Sign language in Tanzania is a relatively new field of linguistics that is yet to attract many researchers and linguists in particular Tanzanian Sign Language (TSL) functions as a unifying tool for the deaf in the country and, probably, beyond. This language, which is still at its early stage of development, is used in the same linguistic environment with Kiswahili, the national language, which is more established. The situation leaves TSL disadvantaged and is thus likely to cause a one-way linguistic influence, from Kiswahili to TSL. This paper, therefore, examines the nature and impact of the situation. Firstly, it focuses on the question of whether or not TSL is an independent language that has developed as a seperate language, quite distinct from the spoken languages of the communities that surround it, especially Kiswahili. Secondly, it examines the extent to which Kiswahili has influenced TSL and thus the role that the former plays in learning and developing the latter. The results of the study show that Kiswahili has had some influence on TSL but the influence is marginal at lexical level. Of all the signs studied, only 13% were directly related to Kiswahili. The majority of the signs studied were found to be iconic in nature, but only 12% of all signs were semantically transparent. Even in these cases where the signs are transparent, the transparency of the signs is not based on one`s knowledge of Kiswahili. Most of the transparent signs are common gestures that any person of any ethnic origin can interpret. The study has thus established that TSL is more of a sign language than signed language. It is an indigenous African sign language, unrelated to the Western Sign Languages, except for the manual alphabet. Finally, the study predicts that much of the transperancy and iconicity in TSL will gradually fade away as the language develops across time, space, and generations.

The essays offered here originated in a series of conference papers presented over the years at various professional meetings. In the time elapsed since the first of them was offered at the meeting ofthe UNESCO Commission on the History of Geographical Thought (1988), new important works on Swahili history and language have appeared which demonstrate a variety of productive approaches to the problems of Swahili cultural and ethnic history In a publication such as the Swahili Forum it may be appropriate to recognize the steps made, to acknowledge the advances achieved, and to identify the needs remaining John Middleton`s (1992) well-received book presents a thorough and authmitative analysis of the social, economic, and spatial structures which evolved in the international setting of the East African coast Jarnes de Vere Alien`s posthumously published study (1992) pursues the questions of historic identity of the Swahili and of the political styles developed in the process of interaction of Arab-Islamic and African elements of coastal culture The special role of Islam in the formation and dynamics of Swahili city-states` elites has been analyzed slightly earlier by Randall L Pouwels (1987) Pouwels also has addressed coastal historiography in a series of articles some of which are cited in the following essays The fundamental study of the Swahili language by Derek Nurse and Thomas Hinnebusch (1993) revises and elaborates the possibilities of relating the chronology of the development of Swahili to the history of the Bantu-speaking coastal societies, raised in the earlier works singly or jointly by Derek Nurse and Thomas Spear New editions of Swahili texts make available, sometimes for the first time, to African and Western scholars alike, the synchronic nanatives indispensable for historical accuracy of our interpretations (Omar & Frankl 1990, I olmacheva 1993)

Historical texts from the Swahili coast (Swahili-English): Upper Pokomo Elwana, Mwiini Bajuni Pate Amu, She la Matondoni, Mwani Asili ya Mphokomu Fumo Liongo A story. Proverbs and riddles Mashairi Saidi Haji talking about poetry. Kiteko, a story Verse by MA Abdulkadir, Women`s political songs. An old woman reminisces, Mbaraka Msuri, a hadithi. Ngano A story.

We shall investigate the use of Swahili slang in Freddy Macha`s tiny collection of short stories Twen `zetu Ulaya (DSM 1984), and especially in his short story Check-bob This is arguably the only epistolary short story in modern Swahili literature; in fact, epistolary novels are uncommon in anglophone Afiica as a whole. In this narrative two former lovers show abuses on each other and their four letters - two by each character - unfold the story of a selfish young woman who shamelessly exploited her boyfiiend and the manner in which he paid her back with her own coin. It is interesting to note how the same events are presented from two different perspectives and hence evaluated differently.

Women in East Africa appear to be in a unique position worldwide: their everyday dresses are not only significant in their habitual textile codes, but also as textures exhibiting meaningful verbal elements in complex density and seemingly endless variety These textual elements are proverbs or proverbial phrases written in Swahili, which seem to interact with the colour and design of the cloth (termed kanga), being either abstract or figurative in ornament, which the female wearer may choose according to cunent personal and interpersonal dispositions The paremiologist will find a traesury of signs, texts and contexts, which extend the conventional notions of literature and the verbal arts It appears rather curious to the reviewer that the Swahili proverb cloths have only recently come into scholarly focus, perhaps because of the meanwhile more advanced studies in gender relations and popular culture (though, for instance, truck slogans as another medium of proverb-like sentences were already recorded some 30 years ago)

As a system that deals with social ordering, the law is very much a function of words, i. e. of language. Language is one of the most effective ways of communicating. One of the most cardinal principles of the common law criminal system is constituted in the maxim ignorantia juris non excusat (ignorance of the law is no excuse). In conformity with this principle, Tanzania`s Penal Code, the basic criminal law statute, assumes that everybody knows the law. Knowledge of the law presupposes `legal literacy`, which in turn means that the citizemy (or at least a reasonable portion of it) is capable of understanding what the law says. Hence, the law must speak in a language the people understand. Only then can they reasonably be expected to generally conduct themselves in accordance with the law.

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.

In the last two decades, Swahili chronicles have been thoroughly re-evaluated by historians of the East African coast, and their usefulness as historical sources subject to serious doubt and criticism. Typical of this new attitude were the words of Gill Shepherd: `Such chronicles are less objective histories than annotated pedigrees of a single ruling lineage`. Given such a perspective, the question may be asked whether the chronicles are a suitable guide to the search for historical identities of coastal societies.

An important editorial achievement has been the recent translation into Swahili of the first volume of the monumental work on the life of Jesus Christ in ten volumes, L`Evangelo come mi Stato rivelato (the title of the English version is The Poem of the Man-God) by the Italian mystic Maria Valtorta (1897-1961).

Manqala games are played in large parts of Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, South-America and some parts of Europe. Bao is the variation which is found on the East African coast, and only in the Swahili speaking areas. Ways of playing Bao though differ along the coast, and de Voogt focused his research on the sophisticated variant of Zanzibar. The author deals with this Zanzibar variation of Bao in analogy to chess. The first aim of his research project was to find out what distinguishes a master of Bao from an ordinary player. Psychological methods, derived from the study of chess playing are his main methodological instruments, which make the book a remarkable study in the psychology of players, and the role of memory and calculation. His second aim is to introduce Bao to the field of computer games, comparable to computer-based chess.