Diedrich Hermann Westermann

Diedrich Hermann Westermann (June 24, 1875-May 31, 1956) was a German missionary and linguist. He is seen as one of the founders of modern African linguistics. He was born and has died in Baden near Bremen. In 1927 he published a Practical Orthography of African Languages which became later known as the Westermann script. Subsequently he published the influential and oft-reprinted Practical Phonetics for Students of African Languages in collaboration with Ida Ward (1933).

Westermann has carried out extensive linguistic and anthropological research in the area ranging from Senegal eastwards to the Upper Nile. His linguistic publications cover a wide range of African languages, including the Gbe languages, Nuer, Kpelle, Shilluk, Hausa, and Guang.

References

• Westermann, Diedrich Hermann & Ward, Ida C. (1933) Practical phonetics for students of African languages. London: Oxford University Press for the International African Institute.
• Westermann, Diedrich H. (1948). The missionary and anthropological research. Oxford University Press for the International African Institute.
• Westermann, Diedrich H. (1949). Sprachbeziehungen und sprachverwandtschaft in Afrika. Sitzungsberichte der Deutschen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin, Philosophisch-Historische Klasse, 1948 (Nr. 1). Berlin: Akademie-Verlag.
• Westermann, Diedrich H. (1952). The languages of West Africa. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Westermann, Diedrich H. (1964). Practical phonetics for students of African languages (4th improvement). Oxford: Oxford University Press.