierra Leone
Soso Susu-Yalunka ? Sierra Leone
Sōlīma Yalunka (Sulima)? Sierra Leone
Kisekise Susu dial. Guinea
Tēne Susu dial. Guinea
Gbandi Bandi Sierra Leone, Liberia
Landōṛo Loko (Landogo) Sierra Leone
Mende Mende Sierra Leone
Gbese Kpelle / Gerze Guinea, Liberia
Tōma Loma / Toma / Buzi Guinea, Liberia
Mano Manon / Mano / Ma Liberia
Gīo Dan / Gio Liberia
III. Upper Guinea or Middle Coast
Dēwoi De / Dewoi Liberia
Basa Bassa (of Liberia) Liberia
Kra Kra / Kru Liberia
Krēbo Grebo Liberia
Gbē Ge or Sikon Liberia
Adampe Ewe-Fon (Ewe dial.) Ghana
An˙fūe Ewe-Fon (Aja) Benin
Hwida Ewe-Fon (Hweda) Benin
Dahōme Ewe-Fon (Fon) Benin
Māḥi Ewe-Fon (Maxi) Benin
[Akū] Yoruba Nigeria
Ota Yoruba (Egbado) Nigeria
Egba Yoruba (Egba) Nigeria
Īdṣeṣa Yoruba (Ijesha) Nigeria
Yorūba Yoruba (Oyo) Nigeria
Yāgba Yoruba (Yagba) Nigeria
Ekī Yoruba (Bunu) Nigeria
Dṣumu Yoruba (Jumu) Nigeria
Oworo Yoruba (Aworo) Nigeria
Dṣebu Yoruba (Ijebu) Nigeria
Īfe Yoruba (Ife) Nigeria
Ondō Yoruba (Ondo) Nigeria
Dṣēkiri Yoruba (Jekri) Nigeria
Igala Igala Nigeria
IV. North-Eastern High Sudan
Mōse More (Mossi) Burkina Faso
Dṣelan˙a Yom Benin
Gurēṣa Buli[18] Ghana
Gurma Gurma Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin, Niger
Lēgba Logba Ghana
Kaure Kabre, Kabiye Togo
Kīamba Tem Togo
Koāma Sisala, Sisaala? Ghana, Burkina Faso
Bagbalan˙ Sisala, Sisaala? Ghana, Burkina Faso
Kasm Kasem, Kassena Ghana, Burkina Faso
Yūla Kasem Ghana, Burkina Faso
V. Niger-Delta
Īsoāma Igbo (Isu-Ama) Nigeria
Iṣiēle Igbo (Ishielu) Nigeria
Abādṣa Igbo (Abaja) Nigeria
Āro Igbo (Aro) Nigeria
Mbofīa Igbo (Mbofia) Nigeria
Sōbo Urhobo / Sobo Nigeria
Egbēle Kukuruku Nigeria
Bini Edo / Bini Nigeria
Īhewe Ishan / Esan Nigeria
Olōma Kukuruku dial. Nigeria
Okulōma Ijaw (Kolokuma) Nigeria
Ūdṣo Ijaw (Western) Nigeria
VI. Niger-Dschadda
Nūpe Nupe Nigeria
Kupa Kupa Nigeria
Eṣitāko Dibo / Zitako Nigeria
Musu Gbari / Gwari Nigeria
[Goāli] Gbari / Gwari Nigeria
Gūgu Gbari / Gwari Nigeria
‘Puka Gbari / Gwari Nigeria
Basa Bassa-Nge ? Nigeria
Ebē Ebe / Asu Nigeria
Opanda Ebira / Igbirra (Panda) Nigeria
Īgu Ebira / Igbirra (Igu) Nigeria
Egbīra-Hīma Ebira / Igbirra (Hima) Nigeria
VII. Central African
Budūma Yedina / Buduma Chad, Cameroon, Nigeria
[Bornu] Kanuri Nigeria
Kānurī Kanuri (Kagama) Nigeria
Muniō Kanuri (Manga) Nigeria, Niger
Ngurū Kanuri (Nguru) Nigeria
Kānem Kanuri (Kanem) Chad
Pīka Bole / Bolewa / Fika Nigeria
Karēkare Karekare Nigeria
Bode Bade ? Nigeria
Ngōdṣin Ngizim ? Nigeria
Dōai Bade ? Nigeria
VIII. Atam
Ekamtulūfu Nde Nigeria
Ūdom Nde Nigeria
Mbofōn Nde Nigeria
Ēafen˙ Ekoi Nigeria, Cameroon
Basa Bassa-Kaduna (Kontagora?) Nigeria
Kāmuku Kamuku (Ucinda?) Nigeria
