A r t i c l e s

RÁCOVÁ, Anna: Classifiers in Bengali, p. 125

KRUPA, Viktor: The fate of the Caesarean operation – an episode in Marquesan oral literature, p. 138

GÁLIK, Marián: On the Lyric(al)ness in the Sino-Japanese Interliterary Process: Musings After Reading Kokinshu Prefaces, p. 147

HATALOVÁ, Henrieta: The Dog as a Metaphor or Symbol in Chinese Popular Phraseology, p. 161

DROZDÍK, Ladislav: Terminological Modelling in Sabbag´s Risala (1812), p. 186

SORBY, Karol R. The First Year after the Iraqi Revolution – cAbdalkarim Qasim between communists and nationalists, p. 205

MAGDOLEN, Dušan: An Ancient Egyptian Statuette from a Private Collection in Bratislava, p. 229

PAWLIKOVÁ-VILHANOVÁ, Viera: Christian Missions in Africa and their Role in the Transformation of African Societies, p. 249

B o o k R e v i e w s

LUTZ, Edzard and RETSÖ, Jan (Editors): Current Issues in the Analysis of Semitic Grammar and Lexicon I. Oslo-Göteborg Cooperation 3rd-5th June 2004. Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft: Abhandlungen für die Kunde des Morgenlandes. Band LVI.
LUTZ, Edzard and RETSÖ, Jan (Editors): Current Issues in the Analysis of Semitic Grammar and Lexicon II. Oslo-Göteborg Cooperation 4th-5th November 2005. Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft: Abhandlungen für die Kunde des Morgenlandes. Band LIX. By Ladislav Drozdík, p. 261
BOUDELAA, Sami (Ed.): Perspectives on Arabic Linguistics XVI. Papers from the Sixteenth Annual Symposium on Arabic Linguistics. Cambridge, March 2002, By Ladislav Drozdík, p. 266
GRALLA, Sabine: Der arabische Dialekt von Nabk (Syrien). Semitica Viva, Band 37 (Otto Jastrow, Ed.). By Ladislav Drozdík, p. 270
BOOTH, Ch.: The Hyksos Period in Egypt. Shire Egyptology 27. By Dušan Magdolen, p. 272
LUDWIG, Frieder and ADOGAME, Afe (Eds.) in cooperation with Ulrich Berner and Christoph Bochinger. European Traditions in the Study of Religion in Africa. By Viera Pawliková-Vilhanová, p. 273

ABSTRACTS

CLASSIFIERS IN BENGALI

Anna RÁCOVÁ
Institute of Oriental Studies, Slovak Academy of Sciences,
Klemensova 19, 813 64 Bratislava, Slovakia
kaorraco@savba.sk

Classifiers are affixes that categorize entities into common classes on the basis of shared properties. They are characteristic features of many Asian, American, and African languages. Though typically not occurring in Indo-European languages, they can be found in the Eastern group of New Indo-Aryan languages, namely Assamese, Oriya and Bengali. Emaneau pointed out that they probably started to be used under the influence of Southeast Asian languages in India. According to Chatterji in Bengali they were in use as early as its middle period (1200—1800).
This study attempts to provide information on the present occurrence and usage of classifiers in Bengali. The conclusions are based on the analysis of texts by seven Bengali authors. The relevant affixes are regarded as classifiers when they are attached to a noun and as numeral classifiers when they are attached to numerals. In the latter case they occur in various syntactic constructions. Besides their main function of classifying objects into classes Bengali classifiers serve as definitives, substantivizators and noun substitutes.

Key words: Bengali language, classifiers, numeral classifiers

THE FATE OF THE CAESAREAN OPERATION – AN EPISODE IN MARQUESAN ORAL LITERATURE

Viktor KRUPA
Institute of Oriental Studies, Slovak Academy of Sciences
Klemensova 19, 813 64 Bratislava, Slovakia
kaorvikr@savba.sk

Polynesian mythology is notable for several brief allusions to what is usually termed Caesarean birth. The sense of this operation does not consist in saving both mother and child but seems to be provoked by unsatisfactory knowledge of the operation that preferred the life of a newborn child at the expense of that of its mother. According to the legend, the innovation seems to have been brought from outside by Kae to the Marquesas and received favourably there.

Key words: Kae, whales, his role in Samoa versus the Marquesas, island of women, Caesarean operation in Polynesia, Kae as a cultural hero?

ON THE LYRIC(AL)NESS IN THE SINO-JAPANESE INTERLITERARY PROCESS: MUSINGS AFTER READING KOKINSHU PREFACES

Marián GÁLIK
Institute of Oriental Studies, Slovak Academy of Sciences,
Klemensova 19, 813 64 Bratislava, Slovakia
galikm@inmail.sk

The aim of this essay is to show the lyric(al)ness of Japanese poetry of the Heian era (794-1192) and its similar and different features in comparison with Chinese poetry of the Six Dynasties (420-580), especially from its late period. The examples are taken from the Japanese collection Kokinshu (A collection of poems ancient and modern) and from the Chinese collection Yutai xinyong (The new songs from the Jade Terrace).

