Tigrigna Language, Literature and Folklore

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The Amharic • Dime Novelits Emeregence, Major Features & Significance (H49 - H66 E.C.)
(Addis Ababa University, 1994-06) Zenebe, Girma; Gessese, Tesfaye (PhD)
Writing small Amharic fiction became a dominant practice by the beginning of the second-half of the present century. These works, derogatorily known as Amharic "dime novels", constitute a large portion of the prose fiction in the language. If not identical many of them have conspicuous similarity in their format. They also share some attributes with regard to their techniques and subject matter. Amharic "dime novels" are often criticized for their poor literary standards and there are tendencies to ignore their significance in Amharic literature. Except for a few brief remarks no serious attempt has been made so far to study them. The purpose of this thesis is, therefore, to have a closer observation of the major features of these works , and to pin-point some of their contributions to Amharic literature. Descripftive and explanatory as it is , the thesis illustrates the creative aptitude and technical performance demonstrated in these works.A:v' l a ~ic L d~~i',e novels", themselves being the product of a literdture in a process of c hange, have in turn been the cause for the tra nsition. They have pl ayed a rol e in p r omoting Amharic prose fiction into a different s t age - helping it to break away from traditional practice and movetoward modernity. Even though they continued to be highly infulenced by the old authors, they nevertheless introduced new elements of modern narrative techniques. Apart from their significance in depicting the socioeconomic and cultural color of their time, these works have undoubtedly enriched Amharic literature with more experience in fiction writing. I n brief , the study enunciates the nature of the firs t large scale literary production which reflects the creative temperament t o f a new gene r a ti on of writers t ha t cropped up i n t he 1950s and 1960s E.C.
Comedy and Social Purpose: Two Plays of Menghistu Lemma
(Addis Ababa University, 1981-06) Getaneh, Akalu
A Comparative Analysis of the Images of Men and Women in the Works of Some Ethiopian Women Writers
(Addis Ababa University, 1996-06) Zenebe, Mulumebet; Azeze, Fekade (PhD)
The research aims at analysing the images of men and women in the workSof five Ethiopian women writers. The study is comparative in nature. It tries to determine whether or not there exists a similarity or difference in the way the writers portrayed their men and women characters. The thesis is divided into three chapters. The first chapter gives a brief review of the critical work in the field of study. The next two chapters deal with the analysis of the books by the women writers. Chapter two discusses characters portrayed in relation to the theme of seduction. Men and women characters that are depicted in relation to the culture of the Ethiopian society are analyzed in the final chapter. ,. Many of the women characters are depicted as the victims of men's cruelty and ignorance. The rest are presented as the victims of the Ethiopian culture that does not consider women equal to men. The writers seem to propose economic independence to women so that they could live according to their free will. In most of t 'he works the women characters are favoured by the writers. The feelings of the men characters are not given due attention. Without sufficient reason, the women become successful, while the men fail in life . The writers try to cover the naivety of the women characters by putting all the blame on the men and the culture. While emphasizing on the themes of their respective stories, the writers worked less for the plausibility of their characterization.
Culture and Gender in Sidama Folk Poetry: A Post Stucturalist Approach
(Addis Ababa University, 2005-06) Meshesha, Nigussie; Mathewos, Berhanu (PhD)
The thesis focuses on the themes of Sidama Folk Poetry in showing Culture and Gender differences. In Sidama women are treated as if they are weak, incapable of doing some thing by their own and they deserve everything of the lesser quality. They are respected only when they give birth to so many children, which is considered as their great life time achievement. Males on the contrary do almost nothing where as the women hold all the major responsibilities, but they are socially more influential. These problems are well stated in the oral poems and the poems portray women are subordinated and maltreated in the society since the social structure is built upon the reality that confirms men are privileged over women. The existing reality is set on the cultural conditions that dwarf the role of women in the society. So it must be de constructed so as to show the prejudices and the ill treatment of the women. The social institutions prohibit the women from participating actively and not to make any decision on their own family and life. The patriarchal culture also confirms this reality as it is seen in the different poems. The voices of the women haven't been heard for ages where women do express their opposition towards males' superiority. The analysis of the poem is done based on the post structuralist point of view by deconstructing the male centered reality. The oral poe tries are very suitable to learn about the voices of the women and at the same time they help to understand the social position of the women through their themes. The poems are collected through field work by administering interviewing (unstructured) , and with participant and non participant observations based on situations. Other works in the area of folklore are reviewed to give the background for the analysis.
