Language, Culture, Literature Intertwined
Language, Culture, Literature Intertwined
The Swahili Perspective
Contributor(s): Iwona Kraska-Szlenk (Editor), Beata Wójtowicz (Editor)
Subject(s): History, Language and Literature Studies, Cultural history, Theoretical Linguistics, Applied Linguistics
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: Swahili language; Swahili culture; Swahili literature; Swahili lexicopgraphy; Swahili proverbs
Summary/Abstract: Swahili is recognized as an important international language and ranks first among African languages taught to foreigners. This publication presents Swahili in its cultural setting by discussing selected issues pertaining to social values reflected in language usage and literary tradition, as well as issues of modern terminology and pragmatics. All contributions contain original and novel proposals, showing that the interdependence between language and culture can take many forms and can be analyzed from various perspectives.
- E-ISBN-13: 978-83-235-6199-6
- Print-ISBN-13: 978-83-235-6191-0
- Page Count: 154
- Publication Year: 2023
- Language: English
Cultural metaphors of emotions in Swahili and Zulu: language, body and healing practices
Cultural metaphors of emotions in Swahili and Zulu: language, body and healing practices
(Cultural metaphors of emotions in Swahili and Zulu: language, body and healing practices)
- Author(s):Rosanna Tramutoli
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Cultural history, Theoretical Linguistics, Applied Linguistics
- Page Range:11-27
- No. of Pages:17
- Keywords:cultural metaphors; emotions; traditional healing; Swahili; Zulu
- Summary/Abstract:This paper analyzes cultural metaphors of emotions related to traditional healing in two Bantu languages, Swahili and Zulu, considering the relationship between language and cultural conceptualizations. Cross-linguistic studies have shown that emotional language and descriptions of character traits are an echo of cultural practices, ethnomedical resources, traditions and beliefs. Taking into account traditional healing practices in Swahili (uganga) and Zulu (umuthi), the author seeks to illustrate the cultural conceptualizations of the body that are involved in describing emotions, in order to shed light on the problematic correspondence between linguistic expression and cultural context in metaphorical processes. Examples of cultural metaphors in the two languages will show how the description of emotions draws from humoral theory, color symbolism and medical practices, which are also relevant to the treatment of diseases.
Swahili proverbs from a cultural and cognitive perspective
Swahili proverbs from a cultural and cognitive perspective
(Swahili proverbs from a cultural and cognitive perspective)
- Author(s):Iwona Kraska-Szlenk
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Cultural history, Theoretical Linguistics, Applied Linguistics
- Page Range:29-59
- No. of Pages:31
- Keywords:metaphor; metonymy; proverbs; Swahili culture; Swahili language
- Summary/Abstract:The paper analyzes Swahili proverbs from the perspective of cognitive processes, such as metaphor and metonymy, involved in the mapping between the proverbs’ surface structures (source domains) and their figurative meanings (target domains). Special attention is paid to the rich imagery of proverbs and the highly culture-specific choices of source domains, which draw from the geographical environment, local traditions and people’s beliefs and ideas. Swahili proverbs also creatively explore universal source domains, such as those of the human body or family relations.
Feminist discourses on utu and heshima in selected works by Tanzanian women writers
Feminist discourses on utu and heshima in selected works by Tanzanian women writers
(Feminist discourses on utu and heshima in selected works by Tanzanian women writers)
- Author(s):Izabela Romańczuk
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Cultural history, Theoretical Linguistics, Applied Linguistics
- Page Range:61-78
- No. of Pages:18
- Keywords:utu; heshima; Swahili literature; Swahili philosophy; women writers; feminist literary criticism
- Summary/Abstract:The paper examines references to Swahili ethics in the literary works of Tanzanian women writers. It focuses in particular on analyzing the moral concepts of utu ‘humanity, morality’ and heshima ‘honor, respect, dignity’ discussed in the short play Heshima Yangu ‘My Honor’ by Penina Muhando Mlama from 1974 and the novel Mungu Hakopeshwi ‘God Doesn’t Borrow Time’ by Zainab Alwi Baharoon from 2017. The author argues that in their feminist critique, these two narratives turn to the basic principles of Swahili philosophy and reconstruct the discourse on the essence of humanity, morality and wisdom.
