This research aims to study the practice of cremation in Alexandria and Graeco-Roman Egypt, through the examination of its cinerary urns.Our corpus, which brings together a little more than one... Show moreThis research aims to study the practice of cremation in Alexandria and Graeco-Roman Egypt, through the examination of its cinerary urns.Our corpus, which brings together a little more than one thousand objects, includes both ceramic and stone vases, designed as cinerary urns, but also many vases from the domestic and sometimes civic/religious sphere, diverted from their primary use and reused in necropolises, as well as a group of Pharaonic alabaster vases, adopted and reinterpreted in Roman times.Re-examination of the necropolises and tombs in which these urns have been unearthed since the 19th century has shed new light on the categories of people concerned by this practice, whether it is a personal choice of anonymous individuals or a custom of the Ptolemaic state for people whose funerals were supported by the Crown.Analysis of anthropological data from a selection of Alexandrian cinerary urns has made it possible to reconstruct a theoretical framework on the various stages of the funeral ceremony, from the construction of the pyre to the collection of the bone remains and deposition in the grave.Finally, elaborating a typo-chronological study of these urns enabled us to determine four major periods along which the frequency and methods of cremation evolved, between the foundation of Alexandria and the 2nd century AD. Show less
This is an empirical contribution to the study of the implications of political engagement for the social and political lives of informal workers in the Global South, by exploring the world of the... Show moreThis is an empirical contribution to the study of the implications of political engagement for the social and political lives of informal workers in the Global South, by exploring the world of the taxi-moto drivers (zemidjan) in Benin. The ethnographic research methodology mobilized a variety of sources for comparing the associational and political dynamics of the zemidjan in several towns (Cotonou, Parakou, Natitingou, and Kandi).The central preoccupation of this research has been to explain the perception among the zemidjan that their working and living conditions have not improved, despite their strategic use of the political sphere by way of the leaders of their diverse organisations. The main results show that despite their efforts to access certain platforms, the influencing capacity of the leaders in public decision making bodies is limited. This does not preclude that collective initiatives of the zemidjan have brought significant improvements to the corporation over time.It was highlighted that beyond those convincing gains facilitated by zemidjan engagement in the political arena, their insatisfaction is rather linked to the non-realisation of profound aspirations for a professional reconversion in order to improve their social status due to the negative connotation which makes zemidjan a "profession by default". Show less
A landlocked country in Central Africa, Chad has been involved in armed conflicts and civil war since independence in 1960. After the coup d’état in 1990, a certain stability prevailed under a... Show moreA landlocked country in Central Africa, Chad has been involved in armed conflicts and civil war since independence in 1960. After the coup d’état in 1990, a certain stability prevailed under a military democratic regime despite frequent rebels’ incursions, civil unrest, and violations of human rights. Over six decades, structural violence, insecurity, and oppression continue to hamper sociocultural, economic, educational and health improvements. Despite oil revenues and international investments into security and poverty reduction, Chad remains a highly fragile poor country with an alarming hunger situation. Its development is constrained by internal conflicts, instability of neighbouring countries, and perpetual threats by extremists. The weakness of infrastructures, public institutions and bad governance constrain the access of communities to basic goods, services, rights and means of livelihood.In rural areas, harassment and neglect by public authorities increase the vulnerabilities of households to food insecurity and conflicts. This research insighted into the long-term impacts of persistent violence on food production, social organization and access to health services in Guéra in central Chad. Rebels and government authorities exert political stress that is a major driver of sociocultural, demographic and economic change. These acts undermine spheres of livelihoods across the Sahelian region and needs attention. Show less
