Jack Francis Needham

Jack Francis Needham OBE (1842–1924) was a British officer in the Bengal Police who was posted in the Eastern Himalayan region during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He authored several pioneering descriptions of Sino-Tibetan and Tai-Kadai languages in the area.

Biography

Jack Francis Needham (often referenced as J. F. Needham) was an Officer in the Bengal Police in the mid-to-late 19th century, later appointed Political Officer at the British outpost of Sadiya in Assam in 1882. Needham conducted a tour of the "Abor" (Adi) area in the Siang River Valley (modern-day East Siang District in Arunachal Pradesh state) in 1884, which established British relations with a small segment of the Tani hill tribes.^[1]

Research and publications

During his tenure in Sadiya Needham completed the first ever descriptions of several regional languages, including the Eastern Tani language Mising,^[2] the Sal language Singpho^[3] and Tai Khamti,^[4] as well as an ethnographic travelogue of his journey from Sadiya to South-Eastern Tibet.^[5]

References

^ Bose, Manilal (1997). History of Arunachal Pradesh. New Delhi, Concept: p79.
^ Needham, J. F. (1886). Outline Grammar of the Shaíyâng Miri Language, as Spoken by the Miris of that Clan Residing in the Neighbourhood of Sadiya: With Illustrative Sentences, Phrase-book and Vocabulary. Shillong, Assam Secretariat Press.
^ Needham, J. F. (1889). Outline Grammar of the Singpho Language, as Spoken by the Singphos, Dowanniyas, and Others, Residing in the Neighbourhood of Sadiya, with Illustrative Sentences, Phrasebook, and Vocabulary. Shillong, Assam Secretariat Press.
^ Needham, J. F. (1894). Outline Grammar of the Tai (Khâmtî) Language: As Spoken by the Khâmtîs Residing in the Neighbourhood of Sadiya, with Illustrative Sentences, Phrase-book and Vocabulary. Rangoon, Superintendent of Government Printing.
^ Needham, J. F. (1888). Journey Along the Lohit Brahmaputra, Between Sadiya in Upper Assam and Rima in South-Eastern Tibet. London, J. Murray.

[1] Bose, Manilal (1997). History of Arunachal Pradesh. New Delhi, Concept: p79.

[2] Needham, J. F. (1886). Outline Grammar of the Shaíyâng Miri Language, as Spoken by the Miris of that Clan Residing in the Neighbourhood of Sadiya: With Illustrative Sentences, Phrase-book and Vocabulary. Shillong, Assam Secretariat Press.

[3] Needham, J. F. (1889). Outline Grammar of the Singpho Language, as Spoken by the Singphos, Dowanniyas, and Others, Residing in the Neighbourhood of Sadiya, with Illustrative Sentences, Phrasebook, and Vocabulary. Shillong, Assam Secretariat Press.

[4] Needham, J. F. (1894). Outline Grammar of the Tai (Khâmtî) Language: As Spoken by the Khâmtîs Residing in the Neighbourhood of Sadiya, with Illustrative Sentences, Phrase-book and Vocabulary. Rangoon, Superintendent of Government Printing.

[5] Needham, J. F. (1888). Journey Along the Lohit Brahmaputra, Between Sadiya in Upper Assam and Rima in South-Eastern Tibet. London, J. Murray.

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Authority control databases
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