Ernst Oswald Johannes Westphal

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Ernst Oswald Johannes Gotthard Gotthilf Westphal (* 1919 in Khalava in Northern Transvaal , South Africa ; † November 27, 1990 in Bredasdorp near Cape Town ) was an important South African linguist and an expert on Bantu and Khoisan languages .

life and work

Early years and school education

Westphal was born in 1919 in Khalava in the north of the Transvaal , the son of German , Evangelical-Lutheran missionaries , and spoke fluent German , English and Afrikaans as a child . As a child he also learned Tshivenda , the Bantu language of the Venda spoken in the region , in whose sometimes secret initiation rites he was introduced as a young man.

Study and entry into an academic career

Westphal studied isiZulu and Sesotho at the Witwatersrand University in Johannesburg with Professor Clement Martyn Doke , who for his part is still considered one of the most important linguists in the field of the Bantu languages. For example, the standardized spelling of the Shona language can largely be traced back to the work of Clement M. Doke. After completing his studies, Ernst OJ Westphal continued to work as a lecturer for Bantu languages ​​at his place of study from 1942 to 1947.

Work as a linguist

From 1949 to 1962 he worked as a researcher and lecturer at the London School of Oriental and African Studies - an institute of the University of London , where he in 1955 with a dissertation using the language of the Venda (Tshivenda) PhD has: " The Sentence in Venda " . This dissertation is remarkable insofar as Ernst Westphal was able to use practically no external sources (there were hardly any) and almost exclusively evaluated his own research results for this work.

In 1962 he moved to the Institute for African Studies (School of African Studies) at the University of Cape Town as a professor , where he held the chair until his retirement in 1984. During this time he became one of the world's leading experts in the click loud languages ​​of the San (Bushmen) and Khoi Khoi (also Nama, Orlam or Hottentot ) - Khoisan languages , many of which he was fluent in.

On behalf of the Portuguese government, Westphal (who also spoke fluent Portuguese ) was involved in scientific, lexical projects in which he translated into Portuguese a large number of old texts and inscriptions that had been discovered in Mozambique . He also worked with the Portuguese folklorist, Professor António de Almeida (1900–1984).

Family and private

The Westphal family had been very much integrated into the rural culture of the indigenous peoples of South Africa for over a hundred years - especially into the tribal life of the Venda ethnic group. It was his grandfather Gotthilf Ernst Westphal who recognized the literary and political talent of the young Tswana pupil Sol Plaatjes and who massively promoted the later co-founder and general secretary of the ANC . Just like Westphal, Sol Plaatje was exceptionally gifted in languages ​​and spoke fluent German, among other things.

Westphal was also one of the co-founders of the " South African National Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds, (SANCCOB) ". He left two sons: Robin Peter Westphal (born 1945) and the South African philosophy professor Jonathan Gotthard Westphal (born 1951).

Westphal died on November 27, 1990 in Bredasdorp in the Cape Overberg region and is buried in the small Scottish town of Port Appin (gael. An Apainn) . His tombstone is decorated with the inscription " A True Son of Venda " (Eng. " A true son of the Venda "). Two years after his death, Derek F. Gowlett published a commemorative publication in honor of Ernst Westphal with the title " African linguistic contributions: presented in honor of Ernst Westphal ".

literature

  • Gowlett, Derek F. " African linguistic contributions: presented in honor of Ernst Westphal ", Via Africa Ltd. 1992
  • Westphal, Ernst OJ “ Kwangari: An Index of Lexical Types ”, University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies, 1958
  • Westphal, Ernst OJ “ The Linguistic Prehistory of Southern Africa: Bush, Kwadi, Hottentot and Bantu Linguistic Relationships ”, Oxford University Press, 1963
  • Rycroft, David, " Ernest OJ Westphal, African Languages ​​and Cultures, " Taylor & Francis Ltd., 1998-2007
  • " Khoisan Languages. " (2006). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved November 20, 2006, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.bridica.com/topic/Khoisan-languages
  • Philip, Marie, “ Gregory Jackass Penguin, ” Cape Town, D. Philip, 1971

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Gowlett, Derek F., " African linguistic contributions: presented in honor of Ernst Westphal ", Via Africa Ltd. 1992
  2. ^ Doke, Clement F., " Report on the Unification of the Shona Dialects. " Government of Southern Rhodesia: Government Blue Book, 1931.
  3. ^ Westphal, Ernst OJ, " The Sentence in Venda ", University of London, London School of Oriental and African Studies. 1955
  4. ^ Westphal, Ernst OJ “ Kwangari: An Index of Lexical Types ”, University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies, 1958
  5. ^ Westphal, Ernst OJ “ The Linguistic Prehistory of Southern Africa: Bush, Kwadi, Hottentot and Bantu Linguistic Relationships ”, Oxford University Press, 1963
  6. ^ " Khoisan Languages. " (2006). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved November 20, 2006, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.bridica.com/topic/Khoisan-languages
  7. ↑ Almeida, António de & Westphal, Ernst Oswald Johannes: “ Línguas haben-bantas de Angola ”, Referred to by Strohmeyer & Moritz (1975: 179).
  8. ^ Philip, Marie, " Gregory Jackass Penguin, " Cape Town, D. Philip, 1971
personal data
SURNAME Westphal, Ernst Oswald Johannes
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Westphal, Ernst Oswald Johannes Gotthard Gotthilf (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION South African linguist
DATE OF BIRTH 1919
PLACE OF BIRTH Khalava in Northern Transvaal ,
DATE OF DEATH November 27, 1990
Place of death Bredasdorp