James Bynon: Recherches sur le vocabulaire du tissage en Afrique du Nord [PDF]

2005
XII, 233 pp.
6 drawings

Text language: French

The present 11th volume of this series is dedicated to the publication of James Bynon’s dissertation in which the description of weaving techniques plays a central role. This comparative linguistic work in particular deals with the different components of the weaving technique in the Berber languages of North Africa. The following areas are analysed: Morocco, North Algeria and the Algerian Sahara, Kabylia, the Aurès mountains, Libya and Egypt.

The author is a long-standing member of the research group of the renowned School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, where for the last 28 years he devoted his time to study and describe the languages, cultures and art of the Berber peoples.

In the 1960s, Bynon prepared his dissertation under supervision of Prof. Lionel Galand (Ecole Nationale des Langues Orientales Vivantes, Paris) and completed it in 1963. Up to now his work had not been published. Nevertheless, berberologists who had the opportunity to cast a glance at it consider Bynons thesis as a standard work within this area. Even after 40 years have passed since its completion it deserves its present publication, not only because of the unique linguistic approach but also because of its solid scientific methodology.

Under these links you will find further ethnographical Berber texts with English or French translations, as well a studies on fabrics in Africa that are able to express messages to people by symbols and metaphors: