This paper deals with decision problems related to the star problem in trace monoids, which means to determine whether the iteration of a recognizable trace language is recognizable. Due to a theorem by Richomme from 1994[30,31], we know that the Star Problem is decidable in trace monoids which do not contain a C4-submonoid. The C4 is (isomorphic to) the Caresian Product of two free monoids over doubleton alphabets. It is not known, whether the Star Problem is decidable in C4 or in trace monoids containing a C4. In this paper, we show undecidability of some related problems: Assume a trace monoid which contains a C4. Then, it is undecidable whether for two given recognizable languages K and L, we have K ⊆ L*, although we can decide K* ⊆ L. Further, we can not decide recognizability of K ∩ L* as well as universality and recognizability of K U L*.

La description de l´agni, langue kwa de Côte d´Ivoire, sur la base d´une analyse contrastive de deux de ses parlers (sanvi et djuablin) et la discussion sur une éventuelle élaboration de son orthographe standard faites dans ce travail visent à exposer un certain nombre de problèmes liés à la représentation graphique de phénomènes linguistiques, d´importance majeure dans les activités de la lecture et de l´écriture, propres à cette langue et marqués par les particularités des variantes dialectales. Les suggestions consignées ici, par rapport aux propositions déjà existantesse fondent sur les résultats des différentes analyses menées et tiennent compte des liens qui doivent exister entre les éléments de la langue et leursgraphies. Mais on ne saurait se limiter au travail théorique. Le statut des utilisateurs-locuteurs est tel qu´il importe d´envisager, après coup, coûteque coûte un volet empirique d´une telle entreprise afin de s´imprégner del´applicabilité et de la praticabilité des différentes propositions orthographiques à travers l´évaluation des performances de ces derniers. Notre travail est une contribution au débat actuel sur la codification des langues de ce pays.

Places known for their prehistoric petroglyphs are often named after the carved images and symbols found there. Focusing on a corpus of 115 representative toponyms from the Spanish, Galician and Portuguese speaking areas, the present article explores the interaction between the lexical components of place names and the rock carvings to which they refer. This analysis allows us to distinguish between several types of name motivation and to explain the manner in which such enigmatic testimonies of past cultures were perceived and interpreted before they became the subject of scholarly research.

Eben darum geht es auch im vorliegenden Sammelband, der auf eine in Heidelberg im März des Jahres 2012 veranstaltete gleichnamige Tagung zurückgeht.

Die surrealistische Idee hatte einen starken Einfluss auf die Begründer der Négritude-Bewegung Aimé Césaire, Léopold Sédar Senghor und Léon-Gontran Damas. Diese Beziehung ist vielfach untersucht worden. Weitgehend unberücksichtigt ist bisher die jüngere Generation afrikanischer Schiftsteller geblieben. In dieser Studie wird daher besonders exemplarisch Dambudzo Marechera behandelt, dessen Werk noch nicht unter surrealistischen Aspekten untersucht wurde. Es geht darum, die Formen der literarischen Avantgarde in Afrika südlich der Sahara in ihren surrealistischen Prägungen anhand der Poetik und Lyrik des postkolonialen simbabwischen Schriftstellers Marechera zu analysieren. Es wird das Verhältnis zwischen dem europäischen Surrealismus und den afrikanischen Literaten, insbesondere der späteren Generation untersucht und die Art der Rezeption analysiert. Der Surrealismus ist eine bedeutende Tendenz in der afrikanischen Literatur, die sich unmittelbar auf die postkolonialen Realitäten bezieht und verdient es daher, in weit stärkerem Maße als bisher, beachtet zu werden. / The surrealistic idea has surely had a great influence on the founders of the Négritude-Movement. We are able to find it in the works and poetics of Césaire, Senghor and Damas, and especially in the surrealistically orientated review Tropiques as well as in the critical reception of the African literature. The first alliance of the representatives of the first generation of African poets with Surrealism is due to some of their shared objectives such as the questioning of the colonial system, the critic of colonialism and the recovery and revalorization of the African cultural heritage. The first African poets like Senghor, Césaire and Damas tried to incorporate and apply the surrealistic program to their proper context in order to achieve their own targets, such as: poetically, like Rimbaud declared, to change life and politically, like Marx stated, to change the world. The relationship between Surrealism and African literature presents the main subject of this paper. The dissertation treats particularly authors, who have not yet been examined from a surrealistic point of view. Concerning this thesis, Dambudzo Marechera is regarded above all as an exemplary representative for new literary avant-garde writing from Africa. The area of research for this study is limited most notably on forms of literary Avant-gardes in Africa south of the Sahara and most of all on surrealistic forms. This will be examined by the means of artistic conceptions and philosophy as well as poetic extracts of the postcolonial Zimbabwean writer, which will demonstrate the tendencies of a new trend of writing. The dissertation examines the relationship between European Surrealism and African poetry stemmed from the first and later generations of African writers through Césaire and Marechera. Additionally, it presents a pleadge for pushing the boundaries of research in the field of Surrealisms of African literature and awakening the interest for more research concerning the topic of this paper.

