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i need to find courses in singapore that teaches Japanese drum?

Suggest you check with the Japanese Association (Japanese expatriates community) or Japan Embassy.

Advertising

Egyptians used papyrus to make sales messages and wall posters. Commercial messages and political campaign displays have been found in the ruins of Pompeii and ancient Arabia. Lost and found advertising on papyrus was common in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Wall or rock painting for commercial advertising is another manifestation of an ancient advertising form, which is present to this day in many parts of Asia, Africa, and South America. The tradition of wall painting can be traced back to Indian rock art paintings that date back to 4000 BC.[4] History tells us that Out-of-home advertising and billboards are the oldest forms of advertising.

As the towns and cities of the Middle Ages began to grow, and the general populace was unable to read, signs that today would say cobbler, miller, tailor or blacksmith would use an image associated with their trade such as a boot, a suit, a hat, a clock, a diamond, a horse shoe, a candle or even a bag of flour. Fruits and vegetables were sold in the city square from the backs of carts and wagons and their proprietors used street callers (town criers) to announce their whereabouts for the convenience of the customers.

As education became an apparent need and reading, as well as printing, developed advertising expanded to include handbills. In the 17th century advertisements started to appear in weekly newspapers in England. These early print advertisements were used mainly to promote books and newspapers, which became increasingly affordable with advances in the printing press; and medicines, which were increasingly sought after as disease ravaged Europe. However, false advertising and so-called “quack” advertisements became a problem, which ushered in the regulation of advertising content.

As the economy expanded during the 19th century, advertising grew alongside. In the United States, the success of this advertising format eventually led to the growth of mail-order advertising.

In June 1836, French newspaper La Presse was the first to include paid advertising in its pages, allowing it to lower its price, extend its readership and increase its profitability and the formula was soon copied by all titles. Around 1840, Volney Palmer established a predecessor to advertising agencies in Boston.[5] Around the same time, in France, Charles-Louis Havas extended the services of his news agency, Havas to include advertisement brokerage, making it the first French group to organize. At first, agencies were brokers for advertisement space in newspapers. N. W. Ayer & Son was the first full-service agency to assume responsibility for advertising content. N.W. Ayer opened in 1869, and was located in Philadelphia.[5]

An 1895 advertisement for a weight gain product.

At the turn of the century, there were few career choices for women in business; however, advertising was one of the few. Since women were responsible for most of the purchasing done in their household, advertisers and agencies recognized the value of women’s insight during the creative process. In fact, the first American advertising to use a sexual sell was created by a woman – for a soap product. Although tame by today’s standards, the advertisement featured a couple with the message “The skin you love to touch”.[6]

In the early 1920s, the first radio stations were established by radio equipment manufacturers and retailers who offered programs in order to sell more radios to consumers. As time passed, many non-profit organizations followed suit in setting up their own radio stations, and included: schools, clubs and civic groups.[7] When the practice of sponsoring programs was popularised, each individual radio program was usually sponsored by a single business in exchange for a brief mention of the business’ name at the beginning and end of the sponsored shows. However, radio station owners soon realised they could earn more money by selling sponsorship rights in small time allocations to multiple businesses throughout their radio station’s broadcasts, rather than selling the sponsorship rights to single businesses per show.

A print advertisement for the 1913 issue of the Encyclopædia Britannica

This practice was carried over to television in the late 1940s and early 1950s. A fierce battle was fought between those seeking to commercialise the radio and people who argued that the radio spectrum should be considered a part of the commons – to be used only non-commercially and for the public good. The United Kingdom pursued a public funding model for the BBC, originally a private company, the British Broadcasting Company, but incorporated as a public body by Royal Charter in 1927. In Canada, advocates like Graham Spry were likewise able to persuade the federal government to adopt a public funding model, creating the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. However, in the United States, the capitalist model prevailed with the passage of the Communications Act of 1934 which created the Federal Communications Commission.[7] To placate the socialists, the U.S. Congress did require commercial broadcasters to operate in the “public interest, convenience, and necessity”.[8] Public broadcasting now exists in the United States due to the 1967 Public Broadcasting Act which led to the Public Broadcasting Service and National Public Radio.

In the early 1950s, the DuMont Television Network began the modern trend of selling advertisement time to multiple sponsors. Previously, DuMont had trouble finding sponsors for many of their programs and compensated by selling smaller blocks of advertising time to several businesses. This eventually became the standard for the commercial television industry in the United States. However, it was still a common practice to have single sponsor shows, such as The United States Steel Hour. In some instances the sponsors exercised great control over the content of the show – up to and including having one’s advertising agency actually writing the show. The single sponsor model is much less prevalent now, a notable exception being the Hallmark Hall of Fame.

The 1960s saw advertising transform into a modern approach in which creativity was allowed to shine, producing unexpected messages that made advertisements more tempting to consumers’ eyes. The Volkswagen ad campaign—featuring such headlines as “Think Small” and “Lemon” (which were used to describe the appearance of the car)—ushered in the era of modern advertising by promoting a “position” or “unique selling proposition” designed to associate each brand with a specific idea in the reader or viewer’s mind. This period of American advertising is called the Creative Revolution and its archetype was William Bernbach who helped create the revolutionary Volkswagen ads among others. Some of the most creative and long-standing American advertising dates to this period.

The late 1980s and early 1990s saw the introduction of cable television and particularly MTV. Pioneering the concept of the music video, MTV ushered in a new type of advertising: the consumer tunes in for the advertising message, rather than it being a by-product or afterthought. As cable and satellite television became increasingly prevalent, specialty channels emerged, including channels entirely devoted to advertising, such as QVC, Home Shopping Network, and ShopTV Canada.

Marketing through the Internet opened new frontiers for advertisers and contributed to the “dot-com” boom of the 1990s. Entire corporations operated solely on advertising revenue, offering everything from coupons to free Internet access. At the turn of the 21st century, a number of websites including the search engine Google, started a change in online advertising by emphasizing contextually relevant, unobtrusive ads intended to help, rather than inundate, users. This has led to a plethora of similar efforts and an increasing trend of interactive advertising.

The share of advertising spending relative to GDP has changed little across large changes in media. For example, in the U.S. in 1925, the main advertising media were newspapers, magazines, signs on streetcars, and outdoor posters. Advertising spending as a share of GDP was about 2.9 percent. By 1998, television and radio had become major advertising media. Nonetheless, advertising spending as a share of GDP was slightly lower—about 2.4 percent.[9]

A recent advertising innovation is “guerrilla marketing”, which involve unusual approaches such as staged encounters in public places, giveaways of products such as cars that are covered with brand messages, and interactive advertising where the viewer can respond to become part of the advertising message.Guerrilla advertising is becoming increasing more popular with a lot of companies. This type of advertising is unpredictable and innovative, which causes consumers to buy the product or idea. This reflects an increasing trend of interactive and “embedded” ads, such as via product placement, having consumers vote through text messages, and various innovations utilizing social network services such as MySpace.

[edit] Public service advertising

The same advertising techniques used to promote commercial goods and services can be used to inform, educate and motivate the public about non-commercial issues, such as HIV/AIDS, political ideology, energy conservation and deforestation.

Advertising, in its non-commercial guise, is a powerful educational tool capable of reaching and motivating large audiences. “Advertising justifies its existence when used in the public interest – it is much too powerful a tool to use solely for commercial purposes.” – Attributed to Howard Gossage by David Ogilvy.

Public service advertising, non-commercial advertising, public interest advertising, cause marketing, and social marketing are different terms for (or aspects of) the use of sophisticated advertising and marketing communications techniques (generally associated with commercial enterprise) on behalf of non-commercial, public interest issues and initiatives.

In the United States, the granting of television and radio licenses by the FCC is contingent upon the station broadcasting a certain amount of public service advertising. To meet these requirements, many broadcast stations in America air the bulk of their required public service announcements during the late night or early morning when the smallest percentage of viewers are watching, leaving more day and prime time commercial slots available for high-paying advertisers.

Public service advertising reached its height during World Wars I and II under the direction of several governments.

[edit] Types of advertising

Paying people to hold signs is one of the oldest forms of advertising, as with this Human directional pictured above A bus with an advertisement for GAP in Singapore. Buses and other vehicles are popular mediums for advertisers. A DBAG Class 101 with UNICEF ads at Ingolstadt main railway station

Virtually any medium can be used for advertising. Commercial advertising media can include wall paintings, billboards, street furniture components, printed flyers and rack cards, radio, cinema and television adverts, web banners, mobile telephone screens, shopping carts, web popups, skywriting, bus stop benches, human billboards, magazines, newspapers, town criers, sides of buses, banners attached to or sides of airplanes (“logojets”), in-flight advertisements on seatback tray tables or overhead storage bins, taxicab doors, roof mounts and passenger screens, musical stage shows, subway platforms and trains, elastic bands on disposable diapers,doors of bathroom stalls,stickers on apples in supermarkets, shopping cart handles (grabertising), the opening section of streaming audio and video, posters, and the backs of event tickets and supermarket receipts. Any place an “identified” sponsor pays to deliver their message through a medium is advertising.

[edit] Television

Main articles: Television advertisement and Music in advertising

The TV commercial is generally considered the most effective mass-market advertising format, as is reflected by the high prices TV networks charge for commercial airtime during popular TV events. The annual Super Bowl football game in the United States is known as the most prominent advertising event on television. The average cost of a single thirty-second TV spot during this game has reached US$3 million (as of 2009).

The majority of television commercials feature a song or jingle that listeners soon relate to the product.

Virtual advertisements may be inserted into regular television programming through computer graphics. It is typically inserted into otherwise blank backdrops[10] or used to replace local billboards that are not relevant to the remote broadcast audience.[11] More controversially, virtual billboards may be inserted into the background[12] where none exist in real-life. Virtual product placement is also possible.[13][14]

[edit] Infomercials

Main article: Infomercial

An infomercial is a long-format television commercial, typically five minutes or longer. The word “infomercial” is a portmanteau of the words “information” & “commercial”. The main objective in an infomercial is to create an impulse purchase, so that the consumer sees the presentation and then immediately buys the product through the advertised toll-free telephone number or website. Infomercials describe, display, and often demonstrate products and their features, and commonly have testimonials from consumers and industry professionals.

[edit] Radio advertising

Radio advertising is a form of advertising via the medium of radio.

Radio advertisements are broadcasted as radio waves to the air from a transmitter to an antenna and a thus to a receiving device. Airtime is purchased from a station or network in exchange for airing the commercials. While radio has the obvious limitation of being restricted to sound, proponents of radio advertising often cite this as an advantage.

[edit] Press advertising

Press advertising describes advertising in a printed medium such as a newspaper, magazine, or trade journal. This encompasses everything from media with a very broad readership base, such as a major national newspaper or magazine, to more narrowly targeted media such as local newspapers and trade journals on very specialized topics. A form of press advertising is classified advertising, which allows private individuals or companies to purchase a small, narrowly targeted ad for a low fee advertising a product or service.

[edit] Online advertising

Online advertising is a form of promotion that uses the Internet and World Wide Web for the expressed purpose of delivering marketing messages to attract customers. Examples of online advertising include contextual ads that appear on search engine results pages, banner ads, in text ads, Rich Media Ads, Social network advertising, online classified advertising, advertising networks and e-mail marketing, including e-mail spam.

