The article takes into examination how customs, clothes and the conception of African female body have changed over time in Tanzania, highlighting the wide system of symbols that are involved in them. Starting from the assumption that clothes and body are expression of the social and cultural reality, and a means of modelling powers and relationships, the article follows linguistic, semiological and psychological analytical approaches. Particular attention is given to fashion as an emerging industry in Tanzania, revealing how fashion designers envision their endeavours as a pathway both for pursuing their passion and for revitalising failing clothing industries.
{"title":"Kuvaa na kuvalia: maana yake nini? Covering and Uncovering the Female Body in Tanzanian Fashion","authors":"Graziella Acquaviva, Cecilia Mignanti","doi":"10.13135/1825-263X/3317","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.13135/1825-263X/3317","url":null,"abstract":"The article takes into examination how customs, clothes and the conception of African female body have changed over time in Tanzania, highlighting the wide system of symbols that are involved in them. Starting from the assumption that clothes and body are expression of the social and cultural reality, and a means of modelling powers and relationships, the article follows linguistic, semiological and psychological analytical approaches. Particular attention is given to fashion as an emerging industry in Tanzania, revealing how fashion designers envision their endeavours as a pathway both for pursuing their passion and for revitalising failing clothing industries.","PeriodicalId":37635,"journal":{"name":"Kervan","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45869008","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article stems from a field research carried out in Lubumbashi in September and October 2018, as part of a national project on contemporary RDC, with a focus on the swahilophone creative expressions. It aims at outlining the poetics of the sing-songwriter Sando Marteau as it springs from his texts in Swahili, within the linguistic and cultural context of Lubumbashi.
{"title":"Sando Marteu: il cantore di Lubumbashi","authors":"F. Aiello, Roberto Gaudioso","doi":"10.13135/1825-263X/3289","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.13135/1825-263X/3289","url":null,"abstract":"This article stems from a field research carried out in Lubumbashi in September and October 2018, as part of a national project on contemporary RDC, with a focus on the swahilophone creative expressions. It aims at outlining the poetics of the sing-songwriter Sando Marteau as it springs from his texts in Swahili, within the linguistic and cultural context of Lubumbashi.","PeriodicalId":37635,"journal":{"name":"Kervan","volume":"23 1","pages":"7-28"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49559798","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
After a brief survey of the early history of the Dead Sea Scrolls discovery from the perspective of the provenance of archaeological artifacts, this article offers a table of the so-called “E” series fragments from Qumran, that is to say those PAM photos containing only fragments coming from controlled excavations. What remains to be done is to identify each fragment of each text contained in the “E” series photographs.
{"title":"The Excavated Fragments from Qumran: Steps Toward A Reappraisal","authors":"Corrado Martone","doi":"10.13135/1825-263X/3291","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.13135/1825-263X/3291","url":null,"abstract":"After a brief survey of the early history of the Dead Sea Scrolls discovery from the perspective of the provenance of archaeological artifacts, this article offers a table of the so-called “E” series fragments from Qumran, that is to say those PAM photos containing only fragments coming from controlled excavations. What remains to be done is to identify each fragment of each text contained in the “E” series photographs.","PeriodicalId":37635,"journal":{"name":"Kervan","volume":"23 1","pages":"101-110"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41742607","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The term ukiyoe shunga (浮世絵春画, literally “erotic paintings of the floating world”) indicates all those woodblock prints and paintings with erotic allusions realized in Japan during the Edo period (1603-1868). Most of the ukiyoe artists of that time involved themselves in this genre, even great artists such Utamaro and Hiroshige. The history of shunga travels through the history of Japan itself, since its origins as a genre imported from China, to its apogee as genre appreciated by all classes, until its decline, due to strong censorship during the Meiji Restoration (1868). The article consists of a short introduction and of the translation from Japanese into Italian of an article by Hayakawa Monta, professor of “Modern Japanese Art” at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies of Kyoto.
