scholarly journals Beyond translation into chaos: exploring language movement in the French Caribbean

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catriona Cunningham
Keyword(s):  
North Africa ◽  
Balance Of Power ◽  
Translation Studies ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
Complex Relationship ◽  
French Caribbean ◽  
Official Language ◽  
National Cultures ◽  
Caribbean Culture ◽  
Specific Identity

As Edwin Gentzler’s latest book (2001) reveals, translation studies (as opposed to translating) is an area that is becoming increasingly relevant to both cultural and literary studies. Developing this point further, Sherry Simon states that, “Increasingly, translation and writing have become a particularly strong form of writing at a time when national cultures have themselves become diverse, inhabited by plurality”(Simon 1999: 72). Or indeed how “Symbolically, translation comes to be the very representation of the play of equivalence and difference in cultural interchange: translation permits communication without eliminating the grounds of specificity” (Simon 1992: 159). Therefore, particularly in postcolonial contexts, where the balance of power hinges on questions of language possession and linguistic insecurities, translation allows this power to be repositioned: it can establish a form of plurality by refusing to allow one language to dominate another. In recent works exploring the complex relationship between postcolonial environments and translation,1 these issues are examined in a worldwide context – writings from Quebec, North Africa, India constitute but a few examples. Yet, Simon also draws our attention to processes of translation that allow each language to maintain its own specific identity. In the French Caribbean, this becomes highly problematic because of the tensions between French – the official language – and Creole – the native spoken language.2 This article will explore the difficulties involved in establishing and maintaining this language specificity and will look at how, and if, French and Creole can ‘translate ’French Caribbean culture.

Hannah Arendt Encounters Friedrich von Gentz: On Revolution, Preservation, and European Unity

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Anna Jurkevics
Keyword(s):  
Early Development ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
Balance Of Power ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Nation State ◽  
Complex Relationship ◽  
Age Of Revolution ◽  
European Unity ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Early Influences

This article contextualizes Hannah Arendt's complex and sometimes contradictory views on the Prussian statesman and balance-of-power theorist Friedrich von Gentz. A narration of Arendt's encounter with Gentz, to whom she devoted considerable space in her biography of Rahel Varnhagen and about whom she wrote two additional early essays, can illuminate the elusive contours of her international political thought as they developed from her early career to mature works like The Origins of Totalitarianism (1951) and On Revolution (1963). I argue that a better grasp of Arendt's encounter with Gentz will shed light on the following: Arendt's complex relationship with conservatism, the early influences on her commitment to European unity and federation, and the early development of her conviction that the pathologies of the nation-state system require a revolutionary, cosmopolitan answer. Moreover, understanding this early encounter and its lasting traces will clarify why Gentz, who himself was active at the height of the “Age of Revolution,” once again became an important interlocutor for Arendt as she explored the possibility of a new age of revolutions in On Revolution.

The First Italo-Ethiopian Clash over the Control of Eritrea and the Origins of Rome’s Imperialism

2021 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-112
Author(s):  
Nikolaos Mavropoulos
Keyword(s):  
World War I ◽  
Red Sea ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Balance Of Power ◽  
World War ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Colonial Policies

In the wake of Italy’s unification, the country’s expansionist designs were aimed, as expected, toward the opposite shore of the Mediterranean. The barrage of developments that took place in this strategic area would shape the country’s future alliances and colonial policies. The fear of French aggression on the coast of North Africa drove officials in Rome to the camp of the Central Powers, a diplomatic move of great importance for Europe’s evolution prior to World War I. The disturbance of the Mediterranean balance of power, when France occupied Tunisia and Britain held Cyprus and Egypt, the inability to find a colony in proximity to Italy, and a series of diplomatic defeats led Roman officials to look to the Red Sea and to provoke war with the Ethiopian Empire.

Geopolitics of Conflicts and Refugees in the Middle East and North Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 258-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
AKM Ahsan Ullah
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Arab Spring ◽  
Complex Relationship ◽  
Refugee Policy ◽  
Mena Region ◽  
Political Dynamics ◽  
Refugee Protection ◽  
Border Conflicts ◽  
The Arab Spring

Geopolitically intertwined and strategically significant refugee policy in the MENA region is frequently analyzed in light of well-documented ethnic, religious, class, and border conflicts. However, the policy is also inexorably linked to the broader geopolitics of the global refugee protection regime and discourse. This article analyzes the complex relationship between geopolitics, domestic political dynamics, and their attendant crises in the MENA region. The complex set of political shockwaves of the Arab Spring induced massive mobility of people which may compound incipient political tensions between and within MENA states.