[edit] Billboard advertising

Billboards are large structures located in public places which display advertisements to passing pedestrians and motorists. Most often, they are located on main roads with a large amount of passing motor and pedestrian traffic; however, they can be placed in any location with large amounts of viewers, such as on mass transit vehicles and in stations, in shopping malls or office buildings, and in stadiums.

[edit] Mobile billboard advertising

The RedEye newspaper advertised to its target market at North Avenue Beach with a sailboat billboard on Lake Michigan.

Mobile billboards are generally vehicle mounted billboards or digital screens. These can be on dedicated vehicles built solely for carrying advertisements along routes preselected by clients, they can also be specially-equipped cargo trucks or, in some cases, large banners strewn from planes. The billboards are often lighted; some being backlit, and others employing spotlights. Some billboard displays are static, while others change; for example, continuously or periodically rotating among a set of advertisements.

Mobile displays are used for various situations in metropolitan areas throughout the world, including:

• Target advertising
• One-day, and long-term campaigns
• Conventions
• Sporting events
• Store openings and similar promotional events
• Big advertisements from smaller companies
• Others

[edit] In-store advertising

In-store advertising is any advertisement placed in a retail store. It includes placement of a product in visible locations in a store, such as at eye level, at the ends of aisles and near checkout counters, eye-catching displays promoting a specific product, and advertisements in such places as shopping carts and in-store video displays.

[edit] Covert advertising

Main article: Product placement

Covert advertising, also known as guerrilla advertising, is when a product or brand is embedded in entertainment and media. For example, in a film, the main character can use an item or other of a definite brand, as in the movie Minority Report, where Tom Cruise’s character John Anderton owns a phone with the Nokia logo clearly written in the top corner, or his watch engraved with the Bulgari logo. Another example of advertising in film is in I, Robot, where main character played by Will Smith mentions his Converse shoes several times, calling them “classics,” because the film is set far in the future. I, Robot and Spaceballs also showcase futuristic cars with the Audi and Mercedes-Benz logos clearly displayed on the front of the vehicles. Cadillac chose to advertise in the movie The Matrix Reloaded, which as a result contained many scenes in which Cadillac cars were used. Similarly, product placement for Omega Watches, Ford, VAIO, BMW and Aston Martin cars are featured in recent James Bond films, most notably Casino Royale. In “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer”, the main transport vehicle shows a large Dodge logo on the front. Blade Runner includes some of the most obvious product placement; the whole film stops to show a Coca-Cola billboard.

[edit] Celebrities

Main article: Celebrity branding

This type of advertising focuses upon using celebrity power, fame, money, popularity to gain recognition for their products and promote specific stores or products. Advertisers often advertise their products, for example, when celebrities share their favorite products or wear clothes by specific brands or designers. Celebrities are often involved in advertising campaigns such as television or print adverts to advertise specific or general products.

The use of celebrities to endorse a brand can have its downsides, however. One mistake by a celebrity can be detrimental to the public relations of a brand. For example, following his performance of eight gold medals at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, swimmer Michael Phelps’ contract with Kellogg’s was terminated, as Kellogg’s did not want to associate with him after he was photographed smoking marijuana.

[edit] Media and advertising approaches

Increasingly, other media are overtaking many of the “traditional” media such as television, radio and newspaper because of a shift toward consumer’s usage of the Internet for news and music as well as devices like digital video recorders (DVR’s) such as TiVo.

Advertising on the World Wide Web is a recent phenomenon. Prices of Web-based advertising space are dependent on the “relevance” of the surrounding web content and the traffic that the website receives.

Digital signage is poised to become a major mass media because of its ability to reach larger audiences for less money. Digital signage also offer the unique ability to see the target audience where they are reached by the medium. Technology advances has also made it possible to control the message on digital signage with much precision, enabling the messages to be relevant to the target audience at any given time and location which in turn, gets more response from the advertising. Digital signage is being successfully employed in supermarkets.[15] Another successful use of digital signage is in hospitality locations such as restaurants.[16] and malls.[17]

E-mail advertising is another recent phenomenon. Unsolicited bulk E-mail advertising is known as “e-mail spam”. Spam has been a problem for email users for many years.

Some companies have proposed placing messages or corporate logos on the side of booster rockets and the International Space Station. Controversy exists on the effectiveness of subliminal advertising (see mind control), and the pervasiveness of mass messages (see propaganda).

Unpaid advertising (also called “publicity advertising”), can provide good exposure at minimal cost. Personal recommendations (“bring a friend”, “sell it”), spreading buzz, or achieving the feat of equating a brand with a common noun (in the United States, “Xerox” = “photocopier”, “Kleenex” = tissue, “Vaseline” = petroleum jelly, “Hoover” = vacuum cleaner, “Nintendo” (often used by those exposed to many video games) = video games, and “Band-Aid” = adhesive bandage) — these can be seen as the pinnacle of any advertising campaign. However, some companies oppose the use of their brand name to label an object. Equating a brand with a common noun also risks turning that brand into a genericized trademark – turning it into a generic term which means that its legal protection as a trademark is lost.

As the mobile phone became a new mass media in 1998 when the first paid downloadable content appeared on mobile phones in Finland, it was only a matter of time until mobile advertising followed, also first launched in Finland in 2000. By 2007 the value of mobile advertising had reached $2.2 billion and providers such as Admob delivered billions of mobile ads.

More advanced mobile ads include banner ads, coupons, Multimedia Messaging Service picture and video messages, advergames and various engagement marketing campaigns. A particular feature driving mobile ads is the 2D Barcode, which replaces the need to do any typing of web addresses, and uses the camera feature of modern phones to gain immediate access to web content. 83 percent of Japanese mobile phone users already are active users of 2D barcodes.

A new form of advertising that is growing rapidly is social network advertising. It is online advertising with a focus on social networking sites. This is a relatively immature market, but it has shown a lot of promise as advertisers are able to take advantage of the demographic information the user has provided to the social networking site. Friendertising is a more precise advertising term in which people are able to direct advertisements toward others directly using social network service.

From time to time, The CW Television Network airs short programming breaks called “Content Wraps,” to advertise one company’s product during an entire commercial break. The CW pioneered “content wraps” and some products featured were Herbal Essences, Crest, Guitar Hero II, CoverGirl, and recently Toyota.

Recently, there appeared a new promotion concept, “ARvertising”, advertising on Augmented Reality technology.

[edit] Criticism of advertising

While advertising can be seen as necessary for economic growth, it is not without social costs. Unsolicited Commercial Email and other forms of spam have become so prevalent as to have become a major nuisance to users of these services, as well as being a financial burden on internet service providers.[18] Advertising is increasingly invading public spaces, such as schools, which some critics argue is a form of child exploitation.[19] In addition, advertising frequently uses psychological pressure (for example, appealing to feelings of inadequacy) on the intended consumer, which may be harmful.

[edit] Hyper-commercialism and the commercial tidal wave

Criticism of advertising is closely linked with criticism of media and often interchangeable. They can refer to its audio-visual aspects (e. g. cluttering of public spaces and airwaves), environmental aspects (e. g. pollution, oversize packaging, increasing consumption), political aspects (e. g. media dependency, free speech, censorship), financial aspects (costs), ethical/moral/social aspects (e. g. sub-conscious influencing, invasion of privacy, increasing consumption and waste, target groups, certain products, honesty) and, of course, a mix thereof. Some aspects can be subdivided further and some can cover more than one category.

As advertising has become increasingly prevalent in modern Western societies, it is also increasingly being criticized. A person can hardly move in the public sphere or use a medium without being subject to advertising. Advertising occupies public space and more and more invades the private sphere of people, many of which consider it a nuisance. “It is becoming harder to escape from advertising and the media. … Public space is increasingly turning into a gigantic billboard for products of all kind. The aesthetical and political consequences cannot yet be foreseen.”[20] Hanno Rauterberg in the German newspaper ‘Die Zeit’ calls advertising a new kind of dictatorship that cannot be escaped.[21]

Ad creep: “There are ads in schools, airport lounges, doctors offices, movie theaters, hospitals, gas stations, elevators, convenience stores, on the Internet, on fruit, on ATMs, on garbage cans and countless other places. There are ads on beach sand and restroom walls.”[22] “One of the ironies of advertising in our times is that as commercialism increases, it makes it that much more difficult for any particular advertiser to succeed, hence pushing the advertiser to even greater efforts.”[23] Within a decade advertising in radios climbed to nearly 18 or 19 minutes per hour; on prime-time television the standard until 1982 was no more than 9.5 minutes of advertising per hour, today it’s between 14 and 17 minutes. With the introduction of the shorter 15-second-spot the total amount of ads increased even more dramatically. Ads are not only placed in breaks but e. g. also into baseball telecasts during the game itself. They flood the internet, a market growing in leaps and bounds.

Other growing markets are ‘’product placements” in entertainment programming and in movies where it has become standard practice and ‘’virtual advertising” where products get placed retroactively into rerun shows. Product billboards are virtually inserted into Major League Baseball broadcasts and in the same manner, virtual street banners or logos are projected on an entry canopy or sidewalks, for example during the arrival of celebrities at the 2001 Grammy Awards. Advertising precedes the showing of films at cinemas including lavish ‘film shorts’ produced by companies such as Microsoft or DaimlerChrysler. “The largest advertising agencies have begun working aggressively to co-produce programming in conjunction with the largest media firms”[24] creating Infomercials resembling entertainment programming.

Opponents equate the growing amount of advertising with a “tidal wave” and restrictions with “damming” the flood. Kalle Lasn, one of the most outspoken critics of advertising on the international stage, considers advertising “the most prevalent and toxic of the mental pollutants. From the moment your radio alarm sounds in the morning to the wee hours of late-night TV microjolts of commercial pollution flood into your brain at the rate of around 3,000 marketing messages per day. Every day an estimated twelve billion display ads, 3 million radio commercials and more than 200,000 television commercials are dumped into North America’s collective unconscious”.[25] In the course of his life the average American watches three years of advertising on television.[26]

More recent developments are video games incorporating products into their content, special commercial patient channels in hospitals and public figures sporting temporary tattoos. A method unrecognisable as advertising is so-called ‘’guerrilla marketing” which is spreading ‘buzz’ about a new product in target audiences. Cash-strapped U.S. cities do not shrink back from offering police cars for advertising.[27] A trend, especially in Germany, is companies buying the names of sports stadiums. The Hamburg soccer Volkspark stadium first became the AOL Arena and then the HSH Nordbank Arena. The Stuttgart Neckarstadion became the Mercedes-Benz Arena, the Dortmund Westfalenstadion now is the Signal Iduna Park. The former SkyDome in Toronto was renamed Rogers Centre. Other recent developments are, for example, that whole subway stations in Berlin are redesigned into product halls and exclusively leased to a company. Düsseldorf even has ‘multi-sensorial’ adventure transit stops equipped with loudspeakers and systems that spread the smell of a detergent. Swatch used beamers to project messages on the Berlin TV-tower and Victory column, which was fined because it was done without a permit. The illegality was part of the scheme and added promotion.[21]

It’s standard business management knowledge that advertising is a pillar, if not “the” pillar of the growth-orientated free capitalist economy. “Advertising is part of the bone marrow of corporate capitalism.”[28] “Contemporary capitalism could not function and global production networks could not exist as they do without advertising.”[1]

For communication scientist and media economist Manfred Knoche at the University of Salzburg, Austria, advertising isn’t just simply a ‘necessary evil’ but a ‘necessary elixir of life’ for the media business, the economy and capitalism as a whole. Advertising and mass media economic interests create ideology. Knoche describes advertising for products and brands as ‘the producer’s weapons in the competition for customers’ and trade advertising, e. g. by the automotive industry, as a means to collectively represent their interests against other groups, such as the train companies. In his view editorial articles and programmes in the media, promoting consumption in general, provide a ‘cost free’ service to producers and sponsoring for a ‘much used means of payment’ in advertising.[29] Christopher Lasch argues that advertising leads to an overall increase in consumption in society; “Advertising serves not so much to advertise products as to promote consumption as a way of life.”[30]

[edit] Advertising and constitutional rights

Advertising is equated with constitutionally guaranteed freedom of opinion and speech.[31] Therefore criticizing advertising or any attempt to restrict or ban advertising is almost always considered to be an attack on fundamental rights[citation needed] (First Amendment in the USA) and meets the combined and concentrated resistance of the business and especially the advertising community. “Currently or in the near future, any number of cases are and will be working their way through the court system that would seek to prohibit any government regulation of … commercial speech (e. g. advertising or food labelling) on the grounds that such regulation would violate citizens’ and corporations’ First Amendment rights to free speech or free press.”[32] An example for this debate is advertising for tobacco or alcohol but also advertising by mail or fliers (clogged mail boxes), advertising on the phone, in the internet and advertising for children. Various legal restrictions concerning spamming, advertising on mobile phones, addressing children, tobacco, alcohol have been introduced by the US, the EU and various other countries. Not only the business community resists restrictions of advertising. Advertising as a means of free expression has firmly established itself in western society[citation needed]. McChesney argues, that the government deserves constant vigilance when it comes to such regulations, but that it is certainly not “the only antidemocratic force in our society. …corporations and the wealthy enjoy a power every bit as immense as that enjoyed by the lords and royalty of feudal times” and “markets are not value-free or neutral; they not only tend to work to the advantage of those with the most money, but they also by their very nature emphasize profit over all else….Hence, today the debate is over whether advertising or food labelling, or campaign contributions are speech…if the rights to be protected by the First Amendment can only be effectively employed by a fraction of the citizenry, and their exercise of these rights gives them undue political power and undermines the ability of the balance of the citizenry to exercise the same rights and/or constitutional rights, then it is not necessarily legitimately protected by the First Amendment.” In addition, “those with the capacity to engage in free press are in a position to determine who can speak to the great mass of citizens and who cannot”.[33] Critics in turn argue, that advertising invades privacy which is a constitutional right. For, on the one hand, advertising physically invades privacy, on the other, it increasingly uses relevant, information-based communication with private data assembled without the knowledge or consent of consumers or target groups.

For Georg Franck at Vienna University of Technology advertising is part of what he calls “mental capitalism”,[34][35] taking up a term (mental) which has been used by groups concerned with the mental environment, such as Adbusters. Franck blends the “Economy of Attention” with Christopher Lasch’s culture of narcissm into the mental capitalism:[36] In his essay „Advertising at the Edge of the Apocalypse”, Sut Jhally writes: “20. century advertising is the most powerful and sustained system of propaganda in human history and its cumulative cultural effects, unless quickly checked, will be responsible for destroying the world as we know it.[37]

[edit] The price of attention and hidden costs

Advertising has developed into a billion-dollar business on which many depend. In 2006 391 billion US dollars were spent worldwide for advertising. In Germany, for example, the advertising industry contributes 1.5% of the gross national income; the figures for other developed countries are similar.[citation needed] Thus, advertising and growth are directly and causally linked. As far as a growth based economy can be blamed for the harmful human lifestyle (affluent society) advertising has to be considered in this aspect concerning its negative impact, because its main purpose is to raise consumption. “The industry is accused of being one of the engines powering a convoluted economic mass production system which promotes consumption.”[38]

Attention and attentiveness have become a new commodity for which a market developed. “The amount of attention that is absorbed by the media and redistributed in the competition for quotas and reach is not identical with the amount of attention, that is available in society. The total amount circulating in society is made up of the attention exchanged among the people themselves and the attention given to media information. Only the latter is homogenised by quantitative measuring and only the latter takes on the character of an anonymous currency.”[34][35] According to Franck, any surface of presentation that can guarantee a certain degree of attentiveness works as magnet for attention, e. g. media which are actually meant for information and entertainment, culture and the arts, public space etc. It is this attraction which is sold to the advertising business. The German Advertising Association stated that in 2007 30.78 billion Euros were spent on advertising in Germany,[39] 26% in newspapers, 21% on television, 15% by mail and 15% in magazines. In 2002 there were 360.000 people employed in the advertising business. The internet revenues for advertising doubled to almost 1 billion Euros from 2006 to 2007, giving it the highest growth rates.

Spiegel-Online reported that in the USA in 2008 for the first time more money was spent for advertising on internet (105.3 billion US dollars) than on television (98.5 billion US dollars). The largest amount in 2008 was still spent in the print media (147 billion US dollars).[40] For that same year, Welt-Online reported that the US pharmaceutical industry spent almost double the amount on advertising (57.7 billion dollars) than it did on research (31.5 billion dollars). But Marc-André Gagnon und Joel Lexchin of York University, Toronto, estimate that the actual expenses for advertising are higher yet, because not all entries are recorded by the research institutions.[41] Not included are indirect advertising campaigns such as sales, rebates and price reductions. Few consumers are aware of the fact that they are the ones paying for every cent spent for public relations, advertisements, rebates, packaging etc. since they ordinarily get included in the price calculation.

[edit] Influencing and conditioning

Advertising for McDonald’s on the Via di Propaganda, Rome, Italy

The most important element of advertising is not information but suggestion more or less making use of associations, emotions (appeal to emotion) and drives dormant in the sub-conscience of people, such as sex drive, herd instinct, of desires, such as happiness, health, fitness, appearance, self-esteem, reputation, belonging, social status, identity, adventure, distraction, reward, of fears (appeal to fear), such as illness, weaknesses, loneliness, need, uncertainty, security or of prejudices, learned opinions and comforts. “All human needs, relationships, and fears – the deepest recesses of the human psyche – become mere means for the expansion of the commodity universe under the force of modern marketing. With the rise to prominence of modern marketing, commercialism – the translation of human relations into commodity relations – although a phenomenon intrinsic to capitalism, has expanded exponentially.”[42] ‘Cause-related marketing’ in which advertisers link their product to some worthy social cause has boomed over the past decade.

Advertising exploits the model role of celebrities or popular figures and makes deliberate use of humour as well as of associations with colour, tunes, certain names and terms. Altogether, these are factors of how one perceives himself and one’s self-worth. In his description of ‘mental capitalism’ Franck says, “the promise of consumption making someone irresistible is the ideal way of objects and symbols into a person’s subjective experience. Evidently, in a society in which revenue of attention moves to the fore, consumption is drawn by one’s self-esteem. As a result, consumption becomes ‘work’ on a person’s attraction. From the subjective point of view, this ‘work’ opens fields of unexpected dimensions for advertising. Advertising takes on the role of a life councillor in matters of attraction. (…) The cult around one’s own attraction is what Christopher Lasch described as ‘Culture of Narcissism’.”[35][36]

For advertising critics another serious problem is that “the long standing notion of separation between advertising and editorial/creative sides of media is rapidly crumbling” and advertising is increasingly hard to tell apart from news, information or entertainment. The boundaries between advertising and programming are becoming blurred. According to the media firms all this commercial involvement has no influence over actual media content, but, as McChesney puts it, “this claim fails to pass even the most basic giggle test, it is so preposterous.”[43]

Advertising draws “heavily on psychological theories about how to create subjects, enabling advertising and marketing to take on a ‘more clearly psychological tinge’ (Miller and Rose, 1997, cited in Thrift, 1999, p. 67). Increasingly, the emphasis in advertising has switched from providing ‘factual’ information to the symbolic connotations of commodities, since the crucial cultural premise of advertising is that the material object being sold is never in itself enough. Even those commodities providing for the most mundane necessities of daily life must be imbued with symbolic qualities and culturally endowed meanings via the ‘magic system (Williams, 1980) of advertising. In this way and by altering the context in which advertisements appear, things ‘can be made to mean “just about anything”‘ (McFall, 2002, p. 162) and the ‘same’ things can be endowed with different intended meanings for different individuals and groups of people, thereby offering mass produced visions of individualism.”[1]

Before advertising is done, market research institutions need to know and describe the target group to exactly plan and implement the advertising campaign and to achieve the best possible results. A whole array of sciences directly deal with advertising and marketing or is used to improve its effects. Focus groups, psychologists and cultural anthropologists are ‘”de rigueur”’ in marketing research”.[44] Vast amounts of data on persons and their shopping habits are collected, accumulated, aggregated and analysed with the aid of credit cards, bonus cards, raffles and internet surveying. With increasing accuracy this supplies a picture of behaviour, wishes and weaknesses of certain sections of a population with which advertisement can be employed more selectively and effectively. The efficiency of advertising is improved through advertising research. Universities, of course supported by business and in co-operation with other disciplines (s. above), mainly Psychiatry, Anthropology, Neurology and behavioural sciences, are constantly in search for ever more refined, sophisticated, subtle and crafty methods to make advertising more effective. “Neuromarketing is a controversial new field of marketing which uses medical technologies such as functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) — not to heal, but to sell products. Advertising and marketing firms have long used the insights and research methods of psychology in order to sell products, of course. But today these practices are reaching epidemic levels, and with a complicity on the part of the psychological profession that exceeds that of the past. The result is an enormous advertising and marketing onslaught that comprises, arguably, the largest single psychological project ever undertaken. Yet, this great undertaking remains largely ignored by the American Psychological Association.”[45] Robert McChesney calls it “the greatest concerted attempt at psychological manipulation in all of human history.”[46]

[edit] Dependency of the media and corporate censorship

Almost all mass media are advertising media and many of them are exclusively advertising media and, with the exception of public service broadcasting are privately owned. Their income is predominantly generated through advertising; in the case of newspapers and magazines from 50 to 80%. Public service broadcasting in some countries can also heavily depend on advertising as a source of income (up to 40%).[47] In the view of critics no media that spreads advertisements can be independent and the higher the proportion of advertising, the higher the dependency. This dependency has “distinct implications for the nature of media content…. In the business press, the media are often referred to in exactly the way they present themselves in their candid moments: as a branch of the advertising industry.”[48]

In addition, the private media are increasingly subject to mergers and concentration with property situations often becoming entangled and opaque. This development, which Henry A. Giroux calls an “ongoing threat to democratic culture”,[49] by itself should suffice to sound all alarms in a democracy. Five or six advertising agencies dominate this 400 billion U.S. dollar global industry.

“Journalists have long faced pressure to shape stories to suit advertisers and owners …. the vast majority of TV station executives found their news departments ‘cooperative’ in shaping the news to assist in ‘non-traditional revenue development.”[50] Negative and undesired reporting can be prevented or influenced when advertisers threaten to cancel orders or simply when there is a danger of such a cancellation. Media dependency and such a threat becomes very real when there is only one dominant or very few large advertisers. The influence of advertisers is not only in regard to news or information on their own products or services but expands to articles or shows not directly linked to them. In order to secure their advertising revenues the media has to create the best possible ‘advertising environment’. Another problem considered censorship by critics is the refusal of media to accept advertisements that are not in their interest. A striking example of this is the refusal of TV stations to broadcast ads by Adbusters. Groups try to place advertisements and are refused by networks.[51]

It is principally the viewing rates which decide upon the programme in the private radio and television business. “Their business is to absorb as much attention as possible. The viewing rate measures the attention the media trades for the information offered. The service of this attraction is sold to the advertising business”[35] and the viewing rates determine the price that can be demanded for advertising.

“Advertising companies determining the contents of shows has been part of daily life in the USA since 1933. Procter & Gamble (P&G) …. offered a radio station a history-making trade (today know as “bartering”): the company would produce an own show for “free” and save the radio station the high expenses for producing contents. Therefore the company would want its commercials spread and, of course, its products placed in the show. Thus, the series ‘Ma Perkins’ was created, which P&G skilfully used to promote Oxydol, the leading detergent brand in those years and the Soap opera was born …”[52]

While critics basically worry about the subtle influence of the economy on the media, there are also examples of blunt exertion of influence. The US company Chrysler, before it merged with Daimler Benz had its agency, PentaCom, send out a letter to numerous magazines, demanding them to send, an overview of all the topics before the next issue is published to “avoid potential conflict”. Chrysler most of all wanted to know, if there would be articles with “sexual, political or social” content or which could be seen as “provocative or offensive”. PentaCom executive David Martin said: “Our reasoning is, that anyone looking at a 22.000 $ product would want it surrounded by positive things. There is nothing positive about an article on child pornography.”[52] In another example, the „USA Network held top-level ‚off-the-record’ meetings with advertisers in 2000 to let them tell the network what type of programming content they wanted in order for USA to get their advertising.”[53] Television shows are created to accommodate the needs for advertising, e. g. splitting them up in suitable sections. Their dramaturgy is typically designed to end in suspense or leave an unanswered question in order to keep the viewer attached.

The movie system, at one time outside the direct influence of the broader marketing system, is now fully integrated into it through the strategies of licensing, tie-ins and product placements. The prime function of many Hollywood films today is to aid in the selling of the immense collection of commodities.[54] The press called the 2002 Bond film ‘Die Another Day’ featuring 24 major promotional partners an ‘ad-venture’ and noted that James Bond “now has been ‘licensed to sell’” As it has become standard practise to place products in motion pictures, it “has self-evident implications for what types of films will attract product placements and what types of films will therefore be more likely to get made”.[55]

Advertising and information are increasingly hard to distinguish from each other. “The borders between advertising and media …. become more and more blurred…. What August Fischer, chairman of the board of Axel Springer publishing company considers to be a ‘proven partnership between the media and advertising business’ critics regard as nothing but the infiltration of journalistic duties and freedoms”. According to RTL-executive Helmut Thoma “private stations shall not and cannot serve any mission but only the goal of the company which is the ‘acceptance by the advertising business and the viewer’. The setting of priorities in this order actually says everything about the ‘design of the programmes’ by private television.”[52] Patrick Le Lay, former managing director of TF1, a private French television channel with a market share of 25 to 35%, said: “There are many ways to talk about television. But from the business point of view, let’s be realistic: basically, the job of TF1 is, e. g. to help Coca Cola sell its product. (…) For an advertising message to be perceived the brain of the viewer must be at our disposal. The job of our programmes is to make it available, that is to say, to distract it, to relax it and get it ready between two messages. It is disposable human brain time that we sell to Coca Cola.”[56]

Because of these dependencies a widespread and fundamental public debate about advertising and its influence on information and freedom of speech is difficult to obtain, at least through the usual media channels; otherwise these would saw off the branch they are sitting on. “The notion that the commercial basis of media, journalism, and communication could have troubling implications for democracy is excluded from the range of legitimate debate” just as “capitalism is off-limits as a topic of legitimate debate in U.S. political culture”.[57]

An early critic of the structural basis of U.S. journalism was Upton Sinclair with his novel The Brass Check in which he stresses the influence of owners, advertisers, public relations, and economic interests on the media. In his book “Our Master’s Voice – Advertising” the social ecologist James Rorty (1890–1973) wrote: “The gargoyle’s mouth is a loudspeaker, powered by the vested interest of a two-billion dollar industry, and back of that the vested interests of business as a whole, of industry, of finance. It is never silent, it drowns out all other voices, and it suffers no rebuke, for it is not the voice of America? That is its claim and to some extent it is a just claim…”[58]

It has taught us how to live, what to be afraid of, what to be proud of, how to be beautiful, how to be loved, how to be envied, how to be successful.. Is it any wonder that the American population tends increasingly to speak, think, feel in terms of this jabberwocky? That the stimuli of art, science, religion are progressively expelled to the periphery of American life to become marginal values, cultivated by marginal people on marginal time?”[59]

[edit] The commercialisation of culture and sports

Performances, exhibitions, shows, concerts, conventions and most other events can hardly take place without sponsoring. The increasing lack arts and culture they buy the service of attraction. Artists are graded and paid according to their art’s value for commercial purposes. Corporations promote renown artists, therefore getting exclusive rights in global advertising campaigns. Broadway shows, like ‘La Bohème’ featured commercial props in its set.[60]

Advertising itself is extensively considered to be a contribution to culture. Advertising is integrated into fashion. On many pieces of clothing the company logo is the only design or is an important part of it. There is only little room left outside the consumption economy, in which culture and art can develop independently and where alternative values can be expressed. A last important sphere, the universities, is under strong pressure to open up for business and its interests.[61]

Inflatable billboard in front of a sports stadium

Competitive sports have become unthinkable without sponsoring and there is a mutual dependency. High income with advertising is only possible with a comparable number of spectators or viewers. On the other hand, the poor performance of a team or a sportsman results in less advertising revenues. Jürgen Hüther and Hans-Jörg Stiehler talk about a ‘Sports/Media Complex which is a complicated mix of media, agencies, managers, sports promoters, advertising etc. with partially common and partially diverging interests but in any case with common commercial interests. The media presumably is at centre stage because it can supply the other parties involved with a rare commodity, namely (potential) public attention. In sports “the media are able to generate enormous sales in both circulation and advertising.”[62]

“Sports sponsorship is acknowledged by the tobacco industry to be valuable advertising. A Tobacco Industry journal in 1994 described the Formula One car as ‘The most powerful advertising space in the world’. …. In a cohort study carried out in 22 secondary schools in England in 1994 and 1995 boys whose favourite television sport was motor racing had a 12.8% risk of becoming regular smokers compared to 7.0% of boys who did not follow motor racing.”[63]

Not the sale of tickets but transmission rights, sponsoring and merchandising in the meantime make up the largest part of sports association’s and sports club’s revenues with the IOC (International Olympic Committee) taking the lead. The influence of the media brought many changes in sports including the admittance of new ‘trend sports’ into the Olympic Games, the alteration of competition distances, changes of rules, animation of spectators, changes of sports facilities, the cult of sports heroes who quickly establish themselves in the advertising and entertaining business because of their media value[64] and last but not least, the naming and renaming of sport stadiums after big companies. “In sports adjustment into the logic of the media can contribute to the erosion of values such as equal chances or fairness, to excessive demands on athletes through public pressure and multiple exploitation or to deceit (doping, manipulation of results …). It is in the very interest of the media and sports to counter this danger because media sports can only work as long as sport exists.[64]

[edit] Occupation and commercialisation of public space

Every visually perceptible place has potential for advertising. Especially urban areas with their structures but also landscapes in sight of through fares are more and more turning into media for advertisements. Signs, posters, billboards, flags have become decisive factors in the urban appearance and their numbers are still on the increase. “Outdoor advertising has become unavoidable. Traditional billboards and transit shelters have cleared the way for more pervasive methods such as wrapped vehicles, sides of buildings, electronic signs, kiosks, taxis, posters, sides of buses, and more. Digital technologies are used on buildings to sport ‘urban wall displays’. In urban areas commercial content is placed in our sight and into our consciousness every moment we are in public space. The German Newspaper ‘Zeit’ called it a new kind of ‘dictatorship that one cannot escape’.[21] Over time, this domination of the surroundings has become the “natural” state. Through long-term commercial saturation, it has become implicitly understood by the public that advertising has the right to own, occupy and control every inch of available space. The steady normalization of invasive advertising dulls the public’s perception of their surroundings, re-enforcing a general attitude of powerlessness toward creativity and change, thus a cycle develops enabling advertisers to slowly and consistently increase the saturation of advertising with little or no public outcry.”[65]

The massive optical orientation toward advertising changes the function of public spaces which are utilised by brands. Urban landmarks are turned into trademarks. The highest pressure is exerted on renown and highly frequented public spaces which are also important for the identity of a city (e. g. Piccadilly Circus, Times Square, Alexanderplatz). Urban spaces are public commodities and in this capacity they are subject to “aesthetical environment protection”, mainly through building regulations, heritage protection and landscape protection. “It is in this capacity that these spaces are now being privatised. They are peppered with billboards and signs, they are remodelled into media for advertising.”[34][35]

[edit] Socio-cultural aspects: sexism, discrimination and stereotyping

“Advertising has an “agenda setting function” which is the ability, with huge sums of money, to put consumption as the only item on the agenda. In the battle for a share of the public conscience this amounts to non-treatment (ignorance) of whatever is not commercial and whatever is not advertised for. Advertising should be reflection of society norms and give clear picture of target market. Spheres without commerce and advertising serving the muses and relaxation remain without respect.[neutrality is disputed] With increasing force advertising makes itself comfortable in the private sphere so that the voice of commerce becomes the dominant way of expression in society.”[66] Advertising critics see advertising as the leading light in our culture. Sut Jhally and James Twitchell go beyond considering advertising as kind of religion and that advertising even replaces religion as a key institution.[67]

“Corporate advertising (or commercial media) is the largest single psychological project ever undertaken by the human race. Yet for all of that, its impact on us remains unknown and largely ignored. When I think of the media’s influence over years, over decades, I think of those brainwashing experiments conducted by Dr. Ewen Cameron in a Montreal psychiatric hospital in the 1950s (see MKULTRA). The idea of the CIA-sponsored “depatterning” experiments was to outfit conscious, unconscious or semiconscious subjects with headphones, and flood their brains with thousands of repetitive “driving” messages that would alter their behaviour over time….Advertising aims to do the same thing.”[25]