Le volume est le fruit du colloque international Translatio : Transmédialité et Transculturalité qui a eu lieu au Centre de Recherches Ibéro-Américaines et Francophones de l’Université de Leipzig du 29 juin au 3 juillet 2011, avec l’objectif de promouvoir le dialogue transdisciplinaire et transculturel concernant le nouveau domaine de recherches sur la traduction culturelle, la translatio, et sur les stratégies médiales, comme celles de la "transmédialité", et de soumettre en même temps des théories et des champs de recherche actuels et centraux à un examen scientifique critique. La "transdisciplinarité", la "transmédialité" et la "transculturalité", représentent toute sorte de processus de translation et ont pris une place importante dans le colloque, avec l’intention d’apporter une contribution à la formation de la théorie, ou plutôt de la métathéorie, afin de s’opposer à certaines tendances arbitraires et ludiques de l’interprète dans ce domaine.

\"Are there any national literatures in black Africa yet? The simple answer is no. [...] If one examines the development of the African language literature that do exists, one is struck by certain recurring tendencies. Many of the books produced, particularly the early works, are of a predominantly moralistic nature. Sometimes they are retelling of folk stories or Bible stories, sometimes imitations of European religious literature, sometimes both.\\\" (Lindfors 1997: 121; 123) Certain anomalies are obvious in the above extract. Swahili written literature with its long-standing tradition, dating far back to the 17th century, has relativly gathered its own aesthetic criteria, values and sensibility, hence \\\''own\\\'' integrity and world view. I dare say that Lindfors will be suprised to learn today, how fast the Swahili novel has developed since when he had left it when he read Andrzejewski et al (1985) and Gérard (1981), who (by the way), themselves did not then see the their works as presenting a complete picture of African literatures in African languages. This essay aims at showing the predicament of the Swahili novelist at the crossroads and how, in a contemporary situation, s/he works out his or her strategies towards resolving the impasses.

Review

Review

In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird die Funktion verschiedener Bibelbezüge im Romanwerk Theodor Fontanes untersucht. Dabei wird die These vertreten, dass Fontanes Verweise auf biblische Texte nicht etwa bloß als theologische Positionierungen zu lesen seien, sondern dass er die Bibel als Speicher an kulturellem Wissen in Form von Narrativen, Personen, Geflügelten Worten etc. begreift, den er in seiner Leserschaft voraussetzen kann und durch den er Themen wie Normativität und Diskursivität mit einer besonderen Tiefe in der Spannung von Text und Prätext verhandeln kann. Im Zentrum der Untersuchung stehen dabei Verwendungen von Bibelbezügen als hochkommunikative Diskursschablonen für poetologische Selbstreflexionen sowie für politische oder frömmigkeits-praktische Kontroversen. / The aim of this treatise is to discuss various functions of references to biblical writings which can be observed in Theodor Fontane’s novels. Analyzing various references and allusions (especially in “Grete Minde”, “Quitt” and “Der Stechlin”), it is maintained that Fontane does not use bible-references as theological statements, but with a wide range of scopes and functions: Providing sujés, situations and constellations which are well known by the typical 19th century audience, references to biblical texts can be used to discuss topics like normativity and discursivity as well as to offer a pattern for political and religious discurses or poetological reflections.