Johann Gottlieb Christaller

Johann Gottlieb Christaller (19 November 1827 – 16 December 1895) was a German missionary, clergyman, ethnolinguist, translator and philologist who served with the Basel Mission. He was devoted to the study of the Twi language in what was then the Gold Coast, now Ghana. He was instrumental, together with African colleagues, Akan linguists, David Asante, Theophilus Opoku, Jonathan Palmer Bekoe, and Paul Keteku in the translation of the Bible into the Akuapem dialect of Twi. Christaller was also the first editor of the Christian Messenger, the official news publication of the Basel Mission, serving from 1883 to 1895.

Early life and education Johann Christaller was born in Winnenden, near Stuttgart in the then Kingdom of Württemberg, now in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. His father was a tailor and a subsistence farmer of modest background, who was keen on books and had a large personal library with more than 2000 books. Johann Christaller had two sisters, Johanna and Christiane.

Later, from 1841 to 1844, Christaller was an apprentice and an assistant to a town clerk in the mayor's printing office in Winnenden Among his options after his apprenticeship were entering the public service, going to a university to study languages or going to the seminary in Basel. He was ordained as a pastor on 7 November 1852. By the end of his seminary education, in addition to his native German, he had become fluent in English, Greek, Hebrew, and Latin.

In 1853, Johann Christaller was posted to Ghana by the Basel Mission Home Committee, stationed at Akropong, about 32 miles (51 km) north of Accra while his classmate August Steinhauser was sent to Christiansborg, Osu. Christaller arrived at Osu, now a suburb of Accra, on 25 January 1853. At the Akropong mission station, he met other missionaries, Widmann, Dieterle and Joseph Mohr. The first edition of that newspaper was published on 1 March 1883.

In his later years, he was an Elder in his local church and attended several Pietist fellowships in the area. Emilie died on 13 August 1866 at Kyebi in Akyem Abuakwa at the age of 37.

Christaller, J. G. (1875) “A Grammar of the Asante and Fante Language Called Tschi (Chwee, Twi) Based on the Akuapem Dicalect, With Reference to Other (Akan and Fante) Dialects” – “Twi mmebusem mpensa-ahansia mmoaano”, Basel Christaller, J. G., Asante, David, Opoku, Theophilus (1871) “Anyamesem anase Kyerew Kronkron Apam-dedaw ne Apam-foforo nsem wo Twi kasa mu” (“The Holy Bible translated from the original tongues into the Twi language”), Basel Christaller, J. G., Locher, C. W., Zimmermann, J. (1874) “A Dictionary, English, Tshi (Asante), Akra; Tshi (Chwee) Comprising as Dialects: Akan and Fante; Accra connected with Adangme; Gold Coast, West Africa,” Basel Christaller, J. G., (1879) “A collection of 3,600 Tshi Proverbs In Use Among the Africans of the Gold Coast as Speaking the Asante and Fante Language, Collected, Together with their Variations, and Alphabetically Arranged,” Basel Christaller, J. G., (1881) “A Dictionary of the Asante and Fante Language Called Tschi (Chwee, Twi) With a Grammatical Introduction and appendices on the Geography of the Gold Coast and Other Subjects,” Basel, 2nd rev. ed., edited by J. Schweizer in 1893, published as “A Dictionary of the Asante and Fante Languages Called Tshi (Twi),” Basel Clerk, N. T. with foreword by Christaller, J. G. (1890), "Neue Reise in den Hinterländen von Togo, nach Nkonya, Buem, Obooso, Salaga, Krakye, 2. Dezember 1889 bis 5. Februar 1890," Mitteilungen der geographischen Gesellschaft für Thüringen, vol. IX, pp. 77 – 98 [An account of the northern Volta of the Gold Coast, written entirely in German in the "Missionsgeorgraphischer Teil" of the periodical, Journal of the Geographical Society of Thuringia] Christaller, J. G. (1892), “Die Sprechen Afrikas,” Stuttgart Christaller, J. G. (1929) Missionar J. G.Christaller: Erinnerungen aus seinem Leben Stuttgart and Basel

Death and legacy Christaller died on 16 December 1895, just before undergoing surgery.

Literature Friedrich Agster, Winfried Maier-Revoredo, Margarete Henninger: "... destined for Africa". On the 100th anniversary of the death of the missionary and linguist Johann Gottlieb Christaller. Protestant church community and city Winnenden, Winnenden 1995 Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz: Christaller, Johann Gottlieb. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 1, Bautz, Hamm 1975. 2nd, unchanged edition Hamm 1990, , Sp. 1001-1002. (Biographical Bibliographic Church Lexicon) Paul Steiner: Christaller, Joh. Gottlieb. In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 47, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1903, pp. 480-483. Diedrich Hermann Westermann: Christaller, Johann Gottlieb. In: Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB). Volume 3, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1957, , p. 219 ( digitized).