Advertising is especially aimed at young people and children and it increasingly reduces young people to consumers.[49] For Sut Jhally it is not “surprising that something this central and with so much being expended on it should become an important presence in social life. Indeed, commercial interests intent on maximizing the consumption of the immense collection of commodities have colonized more and more of the spaces of our culture. For instance, almost the entire media system (television and print) has been developed as a delivery system for marketers its prime function is to produce audiences for sale to advertisers. Both the advertisements it carries, as well as the editorial matter that acts as a support for it, celebrate the consumer society. The movie system, at one time outside the direct influence of the broader marketing system, is now fully integrated into it through the strategies of licensing, tie-ins and product placements. The prime function of many Hollywood films today is to aid in the selling of the immense collection of commodities. As public funds are drained from the non-commercial cultural sector, art galleries, museums and symphonies bid for corporate sponsorship.”[54] In the same way effected is the education system and advertising is increasingly penetrating schools and universities. Cities, such as New York, accept sponsors for public playgrounds. “Even the pope has been commercialized … The pope’s 4-day visit to Mexico in …1999 was sponsored by Frito-Lay and PepsiCo.[68] The industry is accused of being one of the engines powering a convoluted economic mass production system which promotes consumption. As far as social effects are concerned it does not matter whether advertising fuels consumption but which values, patterns of behaviour and assignments of meaning it propagates. Advertising is accused of hijacking the language and means of pop culture, of protest movements and even of subversive criticism and does not shy away from scandalizing and breaking taboos (e. g. Benneton). This in turn incites counter action, what Kalle Lasn in 2001 called ‘’Jamming the Jam of the Jammers”. Anything goes. “It is a central social-scientific question what people can be made to do by suitable design of conditions and of great practical importance. For example, from a great number of experimental psychological experiments it can be assumed, that people can be made to do anything they are capable of, when the according social condition can be created.”[69]

Advertising often uses stereotype gender specific roles of men and women reinforcing existing clichés and it has been criticized as “inadvertently or even intentionally promoting sexism, racism, and ageism… At very least, advertising often reinforces stereotypes by drawing on recognizable “types” in order to tell stories in a single image or 30 second time frame.”[38] Activities are depicted as typical male or female (stereotyping). In addition people are reduced to their sexuality or equated with commodities and gender specific qualities are exaggerated. Sexualized female bodies, but increasingly also males, serve as eye-catchers. In advertising it is usually a woman being depicted as

• servants of men and children that react to the demands and complaints of their loved ones with a bad conscience and the promise for immediate improvement (wash, food)
• a sexual or emotional play toy for the self-affirmation of men
• a technically totally clueless being (almost always male) that can only manage a childproof operation
• female expert, but stereotype from the fields of fashion, cosmetics, food or at the most, medicine
• as ultra thin, slim, and very skinny.
• doing ground-work for others, e. g. serving coffee while a journalist interviews a politician[70]

A large portion of advertising deals with promotion of products that pertain to the “ideal body image.” This is mainly targeted toward women, and, in the past, this type of advertising was aimed nearly exclusively at women. Women in advertisements are generally portrayed as good-looking women who are in good health. This, however, is not the case of the average woman. Consequently, they give a negative message of body image to the average woman. Because of the media, girls and women who are overweight, and otherwise “normal” feel almost obligated to take care of themselves and stay fit. They feel under high pressure to maintain an acceptable bodyweight and take care of their health. Consequences of this are low self-esteem,eating disorders, self mutilations, and beauty operations for those women that just cannot bring themselves eat right or get the motivation to go to the gym. The EU parliament passed a resolution in 2008 that advertising may not be discriminating and degrading. This shows that politicians are increasingly concerned about the negative impacts of advertising. However, the benefits of promoting overall health and fitness are often overlooked. Men are also negatively portrayed as incompetent and the butt of every joke in advertising.

[edit] Children and adolescents as target groups

The children’s market, where resistance to advertising is weakest, is the “pioneer for ad creep”.[71] “Kids are among the most sophisticated observers of ads. They can sing the jingles and identify the logos, and they often have strong feelings about products. What they generally don’t understand, however, are the issues that underlie how advertising works. Mass media are used not only to sell goods but also ideas: how we should behave, what rules are important, who we should respect and what we should value.”[72] Youth is increasingly reduced to the role of a consumer. Not only the makers of toys, sweets, ice cream, breakfast food and sport articles prefer to aim their promotion at children and adolescents. For example, an ad for a breakfast cereal on a channel aimed at adults will have music that is a soft ballad, whereas on a channel aimed at children, the same ad will use a catchy rock jingle of the same so

About the Author

What are the most repeated questions people ask to the (auto and home) insurance agent ?

I would like to take some courses to became a bilingual (French and English), home and auto insurance agent in Montreal (Q); however my speaking skills in English language are not so good, the thing is I fear to became speechless for some unexpected questions asked by people, so I need to be prepared for. are there any mp3 real conversations concerning insurance in websites ?, or can I use only the FAQ ( frequently asked questions) found in the insurance company websites to perform my “ functional “ skills ?. thanks for your responses.

1. FAQ is a good idea
2. Look through ‘ask-answer’ portals connected to insurance, jurisprudence
4. Look into different insurance glossaries
5. Watch video materials on insurance questions on YouTube – there are dozens there. But be selective – many people there have really weird pronunciation/speech

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Help getting to University?

Whats the best pathway for someone wanting to study Japanese at uni without going through yr11 and yr12 at school?

Would doing English yr11/yr12 courses at tafe be enough?

I’m 16 and currently studying Visual arts there . =D
I’ve studied Japanese since primary school to when I left ( Minus the first year of high school) and I’m still doing it privately with a Japanese woman. However shes still studing a uni to become a teacher =D)

Definitely take English, but also take another foreign language. If you want to study Japanese, you will probably get a foreign language degree, but for that you will need more than two languages.

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The main theories in Second Language Acquisition (SLA)

Contents

1.   Introduction

2.     What is SLA and what accounts for the language produced by learners?

3.     The main theories in SLA .

3.1. Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis(CA)

3.2. Error Analysis(EA) and Interlanguage(IL)

3.2.1 Error Analysis (EA)

3.2.2 Interlanguage (IL)

3.3. The Monitor Model

3.4. Universal Grammar (UG)

 

3.5. Socio-linguistic theories

4.      Conclusion

References

 

 

1. Introduction

The language produced by learners learning a second language is extremely varied. It can range from one learner to another in regard to many factors. These variations can be accounted for by a number of ideas including: first language (L1) interface, age differences, motivation, self-confidence, aptitude, anxiety, gender and social distance. In this essay I will define SLA and then outline five of the main linguistic theories. These outlines will form the basis for my analysis of the differences in language that are produced by learners. Finally, I will consider what level of impact these theories have and how they can account for these differences and, the many difficulties and successes that learners have on their way to learning a second language.

 

2. What is SLA and what accounts for the language produced by learners?

Saville-Troike (2006: 2) defines SLA as not just the learning of a subsequent language to that learnt in childhood but also the study of the processes involved and of those who are learning it. The language produced by learners changes as they learn the language and that language can differ from one student to another, even if they have the same L1. The following theories provide an insight into how and why this language may vary. Some are backed up by empirical data, others are not, but all have their strengths and weaknesses and they all have supporters and critics.

 

3. The main theories in SLA

3.1. Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis (CAH)

In terms of the principles of CAH, Gass and Selinker (1994: 59) state that it is “a way of comparing languages in order to determine potential errors for the ultimate purpose of isolating what needs to be learned and what does not need to be learned in a second language learning situation”.Saville-Troike (2006: 34-35) explain that it focuses on the differences and similarities between the L1 and the Second Language (L2). This means that the similarities and differences between L1 and L2 play a crucial role in learners’ production.

Saville-Troike (2006: 35) also points out that there will be a transfer of elements acquired in the L1 to the target L2. This transfer is considered positive if the same structure exists in both languages and the transfer results in the correct production of language in the L2. However, it can also be negative if a language structure from the L1 does not exist in the L2 but the structure is transferred leading to the production of incorrect language. Arab students often omit the verb to be. For example, this book mine for this book is mine since both of them have the same meaning in Arabic /هذا الكتابُ لي /həðəlkɪtəbʊlɪ/. This kind of error might be made since the verb to be is rarely used in the present tense in Arabic. Because of this, Arab students may apply the Arabic rule to English. On the other hand, Arabic and English share the same idea regarding the position of object pronouns. The object pronouns are placed after the verb in English and Arabic. In contrast, with French, they occur before the verb.

Mitchell and Myles (1998: 30) say that the predictions of CAH, that all the errors made in learning the L2 are due to interface from L1, were shown to be unfounded. They claim that many studies and research explain convincingly that the majority of errors could not be attributed to the L1. In other words, CAH might not predict learning difficulties, and was only useful in the retrospective explanation of errors. This point considerably weakened its appeal. However, the heightened interest in this area did lead to the origin of Error Analysis.

 

 

 

3.2. Error Analysis (EA) and Interlanguage (IL)

3.2.1 Error Analysis (EA)

Mitchell and Myles (2004: 29-30) consider this approach to be influenced by behaviorism through the use of fundamental distinctions between the learners’ first and second languages to predict errors, adding that EA showed that CA was not able to predict most errors. They claim that the differences between L1 and L2 are not necessarily difficult, citing as an example the difference between English and French in terms of unstressed object pronouns.  These cause a problem for English speakers learning french, but not for French speakers learning English. Saville-Troike (2006: 39-40) observes that EA distinguishes between systematic errors, which are due to a lack of L2 knowledge and mistakes, which are made when the knowledge has been processed. She highlights some of EAs shortcomings including:

1.      Some people do not make errors because of L1 interface.

2.      Focusing only on errors does not provide information regarding what the learner has acquired.

3.      Learners may not produce errors because they avoid difficult structures. For example, Arab students avoid using models auxiliaries since they have difficulties in understanding their role in each sentence. They may use I want…, I need …., instead of could I have, I would like ……..?

Overall, EA is not good at accounting for variability in SLA data.

3.2.2 Interlanguage (IL)

Saville-Troike (2006: 40-41) states that the term IL was introduced by Selinker in 1972, “to refer to the intermediate states (or interim grammars) of a learner’s language as it moves toward the target L2″.

Ellis (1997: 19) hypothesises that the nature of variability changes during the process of L2 development in the stages below:

1.      One form for multi-functions e.g., I live in Manchester, last year I live in London, next year I live in Amman.

2.      Some forms have been acquired e.g. I live in Manchester, last year I lived in London, next year I lived in Amman.

3.      The various forms start to be used systematically. Here the student may write the forms correctly but still use the incorrect forms when speaking.

4.      The student uses the forms correctly and consistently.

3.3. The Monitor Model Theory

Mitchell and Myles (1998: 35) point out Krashen’s theory was based on five hypotheses which are:

1.       Acquisition – Learning hypothesis

Gass and Selinker (1994:144) refer to Krashen’s assertion that ‘acquisition’ and ‘learning’ are separate knowledge, and that language acquisition is a subconscious process. The acquirers of language are not consciously aware of the grammatical rules of the language, but they rather develop a kind of correctness. This is certainly the case for young children learning their L1. On the other hand, language learning refers to the conscious knowledge of L2. The learners know the rules, they are aware of them, and are able to talk about them.

Gass and Selinker (1994: 148) criticise this hypothesis. They claim that it does not show evidence of the distinction between acquisition and learning as two separate systems. However, Krashen said that many can produce language fluently without having been taught any rules and there are many that know the rules but are unable to apply them whilst speaking (Lightbown and Spader 1999: 38).

