DOCSLIB.ORG

Downloaded for Personal Non‐Commercial Research Or Study, Without Prior Permission Or Charge

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Downloaded for Personal Non‐Commercial Research Or Study, Without Prior Permission Or Charge Erdman, Michael (2018) Divergent Paths : A Comparative Analysis of Soviet and Turkish Historical Narratives of Central Asia, 1922‐1937. PhD thesis. SOAS University of London. http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/30298 Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non‐commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. When referring to this thesis, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full thesis title", name of the School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination. Divergent Paths: A Comparative Analysis of Soviet and Turkish Historical Narratives of Central Asia, 1922-1937 Michael Erdman Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD 2017 Near and Middle East Section, School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics SOAS, University of London 1 Abstract The period between the end of the Russian Civil War and Turkish War of Independence (1922) and the start of the Great Terror (1937) was one of social and political upheaval, as well as state formation according to bold new patterns across Eurasia. As part of this dynamic, both the Turkish and Soviet governments sought to refashion the self-identification of their citizens through new national histories. These meta-narratives were intended to educate as well as indoctrinate, setting new rules and boundaries for inclusion and participation. Through my doctoral project, I problematize the role of state ideology (Gökalpian nationalism in Turkey; Stalinism in the Soviet Union) in the writing of the pre-Islamic history of Central Asia, with a particular focus on issues of nationhood and belonging. I seek to explain why the two narratives diverged sharply by the mid-1930s, despite having access to roughly the same body of primary sources and scholarly research. Turkish accounts stressed cultural and racial unity among Turkic-speakers, while Soviet histories emphasized miscegenation and the historically contingent nature of nations. They were articulated in school textbooks, conference presentations, monographs, popular histories and propagandistic publications, and were therefore available to all levels of society. By making use of a wide spectrum of all of these materials in Turkish, Russian, Kazakh, Azerbaijani, Crimean Tatar, Turkmen, Uzbek, Tatar and Kazakh, I explore the development of the narratives, their content and language of enunciation from the consolidation of Soviet and Turkish statehood until the eve of the Second World War. In doing so, I demonstrate the manner in which history became a tool of the state and its efforts to influence a rigid and highly controlled worldview on Turkish and Soviet citizens respectively. 2 Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................ 2 Declaration on Plagiarism ...................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................... 8 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 9 Literature Review ................................................................................................ 26 Interpreting the remote past ........................................................................................... 26 Soviet historiography ....................................................................................................... 27 Central Asian historiography ........................................................................................... 27 Turkish historiography ..................................................................................................... 28 Ancient History and Archaeology ................................................................................ 28 Nationalist Archaeology, the State and Ideology ............................................................ 29 Archaeology in Anatolia ................................................................................................... 32 Archaeology, Anthropology, Race and History ................................................................ 33 Nationalist Historiography ......................................................................................... 34 The Nationalists according to the Marxists ..................................................................... 36 Marxist Historiography .............................................................................................. 37 East Asia: a Fusion of Marx and the Ancient Nation........................................................ 38 Soviet Historiography ................................................................................................. 40 The Friendship of Peoples ................................................................................................ 41 A Soviet View of Soviet Historiography ........................................................................... 43 Central Asian Historiography ...................................................................................... 46 Kazakhstan ....................................................................................................................... 47 The Great Patriotic War and Kazakh History ................................................................... 48 Azerbaijan ........................................................................................................................ 50 Broader Trends ................................................................................................................ 51 Turkish Historiography ............................................................................................... 53 Behar on the Influence of the State................................................................................. 54 Turkish History in Context................................................................................................ 54 A Nietzschean View of Turkish Historiography ................................................................ 56 Alternatives to the Turkish History Thesis ....................................................................... 57 A Lone Comparison .................................................................................................... 