Lugha Na Fasihi. Essays in honour and memory of  Elena Bertoncini Zúbková

Flavia Aiello; Roberto Gaudioso

Lugha Na Fasihi. Essays in honour and memory of Elena Bertoncini Zúbková

Authors

Flavia Aiello

University of Naples "L'Orientale"

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7538-0106

Roberto Gaudioso

University of Naples "L'Orientale"

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9088-3174

Keywords:

Novel, Narrative, Swahili, Translation, Poetry

Synopsis

Publisher: UniorPress

Series: Series Minor

Pages: 559

Language: Italian

NBN: http://nbn.depositolegale.it/urn:nbn:it:unina-25516

Abstract: This volume was composed in order to give a heartfelt tribute to the, in many ways pioneering, career of Elena Bertoncini Zúbková, scholar of Swahili lan-guage and literature, critic, translator and untiring teacher, both in Italy and at various universities around Europe. Regretfully, shortly before the publication of the book, Elena passed away; we therefore dedicate our contributions to her memory.

This work could not have been produced anywhere but the University of Naples “L’Orientale”, where, after initially working at the Charles University in Prague, Bertoncini Zúbková founded the teaching of Swahili Language and Literature in 1968 and taught until 2009. In the course of her years of teaching, Bertoncini Zúbková generously prepared fine quality didactic material, still in use today, on Swahili language, dialects and literature, both modern and classical, for her Italian students. These works, which cover the entire span of the three-year and Master’s degree courses, have permitted a generation of students, including some who are researchers at present, to study and learn Swahili language and literature by using their own language and through a methodology based on the analysis of original texts and not on prescriptive rules. Another noteworthy contribution by Bertoncini Zúbková is that of her work in collecting, often very difficult to find, creative and scientific publications. Besides enriching the library at the University of Naples “L’Orientale”, these collections have been catalogued by Bertoncini Zúbková into bibliogra-phies which have appeared in journals and volumes and represent a priceless resource for consultation.

What is more, over the course of forty years, Elena Bertoncini Zúbková has carried out assiduous research within the field of Swahili language and literature, producing general works, essays and numerous articles which have become an essential point of reference for all scholars of the field, be they in Italy or abroad. She has also distinguished herself through her numerous translations of literary works (principally novels and poetry), both into her native tongue, Slovak, and her adopted language, Italian, through which she has performed an important role in making Swahili literature available in Italy.

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Author Biographies

Flavia Aiello, University of Naples "L'Orientale"

Flavia Aiello works as research fellow at the University of Naples “L’Orientale,” where she also teaches Swahili Language and Literature. She is the author of numerous publications on contemporary arts in Swahili language and, for an Italian audience, has translated the Swahili novel Utengano by Said Ahmed Mohamed (Italian title: Separazione, 2005), and a selection of Abdilatif Abdalla’s poems (appeared in the volume Ushairi na Uhuru – Poesie scelte di Abdilatif Abdalla e Euphrase Kezilahabi, 2017, co-editor R. Gaudioso). Her research interests include the contemporary Swahili literature (including children’s literature), Swahilophone verbal arts and literary translation.

Roberto Gaudioso, University of Naples "L'Orientale"

Roberto Gaudioso is currently doing post-doc research on Swahili Literature of DR Congo at theUniversity of Napoli “L’Orientale”. His PhD thesis is on the poetics and philosophy of EuphraseKezilahabi (University of Napoli “L'Orientale” and University of Bayreuth) will be soon publishedunder the title The Continuous Reform of Euphrase Kezilahabi's Poetics (Köppe Verlag 2019). Hisresearch interests include the literatures in African languages, comparative literature, the theoriesand practices of translation, the aesthetics of literature, hermeneutics, and philosophy.