This book provides a description of Cuvok, a language spoken by about 10,000 people in the far north of Cameroon. The study of the linguistic elements addresses and provides an analysis of the... Show moreThis book provides a description of Cuvok, a language spoken by about 10,000 people in the far north of Cameroon. The study of the linguistic elements addresses and provides an analysis of the language through the examination of phonological and morphological aspects, as well as some notes on syntax and a bilingual lexicon.The issue of prosodies is central to the discussion of vowel segments. The harmonic domain of the word has a prominent place in the morpho-phonological discussion. The noun and the verb are the only grammatical categories that exhibit harmonic domains within which the features +palatalization and -palatalization are observed. All satellite elements of these two categories are either palatalized or non-palatalized depending on the opposition between the two phonemic vowels in the final position of the nominal or verbal complex. The perception of the Cuvok world is revealed through the study of prepositions, markers of temporal and spatial location. The expression of the four cardinal points shows a fixed orientation of the Tchouvok people.Particular emphasis was placed on the ethnolinguistic aspect, which deals with the role of the blacksmith as a key actor in the development of the society. This monographic section examines the role of the blacksmith in a society that is undergoing rapid change and is prey to new ideas and habits.The Cuvok grammar is a work that constitutes a decisive step towards the development and standardization of this language and hence of the central Chadic languages in general. Show less
This study explores long-term landscape transformations of the Fort-Liberté region, Haiti. By using a landscaped biography approach, this research aims to understand the substantial developments... Show moreThis study explores long-term landscape transformations of the Fort-Liberté region, Haiti. By using a landscaped biography approach, this research aims to understand the substantial developments of the region, from the Amerindian occupation, through the Spanish colonization, to the French colonial period. The study of the transformation of the landscape in the longue-durée suggests that activities of cultural groups are considered as events that were connected to each other, not just as superposed layers or isolated events. The archaeological sites dispersed in the natural environment express the idea of a complex palimpsest of the region’s history. This study of the Haitian cultural landscape has proposed to take into account the multi-layered nature of the landscape in order to avoid the dichotomy between pre-colonial and colonial in this context of long-term landscape transformation Show less
Looking for a global and corrective measure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from international civil aviation has been facing legal obstacles. These obstacles took the form of conflicts of... Show moreLooking for a global and corrective measure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from international civil aviation has been facing legal obstacles. These obstacles took the form of conflicts of norms linked to the general challenge of the interactions between international aviation law, climate change law and the law of the European Union. Using evolutionary interpretation of the Chicago Convention in order to reconcile norms of substantive and institutional nature emerged as the best solution. However, this method perpetuates legal uncertainty and poses the general challenge of flexibly and elasticity of the Chicago Convention in response to the climate change challenge. This study examines the above mentioned issues of interactions between legal orders and provides recommendations to restore legal certainty needed to ensure sustainable development of international civil aviation. More specifically, this study reveals the underestimated relevance of the ongoing distinction between the legal regimes of air navigation and international air transport, which is a key legal element in the search for a global and corrective solution to the impact of international civil aviation on climate change. Show less
Résumé de la thèse Cette thèse porte sur le rapport entre communication, pouvoir et violence au Tchad depuis la pénétration coloniale jusqu’à la période postindépendance. Les régions du Moyen... Show moreRésumé de la thèse Cette thèse porte sur le rapport entre communication, pouvoir et violence au Tchad depuis la pénétration coloniale jusqu’à la période postindépendance. Les régions du Moyen-Chari et du Guéra illustrent cette problématique structurant l’interaction communication, pouvoir et violence au Tchad. Ce territoire connut des violences multiformes liées à la mise en place et à l’usage des systèmes de communication. Pendant la colonisation, l’instauration de l’autorité coloniale sur ce vaste territoire avait nécessité la création des voies de communication dont les réalisations ont été dramatiques pour les populations