Thèse--Paris 4, 2001. / Bibliogr. p. 350-374. Bibliogr. (p. 350-374).

Texte remanié de: Th. 3e cycle--Ethnologie--Paris--École des hautes études en sciences sociales, 1982. / Contient un choix de témoignages. Bibliogr. p. 261-273.

No description available.

A first volume of essays by pupils of the Leipzig Mission's teachers' seminary in Marangu (northern Tanzania), 1912-1916. The essays, given here in the original Swahili and in German translation, cover the topics 'My Childhood' and 'How I WasConverted'. The authors came from Arusha, Machame, Masama, Meru and Siha.

This book constitutes a precious resource for scholars interested in Swahili poetry, literary translation and comparative literature. In my view, two fundamental sources of potential arise from the volume. Firstly, even if its release as an academic publication would probably mean distribution on a small scale, the translation of these creative writings into Italian contribute to enhancing the visibility and presence of Swahili literature in the international literary market. Secondly, the publication of the translation into Italian might be an important factor in promoting exchange between the fields of Swahili literature and the comparative criticism of African-language literatures in Italy.

As an afterword and outlook, this concise paper reviews and summarizes Swahili studies with a focus on its different historical stages. The author brings together different perspectives on Swahili based on dominant directions in Swahili research during the 20th century and also presents an outlook on potential further directions in the study of the language, with a specific focus on dialectological and variationist studies, as also found in this special issue.

Thèse numérisée par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

This thesis deals with the formation of the Swahili identity within two countries: Kenya and Tanzania. The Swahili people have inhabited the East African coast since the first millennium, utilizing local resources to trade and to create their sophisticated social position. The philosophy of Islam had a considerable influence on the development of the Swahili culture. These traditional elements typical for the Swahili culture were significantly restricted by the period of colonialism, where newly formed boundaries divided this ethnic group. The situation on both sides of the border is analysed through quantitative and qualitative research, which offers a complex view on the issue. The results show that selected cities are very similar with only small differences - often related to the closeness or openness of the village towards increasing tourism. In general the established boundaries play almost no role in shaping the Swahili identity. The Swahili people retain their traditional position within the East African coast, although their relations with other countries are less pronounced as the distance between them increases.

In most African countries, and indeed other parts of the world, multilingualism is the rule rather than the exception. One could, for example, investigate in which domain each of the languages in a multilingual situation is used. It is also possible to study in linguistic terms the influence of one language on another. One may also wish to examine what is known as code switching, i.e. the use of more than one language in speech.

Katika kuangalia lugha ya Kiswahili, utaona kuwa uchaguzi wa lugha hii kama lugha ya taifa nchini Kenya na kama lugha ya taifa na lugha rasmi nchini Tanzania unatokana na mambo mengi ya kihistoria, kisiasa, kidini na hata kijamii. Mambo haya yamesaidia katika kukubalika kwa lugha hii na watu wengi katika nchi hizi na nchi nyinginezo ulimwenguni. Makala haya yananuiwa hasa kuangalia namna ambavyo vita mbalimbali vilivyosaidia katika uenezaji na ukuaji wa lugha ya Kiswahili katika ule makabala wa kuangalia historia ya Kiswahili.