Missionary Contributions to Bantu Languages in Tanzania: James Thomas Last (1850–1933) and the Vidunda language

2009 ◽  
Vol 36 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 393-406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karsten Legere
Keyword(s):  
Noun Phrase ◽  
Sole Source ◽  
African Languages ◽  
Bantu Languages ◽  
Linguistic Data ◽  
Noun Classes ◽  
Lexical Items ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Insight Into

This paper deals with linguistic work by the lay missionary James Thomas Last (1850–1933), who was among the first Europeans to live up-country in what is now Tanzania. In the course of a seven-year stay he was exposed to African languages which have only partly been known outside Africa. Last collected linguistic data that culminated 1885 in the publication of the Polyglotta Africana Orientalis. This book is a collection of 210 lexical items and sentences elicited in or translated into 48 African languages, and supplemented by entries for some other languages. In order to demonstrate the relevance as well as the inconsistencies of this missionary’s contribution, special attention is paid to the book section on the Vidunda language currently spoken by approximately 10,000 people in Central Tanzania. It turns out that approximately 75 per cent of the Vidunda entries are still acceptable today. The data even provides insight into the grammatical set-up of Vidunda (e.g., the noun classes and constituents of the noun phrase). Less relevant are the verbal paradigms. In a nutshell, Last produced material which had for many years been the sole source of lexical and grammatical information about the Vidunda language.

Missionary Contributions to Bantu Languages in Tanzania

2009 ◽  
Vol 36 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 393-406
Author(s):  
Karsten Legère
Keyword(s):  
Noun Phrase ◽  
Sole Source ◽  
African Languages ◽  
Bantu Languages ◽  
Linguistic Data ◽  
Noun Classes ◽  
Lexical Items ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Insight Into

Summary This paper deals with linguistic work by the lay missionary James Thomas Last (1850–1933), who was among the first Europeans to live up-country in what is now Tanzania. In the course of a seven-year stay he was exposed to African languages which have only partly been known outside Africa. Last collected linguistic data that culminated 1885 in the publication of the Polyglotta Africana Orientalis. This book is a collection of 210 lexical items and sentences elicited in or translated into 48 African languages, and supplemented by entries for some other languages. In order to demonstrate the relevance as well as the inconsistencies of this missionary’s contribution, special attention is paid to the book section on the Vidunda language currently spoken by approximately 10,000 people in Central Tanzania. It turns out that approximately 75 per cent of the Vidunda entries are still acceptable today. The data even provides insight into the grammatical set-up of Vidunda (e.g., the noun classes and constituents of the noun phrase). Less relevant are the verbal paradigms. In a nutshell, Last produced material which had for many years been the sole source of lexical and grammatical information about the Vidunda language.

Language and Ethnobotany

2020 ◽  
pp. 731-749
Author(s):  
Karsten Legère
Keyword(s):  
Central African Republic ◽  
Democratic Republic ◽  
Democratic Republic Of Congo ◽  
Life Forms ◽  
Folk Taxonomy ◽  
African Languages ◽  
Bantu Languages ◽  
Noun Classes ◽  
Plant Names ◽  
Plant Habitat

This chapter deals with ethnobotany, folk taxonomy, and African languages. In its first part people’s structuring of the plant kingdom with particular reference to life forms, and generic and specific taxa is discussed. Reference is made to relevant folk taxonomic terms and plant names in Bantu languages from East Africa, especially Tanzania, Namibia, to some extent also from the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic. It is interesting to note that on top of widespread taxa like TREE or PLANT habitat-related life forms were traced in various languages such as CLIMBER, VINE in Vidunda or BUSH, SHRUB in Kwangali, and THORN TREE in Ndonga, as well as other specific taxa. In this respect sub-life forms were also recorded and examples given. The second part of the chapter focuses on folk conceptualization and the system of Bantu noun classes.

