Represent 255: language, style and the construction of identity in Tanzanian English hip-hop

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (s4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikitta Dede Adjirakor
Keyword(s):  
Hip Hop ◽  
Symbolic Meaning ◽  
Urban Identity ◽  
Popular Imagination ◽  
Construction Of Identity ◽  
Widespread Adoption ◽  
Sustained Use ◽  
Performance Events ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
And Performance

Abstract From its encouraged and sustained use during colonial times, through to the creation of the Tanzanian state, the Swahili language has been consistently constructed as one of the key facets of Tanzanian identity. After the emergence of hip-hop in Tanzania, the shift from English to Swahili was instrumental to its widespread adoption, with English gaining a symbolic meaning as a status marker as well as a language for international positioning. This article argues that recently, a rising number of hip-hop artists style themselves as purely English-speaking artists to construct a Tanzanian identity that challenges the dominant positioning of Swahili. To this end, I explore through selected texts how English is used to construct a cosmopolitan niche and urban identity that serves as a counternarrative to the dominance of Swahili in the popular imagination. Through hip-hop songs, groups and performance events, I show how English is used to evoke experiences of belonging that are positioned as authentic narratives that juxtapose rather than contradict a Tanzanian identity.

scholarly journals Identity inferences: Implicatures, implications and extended interpretations

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 424-445
Author(s):  
Billy Clark
Keyword(s):  
Impression Management ◽  
Video Recording ◽  
House Of Commons ◽  
Communicative Interaction ◽  
Select Committee ◽  
Communicative Acts ◽  
Language Varieties ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Construction Of Identity ◽  
And Performance

This article considers how ideas from relevance-theoretic pragmatics can be applied in understanding the construction of identity in interaction, while presupposing that consideration of ideas about identity can make a significant contribution to pragmatic theories. While previous work on pragmatics has focused on the construction and performance of identity, this has not been much discussed in work from a relevance-theoretic perspective. For illustration, the article refers mainly to a video recording of a UK House of Commons Select Committee session on drug addiction. While the video provides considerable relevant data about identity construction, the article does not develop a detailed analysis of the video or the extracts it focuses on. Instead, it uses them to argue for the usefulness of relevance-theoretic ideas in understanding identity and impression management. The ideas focused on are that communication can be stronger or weaker (i.e. it can be more or less clear that particular assumptions are being intentionally communicated), that there is no clear cut-off point between very weakly communicated implicatures and non-communicated implications, that interpretation generally involves going beyond what the communicator intended to derive the addressee’s own conclusions, that the effects of communicative interaction include more than the derivation of new assumptions and that adjustments to ‘cognitive environments’ (the sets of assumptions which are accessible to individuals at particular times) can continue after interactions take place. These ideas can be useful in a number of areas including in understanding identity in general, literary identities, attitudes to language varieties, the production of communicative acts and the teaching of spoken and written communication.

scholarly journals Non-discursive Knowledge and the Construction of Identity Potters, Potting and Performance at the Bronze Age Tell of Százhalombatta, Hungary

2009 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandy Budden ◽  
Joanna Sofaer
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Social Categories ◽  
Social Sphere ◽  
Construction Of Identity ◽  
Differential Acquisition ◽  
The Social ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Bronze Age

This article explores the relationship between the making of things and the making of people at the Bronze Age tell at Százhalombatta, Hungary. Focusing on potters and potting, we explore how the performance of non-discursive knowledge was critical to the construction of social categories. Potters literally came into being as potters through repeated bodily enactment of potting skills. Potters also gained their identity in the social sphere through the connection between their potting performance and their audience. We trace degrees of skill in the ceramic record to reveal the material articulation of non-discursive knowledge and consider the ramifications of the differential acquisition of non-discursive knowledge for the expression of different kinds of potter's identities. The creation of potters as a social category was essential to the ongoing creation of specific forms of material culture. We examine the implications of altered potters' performances and the role of non-discursive knowledge in the construction of social models of the Bronze Age.

From Nowhere to “Partyslava”

2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 299-320
Author(s):  
Peter Barrer
Keyword(s):  
Central Europe ◽  
Slovak Republic ◽  
Urban Spaces ◽  
Cultural Perspective ◽  
Popular Imagination ◽  
East Central Europe ◽  
East Central ◽  
The Past ◽  
German Speaking ◽  
English Speaking

Over the past two decades, Prague has cemented itself as a tourist hotspot in the popular imagination. But what of Bratislava, long considered a “poor cousin” to Prague? What images of Bratislava have foreign publics been presented with since the fall of communism in East-Central Europe and the establishment of the Slovak Republic? Building on previous research which has examined visitors’ historical perceptions of Bratislava primarily from a German-speaking perspective, this paper seeks to map the development of Bratislava’s image in media texts from English-speaking countries since 1989 by focusing on two central motifs: Bratislava as a post-communist space and Bratislava as a locus of touristic pleasures (“Partyslava”). The images presented herein will be evaluated and contrasted with local descriptions of Bratislava, thus offering a cross-cultural perspective which will contribute to the wider discussion of popular perceptions of post-communist urban spaces in East-Central Europe.

