Ketelaar rediscovered
type: CreativeWork
about: https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/31059787
about: https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/320126562
about: https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/320126596
about: https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/320126597
about: https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/320128846
about: https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/320132379
about: https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/320133006
about: https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/320171218
about: https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/330135222
about: https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/330135240
abstract: To any Indologist, 'Instructie off Onderwijsinge der Hindoustanse en Persiaanse talen' (1698) is instantly recognizable as the iconic ‘first grammar of Hindustani’ – just as the name of its author, Joan Josua Ketelaar, is familiar to scholars of Dutch colonial history. However, the significance of Ketelaar’s work has never been fully appreciated until now. This multifaceted study is a tribute to a rather special Dutch East India Company merchant, and to the exceptional piece of work he created. For the first time, two recently discovered manuscript copies of the text (Utrecht MS and Paris MS) have been examined and compared with the one previously known (Den Haag MS). One of the most significant findings is the identification of models for both the grammatical part and the thematic vocabulary. The origin and purpose of Ketelaar’s work is reflected even in his choice of metalinguistic terminology. From the seemingly random lexical elements, a more complete picture emerges of the socio-cultural landscape in which Ketelaar wrote his introduction to Hindustani and Persian languages. This study aims to put more history into linguistics, and more linguistics into history. It does so by situating the 'Instructie' in the historical context of other linguistic productions created by employees of the Dutch East India Company in Asia, to demonstrate how Ketelaar can be regarded as a link between the academic Latin-speaking community in Europe and the less literate merchants working overseas who sought practical knowledge of foreign languages to be used in daily trade dealings.
author: https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/310199205
creator: https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/310199205
language: dut
language: eng
is part of: LOT ;
position: 512
work example: https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/301290346

PropertyValue
property ID: NL-AmRIJ
value: 290346