Key words: Lyric(al)ness, interliterary process, Kokinshu, Yutai xinyong, Ki no Tsurayuki, Xiao Gang

THE DOG AS A METAPHOR OR SYMBOL IN CHINESE POPULAR PHRASEOLOGY

Henrieta HATALOVÁ
Institute of Oriental Studies, Slovak Academy of Sciences,
Klemensova 19, 813 64 Bratislava, Slovakia
ritahatalova@gmail.com

The current article is an attempt to examine the Chinese popular phraselogy with dog motifs from the point of view of how Chinese proverbs and sayings make use of the motif mentioned as a/ a metaphor or b/ a phraseological symbol. Between the symbolics of the dog in Chinese traditional and popular culture there is sometimes a significant difference, the dog as a symbol in phraseology can be classified mainly as an ambivalent symbol, in spite of the prevailing positive symbolics in various areas of traditional culture.

Key words: dog, animal, phraseology, symbolics, Chinese popular literature and culture

TERMINOLOGICAL MODELLING IN SABBAG´S RISALA (1812)

Ladislav DROZDÍK
Institute of Oriental Studies, Slovak Academy of Sciences,
Klemensova 19, 813 64 Bratislava, Slovakia
kaorladi@savba.sk

The study examines the duality of verbal and iconic terminological strategies, the former exclusively based on lexical naming (verbal definition), the latter on the shared action of lexical naming and pattern imposing (visualizing). Terms resulting from the joint strategy of naming and visualizing operate as terminological models. Terminological units involving any type of iconic features, are referred to as iconic terms (IT), iconicity-free units solely based upon verbal definition are classified as non-iconic terrms (NT). The class of IT is assumed to consist of three types: iconic terms supported by (i) pattern-based, (ii) pattern-and-affix-based, and finally (iii) affix-based iconicity. The main attention is focused on the last type, typical of Sabbag´s pioneering work.

Key words: pattern, lexical naming, pattern imposing, terminological model, affix-based iconicity (ABI), pattern-based iconicity (PBI), pattern-and-affix-based iconicity (PABI), iconic identity, iconic content, iconic terms (IT), non-iconic terms (NT), Standard Arabic (SA), colloquial Arabic (CA).

THE FIRST YEAR AFTER THE IRAQI REVOLUTION – CABDALKARIM QASIM BETWEEN COMMUNISTS AND NATIONALISTS

Karol R. SORBY
Institute of Oriental Studies, Slovak Academy of Sciences,
Klemensova 19, 813 64 Bratislava, Slovakia
kaorkaso@savba.sk

During the first year after the Revolution the Iraqi Communist Party and its front organizations were gaining strength and popularity so that the party was able to command the streets of Baghdad. The ICP interpreted the events as a bourgeois democratic revolution and demanded the creation of bourgeois democratic institutions and a functioning parliamentary system. In this phase the nationalists lost the struggle to win the hearts and minds of Iraqis to the ideals of Arab unity. Since the ICP had captured substantial sections of progressive opinion not only in Baghdad but in most of southern Iraq and in many parts of Kurdistan, the nationalists and their associates decided to promote their cause partly by relying on anti-communist or religious elements, but more crucially on members of the armed forces who were unhappy with the existing regime. The peak of communist influence lasted approximately one year. The bloody events at Kirkuk on the first anniversary of the July Revolution marked the beginning of the end of this phase

Key words: post-revolutionary Iraq, leadership of cAbdalkarim Qasim, power struggle between communists and nationalists.

AN ANCIENT EGYPTIAN STATUETTE FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION IN BRATISLAVA

Dušan MAGDOLEN
Institute of Oriental Studies, Slovak Academy of Sciences
Klemensova 19, 813 64 Bratislava, Slovakia
kaorduma@savba.sk

The basic characteristics of the ancient Egyptian statuette from a private collection in Bratislava are described in this paper from the point of view of typology, iconography and epigraphy. In this connection related problems are discussed including reconstruction of the damaged inscription, its contents, translation and meaning, as well as the name of the statuette’s owner, dating and so on. Moreover, one of the objectives of this research is the investigation of the possible authenticity of this artefact and its ancient origin.

Key words: ushabti, investigation, iconography, inscription, reconstruction, authenticity

CHRISTIAN MISSIONS IN AFRICA AND THEIR ROLE IN THE TRANSFORMATION OF AFRICAN SOCIETIES

Viera PAWLIKOVÁ-VILHANOVÁ
Institute of Oriental Studies, Slovak Academy of Sciences,
Klemensova 19, 813 64 Bratislava, Slovakia
viera.vilhanova@savba.sk

The third phase of the misionary movement in Africa, which started from the end of the eighteenth and continued throughout the nineteenth century, in twentieth-century Africa led to the dramatic expansion of Christianity called “the fourth great age of Christian expansion”. In their attempt to spread the Christian faith, win converts and transform African societies, Christian missions of all denominations opened schools and disseminated education. Scientifically very important was their pioneer work in African languages. By producing grammars, dictionaries, textbooks and translations of religious texts missionaries laid the foundations for literature in African languages. Christian missionary enterprise was no doubt of prime importance in the Westernization of Africa. Africans were, however, not passive recipients of new influences and culture patterns. The adoption of Christianity and the process of cultural exchange were shaped by African choices, needs and efforts to Africanize Africa’s Christian experience by securing the roots of Christianity in the African context.

Key words: expansion of Christianity in Africa, Christian missions, the study of African languages, missionary education, transformation of African societies