paysannes. Celles-ci étaient astreintes aux corvées de portage des matériels militaires et des travaux forcés. Pendant, les guerres civiles postindépendances, les systèmes de communication ont été intégrés dans les stratégies de violences. Les routes et les divers moyens de l’information et de transport constituent des enjeux stratégiques pour lesquels les forces militaires en guerre projettent la violence sur les populations rurales. Les nouvelles technologies de l’information et de communication révolutionnent l’organisation des forces rebelles et les stratégies de guerre au Tchad sans exclure les violences sur les populations. Cependant, les guerres civiles successives ont gravement impacté sur la conduite de l’appareil étatique tchadien. Show less
This thesis offers a description of the Bouakako Sign Language (LaSiBo, Langues des Signes de Bouakako in French), that has emerged within a community comprising a majority of hearing members.... Show moreThis thesis offers a description of the Bouakako Sign Language (LaSiBo, Langues des Signes de Bouakako in French), that has emerged within a community comprising a majority of hearing members. LaSiBo is a young language that has developed within a group of hearing-impaired community members to fulfill their communication needs, but is also used by other members of the village. The aspects studied here are firstly the formal properties of LaSiBo and inter-personal variation in sign usage; as well as semantic domains such as kinship, colors and time. The size of the community, the age of the language, the influence of the spoken language and the absence of use in education are among the factors that influence the formation of LaSiBo. The comparisons carried out in this work highlight similarities and differences not only between sign languages (used in small communities in particular) – which, however different they may be, share the same modality (visio-gestural) –, but also between languages that are in contact with each other (the Dida language and LaSiBo) but use different modality (respectively audio-oral and visio-gestural). Show less
In this thesis, the (mal) functioning of the Senegalese state in the context of conflict (the Casamance crisis) is analyzed through four domains namely local administration, the security sectors,... Show moreIn this thesis, the (mal) functioning of the Senegalese state in the context of conflict (the Casamance crisis) is analyzed through four domains namely local administration, the security sectors, the borders and the communication domain where high ‘state density’ is expected in order to maintain its authority and sovereignty. However, the grip of the state on the social body remains weak and its powers are very limited in these sectors leading to necessary and continuous negotiations with other actors (traditional leaders, rebels, NGO, etc.), which sometimes are a serious threat to the state’s authority and are a symptom of its fragility. By using the metaphor of a sponge, hence the concept of “the Spontex State”, I demonstrate that, paradoxically, states in Africa in general, and the Senegalese state in particular, are keen to strategize their weakness. Their sponge-like characteristics permit a form of retractability. It allows absorbing and resisting forces that contest its power. Its retractability helps the state to avoid, at least partially, more serious confrontations with various actors. The capacity of retention and retraction of the sponge, reflected in the state, leads to great flexibility, through which the state sustains it grip and, ultimately, reinforces its overall authority. Show less
e livre est une étude pionnière portant sur l’analyse conceptuelle et la traductibilité des termes de maladie dioula jusqu’ici non abordées par les recherches antérieures. Le Dioula est une langue... Show moree livre est une étude pionnière portant sur l’analyse conceptuelle et la traductibilité des termes de maladie dioula jusqu’ici non abordées par les recherches antérieures. Le Dioula est une langue mandé parlée au Burkina Faso. L’étude présente les représentations de la santé, de la maladie et du corps dans la culture dioula, les entités nosologiques populaires et l’étude linguistique des noms de maladies dioula. Cette étude linguistique a pour but d’analyser les termes du corpus afin de souligner leurs particularités linguistiques. Cette analyse est d’autant plus utile qu’elle permet d’une part, de s’imprégner davantage des concepts et conceptions relatifs à la maladie et d’autre part, de mettre en évidence les difficultés que les traducteurs et interprètes sont susceptibles de rencontrer dans ce domaine et de proposer des solutions. Cette analyse vise à faciliter la tâche du traducteur ou de l’interprète qui pourra se référer rapidement aux suggestions proposées en cas de difficulté ou de doute. L’étude décrit la formation des termes de maladies puis les processus sémantiques ou les