Daniachew Worku ' s Writings: Three Plays and Two Novels
(Addis Ababa University, 1983-06) Minas, Teklu; K., A.(PhD)
Daniachew Worku ' s writings: Three Plays and Two Novels is a thesis in three parts . The first part is intended to give the reader a general idea of the major themes in the three plays and the two novels of Daniachew Worku. In the second part the genr es which the writer uses as well as the techniques he employs are discuss ed. The third part deals mainly with Daniachew Worku 1 s social concerns in his three plays and two novels. I n the introduction to the thesis a brief background of Ethiopian literatur e is given in order to avoid the dangers o f treating Daniachew Wo rku ' s works o f art in i solation. Segegenish Isat (100 pp .), still in the manuscript form , is a play written in the late fifties. This play was staged in Harar Medhane Alem Secondary School a nd Addis Ababa Technical School respectively , when the author was an Amharic teacher in these schools. Sewalle Biyye (pp . 134), published in 1958, is a verse play . Tibelch (pp . 100) , in the manuscript form, is a play whick was put up at the Creative Arts Centre of the present Addis Ababa University and at thr. National Theatre in 1964 . These plays are all written in Amha ric. At afris (pp . 330) , a novel written in Amha ric, was pu bl is~ed in 1970 . The Thirteenth Sun ( pp . 172) , is a novel writt en in English and p ublished in 1973 . All dates a re in Gregorian Calendar . In his plays and his novels , Daniachew Vlo rku draws the atten tio n o f his audience to questions regarding the problems of his own society with the sensitivity of the artist . The artist 's sensitivity is especially remarkable in the play Tibelch , and in the two novels, Aaafris and Whe Thirteenth Sun . = In the society which Daniachew Wo rku depicts through his playsand novels, there is a conflict of the old and the new in Ethiopia . Ethiopia ' s traditional values die hard , while forces of modernity call f o r a lot of sacrifice and struggle . To ~iscern what is ostensible and what is real in both the old and the new sets of social values presents a lot of di fficulty
Exploring Provision of Oral Feedback During Classroom Interaction in Efl Class: Focus On Grade Twelve in East Shewa Zone
(Addis Ababa University, 2008-06) Kassa, Legesse; Ayalew, Elizabeth (PhD)
This paper aim s to review how foreign language teachers provide oral feedback to learners' errors . The ma in aim of t hi s stud y was to find out the types of errors are usual corrected and the kinds of oral feedback teachers provide for learners during class room interaction .Over the last three decades, the role that the provision of oral feedback played in the foreign language learning has been highly a controversial issue. In the field of foreign language learning, however, there growing consensus among the majority of the researchers concerning the significance of error correction. Although the facilitation role of the provision of oral fee back forenames' menorahs empirical support, the claim s regarding its impact on foreign language learning has ye t to be fully or decisively sub substantiated .In order to mouthiness e of the research forward , it is important to examine the issue from the foreign language teaching literature. Hawas Preparatory Government School grad twelve English language teachers were the target of the study. As the number of the subjects is small all grade twelve English language teachers were included in the study. To achieve the objectives se t, necessary data were collectedly ugh classroom observation ,questionnaire and interview The stud y showed that majority of the teachers found oral feedback as an important too l to helplessness to ac hi eve a higher proficiency in foreign language . The investigation indicated that teachers choose to give different kind s of oral feedback in different occasion explicitly or implicitly. The intention of this study has also been to determine what kind s of oral feedback enhance or undermines the chance for learners uptake .The subjects have , among several factors stressed the importance of self correction, implicit and delayed feedback as a means of building learners confidence and to fee l comfortable in learning the foreign language at large.