1. Monitor Hypothesis

Krashen’s hypothesis states that what learners learn is available as a monitor (Saville-Troike (2006: 45). Learners will make changes and edit what they are going to produce. The language that learners have consciously learnt works as an editor in situations where they have sufficient time to edit, are focused on form and know the rule (Gass and Selinker 1994: 145-146). This conscious editor is called the Monitor.

There are variations in use of the monitor that affect the language that learners produce. Acquired language skills can lead to improved fluency but overuse of the monitor can lead to a reduction in fluency (Krashen 1988: 30-31). Moreover, Krashen (1988: 30-31) believes that there is individual variation among language learners with regard to ‘monitor’ use. He claims that the learners who use the ‘monitor’ all the time are ‘over-users’, often producing stilted language whereas, ‘under-users’ will often speak quickly but with a lot of errors. Learners who use the monitor appropriately are considered ‘optimal-users’. These find a good balance between speed and accuracy, continuing to refer to want they have learnt but acknowledging the importance of communication. He emphasise that lack of self-confidence is the major cause for the over-use of the ‘monitor’.

Gass and Selinker (1994: 149) criticise this hypothesis as they believe that the monitor is only useful in production but it is useless in comprehension since it consists of learned knowledge that is used to edit utterances.

1. Natural Order Hypothesis

According to the natural order hypothesis the acquisition of grammatical structures (rules) proceeds in a predictable order (Gass and Selinker 1994: 145). They add that in a given language, some grammatical structures generally tend to be acquired early while others are acquired late regardless of the L1. They say “the natural order was determined by a synthesis of the results of the morphemes order studies and are a result of the acquired system, without interference from the learned system”. Krashen cited the example that many advanced students in English will still not be able to apply the rule for the third person singular verb, where an –s has to be added to the verb, when speaking quickly.

1. Input Hypothesis

According to the input hypothesis, SLA cannot take place without sufficient and necessary comprehensible input (Mitchell and Myles 2004: 165). Acquirers develop competency over time by receiving comprehensible input to move their present level to the next. Gass and Selinker (1994: 146) emphasise that this hypothesis is central to Krashen’s description of acquisition and is a complement to the Natural Order Hypothesis.

1. Affective Filter Hypothesis

Krashen’s hypothesis suggests that not everyone has the same ability in learning a second language and that self-confidence, motivation and anxiety all affect language acquisition (Gass and Selinker 1994: 148). He proposed that an Affective filter acts as a barrier to language input. Krashen (1988: 38) explains that a number of affective variables play a crucial role in SLA. These variables include motivation, self-confidence and anxiety. He claims that learners who are highly motivated, self-confident and less anxious are better equipped for success in SLA. Low motivation, low self-esteem, and anxiety contribute to raise the affective filter which prevents comprehensible input from being used for acquisition. In other words, if the filter is high, the input will not pass through and subsequently there will be no acquisition. On the other hand, if the filter is low and the input is understood, the input will take place and acquisition will have taken place.

Gass and Selinker (1994: 148) say that the filter and filter hypotheses explain the failure of SLA according to two parameters: insufficient input and high affective filter, or both.

Gass and Selinker (1994: 150) criticise the Filter Hypothesis because it does not explain how it works? Or how the input filter works? However, others see that it as something that can be seen and applied in the classroom and that it can explain why some students learn and produce better language than others (Lightbown and Spader 1999: 40).

3.4. Universal Grammar (UG)

The definition of UG by Chomsky (1976, as cited by Cook, 2001: 181-182) is “the system of principles, conditions, and rules that are elements or properties of all human languages … the essence of human language”. According to Chomsky, there are principles, which allow or prevent a specific structure from occurring in all human languages, and parameters, which govern ways in which human languages differ, usually expressed as a limited choice between two options. These principles and parameters are built in the human mind. In other words, children have an innate faculty that instructs them while learning of language (Mitchell and Myles, 2004: 33).

Saville-Troike (2006: 48-49) gives an example of a principle that Chomsky posited which is that every phrase in every language has the same elements including a head.  For example, a noun phrase has to have a noun, a verb phrase has to have a verb and prepositional phrase has to have a preposition. On the other hand, an example of parameter is the direction of the head. For example, Arabic is a head last language and English is a head first language.

According to Mitchell and Myles (1998: 61-68), UG can account for variations in learner language as follows:

 

1. No access hypothesis

This hypothesis suggests that UG becomes less accessible with age and therefore its involvement will not be available to adult learners. Chomsky believes there is a critical period for language acquisition and UGs application. Adult L2 learners have to be prepared to apply more general problem-solving skills. Evidence by Johnson and Newport (1989, as cited by Mitchell and Myles, 1998: 65) showed that immigrant children mostly become native-like speakers of L2, but their parents very rarely do. I believe this supports Chomsky’s hypothesis.

 

2. Full access hypothesis

Mitchell and Myles (1998: 61) state that the processes of L1 and L2 acquisition are very similar.  The differences noticed between them are due to the difference in cognitive maturity and in the learner’s needs. It is clear that L2 learners acquire principles and parameter settings of L2 which are not similar to L1 settings. Evidence given by Flynn (1996 as cited by Mitchell and Myles 1998: 66) explained that Japanese L1 learners of English as L2 successfully acquire L2 head parameter settings. They use principles in English which do not operate in Japanese.

 

3. Indirect access hypothesis

Mitchell and Myles, (1998: 61-62) point out that access to UG is only available to learners indirectly via the L1. They say “there will be just one instantiation (i.e. one working example) of UG which will be available to the L2 learner, with the parameters already fixed to the settings which apply in the L1″. Evidence given by Schachter (1996 as cited in Mitchell and Myles, 1998: 67) showed L2 learners’ failure to acquire principles absent in their L1 and/or failure to reset parameters.

4. Partial access hypothesis

Mitchell and Myles (1998: 62) say that some aspects of UG are still available and others are not. They give an example stating that principles may still be available but parameter settings may not.

In addition, White (2003:1-2) represents the application of the idea of UG to the area of SLA. She argues that SLA is constrained by principles and parameters of UG which is well explained in his book “Second Language Acquisition and Universal Grammar”.

In terms of criticism, Mitchell and Myles (1998: 70) say that UG as a whole has been exclusively concerned with syntax and the developmental linguistic route followed by learners when learning a L2. Thus, the social and psychological variables that affect the rate of the learning process are beyond its remit and therefore ignored.

3.5. Socio-linguistic theories

Mitchell and Myles (1998: 163) define sociolinguistics as the study of the effect of all aspects of soceity on the language in use. I will focus on the sociocultural theory discussed in Lantolf (1994).

Lantolf (1994: 418) emphasises that the origin of sociocultural theory refers to Vygotsky’s ideas.

In terms of variations in learner language, Vygotsky (1978 as cited in Mitchell and Myles, 1998: 146 ) defines the Zone of Proximal Development(ZPD) as ” the difference between the child’s developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the higher level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers’. Saville-Troike (2006: 112) says that one way is to help learners within the ZPD is through scaffolding which is defined as verbal guidance which an expert helps a learner to solve a specific task or collaboration of peers to solve a task that is difficult for any one of them individually. This means that little collaboration or guidance are the main reason for variation in learner language. For example, talk between peers could be helpful as in the following example:

Student 1:  could I say I am loving you, daddy?

Student 2: I am loving ………..

Student 1: yes, I do not stop loving my daddy.

Student 2: love is a state verb

Student 1:  yes, so I am love you, daddy.

Student 2: I think simple present form with state verbs?

Student 1:  Ah, I love you, daddy.

 

4. Conclusion

To sum up, it is clear that not one individual theory on its own can account for all the variations in learners’ language. Each one has valid points and I have shown some of the variations in language these hypotheses may produce. However, in a lot of cases, there is a lack of empirical evidence and further investigation into these theories may identify new learning and teaching methods.

Teaching methods have to take into account that L2 learners are varied. Learners do not have the same characteristics so they do not all acquire a L2 in the same way and at the same rate. Motivation, aptitude, age, social background and self-confidence affect the learners’ abilities. At the current time, and with the knowledge that is available to us, I think it is important for teachers to consider the most important aspects of each theory when preparing their lessons. Clearly not all theories will be addressed in every lesson, but with careful thought and consideration, the ideas may be applied and the results will show whether or not they are effective for that particular group of students.

 

Acknowledgements

Thanks also to my tutor, Dr Siân Etherington, who has supported and helped me such an article in Second Language Acquisition.

I am also grateful to My close friend, Faisal Mohammed Albisher, for everything.

References

Cook, V. (2001) Second Language Learning and Language Teaching (3rd ed). London: Edward Arnold

Ellis, R. (1997) Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press

Gass, S.M. and Selinker, L. (1994) Second Language Acquisition: An Introductory Course. Hillsdale, NJ/ London: Lawrence Erlbaum

Krashen, S. (1988) Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning. HemelHempstead: Prentice Hall

Lantolf, J.P. (1994) Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Learning: Introduction to the Special Issue, in The Modern Language Journal, 78(4), pp. 418-420

Lightbown, P.M. and Spade, M. (1999) How Languages are Learned. Oxford: Oxford University Press

Mitchell, R. and Myles, F. (1998) Second Language Learning Theories London: Edward Arnold

Mitchell, R. and Myles, F. (2004) Second Language Learning Theories (2nded).London: Edward Arnold

Saville-Troike, M. (2006) Introducing Second Language Acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

White, L. (2003) Second Language Acquisition and Universal Grammar. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press M

 

About the Author

Abdel Rahman Altakhaineh got his MA in applied linguistics from The University of Salford, in December 2010. He also got his B.A in English Language and Literature from Mu’tah University in 2006. The author’s  mother tongue is arabic language. He is also fluent in English since he did his MA in applied linguistics. Moreover, He learnt French (elementary French) at the school of language at Salford University from February to May 2010. Currently, the author is registerd in French, Spanish and German courses that have begun in 15th Nov 2010.

 

Can anyone recommend a cheap Japanese language course in Cairns?

I am looking to refresh my Japanese I picked up while living in Tokyo and would love to know if anyone has any recommendations which school to go to? Thanks!

i dont know what to tell ya…lol

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Madagascar

History

Main article: History of Madagascar

As part of East Gondwana, the territory of Madagascar split from Africa approximately 160 million years ago; the island of Madagascar was created when it separated from the Indian subcontinent 80 to 100 million years ago. Most archaeologists estimate that the human settlement of Madagascar happened between 200 and 500 A.D., when seafarers from southeast Asia (probably from Borneo or the southern Celebes) arrived in outrigger sailing canoes. Bantu settlers probably crossed the Mozambique Channel to Madagascar at about the same time or shortly afterwards. However, Malagasy tradition and ethnographic evidence suggests that they may have been preceded by the Mikea hunter gatherers. The Anteimoro who established a kingdom in Southern Madagascar in the Middle Ages trace their origin to migrants from Somalia.

The written history of Madagascar begins in the 7th century, when Muslims established trading posts along the northwest coast. During the Middle Ages, the island’s kings began to extend their power through trade with their Indian Ocean neighbours, notably Arab, Persian and Somali traders who connected Madagascar with East Africa, the Middle East and India.

