Roy Clive Abraham
Encyclopedia
Roy Clive Abraham was a key figure in African language scholarship during the twentieth century. He worked for over thirty years on a wide range of disparate languages.
From 1923 to 1924 he was at Balliol College, Oxford
. He received a first-class honours degree in Arabic and Persian; he asked to be examined in Ethiopic, but no examiner was available. He took a certificate in anthropology from University College, London in 1927, and a diploma in (classical) Arabic from the School of Oriental Studies in 1930.
(1914-23), Abraham was in the British army in Arabia and on the north-western frontier with the Indian army.
From 1925 to 1944, he worked for the administrative service of the northern provinces of Nigeria. He researched the local languages, and assisted George Percival Bargery in (date needed) to compile the latter's monumental and authoritative Hausa
-English Dictionary (1934). In his Principles of Hausa (1934), he simplified Bargery's six-tone system to the correct three-tone system for Hausa.
In this period, he also published The Grammar of Tiv (1933) and The Principles of Idoma (1935), the first detailed linguistic description of an eastern Kwa language. Abraham's grammars and dictionaries represented major descriptive and analytical contributions to the study of African languages. In 1941-2, he taught Hausa to soldiers in the Royal West African frontier force. Later in World War II
, he served in Ethiopia, teaching Amharic and Somali; he was also based in Kenya, South Africa, France, and Italy, and with the British military mission in Moscow, being promoted to major.
In 1945 Abraham was awarded a Leverhulme research fellowship to research the languages of Ethiopia and Eritrea (including Amharic and Ge'ez). In 1946 he failed to succeed Bargery as lecturer in Hausa at the School of Oriental and African Studies. However, in 1948 he was appointed to a new lectureship in Amharic; he also taught Tigrinya and began research into Berber, Oromo, and Somali. His Dictionary of Hausa was published in 1949 and The Principles of Somali in 1951. He retired in 1951. In 1952, Abraham embarked on a study of Yoruba. His Dictionary of Modern Yoruba appeared in 1958.
A commemorative volume in honour of his outstanding contribution to the understanding of African languages was published in 1992.
Education
- University College SchoolUniversity College SchoolUniversity College School, generally known as UCS, is an Independent school charity situated in Hampstead, north west London, England. The school was founded in 1830 by University College London and inherited many of that institution's progressive and secular views...
- Clifton CollegeClifton CollegeClifton College is a co-educational independent school in Clifton, Bristol, England, founded in 1862. In its early years it was notable for emphasising science in the curriculum, and for being less concerned with social elitism, e.g. by admitting day-boys on equal terms and providing a dedicated...
, BristolBristolBristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007... - Various establishments in Germany
From 1923 to 1924 he was at Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
. He received a first-class honours degree in Arabic and Persian; he asked to be examined in Ethiopic, but no examiner was available. He took a certificate in anthropology from University College, London in 1927, and a diploma in (classical) Arabic from the School of Oriental Studies in 1930.
Career
In and after World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
(1914-23), Abraham was in the British army in Arabia and on the north-western frontier with the Indian army.
From 1925 to 1944, he worked for the administrative service of the northern provinces of Nigeria. He researched the local languages, and assisted George Percival Bargery in (date needed) to compile the latter's monumental and authoritative Hausa
Hausa language
Hausa is the Chadic language with the largest number of speakers, spoken as a first language by about 25 million people, and as a second language by about 18 million more, an approximate total of 43 million people...
-English Dictionary (1934). In his Principles of Hausa (1934), he simplified Bargery's six-tone system to the correct three-tone system for Hausa.
In this period, he also published The Grammar of Tiv (1933) and The Principles of Idoma (1935), the first detailed linguistic description of an eastern Kwa language. Abraham's grammars and dictionaries represented major descriptive and analytical contributions to the study of African languages. In 1941-2, he taught Hausa to soldiers in the Royal West African frontier force. Later in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he served in Ethiopia, teaching Amharic and Somali; he was also based in Kenya, South Africa, France, and Italy, and with the British military mission in Moscow, being promoted to major.
In 1945 Abraham was awarded a Leverhulme research fellowship to research the languages of Ethiopia and Eritrea (including Amharic and Ge'ez). In 1946 he failed to succeed Bargery as lecturer in Hausa at the School of Oriental and African Studies. However, in 1948 he was appointed to a new lectureship in Amharic; he also taught Tigrinya and began research into Berber, Oromo, and Somali. His Dictionary of Hausa was published in 1949 and The Principles of Somali in 1951. He retired in 1951. In 1952, Abraham embarked on a study of Yoruba. His Dictionary of Modern Yoruba appeared in 1958.
A commemorative volume in honour of his outstanding contribution to the understanding of African languages was published in 1992.