Tony Fekete
I am a true European, born in England of Hungarian parents, and educated in London, Edinburgh, Paris and Berlin. During my career I have worked in many countries: Germany, Belgium, Hungary, Romania and Bahrain. Wherever I travel I look for books. I have had a number of successful auctions of parts of my library and have been interviewed for films and books on the subject of collecting. I am a polyglot with a knowledge of nine languages and have spoken already twice at Polyglot events.
Church and State as promoters of language study and cultural diversity during colonial times.
Church and State as promoters of language study and cultural diversity during colonial times. The expansion of Empires brought the need to understand local languages and teach them to administrators and merchants. In the vanguard of colonial expansion was the Church which sent missionaries to convert the inhabitants of the newly acquired territories. Language however was not just a vehicle for oppression and forced conversion. All the major empires promoted the study and recording of these languages and some of these works remain the most important works in their field. In some cases they are all that remains of extinct languages. The Russian Imperial Academy of Sciences and the Vatican’s Propaganda Fidei were particularly active. The presentation will be illustrated with books from my library.