The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-04-12
TO OCCUPY AFRICA
Organized for the Civilization Of
Hausal.and.
An Importan. Movement for the Study
. Comparatively Unknown Ian
guage-TAe Most Typical of
Negro Peoples

Al
enterprises into new lands they seldom
begin by making long preliminary
study of the languages. They move
| into the country and learn the lam
guages while they are buying products
| or teaching the natives. A movement
is now well advanced, however, for
making a thorough study of great
African language while yet there is not
missionary in the field and scarcely a
trader. Everybody who knows the
facts thinks this is the best step that
| can be taken towards getting a foot
hold in the great and populous regions
of the central Soudan, just south Of the
Sahara desert.
This region, says an eastern ex-
change, also known as Hausaland, is
dotted over with numerous towns and
has millions of inhabitants. 1t covers
an area OF half million square miles,
and is one-sixth as large as the United
States, exclusive of Alaska. The only
widely-spread language there is the
Hausa, and it is spoken by not less than
one one-hundredth of the human race.
1t is one of the richest and most cult
waited languages in Africa, and is not
only the vernacular where the Hausas
live, but is the lingua franco in wide
regions beyond its own home. Far
south and west of the lower Niger,
Hausa is coming to be more and more
spoken. in big coast towns like Lagas
and Badagry, wherever Mohammedans
are found, Hausa is the dominant Ian
guage. The reason is that the Hausas
are the leading commercial people of
Africa. Their caravans are found from
the Mediterranean states to the wild
regions west OF the Gulf of Guinea, and
wherever they go they spread the
knowledge of their language.
1t was decided long ago that the
study of this language was of great inn
portance TO philologists, traders and
missionaries, and so, in 1892, the Hausa
association was formed in England,
with the object of obtaining a complete
knowledge of it. Well-knowu repre-
sentatives of science and philology
formed the committee and a pro-
gramme of work was adopted. Tho
first step was to send student to
y
knowledge of the tongue from the
Hausa caravans which visit those
cities. Mr.. Charles Robinson was Sc
lected for this work and he has carried
1t on with enthusiasm and excellent re-
suits. He has mingled intimately with
the Hausa visitors to North Africa. He
has acquired knowledge of their hab-
its of thought as well as of their lam
guage, both of which are essential con-
ditions to useful residence in the CEN
trail Soudan. He has translated some
of the Gospels into the language with a
view, simply, to providing a useful aid
to white students. In fact, the mis-
sionaries, while interested in the work,
are taking no active part in it, and 1t is
being carried on solely by an eclectic
body OF scientific men. with such sup
port as the public are giving them.
Mr.. Robinson has now started for the
central Soudan with number of as
sistants, including physician who has
picked up good deal of Hausa at
Tunis, and 1t is expected that he will
be particularly useful, for il is known
that doctor can often obtain access to
circles in Hausalsnd to which an ordi-
nary traveller would not be admitted.
Their headquarters will be at Kano,
the Manchester OF central Africa"
but they will also visit other important
towns, where somewhat different dia-
lects OF Hausa are spoken, SO that the
proposed voca bularies may be of serv-
ice to future residents in various parts
of the Hausa states. Mr. Robinson and
his assistants will complete among the
Hausa people the work that they began
in North Africa. The purpose Is 70
bring back material for copious die
tionary and grammar of the language,
and this is only the beginning of the
work that the association has in view.
They intend, for instance, TO print sim
pie, illustrated books on agriculture in
the Hausa language, and other works
instructing the people IN the best meth
DDS we know of carrying on the pur-
suits in which they already excel other
African people.
. There is probably no work now doing
among the natives of Africa which
promises such good results as this. The
Hausas are called the most typical of
all the negro people, and in their intel
lectual qualities they hold the very
foremost rank among negroes. They
are fine agriculturists, and although
the great mass of them have been
scarcely affected by foreign influences
they are conspicuous for the variety
and excellence of their manufactures,
such as the making OF cloth, mats,
leather and glass.
II Meant Something.
The prince of Wales is said 10 have al /