Papers, 1950s-1980s, of Professor David Arnott on West African languages, comprising papers, including notes and questionnaires, from his study leave (1955-1956) spent travelling from Nigeria through Niger, Dahomey (Benin), Upper Volta (Burkina Faso), French Sudan (Mali), Senegal and Gambia to Guinea and Sierra Leone; copies (photocopied and photographic) of manuscripts; translations and transcriptions; transcriptions of language recordings; seminar and conference papers; teaching material; offprints of articles by Arnott; typescripts or corrected proofs of articles; and reviews of books by other authors. The papers relate largely to Nigeria but also to Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Niger and Senegal, relating mainly to Fulfulde, Fula and Fulani (language of the Fulani people of West Africa), and also to Tiv and to Hausa poetry and songs. The subjects include literature, including poetry (religious and non-religious), oral literature and folklore, proverbial lore, Islamic influences on African literary cultures, grammar, including morphology, verbal and nominal systems, nouns, vocabulary, and the distribution of dialects.
Papers of Professor David Whitehorn Arnott
This material is held atSchool of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) Archives, University of London
- Reference
- GB 102 PP MS 73
- Former Reference
- GB 102 MS 380362, MS 380416
- Dates of Creation
- 1950s-1980s
- Name of Creator
- Language of Material
- English French Fulah Tiv Hausa Arabic
- Physical Description
- 10 boxes
Scope and Content
Administrative / Biographical History
David Whitehorn Arnott was Professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies. Publications include: The nominal and verbal systems of Fula (1970); supplementary bibliography in Diedrich Hermann Westermann and Margaret Arminel Bryan's The languages of West Africa (1970).
Access Information
Open
Acquisition Information
Various deposits, presented by D. W. Arnott between 1982 and 1995.
Other Finding Aids
Box lists, prepared by the depositor