figures de style rentrant dans la construction de ces termes et enfin le discours de plainte du malade. En outre, cette étude examine dans quelle mesure le relativisme culturel et linguistique peut servir dans le processus de traduction au lieu d’impliquer son impossibilité. L'auteur décrit un certain nombre de phénomènes intéressants en ce qui concerne les entités nosologiques populaires dioula : Il se peut que le terme de maladie dioula exprime un concept qui est complètement inconnu dans la culture cible. Le concept en question peut être abstrait ou concret, il peut être relié aux croyances religieuses, à une coutume sociale. De tels concepts sont souvent qualifiés de concepts « spécifiquement culturels ». Un exemple d’un concept abstrait dioula qui est reconnu comme difficile à traduire en d’autres langues relevant d’autres cultures est celui exprimé par le mot kɔnɔ. Ce dernier revêt un concept typiquement « dioula » qui est rarement appréhendé par des gens provenant d’autres cultures. L'un des problèmes théoriques soulevés concerne la traductibilité des termes médicaux dioula, culturellement spécifiques. Il est ressorti de l’analyse que des expressions qui sont profondément enracinées dans la culture dioula présentent plus de difficultés de traduction car le concept qu’ils véhiculent est inconnu du français ou de la biomédecine. Des pistes de solutions sont fournies parmi lesquelles l’on peut noter la démarche suivante : Une traduction du terme de maladie dioula par un mot français accompagnée de commentaires sémantiques et/ou métalinguistiques.Les données ont été collectées sur quatorze mois en plusieurs étapes. Au regard des problèmes théoriques et analytiques abordés dans les différentes sections du livre, il est d’un grand intérêt pour les personnels de santé, pour les spécialistes de la communication interculturelle, pour les lexicographes et les terminologues, pour les anthropologues de la santé sans oublier les traducteurs. Show less
Emphasizing on the key role of polysemy in forming the lexicon is the main goal to be achieved in this dissertation. The paper suggests a qualitative evaluation of polysemy in comparing it with... Show moreEmphasizing on the key role of polysemy in forming the lexicon is the main goal to be achieved in this dissertation. The paper suggests a qualitative evaluation of polysemy in comparing it with other relations that form the lexicon. The research confirms that the polysemic links must not be modeled independently from derivation or conversion. This evaluation leads us to reveal that the boundary between polysemy and conversion is porous. The properties of analogy has been used to compare the relations. They are the links that connect lexis which form the objects of a comparison. Wolof, an Atlantic language in West-Africa, is studied. This language provides a fertile breeding ground for the explorations. A large scale of different morphological processes form the lexicon (like suffix derivation, derivations from consonant alternation and conversion by changes in nominal class morphemes). The descriptive contribution of this research is to explore the semantic fields of artifacts and emotions in Wolof lexicon. The methodology applied here is to describe both the meanings of the lexical units and the semantic links by which they are connected by a unique metalanguage. That unique metalanguage is called the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM), which is applied here to Wolof. Show less
My research is based on transculturalism in the works of Iranian authors living in France since the 1980’s. Referring to the cultural interbreeding, transculturalism constitutes a field of research... Show moreMy research is based on transculturalism in the works of Iranian authors living in France since the 1980’s. Referring to the cultural interbreeding, transculturalism constitutes a field of research, which is becoming increasingly important in numerous countries. In literature this concept concerns hybrid works, i.e. works emanating from two or more different cultures. In French-Persian creations it shows the mixture between a Western tradition of novel and the dominating place of lyricism and poetry in the Eastern writing. It may open also to an interesting course of reflection in the cultural and social domain of multiculturalism and transculturalism more in general. It aims at current issues seen from a double perspective: the interdependency of the different cultures and a new type of literature from the perspective of writing. Those creations are intermediary between the artist in exile and the receiving society. They transmit values of interculturalism, permitting interaction between cultures. But also represent transculturalism, which transcends the simple ‘dialogue’ between two cultures to reach an original synthesis. My goal was to search hybrid factors in these works and to see how they are carried out concretely in the texts. Then we see who these works might be qualified as transcultural. Show less
