Colonialism and grammatical representation : John Gilchrist and the analysis of the 'Hindustani' language in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries / Richard Steadman-Jones.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Steadman-Jones, Richard.

Series:

Publications of the Philological Society ; 41.

Publications of the Philological Society ; 41

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Hindustani language--Study and teaching--History.

Hindustani language.

Hindustani language--Study and teaching--Political aspects--History.

Gilchrist, John Borthwick, 1759-1841.

Gilchrist, John Borthwick.

Hindustani language--Study and teaching.

History.

Physical Description:

viii, 280 pages ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; Boston : Blackwell Pub., [2007]

Summary:

Between 1787 and 1796, John Gilchrist, a surgeon in the service of the East India Company published the first really detailed analysis of the 'Hindustani' language for the use of his compatriots in India. The study of colonial linguistics has tended to follow one of two paths, characterising texts like Gilchrist 's either as exercises in technical problem-solving or as reductively political examples of 'colonial discourse '. This study develops a method of reading colonial grammars that acknowledges both dimensions of the text - the technical and the political.Steadman-Jones offers contextual discussion of the political, biographical, and intellectual contexts of Gilchrist 's work. He also goes on to provide detailed readings of Gilchrist 's grammatical praxis and, through them, presents a picture of the complex relationship between grammatical inquiry and the politics of colonial discourse in the early years of the Indian Empire.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [264]-275) and index.

ISBN:

9781405161329

1405161329

OCLC:

82367919