Exploring Teachers’ Perceptions on Teaching Reading Skill: Grade 10 Chitu Secondary School in Focus
(Addis Ababa University, 2018-08) Fikadu, Chali; Kitila, Tamene (PhD)
The study explored teachers’ perception and techniques they used to teach reading in Chitu secondary school grade ten. In this study, descriptive research design was used with the mixed research methods. To achieve objective of the study, the target school was selected for it is convenient for the study. With this, the researcher used all four EFL teachers available along with 171 students of grade ten out of 300 students. The students were selected through sampling technique formula proposed by Slovins 1960. Three data gathering instruments were used to collect data. They were questionnaire for students, interview for teachers and class room observation. The quantitative and qualitative data gathered through these instruments were processed, analyzed and presented using descriptive statistics. The result of the study indicates that teachers’ classroom practice and students’ response does not reflect their perception of reading. The result also revealed that teachers frequently used only two types of techniques which imply reading techniques advocated in the literature were not effectively implemented by the target school teachers. Based on the findings and conclusion of study recommendations were forwarded for EFL teachers and other responsible bodies.
The Image of Women in Sisay Nigusu's Novels
(Addis Ababa University, 2009-06) Woldkidan, Seble; Mengisitu, Melakneh(PhD)
Many AAU undergraduate and graduate students of ILS attempted to examine the image of women characters in Amharic novels from Feminist critics' point of view. However, except one, none attempted to thoroughly deal with a s ingle author works at different periods to find out whether a writer has followed a consistent trend or shows a variation in his portrayal of women. Besides many of the studies done on Amharic literary works based on Feminist literary criticism seem lack of depth in applying the theory. The aim of this study is to analyze the portrayal of women characters in three selected Amharic novels written by Sisay Nigusu from a Feminist critic's point of view. The selected novels for the discussion are Girdosh (The Curtain) (1989), Yeknat Zar (literary; Obsession with J ealousy) (1996) and Rekik Ashara (Abstract Print) (2003). The thesis has four sections. In the first section introduction to the study, statement of the problem, objective and scope of the study are included. The second part mainly embraces theoretical background to the study, which discusses Feminism as a socio political movement and feminist literary criticism, and review of related works. Basing the Feminist theoretical concept the third part analyses and compares the selected five women characters taken form the three novels. In the fourth part the finding of the s tudy is presented. The finding of the study indicates the image of woman is distorted in the first two novels under discussion having the image of seductress, dependent, trouble maker sex object selfish and irrespons ible. In the last novel Rekik Ashara the Woman is portrayed as strong assertive, independent and problem solver. Thus it can be said that the writer has shown progress in his portrayal of women giIJing positive image for his woman character.
Images of Women and Plot Structure in the First Four Novels of Fikremarkos Desta
(Addis Ababa University, 2012-06) Zegeye, Mekonnen; Daniel, Abiye (PhD)
The thesis investigates two interrelated literary elements, the images of women and the plot structure in the first four novels of Fikremarkos Desta. The thesis has three chapters. The first chapter is the review of literature. The second chapter presents the images of women characters in the novels. It presents two types of women characters. The first type of these wo~en characters are portrayed as victims of their -respective cultures. They are denied enjoyment, free movement and property right. The second type of women I characters are characters portrayed as "strong I liberated" ones. -T-hbse characters are depicted as thoughtful, imaginative and assertive. They are also free to love and enjoy sex and they are not submissive and dependent on men. The third chapter deals with the plot structure in the novels. The study reveals the structural arrangement of the stories. And each structural part contains part of the story that a typical story contains. The structural patterns in the trilogies are almost identical. The structural pattern in Achame presents a history of a family from a grand father to a grandson in a chronological order. Filled questionnaires about the author and about Hamar are also appended.