58 History, Language and Archaeology ..................................................................... 60 Language and Proto-Language .................................................................................... 61 Language, Land and Culture ............................................................................................ 62 Ecologies and Economies of Language ............................................................................ 64 Endogenous Change......................................................................................................... 66 Family Relations ............................................................................................................... 68 Typologies and Mythologies ............................................................................................ 69 Alternative Attempts ....................................................................................................... 72 Sifting through the Evidence ............................................................................................ 75 Archaeology............................................................................................................... 76 Archaeology in the Era of Extremes................................................................................. 77 New Archaeology ............................................................................................................. 79 The Intangible versus the Material .................................................................................. 81 4 A Synthesis of Archaeology and Linguistics ..................................................................... 82 Museums, Exhibitions and Retinal Narratives ................................................................. 85 Post-Modernism and the Museum .................................................................................. 87 Anthropology............................................................................................................. 89 The Ecological Push .......................................................................................................... 91 Historical Anthropology ................................................................................................... 92 Postcolonialism in the Pre-colonial Era ........................................................................... 94 Bible Study ....................................................................................................................... 95 Israel Reboot .................................................................................................................... 97 Last Stand at Masada ......................................................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Bank of Russia Holds a Week of Financial Literacy in the Crimea | Bank of Russia
    12 Neglinnaya Street, Moscow, 107016 Russia 8 800 300-30-00 www.cbr.ru News Bank of Russia holds a Week of Financial Literacy in the Crimea 17 November 2015 News The Bank of Russia held a Week of Financial Literacy in the Crimea attended by over 4,000 people, who had got the opportunity to address questions to Bank of Russia representatives and experts invited. Thirty-nine experts from the Bank of Russia, Association of Russian Banks, Association of Regional Banks of Russia, National Payments Council, and Deposit Insurance Agency delivered lectures in Simferopol, Sevastopol, Yalta, Kerch, Feodosia, Koktebel, Yevpatoria, Alushta, Saki district, Gurzuf, Shchelkino, Lenino, and other settlements of the Crimea. Trainings staged at 77 grounds were attended by schoolchildren, students, employees of enterprises and organisations, and also pensioners, for whom such trainings were organised for the first time. The Bank of Russia has been holding weeks of financial literacy in the Crimea Federal District starting 2014. The primary goal of lectures, lessons, meetings, and expert consultations is to provide population of the new Russian region with the required knowledge of the financial system of the Russian Federation and respective legislation, help determine demands and preferences to make rational financial decisions. This time the topical issues were specifics of Russian consumer loan agreement, main types of compulsory insurance, foreign exchange control, and financial monitoring. Bank of Russia lecturers prepared a special game for middle and senior pupils ‘Draw up Personal Financial Plan’ and also offered them to imagine themselves as a bank or an insurance company and tell their classmates about their activities.
    [Show full text]
  • Turkish Language As a Politicized Element: the Case of Turkish Nation-Building
    GeT MA Working Paper Series No. 15 2018 Turkish Language as a Politicized Element: The Case of Turkish Nation-Building TOLGA SEVIN GeT MA Working Paper Series Department of Social Sciences Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin Unter den Linden 6, 10099 Berlin www.sowi.hu-berlin.de/getma [email protected] TOLGA SEVIN GET MA WP 15/2018 GeT MA Working Paper Series Published by the German Turkish Masters Program of Social Sciences (GeT MA), Department of Social Sciences at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Papers in this series are the final theses of GeT MA graduates. Publication in this series does not preclude a later publication elsewhere. The views expressed in the GeT MA Working Paper Series are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the GeT MA Program or of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. The copyright stays with the author(s). Copyright for this paper: Tolga Sevin Please cite in the following format: Sevin, Tolga (2018): Turkish Language as a Politicized Element: The Case of Turkish Nation-Building. GeT MA Working Paper No. 15, Department of Social Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. [online] Homepage: Edoc Server Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. URL: http://edoc.hu-berlin.de/series/getmaseries Corresponding authors: Tolga Sevin, Master of Social Science, German Turkish Masters Program, Institut für Sozialwissenschaften, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10099 Berlin. Tolga Sevin, born in Ankara, studied at Bilkent University, Middle East Technical University, and Humboldt- Universität zu Berlin. He lives in Berlin. This thesis is dedicated to Müfit Kulen.