{"title":"Ukiyoe shunga: Stampe erotiche giapponesi di epoca Edo","authors":"E. Ala","doi":"10.13135/1825-263X/3316","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.13135/1825-263X/3316","url":null,"abstract":"The term ukiyoe shunga (浮世絵春画, literally “erotic paintings of the floating world”) indicates all those woodblock prints and paintings with erotic allusions realized in Japan during the Edo period (1603-1868). Most of the ukiyoe artists of that time involved themselves in this genre, even great artists such Utamaro and Hiroshige. The history of shunga travels through the history of Japan itself, since its origins as a genre imported from China, to its apogee as genre appreciated by all classes, until its decline, due to strong censorship during the Meiji Restoration (1868). The article consists of a short introduction and of the translation from Japanese into Italian of an article by Hayakawa Monta, professor of “Modern Japanese Art” at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies of Kyoto.","PeriodicalId":37635,"journal":{"name":"Kervan","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46997466","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Although it sounds controversial, the practice of foreign language learning tends to consist of the use of translation. Therefore, the main aims of this study are to investigate EFL learners’ belief about translation, the use of translation as their EFL learning strategy, and to find out the correlation between their belief about translation and the use of translation as their EFL learning strategy. This study was conducted through a quantitative approach in which the data were collected by using two kinds of questionnaires. Based on the findings, Indonesian EFL learners believe that translation helps them acquire English skills and other English language aspects. They use translation as their language learning strategy for learning EFL skills and aspects such as speaking, reading, writing, listening, vocabulary, grammar, and idioms and phrases. This study also reveals that there is a correlation between EFL learners’ belief about translation and their use of translation as an EFL learning strategy.
{"title":"A Study on EFL Learners’ Belief about Translation as a Learning Strategy in Indonesia","authors":"G. E. Putrawan, Wayan Mustika, B. Riadi","doi":"10.13135/1825-263X/3318","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.13135/1825-263X/3318","url":null,"abstract":"Although it sounds controversial, the practice of foreign language learning tends to consist of the use of translation. Therefore, the main aims of this study are to investigate EFL learners’ belief about translation, the use of translation as their EFL learning strategy, and to find out the correlation between their belief about translation and the use of translation as their EFL learning strategy. This study was conducted through a quantitative approach in which the data were collected by using two kinds of questionnaires. Based on the findings, Indonesian EFL learners believe that translation helps them acquire English skills and other English language aspects. They use translation as their language learning strategy for learning EFL skills and aspects such as speaking, reading, writing, listening, vocabulary, grammar, and idioms and phrases. This study also reveals that there is a correlation between EFL learners’ belief about translation and their use of translation as an EFL learning strategy.","PeriodicalId":37635,"journal":{"name":"Kervan","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47350047","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The Neo-Aramaic dialect of the Assyrian Christians of Urmi is drastically losing its speakers who abandoned their villages of origin as a consequence of the tragic events of the last century. This article is a result of the fieldwork conducted by the author in 2012 in Tehran, with the purpose of examining the vitality of this endangered Neo-Aramaic variety in Iran, more specifically in the capital city, where since the 4th decades of the 20th century a large community of Assyrians is found. The author sketches the sociolinguistic situation of the Assyrians of Tehran, using interviews, self-declarations and materials collected on the field.
{"title":"Gli Assiri di Tehran: un profilo sociolinguistico","authors":"Harir Sherkat","doi":"10.13135/1825-263X/3312","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.13135/1825-263X/3312","url":null,"abstract":"The Neo-Aramaic dialect of the Assyrian Christians of Urmi is drastically losing its speakers who abandoned their villages of origin as a consequence of the tragic events of the last century. This article is a result of the fieldwork conducted by the author in 2012 in Tehran, with the purpose of examining the vitality of this endangered Neo-Aramaic variety in Iran, more specifically in the capital city, where since the 4th decades of the 20th century a large community of Assyrians is found. The author sketches the sociolinguistic situation of the Assyrians of Tehran, using interviews, self-declarations and materials collected on the field.","PeriodicalId":37635,"journal":{"name":"Kervan","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41642155","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The article presents and discusses the results of a pilot course aiming at teaching Swahili grammar and lexicon as well as cultural awareness in the field of health to a group of medical personnel doing voluntary work in medical cooperation in East Africa. The different conceptions of illness and cure in traditional African and allopathic (Western) medicine are analyzed and discussed (sections 2 and 3). Notwithstanding the government policies advocating a better integration between African traditional medicine and biomedicine, the communicative problems on the field keep being a real challenge, and special attention was therefore given to the communication between doctor and patient. The use of Swahili in patient reports (section 4) and a modicum of language knowledge on the part of the volunteers can make a difference if coupled with some awareness of local cultures. As an output to the course (section 5), four bilingual English-Swahili patient reports were produced (personal and family’s physiological and patient’s pathological report, as well as a specialized patient report for language and communication disorders). They have, albeit partially, been tested on the field (section 6).
