Werkwinkel, 2006, vol. 1(1)
Permanent URI for this collection
Browse
Recent Submissions
Item The Minority Language Debate: The Case of Yiddish in the Dutch Language Landscape(Zakład Studiów Niderlandzkich i Południowoafrykańskich, Wydział Anglistyki UAM / Wydawnictwo Naukowe Exemplum, 2006) Hamans, CamielAlthough the description and study of dialects used to be a central issue in traditional linguistics from the last quarter of the 19th century onwards, the protection and promotion of minority and regional languages only became a topic for linguistic research and language policy almost one hundred years later. With the rise of sociolinguistics in the sixties and seventies of the twentieth century and the growing interest in the language use of different social classes, linguists, educators and politicians became interested in non-standard languages. At the political level this led to several international reports, declarations, manifestos and charters, the most important being the Charter of Regional and Minority Languages accepted by the Council of Europe in 1992. In this article the implementation of the Charter in a few European Countries, such as France, Poland, Belgium and the Netherlands, is discussed. From this survey it becomes clear how political and legal factors prevail over linguistic arguments when it comes to the recognition of regional and minority languages. Not only the French unwillingness to recognize other languages in its territory other than standard French, but also the case of the Limburger language in Belgium and the Netherlands and that of Yiddish in the Netherlands and Sweden support this claim.Item Global Expansion of English: The South African Case(Zakład Studiów Niderlandzkich i Południowoafrykańskich, Wydział Anglistyki UAM / Wydawnictwo Naukowe Exemplum, 2006) Cichocka, AleksandraThe article aims at providing a general overview of the language situation in South Africa and at the same time puts the discussion in the context of the global spread of English. Authors such as Phillipson or Penycook pose warnings concerning the hegemony of English in the post-colonial settings; Skutnabb-Kangas refers to English as the ‘language killer’ being a serious threat to minority languages. South Africa is no exception in this respect. After the first democratic elections, English has become the most widely used language in the realm of government, the judiciary as well as the educational system leaving the remaining ten official languages far behind. Alexander, Webb, Heugh and other prominent scholars in South Africa also warn against the uncontrolled expansion of English in the official contexts. As an alternative, they promote the ideas of the additive bilingualism, the development and intellectualization of the African languages.Item De complementen van hoeven(Zakład Studiów Niderlandzkich i Południowoafrykańskich, Wydział Anglistyki UAM / Wydawnictwo Naukowe Exemplum, 2006) Baalen, Christine, vanThis paper describes which complements can be selected by the Dutch modal verb hoeven (need). It is based on the provisional outcome of current corpus research of spoken Dutch. Although this corpus research shows that Dutch modal verbs are mostly used as auxiliaries, they also appear as main verbs. In over 25% of the analysed utterances, hoeven occurs as a main verb, which selects non verbal complements, such as adjectival, prepositional and nominal phrases. It is being argued that a classification of these complements according to the standard grammar of Dutch, the Algemene Nederlandse Spraakkunst (ANS), is not very satisfying. Therefore, this paper introduces an alternative analysis, in which two overall patterns are being distinguished. The first pattern consists of hoeven, selecting different types of complements. Characteristic of this pattern is a (mostly) animate subject, which is part of a predicate-argument relation. The second pattern consists of hoeven, selecting no complements at all. Characteristic of this second pattern is an inanimate subject, which refers to a proposition.Item Die Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns: Verlede, hede en toekoms(Zakład Studiów Niderlandzkich i Południowoafrykańskich, Wydział Anglistyki UAM / Wydawnictwo Naukowe Exemplum, 2006) Elst, Jacques, van derDie Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns (SA Academy for Science and Arts) was founded in Bloemfontein in 1909, primarily as a language society for the promotion of the Dutch language in opposition to English. Shortly afterwards the focus shifted to Afrikaans, which was recognized as an official language in 1925 and after 1994 became one of eleven official languages of the country. The “Akademie” is still dealing with issues on language, especially Afrikaans. One of its prime publications is the standard publication on spelling and grammar of Afrikaans. The Akademie is deeply involved in issues and publications on language at universities and educational institutions, it publishes two accredited scientific journals in human sciences and natural sciences and faces a tough challenge to protect the status of Afrikaans within these fields. With the support of Afrikaans academics the Academy strongly believes in its future and survival well beyond its first centenary in 2009.Item Loss and Mourning: Writings on Death and its Appeal to the Reader(Zakład Studiów Niderlandzkich i Południowoafrykańskich, Wydział Anglistyki UAM / Wydawnictwo Naukowe Exemplum, 2006) Venter, EbenHow do writers deal with loss and mourning? Which response do they hope to evoke from their readers? In the absence