Portuguese and Other European Missionaries in Africa

A look at their linguistic production and attitudes (1415–1885)

Bibliographic Data

ID7795003
AuthorsJoseph Abraham Levi (0000-0002-1605-0980, University of Hong Kong, corresponding author)
Year2009
Volume36
Issue2-3
Pages363-392
Publication date2009-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueHistoriographia Linguistica (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0302-5160 • E-ISSN: 1569-9781
PublisherJohn Benjamins Publishing Company (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1075/hl.36.2.10lev
OpenAlexW4230635246
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited10

This study looks at some of the works produced by Catholic missionaries in Africa from the pre-dawn of the Modern Era (Fall of Constantinople, 1453), in particular the Fall of Ceuta (1415), to the Berlin Conference (1884–1885). Particular emphasis will be placed on the linguistic production of a few Franciscan, Augustinian, Capuchin, Dominican, and/or Jesuit clerics, working under the aegis of the Portuguese Crown, who — with the invaluable help of native assistants, usually members of the clergy or closely affiliated with the Church — compiled the first grammars, word lists, glossaries, and dictionaries of the indigenous languages with which they worked and interacted on a daily basis. Their endeavour, though meritorious and not always free from preconceived ideas of the ‘other’, paved the way for future studies in the field

Art · Biology · Ethnology · Humanities · Indigenous · Linguistics · Portuguese · Sociology · African history and culture studies · Classics · Colonialism, slavery, and trade · Global Maritime and Colonial Histories · History · History, Culture, and Diplomacy · Philosophy · Ecology

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