Polyglotta Africana is a study published in 1854 by the German missionary Sigismund Wilhelm Koelle (1823–1902), in which the author compares 280 words from 200 African languages and dialects (or about 120 separate languages according to today's classification; several varieties considered distinct by Koelle were later shown to belong to the same language). As a comparative study it was a major breakthrough at the time. Koelle based his material on first-hand observations, mostly with freed slaves in Freetown, Sierra Leone. He transcribed the data using a uniform phonetic script. Koelle's transcriptions were not always accurate; for example, he persistently confused with and with. His data were consistent enough, however, to enable groupings of languages based on vocabulary resemblances. Notably, the groups which he set up correspond in a number of cases to modern groups: North-West Atlantic — Atlantic North-Western High Sudan/Mandenga — Mande North-Eastern High Sudan — Gur Although Koelle's was not the first such study comparing different African langu
Polyglotta Africana es un estudio publicado en 1854 por el misionero alemán Sigismund Wilhelm Koelle (1823–1902), en el que el autor compara 280 palabras de 200 idiomas y dialectos africanos (o alrededor de 120 idiomas separados según la clasificación actual; varias variedades consideradas distintas por Koelle fueron posteriormente mostradas como pertenecientes al mismo idioma). Como estudio comparativo fue un gran avance en el momento. Koelle basó su material en observaciones de primera mano, principalmente con esclavos liberados en Freetown, Sierra Leona. Transcribió los datos usando un script fonético uniforme. Las transcripciones de Koelle no eran siempre precisas; por ejemplo, se confundió persistentemente con y con. Sus datos eran suficientemente consistentes, sin embargo, para permitir agrupamientos de lenguas basados en similitudes vocabulares. Notablemente, los grupos que estableció en un número de casos corresponden a grupos modernos: North-West Atlantic — North-West Atlantic High-Mind/Sudan y el estudio de las lenguas africanas — Menga-Northern-Gur