{"title":"Talking the illness: Swahili for medical aid and cooperation in Turin","authors":"Graziella Acquaviva, M. Tosco","doi":"10.13135/1825-263X/2933","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.13135/1825-263X/2933","url":null,"abstract":"The article presents and discusses the results of a pilot course aiming at teaching Swahili grammar and lexicon as well as cultural awareness in the field of health to a group of medical personnel doing voluntary work in medical cooperation in East Africa. The different conceptions of illness and cure in traditional African and allopathic (Western) medicine are analyzed and discussed (sections 2 and 3). Notwithstanding the government policies advocating a better integration between African traditional medicine and biomedicine, the communicative problems on the field keep being a real challenge, and special attention was therefore given to the communication between doctor and patient. The use of Swahili in patient reports (section 4) and a modicum of language knowledge on the part of the volunteers can make a difference if coupled with some awareness of local cultures. As an output to the course (section 5), four bilingual English-Swahili patient reports were produced (personal and family’s physiological and patient’s pathological report, as well as a specialized patient report for language and communication disorders). They have, albeit partially, been tested on the field (section 6).","PeriodicalId":37635,"journal":{"name":"Kervan","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-11-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44781358","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The article focuses on the living conditions of laboring-class women in neoliberal India, with attention to different dimensions of deprivation. In so doing, the paper initially accounts for the most salient features of the transition to neoliberalism in India, as well as for the increased pressure on women’s double burden of paid and unpaid work associated with neoliberal policies. Specific attention will be paid, on the one hand, to the unfolding of renewed processes of marginalization of female labour and, on the other hand, to the increase in women’s unpaid workload caused by cuts in public expenditures and privatization policies. The implications of these processes in terms of socio-economic distress, as well as ‘time poverty’, will be illustrated though a field-based analysis of the daily living conditions of fisherwomen in Chilika Lake, situated on the coast of the Indian state of Odisha.
{"title":"Pratiche politiche neoliberiste e diseguaglianze di genere in India","authors":"M. Adduci","doi":"10.13135/1825-263X/2907","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.13135/1825-263X/2907","url":null,"abstract":"The article focuses on the living conditions of laboring-class women in neoliberal India, with attention to different dimensions of deprivation. In so doing, the paper initially accounts for the most salient features of the transition to neoliberalism in India, as well as for the increased pressure on women’s double burden of paid and unpaid work associated with neoliberal policies. Specific attention will be paid, on the one hand, to the unfolding of renewed processes of marginalization of female labour and, on the other hand, to the increase in women’s unpaid workload caused by cuts in public expenditures and privatization policies. The implications of these processes in terms of socio-economic distress, as well as ‘time poverty’, will be illustrated though a field-based analysis of the daily living conditions of fisherwomen in Chilika Lake, situated on the coast of the Indian state of Odisha.","PeriodicalId":37635,"journal":{"name":"Kervan","volume":"22 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-11-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42145245","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This study assesses the challenges facing teachers in the implementation of the paradigm shift towards a competence-based curriculum in public secondary schools in Iringa municipality. The study was guided by three research objectives, namely: to investigate the teachers’ understanding about the paradigm shift towards a competence-based curriculum in secondary schools; to find out the importance of the competence-based curriculum in the students’ academic performance; and to examine the challenges facing teachers in the implementation of a competence-based curriculum in public secondary schools. The study adopted case study design, whereby three public secondary schools were selected. The study involved 39 respondents, namely 24 students, 3 school heads, and 12 teachers. The study employed mainly qualitative research approach. Data was collected through interviews and focus group discussions and was analyzed through content analysis in the light of the research objectives. The findings have revealed that teachers were aware of the paradigm shift towards a competence-based curriculum; however, most of them seem not to implement it due to various factors, including: lack of teaching and learning materials, and poor or low level of language proficiency on the part of some teachers and most students. It was also found out that most teachers were not provided with in-service training as a strategy to improve their teaching-learning situation; as a result, old approaches or traditional-learning-methods were still used by most teachers. The study recommends that regular in-service training for teachers be conducted and adequate teaching and learning materials be provided, so as to enable the implementation of the competence-based curriculum.
