Cultura

Universidad de Morón
Facultad de Informática, Ciencias de la Comunicación y Técnicas Especiales
(Traductor público- Inglés)

Literatura Inglesa Contemporánea en distintos países

Alumnas

Profesora
Azumendi, Alejandra

Asignatura
Cultura Contemporánea de la Lengua Inglesa

Year: 2010

INTRODUCTION

The countries which are going to be developed through this research are thefollowing:
• New Zealand
• Singapur
• Nigeria
• Jamaica
• Trinidad and Tobago
The countries previously mentioned are all English speaking countries (among other languages that are also spoken in each of them)so their literature is conformed by a variety of writers and poets who descend from different ethnic groups.

The main objective of this research is to first give ashort overview of each country´s culture in order to have enough knowledge to immerse ourselves into the life of the people from these amazing places and therefore-by understanding where they come from and some of their traditions- enable us to dive into their literature and truly enjoy the many things they have to offer.

NEW ZEALAND
The population in this country is of about 4,317,000.It´scapital city is Wellington. Most of the people are of European origin; about one-tenth is Maori, and some others are Pacific Islanders and Chinese. The languages spoken are: English and Maori (they are both official).The religions that are practised are: Christianity (Protestant, Roman Catholic); also Buddhism and Hinduism. Its currency is the New Zealand dollar.Geographically New Zealand consists of the North Island and the South Island, which are separated by Cook Strait, and several smaller islands. Both main islands are bisected by mountain ranges. New Zealand has a developing market economy based largely on agriculture.
Literature
Its literature is essentially in English that is either written by New Zealanders, or migrants,dealing with New Zealand themes or places and is primarily a 20th Century creation. New Zealand literature is almost exclusively literature in the English language and as such a sub-type of English literature.
The Māori were a pre-literate stone-aged culture until contact with Europeans in the early 19th Century. New Zealand acknowledges the presence of its indigenous Māori and the special placethey have in New Zealand culture. Oratory and recitation of quasi historical / hagiographical ancestral blood lines has a special place in Māori culture, eurocentric notions of 'literature' may fail to describe the Māori cultural forms in the oral tradition.
In the early nineteenth century Christian missionaries developed written forms of Polynesian languages to assist with their evangelicalwork. The oral tradition of story telling and folklore has survived and the early missionaries collected folk tales. In the pre-colonial period there was no literature, after European contact and the introduction of literacy there were Māori language publications. No literary works in Māori have been translated and become widely read. The Māori language has survived to the present day and althoughnot widely spoken is used in as medium of instruction in education in a small number of schools. As far as Māori literature can be said to exist, it is principally literature in English dealing with Māori themes.

Writers

Novelists Patricia Grace, Albert Wendt, Maurice Gee and children’s author Margaret Mahy, are prominent in New Zealand.Keri Hulme gained prominence when her novel, The BonePeople, won the Booker Prize. Witi Ihimaera wrote the novel that became the critically acclaimed movie Whale Rider, directed by Nikki Caro. His works deal with Māori life in the modern world, often incorporating fantastic elements.
Writers claimed by New Zealand as its own include immigrants, such as South African-born Robin Hyde, and emigrants who went into exile but wrote about New Zealand, like...