Master-thesis
Conservation-restoration
Two Turkmen tent band fragments
Abstract
Technological examination and discussion of measures for conservation and the presentation as well as restoration of one of the fragments
This diploma thesis deals with two Turkmen tent band fragments in mixed technique consisting of knotted pile areas on a warp-faced ground fabric. They originate from the region of present-day Turkmenistan and are dated to the 19th century in the course of the work. The classification of the objects in terms of art and cultural history enables a better understanding of their function. In the course of the technological inventory, the special features of the manufacture of these objects are illuminated and hence damage inherent in the material and production is identified. The practical part focuses on securing one of the two fragments by stitching repair, which is then lined and mounted. The concept of conservation developed in advance of the restoration and the mounting will serve as a guideline for the restoration of the other fragment.
Keywords: knotting technique, material research, stitching repair, lining, mounting
© dieAngewandte
Master-thesis, ongoing
Arabic dialectology
This thesis is working with the Wibarab-Corpus. For more information see below:
https://wibarab.acdh.oeaw.ac.at/
The role of gender in the choice of discursive strategies: the use of rhetorical questions in the Arabic varieties of Arab al-Maslakh
Exposé
The aim of this paper is to examine the nature and function of rhetorical questions found in the speech of members of the community of Arab al-Maslakh and to put it into the context of women’s language choice.
The corpus is based on transcriptions of free-speech interviews with members of the community of different ages and gender. The paper proposes a distinction between information-seeking questions (ISQ), rhetorical questions (RQ), stance-managing questions (SMQ) and confirmation-seeking questions (CSQ) by means of prosodic and non-prosodic cues. Hereupon, the non-ISQ will be analysed and organised according to categories used in general linguistics. The main research questions concerning the corpus (“What is the informational function of non-information-seeking questions? How are they used to manage entities in discourse?”) will then be compared to the commonly established theories about gender-specific discourse. For this process this it is indispensable to point out possible differences between women's and men's use of questions and to figure out if questions of the same kind have different intentions in women’s vs. men’s speech.
By evaluating if the analysis of the questions reflects the theories of Gender and Discourse, this paper aims to discern if those common opinions are applicable for the featured dialects.
Article
This article presents the first small-scale corpus- and questionnaire-based case study of the Syrian Arabic lak. We investigate the nature of lak as a discourse marker as well as its specific functions by analysing corpus data and referring to previous studies on discourse markers. Our corpus data derives from two sources: the Syrian TV series əl-fuṣūl əl-ʔarbəʕa (‘The Four Seasons’) and the Syrian podcast əl-žahəbaḏ (‘The Connoisseur’). The questionnaire designed for this study was conducted with three native speakers of Syrian Arabic and provides the basis for a native speakers’ perception of the functions and characteristics of lak and thus provides information complementary to that gathered via literature review and corpus analysis. Comparison of our corpus data with previous studies on discourse markers in Arabic and in other languages shows that lak fulfils the criteria for being defined as a discourse marker and shares many commonly occurring discourse marker functions, such as marking boundaries in discourse, expressing attitudes, or signalling emotional involvement of any kind.
The paper also briefly discusses possible origins and cognate forms of lak and elaborates various syntactic characteristics of lak, such as its main collocations and in which sentence types it appears most in our data.
Keywords
https://www.jbe-platform.com/content/journals/10.1075/arli.24018.lei
© Pia Lilian Madlener
Pre-thesis
Conservation-restoration
Guild flag of the linen- and fustian-weaver from the museum Lauriacum in Enns
Technological and condition report, treatment proposal and exemplary restoration
This pre-thesis deals with a material analysis and a condition report of a guild flag from the museum Lauriacum in Enns and elaborates treatment proposals for the conservation and restoration as well as an exemplary restoration on one third of the flag. The main aspect of this research is how to treat textiles with a severe light damage. To provide proposals for the treatment plan dyeing and stitching samples, type of support and type of stitches will be evaluated. By means of this research and the exemplary restoration it should be possible to apply this treatment plan to the remaining flag and to use it as a guideline for the other flags of this collection.
In conclusion proposals for handling, storage and display will be elaborated.
Keywords: flag, light damage, stitched support methods, Crepeline support.
BA-thesis
Arabic language and culture
The book Jāmiʿ al-Tawārīkh (Compendium of Chronicles) by Rashid al-Din
Abstract
This paper examines the historical work Jāmiʿ al-Tawārīkh (Compendium of Chronicles), produced at the beginning of the fourteenth century during the Ilkhanid rule in present-day Iran under the supervision of Rashid al-Din Hamadani. Rashid al-Din initially served as a physician and later as vizier at the Ilkhanid court until his death in 1318. Numerous works in Persian and Arabic were commissioned under his authority, including the manuscript discussed in this study. The focus here is on the oldest surviving Arabic copy of the work, which was originally composed in Persian. The manuscript is illustrated, survives only in fragments, and is today divided between two separate collections.
For several reasons, this manuscript is of considerable historical importance, both with regard to its textual corpus and its illustrations. This study addresses its historical relevance and influence on later works, as well as questions concerning the production process of the illustrated manuscript. It further examines how the Jāmiʿ al-Tawārīkh should be evaluated as a historical work, particularly with respect to the issue of objectivity in its narratives. In addition, the likelihood of the original unity of the fragments now held in two collections is discussed.
Selected passages are analyzed, compared, and interpreted from both a textual and iconographic perspective in order to illustrate these issues. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the current state of research and to establish a foundation for understanding the manuscript, thereby enabling further scholarly discussion.
© Edinburgh, University Library, MS Or. 20, fol. 7v