{"title":"Challenges facing teachers in Tanzania: the implementation of the paradigm shift towards a competence-based curriculum in ordinary level secondary schools in Iringa municipality","authors":"Kristofa Zulu Nyoni","doi":"10.13135/1825-263X/2878","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.13135/1825-263X/2878","url":null,"abstract":"This study assesses the challenges facing teachers in the implementation of the paradigm shift towards a competence-based curriculum in public secondary schools in Iringa municipality. The study was guided by three research objectives, namely: to investigate the teachers’ understanding about the paradigm shift towards a competence-based curriculum in secondary schools; to find out the importance of the competence-based curriculum in the students’ academic performance; and to examine the challenges facing teachers in the implementation of a competence-based curriculum in public secondary schools. The study adopted case study design, whereby three public secondary schools were selected. The study involved 39 respondents, namely 24 students, 3 school heads, and 12 teachers. The study employed mainly qualitative research approach. Data was collected through interviews and focus group discussions and was analyzed through content analysis in the light of the research objectives. The findings have revealed that teachers were aware of the paradigm shift towards a competence-based curriculum; however, most of them seem not to implement it due to various factors, including: lack of teaching and learning materials, and poor or low level of language proficiency on the part of some teachers and most students. It was also found out that most teachers were not provided with in-service training as a strategy to improve their teaching-learning situation; as a result, old approaches or traditional-learning-methods were still used by most teachers. The study recommends that regular in-service training for teachers be conducted and adequate teaching and learning materials be provided, so as to enable the implementation of the competence-based curriculum.","PeriodicalId":37635,"journal":{"name":"Kervan","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-11-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43113614","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The article analyzes the Italian translation of Ḥikāyāt ḥāratinā (published in Italian as “Il nostro quartiere” by Feltrinelli, in Milan in 1989) by Naguib Mahfouz (: Naǧīb Maḥfūẓ), and focuses on the strategies used by the translator, Dr.Valentina Colombo, to overcome the problems posed by this challenging text, full as it is of references to the Egyptian culture. Thanks to his extraordinary ability, Mahfouz manages to make the reader really enter within his novels. In fact, his poetic choice of narration does not follow a well-defined plot but swings, mostly in the dialogues, between the classic Arabic and the peculiar idiomatic expressions and syntactic methods of Cairo vernacular, translated in classic Arabic, which allows the reader to transport the narration in his own dialect. The articles details the translator’s strategies in coping with linguistic and extra-linguistic features of the text, various metaphors, proverbs, idiomatic expressions, and points out some imperfections in the translation, as well as some meanings that have been lost due to an imperfect knowledge of a culture alien to the translator. The Italian translation is then compared to English and French translations, previously published of the same work; in many passages the Italian version seems closer to the French text than to the English one.
{"title":"Tradurre Naǧīb Maḥfūẓ: il caso di Ḥikāyāt ḥāratinā","authors":"Naglaa Waly","doi":"10.13135/1825-263X/2879","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.13135/1825-263X/2879","url":null,"abstract":"The article analyzes the Italian translation of Ḥikāyāt ḥāratinā (published in Italian as “Il nostro quartiere” by Feltrinelli, in Milan in 1989) by Naguib Mahfouz (: Naǧīb Maḥfūẓ), and focuses on the strategies used by the translator, Dr.Valentina Colombo, to overcome the problems posed by this challenging text, full as it is of references to the Egyptian culture. Thanks to his extraordinary ability, Mahfouz manages to make the reader really enter within his novels. In fact, his poetic choice of narration does not follow a well-defined plot but swings, mostly in the dialogues, between the classic Arabic and the peculiar idiomatic expressions and syntactic methods of Cairo vernacular, translated in classic Arabic, which allows the reader to transport the narration in his own dialect. The articles details the translator’s strategies in coping with linguistic and extra-linguistic features of the text, various metaphors, proverbs, idiomatic expressions, and points out some imperfections in the translation, as well as some meanings that have been lost due to an imperfect knowledge of a culture alien to the translator. The Italian translation is then compared to English and French translations, previously published of the same work; in many passages the Italian version seems closer to the French text than to the English one.","PeriodicalId":37635,"journal":{"name":"Kervan","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-11-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48621755","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}