    [Show full text]
  • General Licence
    GENERAL LICENCE INT/2020/059 1. This licence is granted under regulation 64 of The Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (“The Russia Regulations”). 2. Any act which would otherwise breach the prohibitions in Regulations 11 to 15 of The Russia Regulations is exempt from those prohibitions to the extent required to give effect to the permissions in this licence. 3. In this licence: a “Person” means An individual, a body of persons corporate or unincorporate, any organisation or any association or combination of persons. “Crimean Sea Ports” means State Unitary Enterprise of the Crimean Republic ‘Crimean Sea Ports’, an entity designated under regulation 5 of The Russia Regulations for the purposes of regulations 11 to 15 (asset-freeze etc.) and includes: Kerch Fishery Port, Yalta Commercial Port, Evpatoria Commercial Port, Gosgidrografiya and Port-Terminal branches of the Crimean Sea Ports. a “Relevant Institution” means A person that has permission under Part 4A of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000(3) (permission to carry on regulated activity). Permissions 4. Under this licence, subject to the conditions in Paragraphs 5-8 below: 4.1 A Person may make payment(s) out of non-frozen funds to the Crimean Sea Ports for services provided at the ports of Kerch Fishery Port, Yalta Commercial Port and Evpatoria Commercial Port, and for services provided by Gosgidrografiya and by Port-Terminal branches of the Crimean Sea Ports. 4.2 A Person may be reimbursed out of non-frozen funds for payments it makes in accordance with paragraph 4.1 above. 4.3 Relevant Institutions may process payments made in accordance with paragraphs 4.1 and/or 4.2 above.
    [Show full text]
  • Nationalism in Japan's Contemporary Foreign Policy
    The London School of Economics and Political Science Nationalism in Japan’s Contemporary Foreign Policy: A Consideration of the Cases of China, North Korea, and India Maiko Kuroki A thesis submitted to the Department of International Relations of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London, February 2013 Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of <88,7630> words. Statement of use of third party for editorial help I can confirm that my thesis was copy edited for conventions of language, spelling and grammar by Josh Collins and Greg Demmons. 2 of 3 Abstract Under the Koizumi and Abe administrations, the deterioration of the Japan-China relationship and growing tension between Japan and North Korea were often interpreted as being caused by the rise of nationalism. This thesis aims to explore this question by looking at Japan’s foreign policy in the region and uncovering how political actors manipulated the concept of nationalism in foreign policy discourse.
    [Show full text]
  • Linguistic Diversity, Linguistic Div Minority Languages Minority
    LINGUISTIC DIVERSITY, LINGUISTIC DIV MINORITY LANGUAGES MINORITY LAN AND SUSTAINABLE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT DEVELOPMENT DEVEL DIVERSIDAD LINGÜÍSTICA, DIVERSIDAD LENGUAS MINORIZADAS LENGUAS MIN Y DESARROLLO Y DESARROLLO Y DES SOSTENIBLE SOSTENIBLE SOSTENIBL DIVERSITÉ LINGUISTIQUE, DIVERSITÉ LANGUES MINORITAIRES LANGUES MI ET DÉVELOPPEMENT ET DÉVELOPPEM DURABLE DURABLE DURABLE DURAB ITZIAR IDIAZABAL & MANEL PÉREZ-CAUREL (EDS.) Organización de las Naciones Unidas Munduko Hizkuntza Ondarearen para la Educación, UNESCO Katedra la Ciencia y la Cultura Cátedra UNESCO Hezkuntza, de Patrimonio Lingüístico Mundial Zientzia eta Kulturarako UNESCO Chair Nazio Batuen Erakundea on World Language Heritage LINGUISTIC DIVERSITY, MINORITY LANGUAGES AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT DIVERSIDAD LINGÜÍSTICA, LENGUAS MINORIZADAS Y DESARROLLO SOSTENIBLE DIVERSITÉ LINGUISTIQUE, LANGUES MENACÉES ET DÉVELOPPEMENT DURABLE Edted by Editado por Itziar Idiazabal Manel Pérez- Caurel Con la colaboración de Nora Etxaniz With the colaboration of Nora Etxaniz UNESCO Chair on Wordl Language Heritage of the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU Cátedra UNESCO de Patrimonio Lingüístico Mundial de la Universidad del País Vasco (UPV/EHU) CIP. Biblioteca Universitaria Linguistic diversity, minority languages and sustainable development = Diversidad lingüística, lenguas minorizadas y desarrollo sostenible = Diversité linguistique, langues menacées et développement durable / Itziar Idiazabal & Manel Pérez-Caurel (eds.) ; [con la colaboración de = with the colaboration of, Nora Etxaniz]. – Datos. – Bilbao : Universidad del País Vasco / Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, Argitalpen Zerbitzua = Servicio Editorial, [2019]. – 1 recurso en línea : PDF (262 p.) Textos en inglés, español y francés Modo de acceso: World Wide Web ISBN: 978-84-1319-070-9. 1. Minorías lingüísticas. 2. Multilingüismo. 3. Lenguaje y lenguas - Renovación. 4. Desarrollo sostenible. I. Idiazabal, Itziar, editor. II. Pérez-Caurel, Manel, editor.