Teacher digital competence: bringing education to the next level

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-26
Author(s):  
S.V. Tsymbal ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Deep Learning ◽  
Learning Experiences ◽  
Digital Competence ◽  
Digital Revolution ◽  
Access Information ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
The Way

The digital revolution has transformed the way people access information, communicate and learn. It is teachers' responsibility to set up environments and opportunities for deep learning experiences that can uncover and boost learners’ capacities. Twentyfirst century competences can be seen as necessary to navigate contemporary and future life, shaped by technology that changes workplaces and lifestyles. This study explores the concept of digital competence and provide insight into the European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators.

scholarly journals Comparison of Hydrocarbon-Degrading Consortia from Surface and Deep Waters of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea: Characterization and Degradation Potential

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 2246
Author(s):  
Georgia Charalampous ◽  
Efsevia Fragkou ◽  
Konstantinos A. Kormas ◽  
Alexandre B. De Menezes ◽  
Paraskevi N. Polymenakou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Sole Source ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Deep Waters ◽  
Degradation Rates ◽  
Polycyclic Aromatic ◽  
Set Up

The diversity and degradation capacity of hydrocarbon-degrading consortia from surface and deep waters of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea were studied in time-series experiments. Microcosms were set up in ONR7a medium at in situ temperatures of 25 °C and 14 °C for the Surface and Deep consortia, respectively, and crude oil as the sole source of carbon. The Deep consortium was additionally investigated at 25 °C to allow the direct comparison of the degradation rates to the Surface consortium. In total, ~50% of the alkanes and ~15% of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were degraded in all treatments by Day 24. Approximately ~95% of the total biodegradation by the Deep consortium took place within 6 days regardless of temperature, whereas comparable levels of degradation were reached on Day 12 by the Surface consortium. Both consortia were dominated by well-known hydrocarbon-degrading taxa. Temperature played a significant role in shaping the Deep consortia communities with Pseudomonas and Pseudoalteromonas dominating at 25 °C and Alcanivorax at 14 °C. Overall, the Deep consortium showed a higher efficiency for hydrocarbon degradation within the first week following contamination, which is critical in the case of oil spills, and thus merits further investigation for its exploitation in bioremediation technologies tailored to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.

The relative verb forms of Cuwabo (Bantu P34) as contextually oriented participles

Linguistics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 463-491
Author(s):  
Rozenn Guérois ◽  
Denis Creissels
Keyword(s):  
Noun Phrase ◽  
Relative Clauses ◽  
Head Noun ◽  
Bantu Languages ◽  
Verb Forms ◽  
The Subject ◽  
North Western

AbstractCuwabo (Bantu P34, Mozambique) illustrates a relativization strategy, also attested in some North-Western and Central Bantu languages, whose most salient characteristics are that: (a) the initial agreement slot of the verb form does not express agreement with the subject (as in independent clauses), but agreement with the head noun; (b) the initial agreement slot of the verb form does not express agreement in person and number-gender (or class), but only in number-gender; (c) when a noun phrase other than the subject is relativized, the noun phrase encoded as the subject in the corresponding independent clause occurs in post-verbal position and does not control any agreement mechanism. In this article, we show that, in spite of the similarity between the relative verb forms of Cuwabo and the corresponding independent verb forms, and the impossibility of isolating a morphological element analyzable as a participial formative, the relative verb forms of Cuwabo are participles, with the following two particularities: they exhibit full contextual orientation, and they assign a specific grammatical role to the initial subject, whose encoding in relative clauses coincides neither with that of subjects of independent verb forms, nor with that of adnominal possessors.

Reproductive behavior of the blind mole-rat (Spalax ehrenbergi) in a seminatural burrow system

2000 ◽  
Vol 78 (4) ◽  
pp. 570-577 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irit Gazit ◽  
Joseph Terkel
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Behavior ◽  
Spalax Ehrenbergi ◽  
Mole Rat ◽  
Management Protocol ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Tunnel System ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Significant Factors ◽  
Lengthy Process

The blind mole-rat (Spalax ehrenbergi) is a fossorial mammal that is solitary and highly aggressive in nature. The consequent difficulties of maintaining this species in captivity have hindered attempts to gain insight into its behavior and reproductive biology. This article describes an innovative artificial tunnel system and management protocol that facilitated our study of the reproductive behavior of the blind mole-rat in captivity. The study employed a naturalistic approach that allowed the animals to establish separate territories in a seminatural tunnel system and to become familiar with each other over a period of months. This approach contrasts with previous unsuccessful attempts in which mole-rats were introduced without a period of acclimation to each other or to the experimental set-up. The results reveal that both the length of acquaintance between a pair of mole-rats and their own control of the timing of encounters are the most significant factors in reducing aggression and stress. Courtship in blind mole-rats is a lengthy process during which the animals gradually become accustomed to one another, which leads to a reduction of aggression and the initiation of positive "contact movements," eventually enabling copulation to occur. Minimal disturbance by the researcher and initiation of encounters by the mole-rats themselves appear to be the factors that led to a successful mating, pregnancy, and, 34 days later, to the female giving birth and rearing the pups in captivity.

