Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Eunice Loeweke Collection
- Dates:
- 1935-2011 (bulk 1961-1993)
- Creators:
- Loeweke, Eunice
- Abstract:
- Papers of Eunice L. Loeweke, missionary and translator working for Wycliffe Bible Translators in the Southern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea from 1961-1993. The collection includes correspondence, photographs, negatives, slides, audio recordings and films documenting the language and culture of the Fasu people and other tribes of Papua New Guinea.
- Extent:
- 8.2 Linear feet (16 archives boxes, 1 record carton, 4 flat boxes) and .7 GB of digital files
- Language:
- English .
- Preferred citation:
-
Eunice Loeweke Collection, MSS 433. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego Library.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
Papers of linguist, translator and missionary Eunice Loeweke during her time in the Southern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. The collection contains correspondence, photographs, negatives, color slides, sound recordings and films created by Loeweke and her colleague, Jean May. Materials date from 1935 to 2011.
Loeweke and May were affiliated with the Wycliffe Bible Translators and the Summer Institute of Linguistics. They worked mainly with the Fasu, a group which lives near Lake Kutubu in the Southern Highlands Province. This work resulted in a grammar and dictionary of the Fasu language, as well as a translation of the New Testament published in 1976.
Arranged in the following series: 1) CORRESPONDENCE, 2) MISCELLANEOUS MATERIALS, 3) PHOTOGRAPHS, 4) SOUND RECORDINGS, and 5) FILMS.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Eunice L. Loeweke was born October 1, 1935 to Howard A. and Viola Loeweke. She graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.M. in music in 1957 and a M.A. in music literature in 1958. Loeweke then joined Wycliffe Bible Translators. After attending a Summer Institute of Linguistics training course in Mexico, she was posted to Papua New Guinea with Australian missionary Jean May in 1961.
Loeweke and May traveled to the Fasu village of Kaipu in the Southern Highlands Province near Lake Kutubu. They lived among the Fasu people, learned their language, developed an alphabet, and began teaching literacy to Fasu men and women. Their publications on the Kaipu and Namome dialects of Fasu include dictionaries, grammars, primers, readers, journal articles, and collections of Fasu stories. Their translation of the New Testament from English to Fasu was dedicated on September 8, 1976 and quickly sold out among the Fasu people.
In 1978, May and Loeweke moved to the village of Simbine, where they studied the Kaukombaran language family, which includes Maiani, Miani, Mala, and Maia. In Simbine they worked with the Bible Translation Association, training and advising Papua New Guineans who were translating the New Testament into their own languages. Loeweke and May also taught linguistics at the Summer Institute of Linguistics in Sydney, Australia, sponsored workshops on writing stories in local languages, and began using computers in their translation work.
After twenty-five years in Papua New Guinea, Eunice Loeweke began experiencing visual problems due to the chloroquine she had been taking for malaria. She returned to the United States in 1986 and transferred to the Asia Core Group of Wycliffe. From 1991-1992 she traveled in China and taught English at Guizhou University. She returned to Papua New Guinea in 1992 to work with Jean May on a revision of the Fasu New Testament in Ukarumpa. May retired in 1994 and returned to Australia. Loeweke returned to Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1993, where she worked with Chinese students from the University of Michigan. She passed away on April 18, 2011.
- Acquisition information:
- Acquired 2013.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-12-18 15:28:04 -0800 .
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Original media formats are restricted. Viewing/listening copies may be available for researchers. Negatives in the negative archive are restricted. Researchers must request permission to view negatives from the director of UCSD Special Collections & Archives.
- Terms of access:
-
Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection.
- Preferred citation:
-
Eunice Loeweke Collection, MSS 433. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego Library.
- Location of this collection:
-
9500 Gilman Drive, Dept. 0175La Jolla, CA 92093-0175, US
- Contact:
- (858) 534-2533