Investigating Students' Preferences and Use 0f • Speaking Strategies with Particular Reference to Yekatit 66 and W Iro Kelemework Secondary Schools
(Addis Ababa University, 2012-05) Alemu, Henok; Bogale, Berhanu (PhD)
The purpose of this study was identifying the extent of preferences and frequency of use of speaking s trategies of grade 10 students of Yekatit 66 and W/ro Kelemework Secodary Schools. Moreover, it attempted to find out if there are s ignificant differences between s tudents' extent of preferences and frequency of use of speaking s trategies and it also identified some of the major factors that inhibit learners from using their strategy p reference as frequ ently as possible. A descriptive survey method was used. From the total population of 1547 s tudents, 195 (98 male and 97 female) students, who were selected by using simple random sampling method, were involved in the study. In order to gather the necessary data, questionnaires, interview and classroom observations were employed. The questionnaires were used to gather data about the extent of preferences and the frequency of use of peaking s trategies by students and to identify the major factors that affect the use of sp eak ing strategies . The latter two tools were employed in order to triangulate the data gathered through the questionnaires. Accordingly, the following results have been found . The tudents showed high pref erences towards all speaking s trategies . HOYJe ver, students ' preferences towards indirect strategies were greater than the -direct one. In addition to this, none of the strategies were employed highly; rather students showed medium use towards all sp eaking s trategies (affective, meta cognitive, cOlnpensation, memory, cognitive and social s trategies). A nother important result was that there was a difference between students ' extent of pref erence and ji-equency of use of strategies. This means, stude nts ' attempt to use speaking strategies in relation to their extent of preferences. were very weak. The major factors that inhibited students strategy use were iack of awareness of s trategies. absence of conducive school environment, lack of EFL teachers help in teaching the strategies,. the influence of culture, fear of making mistake, fear of students laughter and lack of experience of using strategies . Thus, it is recommended, that all concerned bodies (teachers, school principals, students, etc.) should play a significant role in every way possible in order to make students use speaking strategies as frequently as possible.
An Investigation of the Language Learning Strategies Used by High and Low Achievers of Grade Twelve Students at Kombolcha General Preparatory School
(Addis Ababa University, 2012-05) Moges, Hanna; Abate, Haregewein (PhD)
The main purpose of this study is to investigate the language learning strategies of high achiever and low achiever students. The focus was to see similarities and differences behveen high achiever and low achiever students' use of various hJPes of learning strategies. To this end, fifo) students were selected (25 high achievers and 25 low achievers) using purposive sampling. To measure the students' language learning strategt) use, Oxford's Strategt) Inventon) for Language Learning (SILL) was employed with some modification. This 49 item questionnaire was administered for the selected sample students. Interview was also conducted with ten of the sample students. Data obtained through the questionnaire were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version-20. The descriptive statistics such as mean values, standard deviations, and Independent T-test were considered in discussion. The t-test (with Significant difference level P
Learners' Role Awareness and Practice in Task- Based Speaking EFL Classes with Reference to Grade 11 in Two Selected Secondary Schools
(Addis Ababa University, 2012-07) Sambo, Hordofa; Banteyirga, Hailom (PhD)
The main objective of this study was to assess whether or not grade II students have awareness on their task based speaking classroom roles. The study also aimed at examining if the students practice the roles in the classroom and the factors that hinder this practice. The instruments of data collection used were questionnaire, classroom observation and interview. Ninety (90) grade II students who were randomly selected from the two schools and all of their English language teachers were the subjects of the study. Eighty-jive (85) of the students and four of the teachers responded to the questionnaires items. One section from each teacher's classes was randomly selected for classroom observation and all the second observations were recorded using video. Three of these observations were transcribed and analyzed. Nine of the sample students were interviewed to provide more information. Like that of the observations, the interviews were transcribedfor analysis. The students' responses to the questionnaire items, that showed their speaking classroom role behaviors implied in their new English textbook and commonly assumed in task based speaking classrooms, indicated that most of the students were aware of their respective classroom roles .. The teachers also doubt whether their students know their task based speaking classroom roles or not; because the respective grand mean to the items inclined 'neither agree nor disagree. ' Both the students' and the teachers' responses to the questionnaires items also indicated that though grade II students were aware of their student-centered speaking classroom roles, they were not exercising these roles in the classroom. Responses from the two respondents categories also showed that the students speaking classroom role practice was negatively affected by: the power gap between the teachers and the students, students misperception on the role of teachers in the class, students' understanding of tasks as time consuming and their misperception on the· role of teachers in the class, students understanding of tasks as time consuming and students' beliefs on that there is a mismatch between the expected exam items and the actual classroom speaking tasks (negative wash back effect). The teachers were trying to use oral communicative tasks and also were tying to encourage the students to play their expected active roles. However, the results of the classroom observation and that of the interviews' established the results indicated in the questionnaires. In most of the speaking classes observed, Ihe students' were playing passive roles. Lastly, based on the results of the study, the researcher forwarded some recommendations.
