The Department of Linguistics and African Languages, in which Kiswahili is a central subject, was established in the Faculty of Arts at the University College of Nairobi in 1969. Since then, at least five more departments which are devoted to the teaching and study of the Kiswahili language and literature have been established in various Kenyan universities (see below). Most of these departments run post-graduate programmes leading to MA. and PhD - degrees. As a result, considerable research activity related to both the Kiswahili language and literature has been going on. This is evident from the dissertations that have been written and that continue to be written every year.

Makala haya yamekusudia kujadili hali ya vitabu vya watoto katika Tanzania. Lengo letu ni kutathmini, kwa namna fulani, hali ya ujenzi wa elimu ya msingi katika nchi yetu, matatizo yanayokwamisha kustawi kwa elimu ya msingi na namna ya kuyapatia suluhu. Katika juhudi za kutafuta suluhu, tutaeleza namna Mradi wa Vitabu vya watoto unavyotoa mchango wake mkubwa. Hata hivyo, itafaa tuanze kwa kupitia historia fupi ya vitabu vya watoto katika Tanzania.

Kitabu hiki kinaleta matumaini makubwa ya kuwawezesha wengi ku-soma juu ya lugha yao na kuamsha hamasa ya kujifunza zaidi juu ya lugha hii tukufu na lugha nyingine za kiafrika.

Dhana ya usarufishaji, kama Kamusi ya Isimu na Lugha inavyoeleza, ni ubadilishaji wa neno huru ama mofimu huru yenye maana ya kisemantiki na kuifanya mofimu funge na yenye maana ya kisarufi zaidi. Tunaposema kuhusu usarufishaji, mara nyingi tunamaanisha hasa ubadilishaji wa neno huru liwe mofimu. Miongoni mwa aina zote za maneno, ambazo zinaweza kusarufishwa, zile zinazotumika mara nyingi zaidi ni nomino na vitenzi. Ningetaka kujibu swali juu ya kazi ya kisarufi ya leksimu mwana: baada ya kuzichunguza maana zake za kisarufi inawezekana kutilia mkazo kwamba katika lugha ya Kiswahili tunashuhudia mwanzo wa kuibadilisha nomino huru mwana iwe kiambishi awali cha uundaji wa maneno mapya yanayotaja watu mbalimbali kutokana na kazi, shughuli zao, kuwepo katika vyama n.k. Inawezekana kwamba maneno ambatani yanayoanzia na mwana yanaunda ngeli maalum ya nomino (sawa na ngeli ya 1a/2a ya lugha nyingine za Kibantu).

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.

Sarufi inafafanuliwa kama kanuni, sheria au taratibu zinazotawala katika viwango vyote vya uchambuzi wa lugha ambavyo ni umbosauti (au fonolojia), umboneno (au mofolojia), miundomaneno (au sintaksia) na umbomaana (au semantiki). Kuhusiana na masuala ya tafsiri, kanuni muhimu sana zinazopaswa kuzingatiwa ni zile za kiwango cha miundomaneno au sentensi. Kanuni katika kiwango cha miundomaneno, kwa jumla, huwa zinahusu uchaguzi wa maneno sahihi katika muktadha wa maelezo na jinsi maneno kama hayo yanavyopangiliwa kuunda vipashio mbalimbali vya sentensi na sentensi zenyewe. Kwa jumla, huwa kuna aina mbili za tafsiri: tafsiri halisi na tafsiri huru. Nasution 1988 hufikiri kwamba aina hizi mbili za tafsiri hukinzana.

Everybody knows the Intemet by now, most of us have had a glimpse into it or use it frequently. Without doubt it offers many possibilities, like sending long documents within a very short time and without any material carrier from one computer to another or to many others. The World Wide Web (WWW) is an important means of finding information on nearly everything, the web sites are often designed attractively and many offer multi-medial information at the same time. Yet, after a time of euphoria about the possibilities people became aware that the web is very vast and one can spend hours and hours looking for something, without finding it. Roger Pfister with his `Internet for Africanists and others interests in Africa` (see the review in this issue), was a first and most useful attempt to help everybody interested in African studies to find information faster.

Vitendawili vya Kiswahili, kama vitendawili katika lugha nyingine za Kibantu, na kwa hakika katika lugha nyingine za Kiafrika, ni mafumbo ambayo hutolewa kama kauli au swali linalotaka jibu (Gowlett 1979; Harries 1971, 1976; Okpewho 1992). Vitendawili katika Kiswahili ni sehemu muhimu sana ya michezo ya watoto. Katika jamii ambazo bado zinaishi maisha ya jadi, watoto hukaa pamoja jioni pengine wakiwa na dada zao, kaka zao, na binamu zao wakasimuliana hadithi na kutegana vitendawili. Makala hii inachunguza muundo wa visabiki vya vitendawili vya Kiswahili na kutokana na mchangamano wa muundo tunapendekeza kwamba vitendawili ni njia kuu ya kufundisha watoto ufasaha wa lugha. Ukichunguza usambamba katika vitendawili utaona changamoto kubwa hutolewa kwa mtegaji na wasikilizaji wake kutokana na usambamba ulioko katika sintaksia, fonolojia, kadhalika sitiari. Kama Scheub (2002:124) asemavyo: «Vitendawili ni modeli kwa ajili sanaa za lugha».

Review: Yakobo Lumwe: Eine Reise nach Bukoba, übersetzt und bearbeitet von Ernst Dammann, Wilhelm Fink Verlag,München 1996.

Scientists make use of the Internet for quite some time now. In the humanities it has only recently become accepted more widely. The Swiss Society of African Studies reacted sceptically when Roger Pfister first introduced his project. In. his preface, Beat Sottas, the society`s president admits that their committee was `wondering about such a project`but that finally the `initiative turned out to be highly significant at the time being.