    [Show full text]
  • The Launching of the Turkish Thesis of History: a Close Textual Analysis
    THE LAUNCHING OF THE TURKISH THESIS OF HISTORY: A CLOSE TEXTUAL ANALYSIS by CEREN ARKMAN SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN HISTORY SABANCI UNIVERSITY FEBRUARY 2006 THE LAUNCHING OF THE TURKISH THESIS OF HISTORY: A CLOSE TEXTUAL ANALYSIS MEMBERS OF THE EXAMINATION COMMITEE: Prof. Halil Berktay (Thesis Supervisor) Assistant Prof. Ali Çarko ğlu Assistant Prof. Yusuf Hakan Erdem DATE OF APPROVAL: © CEREN ARKMAN February 2006 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT THE LAUNCHING OF THE TURKISH THESIS OF HISTORY: A CLOSE TEXTUAL ANALYSIS CEREN ARKMAN M.A. in History February 2006 Thesis Supervisor: Prof Halil Berktay Keywords: nationalism, history, Turkey The following is a dissertation on the Turkish Thesis of History, focusing specifically on a certain instant in its development, namely the First Turkish History Congress in which the Thesis was fully formulated. Taking its lead from the ideas of Benedict Anderson, the dissertation is based on the assumption that the nations are imagined cultural constructs; and that it is primarily the style in which it is imagined that gives a nation its distinctive character. Developing these ideas, the work turns its attention to the methods of such imagination and incorporating the ideas of Anthony D. Smith on national myths, devises a conceptual framework for making sense of the interrelations among the formation of nations, the writing of national histories and the creation of national myths. In light of this theoretical framework, the papers of the Congress are analyzed in detail in order to trace clues of the distinctive characteristics of Turkish nationalism –its peculiarities which were to a large extent dictated by the limits (real or imagined) in reaction to which Turkish nationalism developed.
    [Show full text]
  • On the Modern Politicization of the Persian Poet Nezami Ganjavi
    Official Digitized Version by Victoria Arakelova; with errata fixed from the print edition ON THE MODERN POLITICIZATION OF THE PERSIAN POET NEZAMI GANJAVI YEREVAN SERIES FOR ORIENTAL STUDIES Edited by Garnik S. Asatrian Vol.1 SIAVASH LORNEJAD ALI DOOSTZADEH ON THE MODERN POLITICIZATION OF THE PERSIAN POET NEZAMI GANJAVI Caucasian Centre for Iranian Studies Yerevan 2012 Siavash Lornejad, Ali Doostzadeh On the Modern Politicization of the Persian Poet Nezami Ganjavi Guest Editor of the Volume Victoria Arakelova The monograph examines several anachronisms, misinterpretations and outright distortions related to the great Persian poet Nezami Ganjavi, that have been introduced since the USSR campaign for Nezami‖s 800th anniversary in the 1930s and 1940s. The authors of the monograph provide a critical analysis of both the arguments and terms put forward primarily by Soviet Oriental school, and those introduced in modern nationalistic writings, which misrepresent the background and cultural heritage of Nezami. Outright forgeries, including those about an alleged Turkish Divan by Nezami Ganjavi and falsified verses first published in Azerbaijan SSR, which have found their way into Persian publications, are also in the focus of the authors‖ attention. An important contribution of the book is that it highlights three rare and previously neglected historical sources with regards to the population of Arran and Azerbaijan, which provide information on the social conditions and ethnography of the urban Iranian Muslim population of the area and are indispensable for serious study of the Persian literature and Iranian culture of the period. ISBN 978-99930-69-74-4 The first print of the book was published by the Caucasian Centre for Iranian Studies in 2012.
