Cooperation Between the Countries Around Lake Chad Basin: An Assessment

The Lake Chad Basin is an important natural resource that cut across several countries among which are Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Algeria, Central African Republic and Libya. In a bid to ensure the effective utilization of the water of the basin, the countries have engaged in cooperation through the creation of Lake Chad Basin Commission. The Commission has embarked on certain programmes to achieve its aim, hence the need for the assessment of the cooperation between countries around the basin. This work is an assessment albeit critical, of the cooperation within that commission. Part of the findings of the paper is that the Lake Chad Basin Commission has been unable to achieve objectives it sets for itself. Certain challenges which include but not limited to, lack of political will among members of the Commission, reoccurrence of violence, lack of adequate finance, poor organizational structure, cultural and language difference have worked either individually or in tandem to frustrate the realization of what appeared ab initio to be the noble and lofty goals of the commission. The contention of the paper therefore, is that the Lake Chad Basin Commission member states should reflect and modernize its initial objectives and operationalize the ingredients of its cooperation to derive the positivity laden in the agreements or else risk the extinction of an important water resource. Data for the paper were sourced using both primary and secondary. Other variables and methodological approaches like analysis, discourse, and accountability and of course, chronological delineations were generously employed in reconstruction. Study of this nature is multidisciplinary and knitted in the International studies, Security studies, and Diplomatic and Military history.

Dual naming as a mechanism to recognize multiple identities; Casablanca or Ad-Dār al-Bayḍā

The primary aim of place names is to provide clear direction and reference in order to distinguish geographical entities. The Moroccan linguistic situation allows for a bilingual presentation of place names, with an Arabized version and a French counterpart that differs phonetically. On the other hand, Casablanca has dual naming, a colonial name, and an Arabic variant, which is not simply a translation that happened as a result of Arabization policies introduced after the country's independence. This study relies mainly on questionnaires, in addition to interviews, in an attempt to address the following aspects: The attitude towards the standardization of only one variant, variants and the city's cultural heritage and significance, standardization of only one variant and the accurate representation of the place, dual naming as a reminder of the multiple place histories vs. dual naming as a mere case of the language difference, and Moroccans and the etymology of the variants. The findings indicate that Casablanca shifts from a mere marker of the colonial period to an active maker of the city's heritage. Its meaning is disconnected from its historical anchorage and converted into an instrument of identity and means of historical memory. Moreover, the choice of one variant is perceived as a loss of toponymic identity, which will serve as a hindrance against the population and their relation to their past.

Universally speaking: Lost in Translation and polyglot cinema

Conceived from the start as a cultural form with mass, international appeal, cinema bears a fascinating relationship to translation, both real and figurative. From the days of the silents and early talkies to contemporary new Hollywood, this paper explores the nature of this relationship through reference to Lost in Translation and the wider polyglot genre. Revelling in the comic and poetic potential of inter-cultural (mis)communication, Lost in Translation (2004) directs attention towards the messy and mundane realities of translation, thereby exposing the industry’s more usual predilection to ignore or disavow the complexities of language difference. Comparing Lost in Translation to cinematic predecessors such as Le Mépris / Contempt (1963) and 1930s polyglots, this discussion seeks primarily to challenge the myth that the language of cinema is universal.

Age, Language Difference and Proficiency as Determinant Factors in Learning Strategy Use

This study examines how language difference, age, and proficiency are related to the choice and use of learning strategies by students completing a reading comprehension task. The aim of this study is to determine the learning strategies employed by two groups of students of different ages and with different foreign language proficiency levels. Participants of the study were 94 university students and 105 secondary school students. Participants were given a reading comprehension task in their native language, Turkish, and another in English, with the learning strategies they employed in the two languages categorized according to the Learning Strategies Determining Scale. It was observed that language difference, age and proficiency were influential factors in determining which learning strategies individuals used.

Love In-Between

In this paper, we introduce an enactive account of loving as participatory sense-making inspired by the “I love to you” of the feminist philosopher Luce Irigaray. Emancipating from the fusionist concept of romantic love, which understands love as unity, we conceptualise loving as an existential engagement in a dialectic of encounter, in continuous processes of becoming-in-relation. In these processes, desire acquires a certain prominence as the need to know (the other, the relation, oneself) more. We build on Irigaray’s account of love to present a phenomenology of loving interactions and then our enactive account. Finally, we draw some implications for ethics. These concern language, difference, vulnerability, desire, and self-transformation.

A Comparative Phonological Analysis of Guyanese Creole and Standard American English: A Guide for Speech-Language Pathologists

Purpose Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are responsible for differentially diagnosing a speech or language difference versus disorder. However, in the absence of data on particular cultural or linguistic groups, misdiagnosis increases. This study seeks to bridge the gap in available resources for SLPs focusing on the phonological features of Guyanese Creole (GC), a Caribbean English–lexified Creole. This study addresses the following question: What are the differences between the phonological features of GC and Standard American English (SAE), which may potentially cause SLPs to misdiagnose Guyanese speakers? Method A contrastive phonological analysis was conducted to identify the phonological differences of GC from SAE. Results The study results indicate differences in vowels, dental fricatives, voiced alveolar liquids, voiceless glottal fricatives, voiced palatal glides, consonant clusters, final consonants, and unstressed syllables. Conclusions The findings of this study support the literature that GC is distinct from SAE in its phonology. The results provide SLPs with data to make informed clinical and educational decisions when assessing the linguistic competencies of children from Caribbean backgrounds, specifically GC speakers.