Dṣuku Jukun Nigeria
Erēgba ‘Eregba’ Nigeria
IX. Mokō
Isūwu Suwu / Su Cameroon
Diwala Duala Cameroon
Ōrungu Myene, Rongo[19] Gabon
Bāyon˙ ? Limbum, Kwaja, Mbə[20] Cameroon
Pāti ? Limbum, Kwaja, Mbə[21] Cameroon
Kum Kako[22] Cameroon
Bāgba Bati? Cameroon
Bālu Baba'[23] Cameroon
Bāmom Bamum / Shu Paməm Cameroon
Ngoāla Bangolan Cameroon
Mōmenya Menyam, Bamenyam Cameroon
Pāpīaḥ Baba Cameroon
Pāṛam Məngaka Cameroon
Ngoten Eastern Manenguba[24] Cameroon
Melon˙ Eastern Manenguba[25] Cameroon
N˙hālemōe Western Manenguba[26] Cameroon
Bāseke Seki / Sekiyani Equatorial Guinea, Gabon
X. Congo-Ngōla
Kabenda Kakongo / Kikongo DR Congo
Mimboma Central Kongo DR Congo
Musentāndu N.E. Kongo / Kintandu DR Congo
Mbāmba North Teke DR Congo, Gabon
Kanyīka Kanyok / Kanyoka DR Congo
Nteṛe Tsaayi DR Congo, Gabon
Mutsāya Laali DR Congo, Gabon
Babuma Boõ Republic of the Congo, DR Congo
Būmbete Mbete Republic of the Congo, Gabon
Kasāndṣ Mbangala Angola
Nyombe Yombe Republic of the Congo, DR Congo
Basūnde Suundi Republic of the Congo
Ngōla Kimbundu Angola
Pangēla Umbundu Angola
Lubalo Bolo Angola
Rūnda Ruund DR Congo, Angola
Sōngo Nsongo / Songo Angola
Kisāma Sama Angola
XI. South-Eastern
Mūntu Yao Malawi, Mozambique
Kirīman Cuabo, Chuwabo, Chuwabu Mozambique
Marāwi Nyanja (Chichewa) Malawi, Mozambique
Mēto Makua Mozambique
Mātatān Makua Mozambique
Nyambān Tonga (S62) Mozambique
XII. Unclassified and Isolated
Wolof Wolof Senegal, Gambia, Mauretania
[Bidṣōgo] Bidyogo (Bijago) Guinea-Bissau
Ankāras Bidyogo (Bijago) Guinea-Bissau
Wūn Bidyogo (Bijago) Guinea-Bissau
Gadṣāga Soninke / Gadyaga Mali, Senegal
Gura Gola Liberia
Banyūn Banyun / Bagnun /Banyum Senegal, Guinea-Bissau
Nalu Nalu Guinea, Guinea-Bissau
Bulanda Balant (Balanta) Guinea-Bissau, The Gambia
Limba Limba (Sella) Sierra Leone, Guinea
Landōma Landoma Guinea
Asante Twi (Asante) Ghana
Barba Bargu / Bariba Benin
Boko Busa (Boko) ? Nigeria
Kandin Tamashek, Tamasheq (Tuareg) Algeria, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso
Tumbuktu Songhai Mali
Mandara Mandara, Wandala Cameroon, Nigeria
Bāgrmi Bagirmi Chad
[Housa] Hausa Niger, Northern Nigeria
Kano Hausa (Kananci) Nigeria
Kadzīna Hausa (Katsinanci) Nigeria
[Pulō] Fula, Fulani, Fulde Senegal, Guinea, Nigeria
Timbō Fula (Futa Jallon) Guinea
Sālum Fula (Senegal) Senegal
Gōbūru Fula (Gobir / Sokoto) Nigeria
Kano Fula (Kano) Nigeria
Yala Idoma (Yala) Nigeria
Anān˙ Ibibio-Efik (Anang) Nigeria
Dṣāwāra Jarawa / Jar Nigeria
Koro Koro Nigeria
Hām Jaba / Ham (Hyam) Nigeria
Akurākura agwaGwune / Akunakuna Nigeria, Cameroon
Okām Mbembe (Wakande) Nigeria
Yasgūa Yeskwa (Nyankpa) Nigeria
N˙kī Boki / Nki / Bokyi Nigeria
Kambāli Kambari Nigeria