This descriptive and analytical study is based on two corpora of audiovisual data of monolingual and multilingual children’s babbling and first words gathered in Mali during a period of nearly a... Show moreThis descriptive and analytical study is based on two corpora of audiovisual data of monolingual and multilingual children’s babbling and first words gathered in Mali during a period of nearly a year. It is concerned with fundamental discussions about the development and acquisition of language such as the issue of the presence or absence of evidence of early specialization in children at the babbling stage, the continuity between babbling and first words, and the emergence and development of phonology in children Show less
Bunkeya et ses chefs provides a history of town of Bunkeya, a traditional centre of rule in Katanga, the south-easterly province of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Primarily, it tells the history... Show moreBunkeya et ses chefs provides a history of town of Bunkeya, a traditional centre of rule in Katanga, the south-easterly province of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Primarily, it tells the history of the Yeke chiefs, the first of whom, Msiri, founded a kingdom based on slave exports and the control of firearms. In 1891 Msiri was assassinated by the Belgian colonisers, and his capital was abandoned. However, his successors established good relations with the Belgians, and from 1910 returned to Bunkeya, which became a regional centre, with schools, missions and a flourishing commerce. On the basis of the education they received, the successors of Msiri, above all the brothers Antoine and Godefroid Munongo, became major political figures in the region. In particular Godefroid was a leading politician, advocating Katangese succession. In the turbulent times after the independence of Congo, Godefroid was i.a. heavily involved in the murder of Patrice Lumumba, and the government of Moise Tshombe, but nevertheless managed to survive, and to became a leading lieutenant of the dictator Mobuto. Godeforid was able to use the power he so accrued to greatly improve the economic position of Bunkeya, so that it is now a flourishing commercial town. Show less
The dialogical paradigm provides a theory of meaning alternative to the model-theoretical and proof-theoretical ones which are more widespread. From the dialogical point of view, meaning is given... Show moreThe dialogical paradigm provides a theory of meaning alternative to the model-theoretical and proof-theoretical ones which are more widespread. From the dialogical point of view, meaning is given by use within argumentative debates which are designed as two-player games. In this work we present the fundamental notions of the paradigm through the study of various dialogical semantics. We also make some incursions in the metatheory of dialogical games, with among other things a stress on the connection between dialogues and tableaux.Three specificities of our account are: the homogeneous way to ensure finiteness of dialogues with the device of repetition ranks, an explicit formulation of game rules with emphasis on speech acts, and the significant role given to the perspective of extended forms (tree representations) in our analysis.As for results, we propose a new demonstration of soundness and completeness of the tableau method with respect to dialogical games. We also give the first analysis of the dialogical manifestation of the decidability (or not) of a logic as intimately related to the handling with repetition ranks of repetitive behaviours in games. Show less
The study of the integration of areas peripheral to the main urban centres of the conquered lands to the Islamic sphere of authority in the 7th century poses great issues to historians because of... Show moreThe study of the integration of areas peripheral to the main urban centres of the conquered lands to the Islamic sphere of authority in the 7th century poses great issues to historians because of the scarcity of sources available. The Egyptian countryside however beneficiates from a large body of documentary evidence composed of papyri in Greek, Coptic and Arabic in addition to archaeological data and local historiography. This study offers to explore the history of Middle-Egypt, precisely the region of Antinoe/Anṣinā and Hermopolis/Ašmūn/Ašmūnayn as it became part of the empire of the Medinan (642-659), Umayyad (659-750) and Abbasid caliphs (750-868). The very detailed documentation available for the region allows to investigate the immediate measures that were taken locally after the conquest to insure and installation of the conquerors and their sustenance. It also shows how cooperation with the local au thorities was working from the very first years of Islamic dominance. One of the examples of that is given by the office of the duke of the Thebaid in Antinoe, revealing over time how such position contributed to the formation of the Islamic administrative hierarchy during the Umayyad period. However, the city of Anṣinā progressively fades away from the available documentation from the 8th century on as Ašmūn/Ašmūnayn becomes the main administrative centre of the area indicating a shift in the administrative system completed by the 9th century Show less