TREASON OR CHARITY? CHRISTIAN MISSIONS ON TRIAL AND THE DECOLONIZATION OF ALGERIA

2012 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 733-753 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darcie Fontaine
Keyword(s):  
North Africa ◽  
Algerian War ◽  
Complex Relationship ◽  
National Liberation ◽  
Christian Missions ◽  
War Of Independence ◽  
Military Tribunal ◽  
Algerian War Of Independence ◽  
National Liberation Front ◽  
The Military

AbstractThis article explores the role that Christianity played in the decolonization of Algeria and in particular how the complex relationship between Christianity and colonialism under French rule shaped the rhetoric and actions of Christians during the Algerian War of Independence (1954–62). Using the case of a 1957 trial in the military tribunal of Algiers in which twelve Europeans were charged with crimes ranging from distributing propaganda for the National Liberation Front to sheltering suspected communist and nationalist militants, I demonstrate how “Christian” rhetoric became one of the major means through which the conduct of the war and the defense of French Algeria were debated. While conservative defenders of French Algeria claimed that actions such as those of the Christians on trial led to the erasure of Christianity in North Africa, I argue that such actions and moral positions allowed for the continued presence of Christianity in Algeria after independence.

scholarly journals Plurilingual literary spaces

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-203
Author(s):  
Tristan Leperlier
Keyword(s):  
Field Theory ◽  
Language Barriers ◽  
Balance Of Power ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
Official Language ◽  
Language Policies ◽  
Political Structure ◽  
French Case ◽  
Linguistic Groups

In this article, I define the notion of a plurilingual literary space. While drawing from Pierre Bourdieu’s field theory, I adopt a critical stance towards the highly autonomous, territorialized, and monolingual French case that he studied. Even though language is the material that the writers work with, the legitimate representation of the nation remains the major issue for non-central literary spaces, among which are plurilingual spaces. I elaborate on a typology of plurilingual literary spaces, which are heavily related to the political structure and language policies of the state. Then I concentrate on one of the types, that of plurilingual literary fields, where the language issue is the most significant. I argue that tensions or collaborations between the different linguistic groups depend on the symbolic balance of power between them as well as on official language policies. The most autonomous writers do not always desire to build bridges across language barriers, and they would sometimes rather create identity walls. I distinguish between unitarian policies that lead some linguistically dominated writers to reject collaborations and monolingual policies which lead the autonomous writers to reject the linguistic divisions.

scholarly journals Conceptualizing Relations Between Europe and the Mediterranean Middle East

2021 ◽  
pp. 10-35
Author(s):  
Raffaella A. Del Sarto
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Complex Relationship ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
The Mediterranean

This chapter presents the conceptual framework of this study. It delves into the meaning and implications of adopting a borderlands approach to the study of the complex relationship between Europe and the Mediterranean Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Europe’s ‘southern neighbourhood’. Anchored in the conceptualization of the European Union and its member states as an empire of sorts, this approach highlights the extension of European rules and practices to Europe’s southern periphery and the dislocation of Europe’s borders, showing how interconnected the two regions have become as a result. The usefulness of this conceptual framework is also discussed in the context of various flaws and gaps in the existing literature.

Translating space in narrative fiction: Patrick Chamoiseau’s Martinique seen from a Dutch and English perspective

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 227-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liesbeth De Bleeker
Keyword(s):  
Translation Studies ◽  
Patrick Chamoiseau ◽  
Narrative Fiction ◽  
French Caribbean ◽  
Discursive Space ◽  
The Third ◽  
Translation Analysis ◽  
Layered Approach ◽  
The Impact

This article analyzes what happens to the space of a narrative when it is translated. Its main goal is to demonstrate how we can deepen our understanding of space by seeing it through the twin lenses of narratology and comparative translation analysis. I will refer to the fictional universe created by the French Caribbean author Patrick Chamoiseau to illustrate this point. In particular, examples will be taken from Chronique des sept misères (2002 [1986]), from Texaco (2003 [1992]), and from the English and Dutch translations of these novels. After an introductory first section, the article sets out the narratological framework used in the analysis, based on a three-layered approach to space: the space constructed by the reader, its textual rendering, and the discursive space of the text itself. Adopting the same threefold structure, the third section offers an analysis of Chamoiseau’s texts, through a comparison of original and translated texts. In Section 4, the results of the analysis will be confronted with Chamoiseau’s own view on translation. The analysis shows how space is not only created by narratological and stylistic procedures, but also on the level of discourse, in the space the text creates for itself to speak from, which Maingueneau (1993: 123) has termed ‘scenography’. It also demonstrates how insights gained from translation studies can help narratologists to become aware of this interaction, and how a thorough narratological analysis that takes into account constructed space, its textual manifestation, and the space of enunciation, may help translation scholars better evaluate the impact of the translator’s choices.

scholarly journals Sociopragmatics of Code Switching and Code Mixing in Reconciliation Case Proceedings: Shariah Courts of Northern Nigeria