“You're Only Ever A Block From The ‘Hood”

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 152-170
Author(s):  
Alex Blue V
Keyword(s):  
Identity Formation ◽  
Hip Hop ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Automobile Plant ◽  
Original Intent ◽  
Spatial Reorientation ◽  
Field Notes ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Forms Of Violence ◽  
The City

This article explores the use of sound, lyrics, and performance as tools for spatial reorientation and reimagining, identity formation and affirmation, and counternarrative or counterarchive in a rapidly gentrifying contemporary Detroit, Michigan. Two discrete, yet discursively linked case studies are presented—performances by the same artist in two different spaces—that exhibit various modes of “flipping,” slang that can refer to multiple transformative practices in contemporary Detroit. These practices include the use of overdetermined spaces, or spaces that have been declared abandoned or vacant, for something other than their original intent—i.e. using a decommissioned automobile plant as a music video set; sampling, which can be understood as using sonic components from previously recorded songs in the creation of new hip-hop beats; buying homes in a state of disrepair, fixing and reselling them at large profits; and inverting meaning itself, via slang or coded language. Additionally Black techniques of sounding and performance are illuminated, with a focus on echo as a mode of co-creation. These various practices are all responses to the growing wave of gentrification that gains momentum in the city daily. The analysis draws primarily from ethnographic research conducted from 2016 to 2018, culling data from participant observation, recorded interviews, informal conversations, field notes, lyrical and video analysis, and the analysis of mediated accounts, both print and online. As the analysis shows, the strategies utilized by artists in Detroit ensure that no matter how much the spaces in Detroit continue to change, and no matter how much an attempt is made to provide racially curated space through various forms of violence, you’re only ever a block from the ‘hood.

scholarly journals Sounds familiar(?): Expertise with specific musical genres modulates timing perception and micro-level synchronization to auditory stimuli

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Danielsen ◽  
Kristian Nymoen ◽  
Martin Torvik Langerød ◽  
Eirik Jacobsen ◽  
Mats Johansson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Skill Acquisition ◽  
Hip Hop ◽  
Musical Training ◽  
Timing Perception ◽  
Nature And Nurture ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Musical Genres ◽  
Perceptual Systems

AbstractMusical expertise improves the precision of timing perception and performance – but is this expertise generic, or is it tied to the specific style(s) and genre(s) of one’s musical training? We asked expert musicians from three musical genres (folk, jazz, and EDM/hip-hop) to align click tracks and tap in synchrony with genre-specific and genre-neutral sound stimuli to determine the perceptual center (“P-center”) and variability (“beat bin”) for each group of experts. We had three stimulus categories – Organic, Electronic, and Neutral sounds – each of which had a 2 × 2 design of the acoustic factors Attack (fast/slow) and Duration (short/long). We found significant effects of Genre expertise, and a significant interaction for both P-center and P-center variability: folk and jazz musicians synchronize to sounds typical of folk and jazz in a different manner than the EDM/hip-hop producers. The results show that expertise in a specific musical genre affects our low-level perceptions of sounds as well as their affordance(s) for joint action/synchronization. The study provides new insights into the effects of active long-term musical enculturation and skill acquisition on basic sensorimotor synchronization and timing perception, shedding light on the important question of how nature and nurture intersect in the development of our perceptual systems.

scholarly journals Pertunjukan Teater Karo Hip Hop Kontemporer KAI

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Anggreni Purba
Keyword(s):  
Hip Hop ◽  
Cultural Tradition ◽  
Training Process ◽  
Cultural Traditions ◽  
Cultural Elements ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
Aesthetic Form ◽  
Hybrid Culture ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Different Cultures

