54
Languages and Literature of Africa
UNIVERSITÀ DEGLI STUDI DI NAPOLI "L'ORIENTALE"
Overview
Date/time interval
Syllabus
Course Objectives
EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES
SWAHILI I M: The course aims to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to achieve an advanced level of proficiency in Swahili, both in writing and speaking.
SWAHILI LANGUAGE II M: The course aims to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to consolidate their mastery of the Swahili language, both in writing and speaking, and to expand their knowledge through the study of dialectal variations.
SWAHILI LITERATURE I-II M: The course aims to provide students with an advanced understanding of Swahili sung poetry (taarab) and the critical debates surrounding it.
ABILITY TO APPLY KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
SWAHILI LANGUAGE I M: The course curriculum is designed to foster the progressive development of knowledge and skills related to the Swahili language through the use of various types of Swahili audiovisual media, enabling students to navigate complex cultural and communicative contexts, both written and oral. The texts will cover the main musical genres in the Swahili context, while the audiovisual material will include films and documentaries in Swahili from both Kenya and Tanzania. To enhance listening and comprehension skills, students will also work on transcribing selected audio and video clips. Additionally, they will translate prose passages and articles related to the same musical genres and audiovisual works. To develop written and oral production skills, the texts will be the subject of exercises, summaries, and commentary in the language, both in written and/or oral form.
SWAHILI LANGUAGE II M: This course aims to consolidate students’ mastery of the Swahili language through the study of dialectal variations and the reading, analysis, and translation of texts and articles, enabling them to navigate complex cultural and communicative contexts, both written and oral. To develop written and oral communication skills, the texts will be the subject of summaries and/or commentary in Swahili, in written and/or oral form.
SWAHILI LITERATURE I-II M: This course aims to provide students with an advanced understanding of Swahili sung poetry (taarab) from textual, historical, and critical perspectives.
ADDITIONAL EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Independent judgment: Students must be able to apply the skills they have acquired with a critical mindset and independent judgment.
Communication skills: Students must be able to clearly communicate the results of their learning and express themselves effectively.
Learning skills: Students must have developed the necessary skills to understand linguistically complex Swahili texts, as well as Swahili poetry and literary criticism, with a good degree of independence.
Course Prerequisites
Prerequisites: The courses must be taken in the order of the academic years.
Teaching Methods
The course includes annual lectures, supplemented by exercises with a language instructor to develop communication skills. Students will also participate in group projects. In addition, there will be ongoing self-assessment exercises.
Assessment Methods
The final exam for Swahili I-II M consists of a written test and an oral exam (students must pass the written test before taking the oral exam). Throughout the year, there will be ongoing written self-assessment tests in preparation for the final exam, as well as in-class exercises in reading, translation, and oral production to prepare for the final oral exam. The final written exam consists of a quiz based on a Swahili text related to the topics covered during the course, with questions on text comprehension, including a brief summary and commentary in Swahili. The oral exam includes reading, translating, and commenting on the assigned texts in Swahili, as well as a conversation with the CEL. Erasmus students may, if they prefer, use English instead of Italian for the translation. Assessment criteria for written exams: relevance and completeness of answers; correctness of morphological and syntactic structures and lexical choice in written productions in Swahili. Assessment criteria for oral exams: accuracy in pronunciation and precision in the translation of texts; correct use of linguistic structures and terminology during speech in Swahili.
Texts
SWAHILI LANGUAGE I M
Ferrari, A., Learn Swahili Through East African Music: Taarab, Bongo Flava & Kenyan Songs, Tafakari, 2016.
Ferrari, A., Master Swahili through East African Media, Tafakari, 2016.
Texts, articles, videos, and films in Swahili that will be provided during the course.
A selection of current events articles to be discussed during language practice sessions.
SWAHILI LANGUAGE II M
Bertoncini Zúbková, E., Swahili Dialects [handout].
Ferrari, A., Kalunga, M., Mulumbwa, G. 2014. The Swahili of Lubumbashi. Karthala.
Readings and articles on the topic in Swahili that will be provided during the course.
A selection of current events articles to be discussed during language practice sessions.
SWAHILI LITERATURE I-II M
Aiello, F. Taarab iko wapi? Taarab Sung Poetry in Contemporary Zanzibar, Iride Edizione, 2006.
Askew, K. Performing the Nation. Swahili Music and Cultural Politics in Tanzania, The University of Chicago Press, 2002 [selected chapters].
Fair, L. *Pastimes & Politics – Culture, Community and Identity in Post-abolition Urban Zanzibar, 1890–1945*, Ohio University Press, 2001 [selected chapters].
Jahadhmy, A. A. (ed.). Waimbaji wa juzi, Chuo cha Uchunguzi wa Lugha ya Kiswahili, 1966.
Khamis, S. A. M. “Versatility of the Taarab Lyric: Local Aspects and Global Influences.” Swahili Forum 11, 2004: 3–37.
Khatib, M. S. *Taarab Zanzibar*, Tanzania Publishing House, 1992 [selected chapters].
Topp Fargion, J. “The Role of Women in Taarab in Zanzibar: a Historical Examination of a Process of Africanization.” The World of Music 35(2), 1993: 109-125.
Contents
List of Topics:
SWAHILI LANGUAGE I M
1. READING AND TRANSLATION OF POETRY AND PROSE TEXTS IN SWAHILI
2. TRANSCRIPTION AND TRANSLATION OF SELECTED AUDIO/VIDEO CLIPS
3. WRITTEN AND ORAL ASSIGNMENTS RELATED TO THE TEXTS IN THE SYLLABUS
4. SWAHILI FILMS
SWAHILI LANGUAGE II M
1. SWAHILI DIALECTS
2. READING AND TRANSLATION OF TEXTS IN DIALECTAL FORMS
3. LANGUAGE ANALYSIS AND SUMMARY OF ARTICLES IN SWAHILI
SWAHILI LITERATURE I-II M
1. SWAHILI SUNG POETRY (TAARAB)
2. TRANSLATION AND ANALYSIS OF TEXTS
3. READING AND ANALYSIS OF CRITICAL ESSAYS
Course Language
Italian