The Major Challenges of Implementing Active Learning in EFL classes of Wolaita Soon University
(Addis Ababa University, 2012-05) Haftu, Hagos; Reyassa, Taye (PhD)
Major Themes in the Works Of Four Ethiopian Women Writers
(Addis Ababa University, 2000-05) Kifle, Napoleone; Kifle, Yimer (PhD)
The purpose of this paper is to examine themes women poets convey in their work. The four women writers who are considered under these study are Aregash Seifu, Firmaye Alemu, Mekedes .J emberu, and Senayt Aberra. Their poems are found in the anthology of poem entitled. The four women writers have written their poems depending on their individual experience, temperament, and their view of life. The majority of their poem subj ects are drawn ti'om the ord inary social life of the Ethiopian people. The four writers have commonly touched the subject of love. They have great reverence fo r the issue of love. As each of them have di fferent social background and experience, they seem to lack common frame of reference to expl ain it. As regard the moral question, they have clearl y stated the deteri orating moral condi tion and the general abj ect poverty th at prevail in the country. It seems the four writers are not generally happy with th e way things are in the country at present. As a result, they have voiced their concern and blatantly pointed out their bitter and critica l social comment. The Ibur women accept the uni versa l law of life th at upholds contradi ction to be an inherent fea ture of all phenomena in the uni verse. Their attitude toward Ii fe is based on the principle of to lerance and optimism taking hope as a beckoning li ght.In their individua l work, the theme of woman subjugation is reflected in the works of Aregash and Mekedes have touched on the pos ition of women in the society and how they suffer due to the traditional and cu ltural practice. Firmay elaborated on the lack of se lf- respect and personal integrity the society shows by displaying unnatural behavior primari ly to be on good terms in the day-to-day social relations at home and in public. Senayt stresses on the necessity of moderate li ving. To conclude, in male dominated literary tradition of the country the four women writers have shown their intellectual competence.
The Novels of Shitto Mezgebu: A Psychoanalytic Analysis
(Addis Ababa University, 2000-06) Zelealem, Mengistu; Kifle, Yimer (PhD)
This research, from its inception, was designed to exam me two novels by Shinto Mealybug from a psychoanalytic perspective. The main intention was to test applicability of this theory of criticism to literary works so that the gap currently existing in the area of literary studies could be bridged. Before embarking on the analysis and interpretation of the novels, I have gone through the following procedures. Initially, I selected my problem, thereby identifying the personality theories, methods, and models to be used for psychoanalytic analysis as they were postulated by Sigmund Frend, the discoverer of the unconscious and father of psychoanalysis. I also managed to obtain, the author's biographical or semi-biographical accounts from periodicals (magazines), daily press and book reviews which gave me a substantial and reliable aid in my analysis and interpretation in chapter four. During the course of the research the following personality traits (psychological conflicts) have been identified and analysed. The first personality traits is deviousness. In this regard, the seven episodes taken out of the two novels have shown that the authors devious behaviour might have been aimed at provoking the public response or deserving attention and reassurance. The second personality identified was related to approach-avoidance conflict and vacillating tendency. The four episodes taken more or less justified that the author's motives at times exhibited undecideds and her reactions undifferentiated.This research, from its inception, was designed to exam me two novels by Shinto Mealybug from a psychoanalytic perspective. The main intention was to test applicability of this theory of criticism to literary works so that the gap currently existing in the area of literary studies could be bridged. Before embarking on the analysis and interpretation of the novels, I have gone through the following procedures. Initially, I selected my problem, thereby identifying the personality theories, methods, and models to be used for psychoanalytic analysis as they were postulated by Sigmund Frend, the discoverer of the unconscious and father of psychoanalysis. I also managed to obtain, the author's biographical or semi-biographical accounts from periodicals (magazines), daily press and book reviews which gave me a substantial and reliable aid in my analysis and interpretation in chapter four. During the course of the research the following personality traits (psychological conflicts) have been identified and analysed. The first personality traits is deviousness. In this regard, the seven episodes taken out of the two novels have shown that the authors devious behaviour might have been aimed at provoking the public response or deserving attention and reassurance. The second personality identified was related to approach-avoidance conflict and vacilating tendency. The four episodes taken more or less justified that the author's motives at times exhibited undecidedness and her reactions undifferentiated.The third personality trait is related to pessimistic outlook towards life. The six episodes analysed seem to prove that the author very often expressed loss of taste for everything in sarcastic and pessimistic tones. The fourth personality trait identified was the obsessive - compulsive disorder. It is said to have a religious background, because the infinite episodes taken out of the novels are all depicting this fa ct. Lastly, the analysis of the two novels also revealed the likelihood that the author has been orally fixated and manifested an Electra-complex.