Dit literair-historisch proefschrift volgt het innovatieve proces van de romancyclus A la recherche du temps perdu die zich, mede onder invloed van de avant-garde schilderkunst, ontwikkelt van het ... Show moreDit literair-historisch proefschrift volgt het innovatieve proces van de romancyclus A la recherche du temps perdu die zich, mede onder invloed van de avant-garde schilderkunst, ontwikkelt van het ‘classicisme moderne’, de poëtica van de Nouvelle Revue Française die de roman kenmerkt in de beginfase, tot een literair modernisme. De korte, autonome passage uit de roman Sodom en Gomorra, waarin tot tweemaal toe het woord ‘rosace’ genoemd wordt, is ons uitgangspunt en speelt de hoofdrol bij de bestudering van de ideale compositie zoals die Marcel Proust voor ogen stond en zoals de auteur deze ‘Roos van Rivebelle’ een rol laat spelen in het creatieve wordingsproces van de verteller, waar zij een essentiële schakel lijkt te vormen in het leidmotief van de witte en roze meidoorns. De ‘Roos’ niet alleen in de betekenis van de bloemen behorend tot het geslacht Rosa, zinnebeeld van schoonheid, vergan kelijkheid en liefde, maar tevens in de architectonische en Franse betekenis van de grote Roos van de kerk oftewel het cirkelvormige roosvenster. Show less
This thesis concerns the traditional script of the Tuaregs, tifinagh. This script is a direct descendent of the Libyco-Berber script, which appeared in Northern Africa in the first millennium BCE.... Show moreThis thesis concerns the traditional script of the Tuaregs, tifinagh. This script is a direct descendent of the Libyco-Berber script, which appeared in Northern Africa in the first millennium BCE. Nowadays, it is used by most Tuareg populations in southern Algeria, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso. The thesis focuses on the current form and usage of this script. On the basis of a large corpus of letter signs and texts gathered during fieldwork in Niger, and to a lesser extent Mali and Burkina Faso, the graphemic diversity of the script is shown, and the orthographic system is analyzed. The traditional Tifinagh script is basically consonantal, except for the fact that vowels are written in word-final position. Moreover, by means of ligatures, it is shown which consonants in a graphemic sequence are to be interpreted as a consonant cluster (in that case the ligature is used), and which are to be interpreted as consonants separated by a vowel in pronunciation (in that case two separated signs are used). The thesis also describes the many uses the Tifinagh script has in traditional usage. This ranges from personal administrative tasks to love letters and grafitti. It is shown that recently traditional Tifinagh have started to be used in printed media too. A new development is the creation of neo-Tifinagh systems - orthographies graphemically based on Tifinagh, but with different systems - esp. the introduction of vowel signs. The different proposals are analyzed as to their main inspirations, which are mainly the Arabic and the Latin script. The usage of these new systems is traced, both in personal contexts as in the printed media. The thesis also contains a chapter on the other two scripts in use for writing Tuareg, the Latin script and the Arabic script. For the first, it shows the history of orthograohic reforms in Niger and Mali since independence. For the latter, it provides a first analysis of the graphemes and orthography used in the age-old tradition of writing Tuareg in Arabic script. Show less
This book is a first comparative study of the Nuni dialects. Nuni is a Gurunsi-Gur language spoken in Burkina Faso. This dialectological study is based on new first hand lexical and sentential data... Show moreThis book is a first comparative study of the Nuni dialects. Nuni is a Gurunsi-Gur language spoken in Burkina Faso. This dialectological study is based on new first hand lexical and sentential data which are presented in the book. The lexical dialectological study shows that the dialect of Yatini (Silly) is closest to all the other dialects and shows the least differences. Impressionistic intercomprehension judgements from two different age groups of speakers shows that this dialect is best understood by speakers of other dialect. The study provides a motivated recommendation to choose this dialect as a dialect of reference for implementation of Nuni in the educational system. Such a recommendation is imminent in the light of the start of bilingual (French-Nuni) education the area. Show less