Pertunjukan ini berawal dari sebuah ide untuk mengkolaborasikan tradisi Karo dengan budaya populer. Dengan cara seperti ini pertunjukan bisa dinikmati tanpa batasan bahasa dan budaya. Proses menggabungkan dua budaya yang berbeda merupakan bentuk budaya hibrida dan terjadi akibat proses globalisasi. Melalui proses pengendapan pengamatan dan kesan yang kuat, pertunjukan ini dibawa ke dalam bentuk Hip Hop. Pertunjukan ini merupakan bagian dari sebuah tragedi modern dengan karakter destruktif, mengeksplorasi emosi dan menyampaikannya kepada penonton. Eksplorasi budaya Karo dan tari Hip Hop sebagai bahasa simbol mampu memperkuat kata-kata. Gerak tidak diungkapkan dengan kata lisan tetapi disajikan melalui gerak tari Hip Hop. Penafsiran legenda dan teks ke dalam gerak, melalui proses pelatihan di laboratorium sebagai proses pencarian dan eksperimentasi diwujudkan dengan mempertimbangkan unsur-unsur dasar dari Hip Hop, unsur budaya Karo dan tontonan. Karo Hip Hop diharapkan menjadi bentuk estetika teater modern yang diinginkan tanpa kehilangan tradisi.Kata kunci: Tari Karo kontemporer, Hip-hop, budaya hibridaABSTRACTPertunjukan Teater Karo Hip Hop Kontemporer KAI. The performance of Karo Theater collaborated with Hip Hop stems from a simple idea to collaborate Karo cultural traditions with popular culture. The performances can be enjoyed without having limitation on the language and culture. The process of combining two different cultures is a form of hybrid culture, and it may occur due to the globalization process. Through the process of deposition of the observations and strong impression, this performance is then brought into the form of Hip Hop as a preferred form which is energetic, personal and global. This performance is part of a modern tragedy with its destructive character which has explored the emotion and has presented it to the audiences. The exploration of Karo cultural tradition and Hip Hop dance as a language of symbols is able to reinforce words. The movement is not revealed by the verbal phrase but is presented through the movement of Hip Hop dance. The interpretation of the legend and texts into movement is carried out through the training process at the laboratory as a searching process and experiment, and afterward can be realized by considering the basic elements of Hip Hop, Karo cultural elements and performance. Karo Hip Hop Theatre is expected to become a preferred aesthetic form of a modern theater without losing its tradition form.Keyword: a contemporary Karo theater, Hip Hop, hybrid culture.

Film and Performance: Intermedial Intersections

2021 ◽  
pp. 11-22
Author(s):  
Stephen Barber
Keyword(s):  
Digital Media ◽  
Live Performance ◽  
Moving Image ◽  
Image Projection ◽  
Media Events ◽  
Performance Events ◽  
And Performance

Film and performance have always been closely interconnected, from the origins of cinematic projection in 1895. This essay, with a theoretical focus, explores how film and moving-image forms work to transform performance when they intersect with it, and vice versa. It examines how film serves to mediate and ‘reframe’ the experience and the time of live performance events, notably through the incorporation of moving-image elements into the space of performance, and through particular forms of projection and audience perception. It also probes how conceptions of intermediality can be traced specifically through the intersection of film and performance. The essay spans the entirety of moving image culture, beginning with an account of the connections between film and performance in the work of the German innovators of moving-image projection, the Skladanowsky Brothers, and ending with an examination of the work of the contemporary Lebanese filmmaker and performance artist, Rabih Mroué, whose work resonates with early cinema’s performative strategies but focuses also on current digital media events such as the dangerous ‘performative’ public filming with iPhones of government snipers in the streets of Syria.

Mitterer, Wolfgang (1958--)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron Cassidy
Keyword(s):  
Chamber Music ◽  
Performing Arts ◽  
Electroacoustic Music ◽  
Live Electronics ◽  
Performance Events ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Orchestra Music ◽  
And Function ◽  
Granular Layers ◽  
The University

Wolfgang Mitterer (1958--) is an Austrian composer and organist noted for his work with live electronics and improvisation. Born on 6 June, 1958 in Lienz, East Tyrol, Mitterer studied organ and composition at the University of Music and the Performing Arts Vienna, followed by a year-long residency at the studio for electroacoustic music (EMS) in Stockholm. An exceptionally prolific composer, Mitterer’s output spans a staggeringly broad range of approaches to music making, including works for tape, chamber music of various formations, experimental pop songs (Sopop), works for large orchestra, music for theatre and opera, music for film, and sprawling site-specific installations and performance events (turmbau zu babel, for example, is scored for 4,200 singers, 22 drums, 48 brass players, and 8-channel tape). His works list includes over 200 entries and demonstrates a particularly catholic, pluralistic, non-dogmatic approach to instrumentation, duration, venue, scale, and function. Despite this diversity, Mitterer’s work maintains several important central tendencies: stylistically, the music is often characterized by layers of crackles, twitches, clicks, and pops (both electronic and acoustic), with a rustling, flickering, chirping, gestural energy. These more fragmented, granular layers are quite often combined with gradual, elongated, atmospheric, and lyrical material, though generally a sense of instability and unpredictability remains.

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