Competitive consensus: bargaining on employment and competitiveness in the Netherlands

2001 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 682-696 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rien Huiskamp ◽  
Maarten van Riemsdijk
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
National Level ◽  
Collective Agreements ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Form Part ◽  
Set Up ◽  
National Framework ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Empirical Insight

This article shows how bargaining on the conflicting issues of fighting unemployment and increasing competitiveness has evolved. It offers an empirical insight into the degree to which the national framework agreements that form part of the now famous Dutch polder model are implemented. At the national level framework agreements are set up and recommendations are made on a wide range of issues. It is shown that these are then interpreted and partly adopted by negotiators at lower collective bargaining levels. At company level, three cases illustrate differences in the degree to which companies implement the outcomes of collective agreements: from ‘dedicated follower’ to ‘rebels with a cause'. Looking at the evidence, it seems the Dutch have experienced a form of organised decentralisation.

Kinetics of Plasmon-Driven Hydrosilylation of Silicon Surfaces: Photogenerated Charges Drive Silicon- Carbon Bond Formation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chengcheng Rao ◽  
Brian Olsen ◽  
Erik Luber ◽  
Jillian Buriak
Keyword(s):  
Green Light ◽  
Kinetic Studies ◽  
Silicon Surfaces ◽  
Moderate Intensity ◽  
Carbon Bond ◽  
Silicon Carbon ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Kinetics Of ◽  
Insight Into

Optically transparent PDMS stamps coated with a layer of gold nanoparticles were employed as plasmonic stamps to drive surface chemistry on silicon surfaces. Illumination of a sandwich of plasmonic stamps, an alkene ink, and hydride-terminated silicon with green light of moderate intensity drives hydrosilylation on the surface. The key to the mechanism of the hydrosilylation is the presence of holes at the Si-H-terminated interface, which is followed by attack by a proximal alkene and formation of the silicon-carbon bond. In this work, detailed kinetic studies of the hydrosilylation on silicon with different doping levels, n++, p++, n, p, and intrinsic were carried out to provide further insight into the role of the metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) junction that is set up during the stamping.

The propagule method as a tool to study assemblage dynamics in benthic foraminifera: An example with pH variations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna E. Weinmann ◽  
Susan T. Goldstein ◽  
Maria V. Triantaphyllou ◽  
Martin R. Langer
Keyword(s):  
Shallow Water ◽  
Benthic Foraminifera ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Ph Gradients ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
Recovery Mechanisms ◽  
Decreasing Ph ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Ph Variations ◽  
Insight Into

<p>Benthic foraminifera are important indicators for ecological studies. The assemblage composition of local communities can be used to analyze influences of environmental variables such as temperature, salinity, pH, and others. In recent years, the experimental propagule method has emerged as an effective tool to evaluate the influence of these variables on assemblage dynamics of benthic foraminifera. Propagules (tiny juveniles) of benthic foraminifera are widespread and can survive outside of a species’ natural distribution range. Their ability to become dormant and be re-activated once local conditions become suitable, is an important driver behind the capacity of foraminiferal assemblages to react quickly to environmental changes. In the laboratory, the propagules are first separated from the coarser fractions by sieving and then cultured under different conditions.</p><p>In the present study, we analyzed the effect of ocean pH on the composition of shallow-water assemblages from Corfu Island (Greece). Like other calcifying organisms, assemblages of foraminifera are susceptible to pH variations and have revealed compositional shifts along natural or experimental pH gradients. Our experimental set-up included four pH treatments between 6.5 and 8.5 at constant temperature and salinity (22°C and 38 ppt) for 5 weeks.</p><p>At the conclusion of the cultivation experiment, we found high numbers of grown specimens (825–1564 per replicate) and a high survivability rate throughout all treatments (78–87%). Higher pH (7.8 and 8.5) resulted in assemblages that were dominated by monothalamous and porcelaneous species, whereas lower pH (6.5 and 7.2) lead to a reduction in porcelaneous and an increase in agglutinated species. Several taxa showed significant positive or negative correlations with decreasing pH values.</p><p>Our results are congruent with previous findings that reported compositional shifts from calcareous to agglutinated taxa with decreasing pH (both from culture and field observations). Our study also indicates that the activation of propagules is an important mechanism behind assemblage dynamics in shallow-water foraminifera. As such, it offers an improved insight into potential resilience and recovery mechanisms of foraminiferal assemblages with regard to local or seasonal pH variations as well as ongoing ocean acidification.</p>

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