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Ahmad Ado ◽  
Siti Jamilah Bidin
Keyword(s):  
Speech Acts ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
Cultural Practice ◽  
Code Switching ◽  
Northern Nigeria ◽  
Official Language ◽  
Code Mixing ◽  
Judicial Discourse ◽  
The Common ◽  
Almost All

<p>Due to the peculiarity of the spoken language identified among parties involved in Reconciliation Case Proceedings (RCP) and their arbitrators in the Shariah Reconciliation courts, this paper explores some sociopragmatic aspects of the Hausa natives (Northern Nigeria, West Africa) Shariah reconciliation Courts judicial discourse. To this end, 12 various case proceedings of family disputes on marital issues were recorded through audiovisual recordings. The data were coded and analysed using Nvivo 10, focusing, amongst others, on Searle’s taxonomy of speech acts of expressiveness. It was found that Code Switching and Code Mixings (CSCM) appeared/employed constantly by almost all classes of speakers during RCP. The findings revealed that it is a sociopragmatic culture, behaviour and attribute of Hausa speakers of using Hausa switched, lexical mixed of Hausa-English or Hausa-Arabic CSCM expressive utterances in RCP. Arabic Terminologies and Hausanised of Arabic lexical are also employed by speakers in order to affirm, assert reciprocity, show respect, express gratitude or intention, offer defence, minimise imposition, and seek confirmation or explanation as well as Generic or honorific names/titles in RCP. Finally, the paper demonstrates that it is a cultural practice that during RCP, Hausa language is dominantly used as a medium of communication, hence, sometimes due to the Arabic and Islamic cultural influence of Hausa natives as well as being English as an official language in the Nigerian settings, CSCM of both the three languages is found to be part of the common feature of RCP within Bauchi state Shariah Commission of Nigeria.</p>

Neologisms in Hausa: A Sociological Approach

Africa ◽  
1963 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-44
Author(s):  
A. H. M. Kirk-Greene
Keyword(s):  
North Africa ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
West African ◽  
Northern Nigeria ◽  
African Countries ◽  
The West ◽  
African Languages ◽  
Sociological Approach ◽  
Opening Paragraph ◽  
The Church

Opening ParagraphHausa is probably the most widely spoken language in Negro Africa. Besides being generally spoken throughout Northern Nigeria, its motherland, Hausa is, as Westermann and Bryan note, widely understood in other West African countries. They cite colonies of Hausa-speakers in Dahomey, Togo, Ghana, Cameroons, Chad, and ‘many of the greater centres in North Africa’. They could also usefully have mentioned the Sudan, where pilgrims from Northern Nigeria have settled in their tens of thousands. Indeed, it is often said that you will find Hausa-speakers from Dakar to Port Sudan, from Leopoldville to Fez. The explorer Heinrich Barth in the 1840's had his first Hausa lesson in Tunis, and fifty years later it was to Tripoli that Bishop Tugwell of the Church Missionary Society and his pioneer team of five went to study Hausa before undertaking their bold missionary thrust into the emirates. Westermann and Bryan point out that the total number of Hausa-speakers cannot be estimated in view of the enormous distribution of the Hausa and the great number of those who speak Hausa as their second language. Few of us would disagree with Cust's judgement that Hausa ‘has obtained the rank of a lingua franca and is the general vehicle of communication between the peoples speaking different languages’. Counting those who have recourse to Hausa as their second or vehicular language, it would be no exaggeration to claim that some 20 million persons ‘hear’ Hausa, as the West African languages so picturesquely express it.

scholarly journals A theoretical framework for designing educational website based on scientific standards to non-native Arabic speakers

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 184797901984050
Author(s):  
Huda Said Al-Jahwari ◽  
Eimad Eldin Abusham
Keyword(s):  
North Africa ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
Arabic Language ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Arabic Speakers ◽  
Native Arabic Speakers ◽  
The World ◽  
Holy Quran ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Scientific Standards

This article aims to promote a theoretical framework for designing an educational website based on scientific standards for non-native Arabic speakers to improve their abilities and performance in learning Arabic language. As Arabic language is commonly known as the language of Holy Quran and is the language of Prophet Muhammad (last of the prophets), so it is considered as one of the oldest languages in the world. In addition, it is widely used around the world and is the spoken language of the Arab states in the Middle East and North Africa. So, increasing the number of people who show their desires to learn Arabic language as a second language leads to build various online educational approaches. But based on previous studies, many educational websites are not built based on scientific standards, which affect students’ academic performance; therefore, there is an emergency demand to promote the theoretical framework for designing an educational website based on scientific standards to facilitate language acquisition and help non-native Arabic speakers to overcome the difficulties that they face in learning Arabic language.

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