Large chiefdoms began to dominate considerable areas of the island. Among these were the Sakalava chiefdoms of the Menabe, centred in what is now the town of Morondava, and of Boina, centred in what is now the provincial capital of Mahajanga (Majunga). The influence of the Sakalava extended across what are now the provinces of Antsiranana, Mahajanga and Toliara. Madagascar served as an important transoceanic trading port for the east African coast that gave Africa a trade route to the Silk Road, and served simultaneously as a port for incoming ships.

The wealth created in Madagascar through trade created a state system ruled by powerful regional monarchs known as the Maroserana. These monarchs adopted the cultural traditions of subjects in their territories and expanded their kingdoms. They took on divine status, and new nobility and artisan classes were created. Madagascar functioned in the East African Middle Ages as a contact port for the other Swahili seaport city-states such as Sofala, Kilwa, Mombasa and Zanzibar.

European contact began in the year 1500, when the Portuguese sea captain Diogo Dias sighted the island after his ship separated from a fleet going to India. The Portuguese continued trading with the islanders and named the island So Loureno (St. Lawrence). In 1666, Franois Caron, the Director General of the newly formed French East India Company, sailed to Madagascar. The Company failed to establish a colony on Madagascar but established ports on the nearby islands of Bourbon and Ile-de-France (today’s Runion and Mauritius). In the late 17th century, the French established trading posts along the east coast.

The most famous pirate utopia is that of Captain Misson and his pirate crew, who allegedly founded the free colony of Libertatia in northern Madagascar in the late 17th century. From about 1774 to 1824, Madagascar was a favourite haunt for pirates, including Americans, one of whom brought Malagasy rice to South Carolina. Many European sailors were shipwrecked on the coasts of the island, among them Robert Drury, whose journal is one of the few written depictions of life in southern Madagascar during the 18th century. Sailors sometimes called Madagascar “Island of the Moon”.

Andrianampoinimerina

(1795-1819)

Radama I

(1810-1828)

Ranavalona I

(1828-1861)

Radama II

(1861-1863)

Rasoherina

(1863-1868)

Ranavalona II

(1868-1883)

Ranavalona III

(1883-1897)

Beginning in the 1790s, Merina rulers succeeded in establishing hegemony over most of the island, including the coast. In 1817, the Merina ruler and the British governor of Mauritius concluded a treaty abolishing the slave trade, which had been important in Madagascar’s economy. In return, the island received British military and financial assistance. British influence remained strong for several decades, during which the Merina court was converted to Presbyterianism, Congregationalism and Anglicanism.

With the domination of the Indian Ocean by the Royal Navy and the end of the Arab slave trade, the western Sakalava lost their power to the emerging Merina state. The Betsimisaraka of the east coast also unified, but this union soon faltered.

Queen Ranavalona I “the Cruel” (r. 1828-61) issued a royal edict prohibiting the practice of Christianity in Madagascar. By some estimates, 150,000 Christians died during the reign of Ranavalona. The island grew more isolated, and commerce with other nations came to a standstill.

France invaded Madagascar in 1883, in what became known as the first Franco-Hova War seeking to restore property that had been confiscated from French citizens. (Hova is one of three Merina classes: andriana aristocracy, hova common people, andevo slaves. The term hova was wrongly used by the French to mean Merina.) At the war’s end, Madagascar ceded Antsiranana (Diego Suarez) on the northern coast to France and paid 560,000 francs to the heirs of Joseph-Franois Lambert. In 1890, the British accepted the full formal imposition of a French protectorate.

In 1895, a French flying column landed in Mahajanga (Majunga) and marched to the capital, Antananarivo, where the city’s defenders quickly surrendered. Twenty French soldiers died fighting and 6,000 died of malaria and other diseases before the second Franco-Hova War ended.

After the conclusion of hostilities, in 1896 France annexed Madagascar. The 103-year-old Merina monarchy ended with the royal family being sent into exile in Algeria.

During World War II, Malagasy troops fought in France, Morocco, and Syria. Some leaders in Nazi Germany proposed deporting all of Europe’s Jews to Madagascar (the Madagascar Plan), but nothing came of this. After France fell to Germany, the Vichy government administered Madagascar. During the Battle of Madagascar, British troops occupied the island in 1942 to preclude its seizure by the Japanese, after which the Free French took over.

In 1947, with French prestige at low ebb, the Malagasy Uprising broke out. It was suppressed after over a year of bitter fighting, with 8,000 to 90,000 people killed. The French later established reformed institutions in 1956 under the Loi Cadre (Overseas Reform Act), and Madagascar moved peacefully towards independence. The Malagasy Republic was proclaimed on October 14, 1958, as an autonomous state within the French Community. A period of provisional government ended with the adoption of a constitution in 1959 and full independence on June 26, 1960. In 2006 the country experienced an attempted coup.

Politics

Main articles: Government of Madagascar and Politics of Madagascar

Although the present head of State has self-proclaimed himself, Madagascar is usually a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Madagascar is head of government, and of a pluriform[disambiguation needed] multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Senate and the National Assembly. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.

The political situation in Madagascar has been marked by struggle for control. After Madagascar gained independence from France in 1960, assassinations, military coups and disputed elections featured prominently.

Didier Ratsiraka took power in a military coup in 1975 and ruled until 2001, with a short break when he was ousted in the early 1990s. When Marc Ravalomanana and Ratsiraka both claimed victory after presidential elections in December 2001, Ratsiraka’s supporters tried to blockade the capital, Antananarivo, which was pro-Ravalomanana. After eight months of sporadic violence with considerable economic disruption, a recount in April 2002 led the High Constitutional Court to pronounce Ravalomanana president, but it was not until July that Ratsiraka fled to France and Ravalomanana gained control of the country.

Internal conflict in Madagascar had been minimal in the years that followed and since 2002, Ravalomanana and his party, Tiako-I-Madagasikara (TIM), have dominated political life. In an attempt to restrict the power and influence of the president, the prime minister and the 150-seat parliament have been given greater power in recent years.

Tension since was generally associated with elections. A presidential election took place in December 2006 with some protests over worsening standards of living, despite a government drive to eradicate poverty. Calls by a retired army general in November 2006 for Ravalomanana to step down were said to have been ‘misinterpreted’ as a coup attempt.

2009 Malagasy protests

Main article: 2009 Malagasy protests

The latest, and ongoing, spate of violence pitted then-President Marc Ravalomanana against Andry Rajoelina, former mayor of the capital, Antananarivo. Since the power tussle started on 26 January, more than 170 people were killed. Rajoelina mobilized his supporters to take to the streets of Antananarivo to demand Ravalomanana’s ousting on the grounds of his alleged “autocratic” style of government.

Ravalomanana’s resignation

After losing support of the military and under intense pressure from Rajoelina, President Ravalomanana resigned on 17 March 2009. Ravalomanana assigned his powers to a military council loyal to himself headed by Vice-Admiral Hyppolite Ramaroson. The military called the move by Ravalomanana a “ploy” and said that it would support Rajoelina as leader. Rajoelina had already declared himself the new leader a month earlier and has since assumed the role of acting President. He has appointed Monja Roindefo as Prime Minister. Rajoelina announced that elections would be held in two years and that the constitution would be amended.

The European Union, amongst other international entities, has refused to recognize the new government, due to it being installed by force. The African Union, which proceeded to suspend Madagascar’s membership on 20 March and the Southern Africa Development Community both criticized the forced resignation of Ravalomanana. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s spokesperson said he is “gravely concerned about the evolving developments in Madagascar”.

Provinces and regions

Main articles: Provinces of Madagascar and Regions of Madagascar

Madagascar is currently divided into six autonomous provinces (faritany mizakatena), and subdivided into 22 regions (faritra), the latter created in 2004. The regions will be the highest subdivision level when the provinces are dissolved in accordance with the results of the 4 April 2007 referendum, which means by 4 October 2009.

Antananarivo (1)

Analamanga

Bongolava

Itasy

Vakinankaratra

Antsiranana (2)

Diana

Sava

Fianarantsoa (3)

Amoron’i Mania

Atsimo-Atsinanana

Haute-Matsiatra

Ihorombe

Vatovavy-Fitovinany

Mahajanga (4)

Betsiboka

Boeny

Melaky

Sofia

Toamasina (5)

Alaotra Mangoro

Analanjirofo

Atsinanana

Toliara (6)

Androy

Anosy

Atsimo-Andrefana

Menabe

The regions are further subdivided into 116 districts, 1,548 communes, and 16,969 fokontany. The major cities have a special status as “commune urbaine”, at the same level as the districts.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Madagascar

Isalo National Park

At 587,000 square kilometres (227,000 sq mi), Madagascar is the world’s 46th-largest country and the fourth largest island. It is slightly bigger than France, and is one of 11 distinct physiographic provinces of the South African Platform physiographic division.

Towards the east, a steep escarpment leads from the central highlands down into a ribbon of rain forest with a narrow coastal further east. The Canal des Pangalanes is a chain of natural and man-made lakes connected by canals that runs parallel to the east coast for some 460 km (286 mi) (about two-thirds of the island). The descent from the central highlands toward the west is more gradual, with remnants of deciduous forest and savanna-like plains (which in the south and southwest, are quite dry and host spiny desert and baobabs). On the west coast are many protected harbours, but silting is a major problem caused by sediment from the high levels of erosion inland.

Along the crest of this ridge lie the central highlands, a plateau region ranging in altitude from 2,450 to 4,400 ft (747 to 1,341 m) above sea level. The central highlands are characterised by terraced, rice-growing valleys lying between barren hills. Here, the red laterite soil that covers much of the island has been exposed by erosion, showing clearly why the country is often referred to as the “Red Island”.

The island’s highest peak, Maromokotro, at 2,876 metres (9,440 ft), is found in the Tsaratanana Massif, located in the far north of the country. The Ankaratra Massif is in the central area south of the capital Antananarivo and hosts the third highest mountain on the island, Tsiafajavona, with an altitude of 2,642 metres (8,670 ft). Further south is the Andringitra massif which has several peaks over 2,400 metres (7,900 ft) including the second and fourth highest peaks, Pic Imarivolanitra, more widely known as Pic Boby (2,658 metres/8,720 feet), and Pic Bory (2,630 metres/8,600 feet). Other peaks in the massif include Pic Soaindra (2,620 metres/8,600 feet) and Pic Ivangomena (2,556 metres/8,390 feet). This massif also contains the Andringitra Reserve. On very rare occasions, this region experiences snow in winter due to its high altitude.

There are two seasons: a hot, rainy season from November to April, and a cooler, dry season from May to October. South-eastern trade winds predominate, and the island occasionally experiences cyclones.

Ecology

Main articles: Fauna of Madagascar, Ecoregions of Madagascar, and Agroecology in Madagascar

Tsingy in Madagascar

Madagascar’s long isolation from the neighboring continents has resulted in a unique mix of plants and animals, many found nowhere else in the world; some ecologists refer to Madagascar as the “eighth continent”. Of the 10,000 plants native to Madagascar, 90% are found nowhere else in the world. Madagascar’s varied fauna and flora are endangered by human activity, as a third of its native vegetation has disappeared since the 1970s, and only 18% remains intact. Since the arrival of humans 2000 years ago, Madagascar has lost more than 90% of its original forest. The elephant birds, which were giant ratites native to Madagascar, have been extinct since at least the 17th century. Aepyornis was the world’s largest bird, believed to have been over 3 metres (10 ft) tall.

