Obituary
Vojtech Kopcan

A r t i c l e s

KRUPA, Viktor: Chaulet's Histoire Sainte. Translating Bible into Marquesan , p. 148
GÁLIK, Marián: Searching for Roots and Lost Identity in Contemporary Chinese Literature, p.154
WONG ,Dorothy: Local, Place and Meaning: A Cultural Reading of the Hong Kong Stories, p.168
RÁCOVÁ, Anna: Some Remarks on Romani Identity, p.180
DROZDÍK Ladislav: Innovative Elements in the, 19th Century Arabic Lexicon, p. 187
SORBY, Karol: The Struggle for Syria (The Road toward the United Arab Republic), p. 213

B o o k R e v i e w s

DALLMAYR, Fred: Beyond Orientalism. Essays on Cross-Cultural Encounter. By Jarmila Drozdíková, p. 235
EDZARD Lutz - NEKROUMI., Mohammed (Eds.): Tradition and Innovation. Norm and De-
Viation in Arabic and Semitic Linguistics.By Ladislav Drozdík, p. 237
BELNAP, R. Kirk - HAERI, Niloofar (Eds.): Structuralist Studies in Arabic Linguistics.
By Ladislav Drozdík, p. 239
TALMON, Rafael: Arabic Grammar in its Formative Age. Kitab al-?Ayn and its
Attributionton to Halil b. Ahmad. By Ladislav Drozdík, p.243
EISELE, John C.: Arabic Verbs in Time: Tense and Aspect in Cairene Arabic. By
Ladislav Drozdík, p.245
CORRIENTE, Federico: A Dictionary of Andalusi Arabic. By Ladislav Drozdík, p.247
SORBY, Karol R.: Moderná spisovná arabcina. Diel II. By Ladislav Drozdík, p. 252
GOMBÁR, Eduard: Moderní dejiny islámských zemí. By Karol Sorby, p. 253
SCHWIEGER, Peter: Tibetische Handschriften und Blockdrucke. Teil 12. By Martin
Slobodník, p. 255
CÜPPERS, Christoph - SØRENSEN, Per K.: A Collection of Tibetan Proverbs and
Sayings. Gems of Tibetan Wisdom and Wit. By Martin Slobodník, p. 256
GRÜNFELDER, Alice: Tashi Dawa und die neuere tibetische Literatur.
By Martin Slobodník, p. 257

ABSTRACTS

CHAULET'S HISTOIRE SAINTE. TRANSLATING BIBLE INTO MARQUESAS

Viktor KRUPA
Institute of Oriental and African Studies, Slovak Academy of Sciences,
Klemensova 19, 813 64 Bratislava, Slovakia

Translating Bible into a very remote language spoken by people living in a likewise dis tant culture is always a serious challenge. This article gives a brief characteristic of the creative effort of Gerard Pierre Chaulet who has translated Bible or rather its key passages in the language of the Marquesans.

SEARCHING FOR ROOTS AND LOST IDENTITY IN CONTEMPORARY CHINESE LITERATURE

Marian GÁLIK
Institute of Oriental and African Studies, Slovak Academy of Sciences,
Klemensova 19, 813 64 Bratislava, Slovakia

In the years 1984-1987 searching for roots of literary identity was quite wide-spread am popular among the Chinese men of letters in the PRC. The aim of this article is to analyse this phenomenon against the background of the situation in the Latin American countries and to show the strong and weak points of this short-lived, but important literary movement.

LOCAL, PLACE, AND MEANING: A CULTURAL READING OF THE HONG KONG STORIES

Dorothy WONG
Department of Comparative Literature, University of Hong Kong, China

The aim of this article is to investigate into the relationship between the Hong Kong local and Hong Kong with reference to the stories about the place.

SOME REMARKS ON ROMANI IDENTITY

Anna RÁCOVÁ
Institute of Oriental and African Studies, Slovak Academy of Sciences,
Klemensova 19, 813 64 Bratislava, Slovakia

The Romani language as one of the important criteria of the Romani identity is discussed here. Problems of the standardization and codification of Romani are also examined.

INNOVATIVE ELEMENTS IN THE 19TH CENTURY ARABIC LEXICON

Ladislav DROZDÍK
Institute of Oriental and African Studies, Slovak Academy of Sciences,
Klemensova 19, 813 64 Bratislava, Slovakia

The nahda movement, following the thirteenth-eighteenth centuries of cultural isolation and decadence (casr al-inhitat), may be interpreted as a process of re-evaluation of the Arab cultural heritage. The process has been started by the confrontation of traditional values with those coming from the newly discovered Europe. The study concentrates on the way the Arabic lexicon was being adapted to meet this tremendous cultural challenge.

THE STRUGGLE FOR SYRIA (THE ROAD TOWARDS THE UNITED ARAB REPUBLIC)

Karol SORBY
Institute of Oriental and African Studies, Slovak Academy of Sciences,
Klemensova 19, 813 64 Bratislava, Slovakia

Syria has been an important centre for Arab nationalists for centuries and the Syrians see themselves as the natural leaders of Arab nationalism. By the time Syria gained its independence from the French in 1943, Syrian leaders were divided on how to pursue their goal of Arab unity. The country was full of political parties; the army was indoctrinated and politicized; social cleavages were extreme: the rich and influential Syrian families were opposed to any change in the status quo; the communists wanted a revolutionary Syria. Externally, Syria was the subject of constant outside intrigues: the West wanted to see a pro-Western Syria; the East worked hard to win Syrian friendship: for decades the Hashemite kings of Iraq and Jordan had wanted to bring Syria under their control. However, the regional dimension played a decisive role and Egypt's stand was of supreme importance. The roots of the conflict lay not in the Syrian tilt toward the Soviet bloc but in the US attempts to dominate the region.