Kenyan Swahili creative writing has been in the shadow of Tanzanian creative works for a long time. Infact some critics even end up claiming that one cannot really talk of Kenyan Swahili prose creative writing. This is notwithstanding a number of commendable works some of which belong to the very first generation of Swahili literature.

Chachage Seithy L. Chachage amepata kuandika riwaya nyingine tatu: Sudi ya Yohana (1980), Kivuli (1984) na Almasi za Bandia (1990). Riwaya yake ya nne Makuadi wa Soko Huria (2002) ni ya kihistoria na yenye upekee wa maudhui, muundo na mtindo. Vipengele hivi vinadhihirisha ukomavu na upeo wa juu wa mwandishi ilimradi kwenda sambamba na changamoto ya utandawazi ya karne ya ishirini na moja ya milenia ya tatu. Mwandishi amekitabaruku kitabu hiki kwa kumbukumbu ya Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere (1922-1999).

Obituary for Andrej Aleksejevic Zhukov

At a first glance it may seem strange that a man who probably was the European scholar of Swahili with the longest association with the Swahili Coast should have had so little impact on the field of Swahili studies, at least regarding his reception in the literature of the discipline. Obviously there must be something marginal to his position in the academic world of both his and our days, which appears to draw mainly from two factors. On the one hand, John Allen spent most of his professional life `on location`in the Swahili sphere and some other parts of the Muslim world, but hardly ever was present in Europe and its academic institutions or publications so that he was simply physically outside the central circles of scholarly discourse. On the other hand, his main interest was a subject rather marginal within European Swahili studies, dealing with the traditional literature, moreover in a philological approach. Alien`s love of literature was also an important impetus for his long involvement in language development - especially as he regarded it in the first place in terms of art and only secondly in terms of `information´ about cultural or historical matters. As a promoter of Swahili literature, especially in connection with the East Aftican Swahili Committee, he probably got more widely known than for his contributions to research. However, this practical dimension of Allen`s work can not be separated from his studies in literature, and the mutuality of the two fields of activity is to be shown in this article which can hardly more than touch upon central aspects of his work and its significance for the discipline.

Several studies have described emotional expressions used by speakers from different linguistic and cultural areas all around the world. It has been demonstrated that there are universal cognitive bases for the metaphorical expressions that speakers use to describe their emotional status. There are indeed significant differences concerning the use of emotional expressions, not only across languages but also language-internally. Quite a number of studies focus on the language of emotions in several European languages and languages of West Africa, whereas not enough research has been done on this regard on Eastern African languages

Swahili literature provides us with a useful insight into the meanings of the words busara, hekima and utu. Understanding these words helps us to see the relationship between different types of wisdom, intelligence and thought as seen by Swahili speaking people.

Irony is a widely used device which plays a large role not only in conversation, but also has impacts on our daily thoughts. In literature, the device of irony has been used in the past and it is still being used by writers today so that readers can think deeply on the presented topic and understand the message and the intended concept. Wamitila (2008: 409) finds that irony is among the many devices which facilitate our conversations, mostly with its capability of indirectly revealing our hidden feelings, views and perspectives. According to Mbatiah (2001: 27) irony is a concept used in speech which can cause a painful realization. This article discusses the methodologies and different strategies applied in the use of irony within Kiswahili literature. The main argument within the article is that irony can cause the reader to indirectly recognize a deeper meaning within the text. The basic assertion in this article is to highlight how irony has played a large role within Kiswahili literature before independence, after independence, within the Arusha Declaration, and up until this time of globalization. / Kejeli ni mbinu pana, ambayo huchukua nafasi kubwa na kutoa mchango wake si katika mazungumzo tu bali pia katika utoaji wa awazo yetu ya kila siku. Katika fasihi, mbinu ya kejeli imetumiwa na inaendelea kutumiwa na waandishi ili kuiwezesha hadhira/wasomaji wafikirie kwa undani suala linaloongelewa ili waweze kupata ujumbe uliokusudiwa kufikishwa kwao. Wamitila (2008: 409) anasema kuwa, kejeli ni mojawapo ya mbinu zinazotawala maongezi yetu hasa kutokana na uwezo wake wa kuficha hisia, maoni na mitazamo yetu sahihi. Kwa maoni ya Mbatiah (2001: 27), kejeli ni maneno yanayotumiwa katika matamshi kama hayo huwa ni ya kuchoma, kukata na kutia uchungu. Makala haya yanajadili kwa kina njia na mbinu mbalimbali zilizotumika katika kutumia kejeli katika fasihi ya Kiswahili. Mbinu inayoongoza makala ni ile inayoitambua kejeli katika hali ambapo kuna kinyume na Fulani katika usemi, hali au tukio. Suala la msingi katika makala haya ni kuonyesha jinsi mbinu ya kejeli ilivyooneshwa katika Kiswahili kuanzia kabla ya uhuru, baada ya uhuru, azimio la Arusha hadi wakati huu wa utandawazi kumeisaidia kwa kiasi gani jamii ya Kitanzania.

