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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Words across worlds: aspects of language contact and language learning in the Eastern Cape, 1800-1850
Author:Mesthrie, RajendISNI
Year:1998
Periodical:African Studies
Volume:57
Issue:1
Pages:5-26
Language:English
Geographic term:South Africa
Subjects:language history
Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
History and Exploration
External link:https://doi.org/10.1080/00020189808707883
Abstract:The first half of the 19th century was an important phase in the language history of the Eastern Cape, South Africa. This period saw the introduction of English and the spread of the already established colonial language, Dutch. It was also the period of the beginnings of literacy in African languages, and the codification of what was to become standard Xhosa in grammars and dictionaries. Small numbers of runaway slaves carried not only Cape Dutch but possibly languages like Malay, and Bengali too. Missionaries brought their own versions of Dutch, German and other European languages. After a short description of how the missionaries communicated with the people they wished to convert, the article describes the kinds of languages that served in a frontier situation when interpreters were absent: sign language, simplified English, simplified Dutch/Afrikaans, simplified Xhosa, and a mixture of English, Cape Dutch and Xhosa. The article then focuses on the role of interpreters, who, although frequently portrayed in the colonial sources as passive intermediaries, were much more than that. Bibliogr., notes, ref.
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