German missionary Henry Schreuder arrived in South Africa in 1850, translating Bible into Zulu and completing work by 1859. Schreuder established printing press at Emanuelhaven for Zulu texts, creating Zulu grammar books and dictionaries. His orthography standardization enabled Zulu print literature. Schreuder's missionary linguistics emphasized Zulu language preservation and education, working with Zulu speakers as translation collaborators. This translation became foundational for Zulu literary development during colonial period when African languages faced marginalization.

Zulu Bible translation established standardized literary Zulu, enabling Zulu poetic traditions including izibongo (praise poetry) adaptation for Christian themes. Schreuder's orthography work influenced Zulu print literature production including newspapers, poetry collections, and religious texts. The translation inspired Zulu Christian poetry that engaged with traditional oral literature, creating distinctive South African Christian literary tradition preserving Zulu cultural identity.