of any mourners, Scott Fitzgerald himself takes up the role of prime mourner in The Great Gatsby. Proust prefers to immerse the reader in countless memories of his grandmother’s death. Thus he and the reader arrive at the idea of his own imminent death. Joyce emphasizes that death really is the appropriate response to life here and now, however happy it might seem. Finally, in my own ‘death novel’ I endeavour to detach the reader from the experience of loss and mourning. Instead, by using the first person singular narrator, the reader is made to see and experience the beauty of death.Item N.P. van Wyk Louw, D.J. Opperman and the Afrikaans Literary Tradition(Zakład Studiów Niderlandzkich i Południowoafrykańskich, Wydział Anglistyki UAM / Wydawnictwo Naukowe Exemplum, 2006) Kannemeyer, J.C.In this paper a brief sketch is given of the development of the Afrikaans language and the literary tradition before the arrival of the two major poets of the mid twentieth century: N.P. van Wyk Louw and D.J. Opperman. These two poets created a type of poetry in which every word and image were functional and illustrated their craftmanship and professionalism. As examples of their poetry two poems are discussed, one by each of the two poets: the centre piece of Louw’s choric drama Die dieper reg and Opperman’s “Nagwaak by die ou man.” Whereas Louw’s poem uses words which are marked by their intensity and poetic grandeur, that of Opperman illustrates his sober and economic style and the way in which he employs the short-circuiting metaphor and different layers of meaning. Both poets were able to “think” in terms of African images and to make the geography and history of their continent subservient to a greater purpose.Item Het magisch realisme in enkele recente Afrikaanse romans(Zakład Studiów Niderlandzkich i Południowoafrykańskich, Wydział Anglistyki UAM / Wydawnictwo Naukowe Exemplum, 2006) van Coller, H.P.Realism, with the implication that it amounts to “true” representation, is one of the most important classification principles in traditional Afrikaans literary historiography. Recent historiographical approaches and theories undermine traditional mimetic beliefs, thus also traditional realism. Nowadays readers are to be persuaded of a possible reality by virtue of the array of verbal elements and not necessarily by “realistic” features. In magic realist texts two oppositional systems clash, whilst each tries to create a fictional world. In this preoccupation with “images of borders and centres” reality is presented as neither fixed nor stable. Magic realist texts are therefore especially suited to represent a colonial past, eg. South African history and to undermine its master discourses by giving voice to discarded petites histoires. In conclusion to this article two novels by prominent Afrikaans writers are discussed as illustration of the thesis that a realistic representation is not sufficient to portray South Africa and its complexities.Item Wrede prag en angs(Zakład Studiów Niderlandzkich i Południowoafrykańskich, Wydział Anglistyki UAM / Wydawnictwo Naukowe Exemplum, 2006) De Vries, Abraham H.Since the days of the very first visitors to the Cape in the 15th century two almost contradicting impressions of this most southernmost tip part of Africa were recorded: the startling beauty of the natural landscape and an almost epidemic apprehension of uncertainty and fear, “wrede prag en angs” [brutal splendour and anxiety] as it was later called by the Afrikaans poet D. J. Opperman. How, in the different literary periods of South African history, variants of this contradiction were recorded in Afrikaans literature is the subject of this paper. It starts with the first diaries by Dutch and French explorars and ends with two remarkable short stories published during the last decade of the previous century in which rituals and ways of adoration previously regarded as typical “African” are not portrayed as awe insping and alienating but as agents of healing and safety.Item Portretten en een oude droom van Kader Abdolah: Een etnisch gekleurde autobiografie en de ethische dimensie van het identiteitsvormingsproces(Zakład Studiów Niderlandzkich i Południowoafrykańskich, Wydział Anglistyki UAM / Wydawnictwo Naukowe Exemplum, 2006) Dynarowicz, EwaTwo problems are central to Kader Abdolah’s Portretten en een oude droom [Portraits and an Ancient Dream]: firstly, his Persian background and the problem of migration, secondly, coping with a sense of guilt. This article examines the novel’s autobiographical character as reflecting upon the identity-forming process of an emigrant. It especially focuses on narrative techniques used to depict the complexity of this process and on the role of the Other in creating one’s self-image. The second section of the article is devoted to the ethical dimension of a particular identity and the problem of reconciliation with oneself. The reading strategy applied to analyse this aspect of Abdolah’s novel takes the philosophy of Paul Ricoeur as presented in Soi-meme comme un autre as a central point of departure.Item Postkoloniale reisliteratuur als omkering. Over een vreemde Zuid-Afrikaanse “gids” van Bas Vlugt(Zakład Studiów Niderlandzkich i Południowoafrykańskich, Wydział Anglistyki UAM / Wydawnictwo Naukowe Exemplum, 2006) Zajas, PawełThe paper aims at analysing the representation of South Africa and the Afrikaners in the novel-like guide written by the Dutch journalist Bas Vlugt. The postcolonial literature is initially viewed in terms of the reversal of power relations where the observed become active