The Persuasive Power of HIV Advertisements of Radio Ethiopia and FM-Addis (97.1):A Textual Analysis
(Addis Ababa University, 2005-11) Shibeshi, Ehetu; Daniel, Abiye (PhD)
This paper, a study on the persuasive power of HIV radio advertisements (FM Addis and Radio Ethiopia) a textual analysis, is divided into five chapters. The first chapter, an introductory part, contains the background of the study, statement of the problem, objectives significance,delimitation and limitations of the study. The second chapter is a review of theoretical perspectives related to mass communication, a dvertising and HIV / AIDS as well as aspects of persuasion. It a lso gives a review of related works. The third chapter, methodology, a lso presents the major method, textual analysis, and a particular approach, rhetoric criticism, used for the a n a lysis of the advertisements. Textual analysis and rhetoric criticism in particular is used to analyze and inte rpret persuasive messages. The chapter also sets out the parameters to be used in the analysis: source credibility, audience analysis and content characteristics of the advertisements. In chapter four, sample advertisements are interpreted and analyzed as per the parameters suggested in the methodology. The outcome of the analysis, therefore, revealed that though there are advertisements that seem to share some qualities of a persuasive communication, most of them have shown failure m achieving effectiveness in such aspects of persuasion as source credibility, audience analysis and content characteristics. Finally, the last chapter, conclusion and recommendations, provides a summary of the findings of the study with possible alternatives that would curb the existing problems.
The Portrayal of Society and the Concept of Modernization in Abbe Georgina’s Novels
(Addis Ababa University, 1986-06) Dagnew, Tesfaye; Gessesse, Tesfaye (PhD)
A Preliminary Classification and Descriptive Study of Oral Narrative: The Case of T Dubammo "Tarika
(Addis Ababa University, 1998-06) Jawore, Mulugeta; Azeze, Fekade (PhD)
There is no research work that particularly deals with the Dubtimmos' identity, culture, history, folklore or other similar aspects. The researcher of this thesis, therefore, has tried to explore the social situations through interviews as well as close observations during his 40 days of stay in the group. As for the notion of Oring, since the basis of the historical narratives is often a historical event or person, the narratives are believed to be about real people, places or events. They also can represent the past as well as the present based on shared oral experiences of the group [1986: 125] . In like manner, the basis of tiirikii, the nearest English translation of which is also "history ," is a past event and about historical figure personalities. And they are also believed to be about real people, places or vents. Generally speaking, this project is a preliminary genre classification and descriptive study of the Dubtimmos' tiirikii. The research goal of the project is describing the research outcome, i.e. , how the Dubtimmos perceive their past experience as well as their present situation through a descriptive study of their tiirikii. The wealth of the tiirikii oral narratives that the Dubtimmos have inherited and recreated has a promising research potential. This research, accordingly, has tried to classify tiirikiis according to their local senses and has recorded each type of the tiirikii data with their general context. In addition, it has also tried to study descriptively their features and their contents. And finally it has tried to pointout the research finding in the "conclusion' part of this study through a thematical descriptive study. The final outcome of this study at this level, however, is not an end by itself. It is just a preliminary study 's preliminary finding which leads to a more indepth anal ytical study.