Taking a closer look at Tanzanian prose in the early 90s, it can be said that it has preserved the main structural features which had taken shape within the previous two decades of its development. One of these features is a more or less rich system of genres (short story, novelette, novel). Another is a traditional division into `popular` and `elite` literature. This division had already been noted by many researchers in the 70s and the 80s, although they used different terms for it; e.g , popular and serious literature (Bertoncini 1989), popular and standard literature (Ohly 1990), riwaya-pendwa and riwaya-dhati (Mlacha and Madumulla 1991), and others.

Sehemu muhimu ya fasihi andishi ya Kiswahili yachukuliwa na fasihi iliyotafsiriwa kutoka lugha za kigeni. Ingawa vitabu vingi vilikuwa vimetafsiriwa na wageni, Waswahili walio maarufu walishugulika vile vile na kazi hiyo ya kufasiri kama wale Shaaban Robert anayehesabika kuwa mwanzilishi wa fasihi ya kisasa ya Kiswahili pamoja na rais wa kwanza wa Tanzania, baba wa taifa Mwalimu Julius Nyerere. Aidha, vitabu vya fasihi ya Kirusi zilianza kutafsiriwa kuanzia miaka ya sabini karne iliyopita. Nia yangu ilikuwa ni kuvuta uangalifu wa watafsiri Waswahili, kuwasaidia waelewe zaidi matini ya Kirusi na kuizingatia kwa makini katika kuendeleza kazi yao ya ufasiri yenye maana kubwa.

Sifa mojawapo ya umahiri wa Shaaban Robert ni namna anavyounda katika maandiko yake taswira mbalimbali za viumbe wenye mbawa kama vile ndege wakubwa ‘wahamao’, ndege waimbao, malaika na wadudu, kwa minajili ya kuwajengea wasomaji wake motifu za upazo, ukwezi na safari. Wahakiki mbalimbali wameusadifu ufundi wake wa kuunda taswira za kisitiari na ishara katika fasihi ya Kiswahili kwa ujumla. Hata hivyo, uchunguzi wa hakiki zao kifani una mapengo haswa katika kubaini taswira na ishara zitokanazo na kiumbe ndege. Makala haya yanachambua namna Robert anavyotanabaisha kanikinzani mbalimbali kupitia taswira za ndege. Robert amefuzu kuchota taswira za ndege kutoka katika mitholojia ya ndege ya wanajamii wake ili kuwagusa kisitiari wasomaji wake. / One of the key aspects of Shaaban Robert’s artistic techniques is his remarkable molding of winged creature images in the form of extraordinary migratory birds, songbirds, angels and winged termites to infuse the motif of ascendance, progress and journey. So far critics of Robert’s works have given this significant artistic tool a very low prominence in spite of its recurrence in his writings. This paper argues that Robert devulges two opposing forces through scary bird imagery. Robert successfully displays his creative artistry by supplanting the bird mythology drawn from the reservoir of folkloric knowledge of his people to appeal metaphorically to his readers’ senses.