observers. This approach is, however, undermined by the fact that it has, among others, also attracted genuinely European writers, such as the author of the analysed text, Bas Vlugt. The aim of these writers is to give an objective representation of the former colonies by means of denying colonialism and the contemporary social relations fostered by it. Next, the focus is on two major aspects of Vlugt’s representation: the development of an ethnographic authority and the ideologically anti-tourist approach of the author. Finally, an attempt is made at demonstrating that the book, cautiously labelled as a novel, utilises a range of commonly accepted anthropological strategies whose aim is to convincingly show that the fieldwork is not only a fact, but is also most extraordinary. The disclosure of the “genuine,” but concealed from the “ordinary” tourist, face of Africa is viewed here as a lost cause and is analysed in terms of Goffman’s division of human behaviour into the backstage and stage episodes.Item Die herdenking van historiese gebeurtenisse(Zakład Studiów Niderlandzkich i Południowoafrykańskich, Wydział Anglistyki UAM / Wydawnictwo Naukowe Exemplum, 2006) Wessels, André; Evaldsson, Anna-KarinThroughout the ages people have commemorated events that they have deemed to be of historical significance. In most instances, commemorative events are relatively speaking unimportant, but sometimes commemorations can have significant consequences for a community or even for a country, for example, when those events stimulate nationalism, bind people together or, alternatively, lead to divisions in a community or country. This is in particular true of situations where politicians hijack commemorative events to further their own political goals. When the commemoration of an event is studied, it is consequently imperative that the historical context, in which the commemoration took place, must be taken into account. In this article a few general examples of commemorative events are first of all discussed; thereafter commemorations in the South African context are briefly evaluated and, finally, a case study is dealt with in some detail, namely the centennial of the Anglo-Boer War of 1899 to 1902. The major role players who organized the centennial and participated in the many events are identified, their goals are evaluated and a review is given of the main events.Item Die onbenul van negentig: Nederlandse lettere en identiteit met verwysing na Charlotte Mutsaers en Nelleke Noordervliet(Zakład Studiów Niderlandzkich i Południowoafrykańskich, Wydział Anglistyki UAM / Wydawnictwo Naukowe Exemplum, 2006) van Schalkwyk, PhilIn this contribution it is argued that the inanity so prevalent in Dutch prose texts of the 1990s may be attributed to underlying currents of contemporary Dutch and/or global mythology. Guided by the trends and tendencies of Dutch literature of the 1990s, Charlotte Mutsaers’ Rachels rokje (Rachel’s Little Skirt) and Nelleke Noordervliet’s Uit het paradijs (Out of Paradise) have been selected for in-depth analysis in order to show that the widespread fatuity and cheerlessness could be related not only to (Dutch) cultural identity, but also to aspects of Zeitgeist. The insights yielded by this analysis are supplemented by ample reference to other Dutch language novels published during (and after) the decade in question, especially texts associated with Nix (Generation-X). It is hoped that this article will contribute to a deeper understanding of the recent past, particularly as it manifested itself in Dutch novels.Item Uit in die kuberruim: enkele waardetoevoegings en uitdagings ten opsigte van Gay@Litnet binne Suid-Afrikaanse konteks(Zakład Studiów Niderlandzkich i Południowoafrykańskich, Wydział Anglistyki UAM / Wydawnictwo Naukowe Exemplum, 2006) Cochrane, NeilThis article investigates the nature, role and contribution of Gay@Litnet as an electronic alternative for the publication of gay literature in South Africa. Attention will be given to the manner in which Gay@Litnet acts as a public forum for nurturing gay identity within the current socio-political context of South Africa. A brief summary of the current socio-political situation of South African gays will be given in order to place the discussion into the necessary context. Secondly, an evaluative description of the dynamics of Gay@Litnet will be given, where after a few value-adding properties and challenges concerning Gay@Litnet will be discussed.Item Hermann Benno Marx (1827-1917) —auteur van Benigna van Groenekloof of Mamre (1873)(Zakład Studiów Niderlandzkich i Południowoafrykańskich, Wydział Anglistyki UAM / Wydawnictwo Naukowe Exemplum, 2006) Koch, JerzyBenigna van Groenekloof of Mamre (1873) first won renown when it stared to be called upon in the discussion concerning the oldest text published in Afrikaans. The book is still controversial: scholars disagree not only as to the language in which it was published (Dutch, Afrikaans) or its genre (short-story, novel, anthology), but also as to the name of its author. Although the work was published anonymously, both the archive research and preliminary survey of the library holdings clearly point to the fact that the Dutch book was written by a German missionary, Hermann Benno Marx. The present article not only presents his profile in more detail for the first time but also emphasises the importance of the Dutch language for the language policy of the Moravian Brothers and for their missionary and educational work. It also points to the need for a new approach to the history of the South African writing.