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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 series of firsts is this lexicon, which was published
posthumously in 1882. The Swahili dictionary, pioneering as it was
in its day, is still of historical interest, especially because it
contains notes on Swahili culture and customs, as well as an
outline of the language's grammar.
In 1829 the Church Missionary Society began operations in the
African kingdom of Abyssinia (Ethiopia). The Anglican clergyman
Charles Isenberg (1806 64) joined the mission there in 1835,
followed by Johann Ludwig Krapf (1810 81) in 1837. Soon afterwards,
opposition to the Society's presence in Abyssinia caused them to
leave. However, they were determined to establish a base in the
central Ethiopian kingdom of Shoa (Shewa), and did so in 1839,
entering from the Yemeni port of Mocha. Isenberg stayed in the
capital, Ankobar, from 7 June until 6 November 1839, while Krapf
remained until 1842 and travelled to other, lesser-known parts of
the country. This work, published in 1843, is an account of their
period of missionary activity, told through their journals. It
begins with a geographical account of the region by the leading
specialist of the time, James MacQueen (1778 1870), widely
considered one of his most important works.
Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the
1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly
expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable,
high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.
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![A Dictionary of the Suahili Language [Ed. by R.N. Cust]. (Paperback): Johann Ludwig Krapf](http://media.loot.co.za/images/x80/623329773329179215.jpg)
