Johan Ludwig Krapf (1810 81), a German-born member of the Church Missionary Society in East Africa, is regarded as the founder of Swahili studies in Europe. Having pursued an interest in Oriental culture from an early age, he first went to Abyssinia (Ethiopia) as a missionary. During his travels in Africa, he became the first European to see Mount Kenya; but he also considered the potential of Swahili as a lingua franca. Krapf published the first printed text in Swahili, and the first systematic Swahili grammar, as well as being the first to bring Swahili manuscripts to Europe. Another in a...

Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767 1835) was a German philologist, diplomat and philosopher. While Minister of Education he was responsible for reforming the Prussian education system. His pioneering achievements in linguistics influenced many later scholars including Chomsky. This monumental three-volume study of Kawi, a traditional formal and literary language of Java belonging to the Austronesian language family, was published posthumously in 1836 9. The manuscript was prepared for the press by J. K. E. Buschmann, a protege of Humboldt's friend and colleague Bopp, whose work is also reissued in...

John William Colenso (1814 83) was appointed the first Bishop of Natal in 1853 and settled there in 1855. He devoted great energy to developing the diocese, overseeing the completion of the cathedral in Pietermaritzburg, the building of churches in Durban and Richmond and the establishment of mission stations. He also learned Zulu and set up a printing press. He published a Zulu grammar in 1855, within months of his arrival, and translated the New Testament into Zulu. This substantial Zulu English dictionary appeared in 1861, with financial support from the colonial legislature. It contains...

Thomas Wright (1810 77), a respected folklorist and medievalist, wrote prolifically on a wide range of subjects. His work is, however, considered broad rather than deep, and his extensive output, while impressive, sometimes came at the expense of quality. Wright was involved in many academic societies, and co-founded the British Archaeological Association in 1843. Much of his work promoted the use of vernacular literature for research into the Middle Ages, and this dictionary, first published in 1857, was compiled to help readers of historical literature navigate unfamiliar vocabulary. It...

The respected phonetician and philologist Henry Sweet (1845 1912) has had a lasting influence on the study and teaching of linguistics, particularly phonetics and Old English. Sweet is also known for being, in part, the inspiration for Henry Higgins in Shaw's Pygmalion. This two-volume work, first published in 1892 8, marks the start of a new tradition in the study of English, although it received little attention in Britain upon its publication. Building on developments in European linguistics, this was the first grammar of English to adopt a scientific approach to the description of...

Born in Germany and trained in Greek, Latin and Sanskrit, Friedrich Max Muller (1823 1900) settled at Oxford, where he would become the university's first professor of comparative philology. Best known for his work on the Rig Veda, he brought the comparative study of language, mythology and religion to a wider audience in Victorian Britain. His lectures at the Royal Institution, published in two volumes between 1861 and 1864, were reprinted fifteen times before the end of the century. Volume 2 contains the twelve 1863 lectures, in which Max Muller argues for the inseparability of the science...

Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767 1835) was a German philologist, diplomat and philosopher. While Minister of Education he was responsible for reforming the Prussian education system. His pioneering achievements in linguistics influenced many later scholars including Chomsky. Written in 1830 3, this monumental three-volume study of Kawi, a traditional formal and literary language of Java belonging to the Austronesian language family, was published posthumously in 1836 9. The manuscript was prepared for the press by J. K. E. Buschmann, a protege of Humboldt's friend and colleague Bopp, whose work is...

While working for the East India Company in Bengal, Charles Wilkins (1749 1836) became one of first Europeans to master the Sanskrit language. He proceeded to set up a printing press in Calcutta to publish works in Sanskrit and other Indian languages. Wilkins also undertook further related projects, including this work, published in London in 1808, which was part of his larger scheme to write a dictionary of the language and to translate a great epic poem, the Mahabharata. The grammar was the only part of the project that was completed. He never finished the dictionary, and only translated...

Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767 1835) was a German philologist, diplomat and philosopher. While Minister of Education he was responsible for reforming the Prussian education system. His pioneering achievements in linguistics influenced many later scholars including Chomsky. This monumental three-volume study of Kawi, a traditional formal and literary language of Java belonging to the Austronesian language family, was posthumously published in 1836 9. The manuscript was prepared for the press by J. K. E. Buschmann, a protege of Humboldt's friend and colleague Bopp (also reissued in this series)....