ظاهرة الزواج المختلط (زواج ملايوية بصيني في ماليزيا): مشكلاتها وحلولها في إطار مقاصد الشريعة (The Phenomenon of Mixed Marriage (Marriage between Melayu and Chinese in Malaysia): Its challenges and solutions in the framework of Maqasid Al-Shariah)

أصبح الزواج المختلط ظاهرة منتشرة في جميع أنحاء العالم، ونظراً لبعض الحالات والحوداث الناشئة عن هذا الزواج والتي تتعارض في الغالب مع مقاصد الشريعة المتعلقة بالزواج، أضحت دراسة هذه الظاهرة من حيث الإشكاليات الواردة فيها من الضرورة بمكان للوصول إلى حلول من شأنها تسديد المسار، وتقويم الاعوجاج في هذا الموضوع. على أن الزواج المختلط في حد ذاته- والذي يتم بين رجل وامرأة من قبيلتين مختلفتين تماماً- لا يشكل خطراً في الأمر؛ حيث إن لله تعالى حكمة بالغة في خلق البشر شعوباً وقبائل. هدفت الدراسة إلى النظر في الزواج المختلط في ماليزيا والمشاكل أو التحديات الواردة في هذا النوع من الزواج. تم استخدام المنهج التحليلي لدراسة هذا الموضوع. توصلت الدراسة إلى أن القانون الماليزي يجيز الزواج المختلط بين القبيلتين المختلفتين شريطة أن يكون المتقدم للزواج بملايوية مسلماً وإن اختلفت لغته وخلفيته الثقافية الصينية أو الهندية، وعلى الرغم من أن القانون يبيح هذا النوع من الزواج إلا أن نسبة نجاح هذا الزواج ضئيلة، وهذه النسبة تهدد مبدأ التأبيد والذي هو الأصل في عقد الزواج، كما أوضحت الدراسة أن السبب وراء ذلك راجع في كثير من الأحيان إلى اختلاف اللغة والثقافة ومشكلات أخرى تم دراستها وتوصلت الدراسة إلى أن هذه المشكلات يمكن حلُّها بتفاهم واحترام متبادل بين الزوجين وأهلهما دون أن يؤول إلى الطلاق، شأنها شأن كثير من المشكلات التي تحدث في غير الزواج المختلط، وتوصي الدراسة صانعي القرار والجهات القانونية إلى وضع ضوابط ولوائح خاصة بهذا النوع من الزواج فيما يتعلق بمشكلة الحضانة حفظاً لمقصد حفظ النسل وصوناً لكرامة المرأة المسلمة. كما توصي المؤسسات الإسلامية بالقيام بدور توعية معتنقي الإسلام لتخفيف وقائع الردة حمايةً للبيضة. الكلمات المفتاحيّة: الزواج المختلط، التعدد الثقافي، مقاصد الشريعة، ماليزيا. Abstract Mixed marriage has become a widespread phenomenon around the globe. Due to some issues emanating from this kind of marriage which are, in most cases, contradictory to the objectives of sharia in marriage, studying this phenomenon in terms of its arising problems has become a necessity in an effort to reach the best solutions. However, mixed marriage, which holds between a man and a woman from different ethnicities, is not problematic in its essence as there is a wisdom behind the creation of humans as different nations and ethnicities. This paper aims to examine mixed marriage in Malaysia and its challenges. Using the analytical method in study this phenomenon, the study found that the Malaysian law permits a mixed marriage provided that the man wishing to marry a Malay woman is a Muslim in spite of diversity in language, educational background, and be he a Chinese or Indian. Despite its permissibility in the Malaysian law, the percentage of success of mixed marriage contract is very low, and this threatens the element, ‘perpetuation’ which is a basic principle of marriage as a life contract. Moreover, language difference, education and other factors were found to be the reasons why this kind of marriage is rarely the choice. The paper concluded that, just like other kinds of marriage, all these problems can be easily solved with mutual respect and understanding between the couple and their families without resorting to divorce. The study recommends that lawmakers and legal authorities should lay down rules and regulations governing this kind of marriage, especially pertaining to child nursing with a view to achieving the Sharia objective of protecting children (Maqsad An-Nasl), and the dignity of Muslim Women. It also recommends Islamic organization to enhance the awareness of Muslim reverts about Islam in order to minimize the occurrence of apostasy as a way of protecting the objective of religion (Maqsad Ald-Deen). Keywords: Mixed marriage, cultural diversity, Maqasid al-Shariah, Malaysia.