Dr Cristina Muru
Study of linguistic variation within missionary translations of Christin religious books and study of missionary grammars of Tamil with special reference to the transmission of their theoretical frameworks and ri-elaboration of Tamil descriptions among missionaries throughout the centuries.
Cristina Muru (b. 1978) did her PhD in Historical Linguistics (University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’ 2009), currently Research Fellow and Adjunct Professor of Sociolinguistics in the Department of linguistic-literary, historical-philosophical, and juridical studies (DISTU) at the University of Tuscia (Italy).
Her main research interests lie in Missionary Linguistics, in History of the Language Sciences, and in Contact Linguistics, with special reference to the contact between Portuguese and British and South India in the 16th and 17th centuries. She worked on the early missionary grammars of the Tamil language composed by Jesuit missionaries as well as on the British language policies during colonization of South India. She also investigated the linguistic outcomes derived from the contact in South India with the English language. Her actual study is twofold. She is currently preparing translations of two early missionary grammars and a survey of the main linguistic features characterizing the ‘Christian Tamil’ used among Jesuits. The aim is to trace the ‘making’ of Missionaries’ identities throughout the examination of evolving of translation practices along with the linguistic changes marking styles and registers adopted. She is also comparing the language used in translations with the language described in grammars.
Publications
- A bilingual Tamil-Portuguese manuscript. In Aziatische Kunst 49: 35-44, 2019.
- Early Descriptors and Descriptions of South Asian Languages from the 16th century onwards. In Journal of the Portuguese Linguistics 17: 1-29, 2018.
- Mapping the spread of the English language in India. A linguistic ecology approach. In Language Ecology 2: 18-40, 2018.
- La variazione linguistica nelle pratiche scrittorie dei Dragomanni. In C. Muru & M. Di Salvo (eds), Dragomanni, Sovrani e Mercanti. Pratiche linguistiche nelle relazioni politiche e commerciali nel Mediterraneo moderno. Pisa: ETS, pp. 147-201, 2016.
- Shaping minds and cultures. The impact of missionary translations in Southern India. In K. Zimmermann, O. Zwartjes, M. Schraer-Kniffki (eds), Missionary Linguistics V / Lingüística Misionera V. translation theories and practices [SiHolS 122]. Amsterdam/Philadelfia: John Benjamins, pp. 203-230, 2014.
- Missionari portoghesi in Indi nei secoli XVI e XVII: l’Arte della lingua tamil. Studio comparato di alcuni manoscritti. Viterbo: Sette Città, 2010.