Africa in Translation: A History of Colonial Linguistics in Germany and Beyond, 1814-1945

Introduction: African Studies and the Classification of Humanity

Copyright © by the University of Michigan 2012 All rights reserved This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publisher. Published in the United States of America by The University of Michigan Press Manufactured in the United States of America c Printed on acid-free paper 2015 2014 2013 2012 4 3 2 1 A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Pugach, Sara Elizabeth Berg. Africa in translation : a history of colonial linguistics in Germany and beyond, 1814–1945 / Sara Pugach. p. cm. — (Social history, popular culture, and politics in Germany) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-472-11782-6 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-47202777 -4 (e-book) 1. Translating and interpreting—Africa. 2. Translating and interpreting—Germany. 3. Multilingualism—Africa. 4. Intercultural comunication—Africa. 5. Sociolinguistics—Africa. 6. Sociolinguistics—Germany. I. Title. P306.8.A35P84 2011 496.07'043—dc22 2011014829 To my parents Eleanor Heumann-Pugach and Joseph Pugach and to the memory of my grandmother Carrie C. Berg Acknowledgments Many people and organizations have helped me over the years that I have worked on this book. Bill Bravman and the late B. Marie Perinbam were the ‹rst to encourage me to study German colonialism in Africa. At Chicago, Ralph Austen, Michael Geyer, George Stocking, and Jan Goldstein proved excellent advisers. From 1997 to 1999 a German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) fellowship enabled me to pursue dissertation research in Hamburg. Once in Hamburg, Ludwig Gerhardt and Mechthild Reh of the Institut für Afrikanistik und Äthiopistik were invaluable guides to the history of their own institution. The Institute’s librarian, Carmen Geisenheyner, cheerfully helped me locate rare books in its collection. Employees of the Staatsarchiv in Hamburg, including Rainer Hering and Heidelies Wittig-Sorg, guided me through their impressive collection of documents relating to Hamburg’s colonial history. A Mellon summer research fellowship in 1998 allowed me to travel to Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Pretoria. I am grateful to my South African colleagues Patrick Harries, Cynthia Kros, and John Noyes, all of whom exhibited keen interest in my topic and provided excellent advice on where to ‹nd South African sources. The staffs at the libraries of the Universities of Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Pretoria, and the Witwatersrand helped me locate documents concerning the German linguist Carl Meinhof ’s many South African students. I am also grateful to the Mellon Foundation for granting me the fellowship that enabled me to ‹nish my dissertation. A postdoctoral fellowship graciously funded by the Social Science Research Council’s Berlin Program for Advanced German and European Studies for the academic year 2001 to 2002 allowed me to further my studies. In Berlin, the late Albert Wirz was a constant inspiration to delve more deeply into my subject, challenging me to go beyond what I already knew and explore new avenues of research. He is greatly missed. Also in Berlin, Holger Stoecker and I shared many long conversations about Afrikanistik, in addition to reading and critiquing each other’s work. Karin Goihl, administrator of the Berlin Program, made me feel at home in the city. Andreas Eckhert, Caroline Jeannerat, Ulrich van den Heyden, Kathrin Roller, Susann Baller, Michael Pesek, Robbie Aitken, and Christine Stelzig all read or heard parts of this project during my time in Berlin, and contributed perceptive feedback. The staffs of the Bundesarchiv, Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz , and Archive of the Berlin Mission Society were crucial in assisting me on my quest for information about such institutions as the Seminar für Orientalische Sprachen. The Berlin Program provided an opportunity to visit archives elsewhere in Germany and Europe, and I am grateful to the staffs at the Archives of the Basel Mission, Archives and Museum Foundation of the United Evangelical Mission, Cambridge University Library, London School of Economics Library, and School of Oriental and African Studies Library for their assistance. I would especially like to acknowledge Paul Jenkins from Basel, an indefatigable researcher and archivist whose knowledge of the Basel collection, as well as of mission history in general, is unparalleled . His colleague, Guy Thomas, has been a worthy successor and aided this project in its ‹nal...