    [Show full text]
  • Pan-Asianism As an Ideal of Asian Identity and Solidarity, 1850–Present アジアの主体性・団結の理想としての汎アジア主 義−−１８５０年から今日まで
    Volume 9 | Issue 17 | Number 1 | Article ID 3519 | Apr 25, 2011 The Asia-Pacific Journal | Japan Focus Pan-Asianism as an Ideal of Asian Identity and Solidarity, 1850–Present アジアの主体性・団結の理想としての汎アジア主 義−−１８５０年から今日まで Christopher W. A. Szpilman, Sven Saaler Pan-Asianism as an Ideal of Asian Attempts to define Asia are almost as old as the Identity and Solidarity,term itself. The word “Asia” originated in ancient Greece in the fifth century BC. It 1850–Present originally denoted the lands of the Persian Empire extending east of the Bosphorus Straits Sven Saaler and Christopher W. A. but subsequently developed into a general term Szpilman used by Europeans to describe all the lands lying to the east of Europe. (The point where This is a revised, updated and abbreviated Europe ended and Asia began was, however, version of the introduction to the two volume never clearly defined.) Often, this usage collection by the authors ofPan-Asianism. A connoted a threat, real or perceived, by Asia to Documentary History Vol. 1 covers the years Europe—a region smaller in area, much less 1850-1920; Vol. 2 covers the years 1850- populous, poorer, and far less significant than present, link. Asia in terms of global history. The economic and political power of Asia, the The term “Asia” arrived in East Asia relatively world’s largest continent, is increasing rapidly. late, being introduced by Jesuit missionaries in According to the latest projections, the gross the sixteenth century. The term is found, domestic products of China and India, the written in Chinese characters 亜細亜( ), on world’s most populous nations, will each Chinese maps of the world made around 1600 surpass that of the United States in the not-too- under the supervision of Matteo Ricci distant future.
    [Show full text]
  • In the Eyes of the Iranian Intellectuals of The
    “The West” in the Eyes of the Iranian Intellectuals of the Interwar Years (1919–1939) Mehrzad Boroujerdi n 1929, after a lecture by Arnold Toynbee (from the notes of Denison Ross, the fi rst director of the School of Oriental and African Studies) on the subject of the modern- ization of the Middle East, a commentator said, Persia has not been modernized and has not in reality been Westernized. Look at the map: there is Persia right up against Russia. For the past hundred years, living cheek by jowl with Russia, Persia has maintained her complete independence of Russian thought. Although sixty to seventy percent of her trade for the past hundred years has been with Russia, Persia remains aloof in spirit and in practice. For the past ten years, Persia has been living alongside the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics, and has remained free from any impregnation by their basic ideas. Her freedom is due to her cultural independence. For the safety of Persia it is essential, if she is to continue to develop on her own lines, that she should not attempt modernization, and I do not think that the attempt is being made. It is true that the Persians have adopted motor-cars and in small way railways. But let us remember that the Persians have always been in the forefront in anything of that sort. The fi rst Eastern nation to enter the Postal Union and to adopt a system of telegraphs was Persia, which country was also among the fi rst of the Eastern nations to join the League of Nations and to become an active member.
    [Show full text]
  • What Can Taiwan (And the United States) Expect from Japan?
