Grammar of Location and Motion in Zande

In Zande expressions of position and motion are arranged on a gamut in correlation with increasing syntactic complexity. Topological relations, expressed by basic locative construction are at the left end, directed motion at the right end. Directed translational motion is marked by the preposition ku, which also marks angular location. Topological relations, in situ motion and undirected translational motion do not get a specific marking. This indicates the interrelatedness of stasis and motion on the one hand and undirected and directed motion on the other hand

Two multifunctional locative and directional prepositions in Zande

In Pasch (2007: 174ff) I observed that the direction of self-induced or caused motion towards a location is usually expressed by the preposition ku ((1), (2)). Ku is frequently used to mark DIRECTION in a journey of which the starting point has been mentioned ((3), (4)). In this case the verb describing the motion away from the starting point is gapped. These observations are in agreement with Gore & Gore (1952: 78), who translate ku as ‘towards’ and add “that it always implies motion”. The situation of the speaker may optionally be indicated by the distal adverb yo ‘there’ (more frequent) or by the proximal adverb no (less frequent) ‘here’ in clause-final position

Mündü language and culture: the current state of research

The article outlines the ethnography and the socio-linguistic situation of the Mündü with focus on the sociolinguistic situation and on the endangerment of their language. The Mündü are a little known ethnic group living in several non-contiguous areas in the border triangle of Sudan, DR Congo and Uganda. Data on the history and the culture of the Mündü are scant and scattered in small pieces in the reports of the early European travellers in the region, in ethnographic descriptions of the neighbouring peoples, in particular on the Zande, in ethnographic surveys of Africa and ethnographic handbooks. All pieces of information on the cultural, economic and political situation of the Mündü from the latter second half the 20th century until now are published online on the websites of various organisations. Data on the current situation of the Mündü result partly from my own observations in Arua/Uganda

From anaphoric pronoun to copula in Zande

In Zande there is a particle ni which has two syntactic functions. The first one is that of an ana¬phoric pronoun (cf. ex. 1. for its use as a possessive pronoun) which is neutral with regard to gender, number, and syntactic function. The second function is that of a copula (ex. 2. and 3.). My hypothesis is that this copula has developed in a process of grammaticalisation from the anaphoric pronoun. The aim of the present paper is to outline this development and the conditions which allowed for it to take place

New Roles for African Languages with the New Electronic Media

Mass communication is not new in Africa. Until the mid-20th century aural surrogate languages were used to convey messages which would immediately reach many listeners and which could even be transmitted when the telephone line was interrupted, in particular in Western and Central Africa. The comprehension of these languages depended on the mastership of the spoken language and basically all speakers could understand messages transferred by drum, gong or whistle. With the introduction of writing and printed literature a division emerged according to which certain types of written/printed information were restricted to non-African languages or available also in African languages. While basically all types of literature can be printed or imported in English or French, the production (or import) of literature in African languages is basically restricted to religious texts and to fiction, but hardly any non-fiction. Letter-writing to family members overseas was for a long time the only type of written communication carried out � if at all � in African languages. The new media bring the chances of significant changes in the choice of languages for written information. While making books is expensive, the production of websites is fairly cheap. This offers the chance to produce written texts in African languages which formerly could not be published for economy reasons

Expressions of Cardinal Directions in Nilotic and in Ubangian Languages

In the Nilotic and Ubangian languages expressions for cardinal directions have been created on the basis of a wide range of conceptual sources: primarily cosmological, geographical and atmospheric concepts. But also names of neighbouring ethnic groups and even historical events are used as such. Borrowing of naming systems, however, do not occur

Profil Penyesuaian Diri Pasangan Yang Menikah di Usia Muda di Kecamatan Linggo Sari Baganti Pesisir Selatan

Penelitian ini dilatarbelakangi adanya salah satu pasangan yang mudah marah, adanya pasangan yang sulit mengontrol keuangan sehingga berhutang, adanya pasangan yang bermasalah dengan mertuanya.Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mendeskripsikan penyesuaian diri pasangan yang menikah di usia muda di Kecamatan Linggo Sari Baganti dilihat dari: 1) Penyesuaian dengan pasangan. 2) Penyesuaian seks 3) Penyesuaian keuangan 4) Penyesuaian dengan keluarga pasangan. Penelitian ini dilakukan dengan menggunakan metode deskriptif kuantitatif. Populasi penelitian adalah 30 orang yang dipilih dengan teknik total sampling sebanyak 30 orang. Instrument yang digunakan yaitu angket. Sedangkan untuk analisis data menggunakan teknik persentase. Hasil penelitian tentang penyesuaian diri pasangan yang menikah di usia muda di Kecamatan Linggo Sari Baganti dilihat dari :1) Penyesuaian dengan pasangan berada pada kategori cukup baik. 2) Penyesuaian seks berada pada kategori cukup baik 3) Penyesuaian keuanganberada pada kategori cukup baik 4) Penyesuaian dengan keluarga pasangan berada pada kategori cukup baik. Berdasarkan hasilpenelitian ini direkomendasikan kepada Kantor Urusan Agama (KUA) agar memberikan pemahaman kepada pasangan yang menikah muda mengenai pentingnya penyesuaian diri

Data Quality in Predictive Toxicology: Identification of Chemical Structures and Calculation of Chemical Descriptors

Every technique for toxicity prediction and for the detection of structure–activity relationships relies on the accurate estimation and representation of chemical and toxicologic properties. In this paper we discuss the potential sources of errors associated with the identification of compounds, the representation of their structures, and the calculation of chemical descriptors. It is based on a case study where machine learning techniques were applied to data from noncongeneric compounds and a complex toxicologic end point (carcinogenicity). We propose methods applicable to the routine quality control of large chemical datasets, but our main intention is to raise awareness about this topic and to open a discussion about quality assurance in predictive toxicology. The accuracy and reproducibility of toxicity data will be reported in another paper