Shakespeare in Amharic Translations : Julius Caesar in Focus
(Addis Ababa University, 1996-06) Mekonnen, Teferra; Gessesse, Tesfaye (PhD)
Of all playwrights in the English-speaking world, the most translated into Amharic is Wil l iam Shakespeare. At least ten of his plays have appeared either in .print or on stage, or both, since 1933 E. C. · Among these ten, the tragedy of Julius Caesar has been translated four times by four different translators - most likely due to its thematic relevance . The critical analysis in this thesis discloses that successful work has not been achieved in two of the target texts . Quite the opposite holds t r ue in the other two. Despite Shakespeare's early introduction to Ethiopia , not much study or research ias been done on him. This thesis attempts to examine the difficulties involved in translation work in general, and , in translation of Shakespeare in parti cular , by focusing on Julius Caesar . It is hoped that it will pave the way for future researchers t o follow suite and shed light on the bard in the Ethiopian cont ext. * All years are given in Gregorian Calender unless otherwise explained as in this case .
Social Issues in Selected Amharic Children's Plays: A Critical Analysis
(Addis Ababa University, 2006-03) Beyene, Rahmetu; Yazbek, Olga (PhD)
My thesis is a critical analysis of social issues with particular reference to selected children's plays written in Amharic by different playwrights. I try to deal with the following issues: First, I would like to stress that before this study, there was no substantial research on children's theatre play scripts. This seems to me because of the little regard given to this field of study as an area of investigation by those responsible for directing graduate researches. But Dereje Melaku had touched on the themes of some of the play scripts in the course of making a survey of children 's literature in Amharic. There are also undergraduate theses in the Department of Theatrical arts, which contain a brief description of the play scripts in Amharic. My study; however, differs from these researches in objective, depth, and scope. Second, there was no substantial survey on the development of children' theatre and their problems in Ethiopia previously although their theatre is worthy of investigation - as worthy as any branch of theatre, theatre activity, or aspect of theatrical production. It goes without saying that such a survey is necessary, both in order to place children's theatre playwrights and their play script works in context, and to faci litate and motivate the study of Ethi opian children theatre in general. Chapter two of this study attempts to survey the state of children's theatre in the world and in Ethiopia. Third, Ethiopian children theatre has received little attention as part of Ethiopian literature by the critics of Ethiopian and African Literature in general. Some foreign writers have attributed this fact to difficulties of language. Moreover, translation is an area that has not yet developed in Ethiopia. However, an encouraging attempt is made by one of the playwrights though his work is not yet published - Ato Ayalneh Mulatu Abeje, who has started to write or translate his works in to English and Russian languages. Nevertheless, my opinion is that the translation of the works of some of or all of Ethiopian children theatre play scripts in to English or other languages would not be enough unless it is accompanied by a parallel development of criticism by Ethiopians, without which a complete grasp of the works may not be possible. I hope that this study will motivate Ethiopian researchers to do further research and to help a non Ethiopian reader to see these play scripts in the context of their social, economic, political, psychological and cultural history. Fourth, I feel that a research into a critical analysis of social issues with particular reference to selected children's plays written in Amharic by different playwrights would be a relevant social document because art itself can be considered as one of the relevant, and authentic social documents of their period that existed in human hi story. Furthermore, I believe that children theatre in Ethiopia did not get proper attention from the concerned scholars and other related bodies whereas all the future generation may profit directly or indirectly from its proper functioning.Fifth, my study will also attempt to briefly present the background of Modern-Aristotelian Children's Theatre in Ethiopia. To summarize, before a critical analysis of social issues with particular reference to selected children's plays written in Amharic by different playwrights, I have tried to pinpoint some problems of children that dramatists generally deal with. Consequently, my study assumes that literature has a social function and children's theatre can be a social document through which we can study Ethiopian children in different social contexts. Drama, as one of the genres of literature, is an entity that can vividly describe the social reality of Ethiopian children as playwrights use it to explore social and emotional problems that children may experience in their society. In doing so, I intend to show that children's drama has a social function. Playwrights of children's theater play an important role in society by pinpointing the problems that concerned bodies in Ethiopia may not have been aware of.

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