Capturing the lexical richness of Swahili poetry
Capturing the lexical richness of Swahili poetry
(Capturing the lexical richness of Swahili poetry)
- Author(s):Thomas J. Hinnebusch
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Cultural history, Theoretical Linguistics, Applied Linguistics
- Page Range:79-98
- No. of Pages:20
- Keywords:Swahili language; Swahili poetry; Swahili lexis; anthology of Swahili poetry; bibliography of Swahili poetic works; online Swahili/English prosodic lexis; Swahili dictionary; African poetry
- Summary/Abstract:This paper is essentially a report on a web-based project that began over 20 years ago to document the vocabulary used mainly in the Swahili canon of classical Swahili poetry in the form of a glossary illustrated by textual citations from the poetry. It is a digital project, and part of the results have already been published in a WordPress site supported by HumTech, a technological support unit at the University of California, Los Angeles, California (UCLA). As the project evolved, it has expanded to include pedagogical and research tools to assist researchers and learners of advanced genres of Swahili literature in learning about and studying Swahili poetry, especially the poetry written in the so-called classical period. While the main thrust is still the documentation of lexis used in poetry and the construction of a comprehensive glossary, supported by citations from Swahili prosodic literature, other elements have been added: a bibliography of prosodic-focused literature, a section with information about specific poems and their authors, and a provision that allows the uploading of video and other relevant documentation. The project can be viewed online here: http://swahilipoetry.humnet.ucla.edu/.
Kirusi or virusi?
Kirusi or virusi?
(Kirusi or virusi?)
- Author(s):Beata Wójtowicz
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Cultural history, Theoretical Linguistics, Applied Linguistics
- Page Range:99-116
- No. of Pages:18
- Keywords:COVID-19; coronavirus pandemic; Swahili language; terminology development; terminology lists
- Summary/Abstract:The most recent coronavirus outbreak that began in China in December 2019 has affected every aspect of our lives. Not only has it forced many changes in our daily routines but also influenced our language and brought new words and phrases that are constantly evolving to describe the new reality. In times of crisis, it is very important that people get reliable information in a language they know and understand. Therefore, many efforts have been made to provide information and educational materials to African people in their mother tongues or well known local languages. This is also true for Swahili, which is the main vernacular language of East Africa. The beginning of the pandemic was accompanied by terminological chaos, as many new terms had to be invented to describe the new situation. In the case of Swahili, the Tanzanian National Kiswahili Council (BAKITA) published a terminology list with Swahili equivalents of English terms related to COVID-19. This list formed the basis of the author’s study on the usage of such terminology, e.g., UVIKO and virusi vya korona, in Swahili news texts. The research was based on the corpus “Swahili News 2021” compiled for this purpose from online resources in the Sketch Engine corpus tool.
Pragmatic marker tu as a source of implicature in Kiswahili
Pragmatic marker tu as a source of implicature in Kiswahili
(Pragmatic marker tu as a source of implicature in Kiswahili)
- Author(s):Magreth J. Kibiki
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Cultural history, Theoretical Linguistics, Applied Linguistics
- Page Range:117-136
- No. of Pages:20
- Keywords:pragmatic markers; spoken Kiswahili; implicature theory
- Summary/Abstract:This study examines the pragmatic marker tu as a source of implicature in Kiswahili. The natural observation method was used to collect data from Kiswahili speakers in their normal daily conversations, which was then analyzed using Grice’s (1975) implicature theory. It was observed that the pragmatic marker tu conveys various implicatures depending on the context of use. These include expressing inadequacy or insufficiency, signaling dissatisfaction, showing contempt, inevitability and simplicity. Interestingly, the findings of the study also showed that intonation plays a role in determining the implicature invoked by this marker.
The complexities of noun class system in the acquisition and learning of Swahili language
The complexities of noun class system in the acquisition and learning of Swahili language
(The complexities of noun class system in the acquisition and learning of Swahili language)
- Author(s):Leonard Muaka
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Cultural history, Theoretical Linguistics, Applied Linguistics
- Page Range:137-152
- No. of Pages:16
- Keywords:noun class; L2 speakers; foreign-language learners; Swahili morphosyntax; grammatical agreement; semantics; morphophonology
- Summary/Abstract:The hallmark of Bantu languages is their robust noun class system. At the same time, the major challenge that foreign-language learners and second-language (L2) speakers of these languages face is mastering and using the noun class system consistently and appropriately in their language production. This paper demonstrates how L2 speakers and learners of Swahili as a foreign language assign and reassign nouns to different noun classes and identifies the noun classes that cause them the most problems. The author argues that by adopting a culturally informed morphosyntactic, phonological and semantic approach, L2 speakers and learners of Swahili as a foreign language can easily resolve problems with noun class agreement in Swahili.