    Journal of East Asian Studies 5 (2005), 1–34 What Can Taiwan (and the United States) Expect from Japan? Gregory W. Noble In the 1990s and into the new century, increased Japanese sympathy toward Taiwan and antipathy toward mainland China led to a series of moves to improve treatment of Taiwan, including enhanced transporta- tion links, a higher level and frequency of official contacts, posting of a military attaché, and expressions of support for Taiwan’s participation in regional and international organizations. Nevertheless, Japan remains firmly wedded to a One China policy that opposes both the use of force by the mainland and a declaration by Taiwan of independence from China. Japan’s willingness to cooperate with the United States to defend Taiwan is increasingly in doubt. The sources of Japan’s supportive but restrained policy include the decline of traditional ties with Taiwan, the increasing size of the mainland market, and above all a perception of security risks that ultimately diverges sharply from that of Taiwan. Seri- ous cooperation in defense and diplomacy requires shared (or comple- mentary) threats, not just shared adversaries. KEYWORDS: Japanese foreign policy, Japan-Taiwan relations, Japan- China relations, Sino-Japanese relations onfrontation over the sovereignty of Taiwan is the most likely trig- C ger for superpower conflict in East Asia and perhaps in the entire world. North Korea may brandish a small stock of missiles and nuclear devices for blackmail or deterrence, but only Taiwan sets today’s domi- nant military
    [Show full text]
  • Designing the Hall in the City of Sari with an Emphasis on the Improvement and Identity of Architecture of Mazandaran, Taberestan
    Cumhuriyet Üniversitesi Fen Fakültesi Cumhuriyet University Faculty of Science Fen Bilimleri Dergisi (CFD), Cilt:36, No: 3 Ozel Sayı (2015) Science Journal (CSJ), Vol. 36, No: 3 Special Issue (2015) ISSN: 1300-1949 ISSN: 1300-1949 Designing the Hall in the City of Sari with an Emphasis on the Improvement and Identity of Architecture of Mazandaran, Taberestan Lili ALAEI1,*, Dr. Saeid MIRRIAHI2 1Postgraduate in the field of architecture, Azad University of Savadkuh Branch 2Architecture Ph.D., the University of Shahid Beheshti Received: 01.02.2015; Accepted: 06.06.2015 _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Abstract. Being dynamic is one of the features of the city of Sari, that is, no finished shape can ever be defined for the city since it is always changing in the development process to conform itself with the environmental and socioeconomic and … conditions. The city of Sari is one of the ancient cities of the province which was once the capital city of achaemenian (Zadratca). As the researchers say the city of Sari is built on the layers of a city which was the center of the northern state of Iran since the pre- Islamic ages. The city of Sari with its historic background; and its cultural, social antiquity and the tourism issue is under the focus of the people or the other nations, probably. Designing the hall of the city of Sari is aimed to meet the cultural and social needs of the people. It is tried in this thesis to explain the different periods of architecture by the urbanism studies. Then, we will show the designing steps using the traditional architecture concepts and geometric patterns.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 African Language Classification Beyond Greenberg
    1 "Areal linguistics in Africa before a new approach to its genealogical language classification" Lecture 1, LLACAN, Paris, 9/3/2019 2 + his earliest classification was received positively - Westermann (1952: 256): 1 African language classification beyond Greenberg Greenberg is the first linguist who has attempted to give a classification of the whole range of Tom Güldemann African languages. He has not contented himself with a general survey, as all his predecessors, Humboldt University Berlin and Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History Jena including myself, have done, but has gone into considerable detail; in each single case he gives his proofs in word-lists, in tabulated formative elements, and also on sketch maps; he does not 1.1 Before and after Greenberg (1963) quote all his sources, which would have been practically impossible; nor is it essential, since they are known to the expert. He confirms many findings of those who have worked before 1.1.1 African language classification before Greenberg him, he corrects a number of errors; although many of these had been refuted by others, it had seldom been done with such clarity and definiteness as here. It is quite possible that some of + relying heavily on non-linguistic criteria, couched in colonial European attitudes to Africa his statements and classifications may prove to be not sufficiently clarified, or that he has (notably "Hamitic theory") overlooked a language which cannot be shown to be related to any other in Africa; he will be + highly synthetic: 3-5 genealogically intended super-groups criticized, and some of his classifications may be rejected; but all this does not detract from the value of his study, for which all of us have to thank him.
    [Show full text]