Alege Alege Nigeria
Penin Mandi Cameroon
Bute Vute / Wute / Bute Cameroon, Gabon
Murūndo Lundu, Oroko Cameroon
Undāza Kota Gabon
Ndob Tikar, Ndop[27] Cameroon
Tumu Tikar, Twumwu[28] Cameroon
N˙kele Kele (Ngom?) Gabon
Kongūan˙ Banyangi, Kenyang Cameroon
Mbarīke Kutev / Mbarike / Kuteb Nigeria
Tiwi Tiv Nigeria
Borītsu Boritsu / Yukuben Nigeria
Āfudu Afudu (a dialect of Tangale)[29] Nigeria
Mfūt Kaalong Cameroon
Mbē Bakongwang Cameroon
Nṣo Nso, Nsaw Cameroon
[Arabic] Arabic
Ṣōa Arabic (Shuwa) Chad
Wadai Arabic Chad
Ādirar Arabic Mali
Bēṛān Arabic Mali

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  • Williamson, Kay (1966). "Ijo Dialects in the Polyglotta Africana." Sierra Leone Language Review 5, 1966, pp. 122–133.
  • Winston, F. D. D. (1964). "Nigerian Cross River Languages in the Polyglotta Africana: Part 1". Sierra Leone Language Review, 3, 1964, pp. 74–82.
  • Winston, F. D. D. (1965). "Nigerian Cross River Languages in the Polyglotta Africana: Part 2". Sierra Leone Language Review, 4, 1965, pp. 122–128.
  • Zwernemann, Jürgen (1967). "Kasem Dialects in the Polyglotta Africana". African Language Review 6, pp. 128–152.

References

  1. Hair (1966a)
  2. Clarke (1848/9); cf. Hair (1966b).
  3. Houis (1966), p. 137, states that Polyglotta Africana was researched between April 1850 and July 1852. Curtin & Vansina (1964), p. 186, state that the book was mostly researched in 1849.
  4. Curtin & Vansina (1964), p. 189.
  5. Solleveld (2020), section 2.
  6. Solleveld (2020), section 1.
  7. Curtin & Vansina (1964), p. 186.
  8. Hair (1965), p. 193.
  9. Hair (1965), p. 195.
  10. Hair (1965), pp. 196–200.
  11. Spencer (1966), pp. 88–95, where Venn's document is quoted in full.
  12. Solleveld (2020), §2.
  13. A footnote in Lapsansky-Werner & Bacon (2005), p. 255, states that Koelle had already made a brief visit to Sierra Leone in 1843 under the auspices of the Church Missionary Society.
  14. Curtin (1969), pp. 291–298.
  15. Kouega, Jean-Paul. 'The Language Situation in Cameroon', Current Issues in Language Planning, vol. 8/no. 1, (2007), pp. 3-94.
  16. Dalby (1964); Guthrie (1964); Blench (draft).
  17. Curtin (1969), pp. 291–198.
  18. Also called Bulea, Guresha, and other names. Library of Congress Data
  19. Guthrie B11b.
  20. Blench (draft), p. 5.
  21. Blench (draft), p. 5.
  22. Blench (draft), p. 5.
  23. Blench & Hamm, note 2.
  24. Hedinger (1984), p. 44.
  25. Hedinger (1984), p. 44.
  26. Hedinger (1984), p. 44.
  27. Blench (draft), p. 5.
  28. Blench (draft), p. 5.
  29. Roger Blench, An Atlas of Nigerian Languages, ed. 3, p. 2.
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