Colonialism and Missionary linguistics

Zimmermann, Klaus & Birte Kellermeier-Rehbein, ed., Colonialism and Missionary Linguistics, Berlin, de Gruyter, 2015, 266 p., ISBN 978-3-11-036048-6, prix : 99,95 euros. A lot of what we know about “exotic languages” is owed to the linguistic activities of missionaries. They had the languages put into writing, described their grammar and lexicon, and worked towards a standardization, which often came with Eurocentric manipulation. Colonial missionary work as intellectual (religious) conquest..