Most lemurs are listed as endangered or threatened species. Many species have gone extinct in the last centuries, mainly due to habitat destruction and hunting.

The eastern, or windward side of the island is home to tropical rainforests, while the western and southern sides, which lie in the rain shadow of the central highlands, are home to tropical dry forests, thorn forests, and deserts and xeric shrublands. Madagascar’s dry deciduous rain forest has been preserved generally better than the eastern rainforests or the high central plateau, presumably due to historically low population densities. Madagascar has several national parks.

The Indri is 1 of 99 recognized species and subspecies of lemur found only in Madagascar.

Extensive deforestation has taken place in parts of the country, some due to mining operations. Slash-and-burn activity, locally called tavy, has occurred in the eastern and western dry forests as well as on the central high plateau, reducing certain forest habitat and applying pressure to some endangered species. Slash-and-burn is a method sometimes used by shifting cultivators to create short-term yields from marginal soils. When practiced repeatedly without intervening fallow periods, the nutrient-poor soils may be exhausted or eroded to an unproductive state. The resulting increased surface runoff from burned lands has caused significant erosion and resulting high sedimentation to western rivers.

As a part of conservation efforts, the Wildlife Conservation Society has recently opened a Madagascar! exhibit at the Bronx Zoo. The New York Academy of Sciences recently published a Podcast about the Madagascar! exhibit, which details the fauna and flora of Madagascar and what types of projects the WCS is involved with in the country. The Podcast can be listened to here

Madagascar is represented in the FIPS 10-4 geographical encoding standard by the symbol MA.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Madagascar

Antananarivo is the political and economic capital of Madagascar

Agriculture, including fishing and forestry, is a mainstay of the economy. Major exports are coffee, vanilla (Madagascar is the world’s largest producer and exporter of vanilla), sugarcane, cloves, cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), beans, bananas, peanuts and livestock products. Vanilla has historically been of particular importance, and when in 1985 Coca-cola switched to New Coke which involved less vanilla, Madagascar’s economy took a marked downturn, but returned to previous levels after the return of Coke Classic.

Structural reforms began in the late 1980s, initially under pressure from international financial institutions, notably the World Bank. An initial privatization program (19881993) and the development of an export processing zone (EPZ) regime in the early 1990s were key milestones in this effort. A period of significant stagnation from 1991 to 1996 was followed by five years of solid economic growth and accelerating foreign investment, driven by a second wave of privatizations[citation needed] and EPZ development. Although structural reforms advanced, governance remained weak and perceived corruption in Madagascar was extremely high. During the period of solid growth from 1997 to 2001, poverty levels remained stubbornly high, especially in rural areas. A six-month political crisis triggered by a dispute over the outcome of the presidential elections held in December 2001 virtually halted economic activity in much of the country in the first half of 2002. Real GDP dropped 12.7% for the year 2002, inflows of foreign investment dropped sharply, and the crisis tarnished Madagascar’s budding reputation as an AGOA standout and a promising place to invest. After the crisis, the economy rebounded with GDP growth of over 10% in 2003. Currency depreciation and rising inflation in 2004 have hampered economic performance, but growth for the year reached 5.3%, with inflation reaching around 25% at the end of the year. In 2005 inflation was brought under control by tight monetary policy of raising the Taux Directeur (central bank rate) to 16% and tightening reserve requirements for banks. Thus growth was expected to reach around 6.5% in 2005.

Following the 2002 political crisis, the government attempted to set a new course and build confidence, in coordination with international financial institutions and donors. Madagascar developed a recovery plan in collaboration with the private sector and donors and presented it at a “Friends of Madagascar” conference organized by the World Bank in Paris in July 2002. Donor countries demonstrated their confidence in the new government by pledging $1 billion in assistance over five years. The Malagasy Government identified road infrastructure as its principle priority and underlined its commitment to public-private partnership by establishing a joint public-private sector steering committee.

Rice paddies in Madagascar

In 2000, Madagascar embarked on the preparation of a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. The boards of the IMF and World Bank agreed in December 2000 that the country had reached the decision point for debt relief under the HIPC Initiative and defined a set of conditions for Madagascar to reach the completion point. In October 2004, the boards of the IMF and the World Bank determined that Madagascar had reached the completion point under the enhanced HIPC Initiative.

The Madagascar-U.S. Business Council was formed as a collaboration between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Malagasian artisan producers in Madagascar in 2002. The U.S.-Madagascar Business Council was formed in the United States in May 2003, and the two organisations continue to explore ways to work for the benefit of both groups.

The government of President Ravalomanana is aggressively seeking foreign investment and is tackling many of the obstacles to such investment, including combating corruption, reforming land-ownership laws, encouraging study of American and European business techniques, and active pursuit of foreign investors. President Ravalomanana rose to prominence through his agro-foods TIKO company, and is known for attempting to apply many of the lessons learned in the world of business to running the government. Some recent concerns have arisen about the conflict of interest between his policies and the activities of his firms. Most notable among them the preferential treatment for rice imports initiated by the government in late 2004 when responding to a production shortfall in the country.

Madagascar’s sources of growth are tourism; textile and light manufacturing exports (notably through the EPZs); agricultural products; and mining. Madagascar is the world’s leading producer of vanilla and accounts for about half the world’s export market. Tourism targets the niche eco-tourism market, capitalizing on Madagascar’s unique biodiversity, unspoiled natural habitats, national parks and lemur species. Exports from the EPZs, located around Antananarivo and Antsirabe, comprise the majority of garment manufacture, targeting the US market under AGOA and the European markets under the Everything But Arms (EBA) agreement. Agricultural exports consist of low-volume high-value products like vanilla, litchies and essential oils. A small but growing part of the economy is based on mining of ilmenite, with investments emerging in recent years, particularly near Tulear and Fort Dauphin. Mining corporation Rio Tinto Group expects to begin operations near Fort Dauphin in 2008, following several years of infrastructure preparation. The mining project is highly controversial, with Friends of the Earth and other environmental organizations filing reports to detail their concerns about effects on the local environment and communities.

Autoclave enters Madagascar, 2008, as part of new mining operation

Several major projects are underway in the mining and oil and gas sectors that, if successful, will give a significant boost to the Malagasy economy.

In the mining sector, these include the development of coal at Sakoa and nickel near Tamatave. In oil, Madagascar Oil is developing the massive onshore heavy oil field at Tsimiroro and ultra heavy oil field at Bemolanga.

Foreign relations

Main article: Foreign relations of Madagascar

Madagascar was historically perceived as being on the margin of mainstream African affairs despite being a founding member of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was founded in 1963. President Albert Zafy, taking office in 1993, expressed his desire for diplomatic relations with all countries. Early in his tenure, he established formal ties with South Korea and sent emissaries to Morocco.

Starting in 1997, globalisation encouraged the government and President Ratsiraka to adhere to market-oriented policies and to engage world markets. External relations reflect this trend, although Madagascar’s physical isolation and strong traditional insular orientation have limited its activity in regional economic organizations and relations with its East African neighbours. It enjoys closer and generally good relations with its Indian Ocean neighbours Mauritius, Runion and Comoros. Active relationships with Europe, especially France, Germany, and Switzerland, as well as with Britain, Russia, Japan, India and China have been strong since independence. More recently, President Ravalomanana has cultivated strong links with the United States, and Madagascar was the first country to benefit from the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA). Madagascar is also a member of the International Criminal Court with a Bilateral Immunity Agreement of protection for the US-military (as covered under Article 98).

The OAU dissolved in 2002 and was replaced by the African Union. Madagascar was not permitted to attend the first African Union summit due to the dispute over the results of the election in December 2001, but rejoined the African Union in July 2003 after a 14-month hiatus triggered by the 2002 political crisis. However, Madagascar was suspended again by the African Union in March 2009 due to the ongoing political crisis.

During his presidency, Marc Ravalomanana traveled widely promoting Madagascar abroad and consciously sought to strengthen relations with Anglophone countries as a means of balancing traditionally strong French influence. He also cultivated strong ties with China during his tenure.

In November 2004, after an absence of almost 30 years, Madagascar re-opened its embassy in London. On 15 December 2004 the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, announced the closure of the British embassy in Antananarivo to save 250,000 a year. He also announced an end to the government’s aid to Madagascar, the DFID-funded Small Grants Scheme. The embassy closed in August 2005 despite petitions and protests from African heads of state, a European commissioner, the Malagasy Senate, many British companies, 30 or so NGOs operating in Madagascar, and members of the public.[citation needed]

The British Embassy was previously closed (also for financial reasons) from 1975 to 1980. The Anglo-Malagasy Society are campaigning to have it re-opened.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Madagascar

Antananarivo, Madagascar

Madagascar’s population is predominantly of mixed Austronesian (i.e.South-East Asian/Pacific Islander) and African origin. Those who are visibly Austronesian in appearance and culture are the minority, found mostly in the highland regions. Recent research suggests that the island was uninhabited until Austronesian seafarers arrived about 1,500 to 2,000 years ago. Recent DNA research shows that the Malagasy people are approximately of half Austronesian and half East African descent, although some Arab, Indian and European influence is present along the coast. Malagasy language shares some 90% of its basic vocabulary with the Ma’anyan language from the region of the Barito River in southern Borneo.

Subsequent migrations from the East Indies and Africa consolidated this original mixture, and 36 separate tribal groups emerged. Austronesian features are most predominant in the Merina (3 million) ; the coastal people (called ctiers) are of more clearly African origin. The largest coastal groups are the Betsimisaraka (1.5 million) and the Tsimihety and Sakalava (700,000 each). The Vezo live in the southwest. Two of the southern tribes are the Antandroy and the Antanosy. Other tribes include Tankarana (northern tip), Sihanaka and Bezanozano (east), Tanala (south-east), An-Taimoro, Tambahoaka, Zafisoro, An-Taisaka and Timanambondro (south-east coast), and Mahafaly and Bara (south-west). Chinese and Indian minorities also exist, as well as Europeans, mostly French. The number of Comorans residing in Madagascar was drastically reduced after anti-Comoran rioting in Mahajanga in 1976.

During the French colonial administration (18951960) and some time after independence, people were officially classified in ethnic groups. This practice was abandoned in the first census (1975) after independence, so any recent classification and figures for ethnic groups is an unofficial estimate. There is for instance no mention of ethnicity or religion in the national identity cards. Also, territorial divisions (provinces, regions) do not follow any ethnic division lines, despite an attempt by the colonial administration in the early 20th century. Ethnic divisions continue, and may cause violence, but their role is limited in today’s society. Ethnic tensions in Madagascar often produce violent conflict between the Merina highlanders and coastal peoples. Regional political parties are also rare, although some parties receive most of their support in certain areas.

Only two general censuses, 1975 and 1993, have been carried out after independence.

In 1993 (last census) there were 18,497 foreign residents on Madagascar, or 0.15% of the population.

Health

The fertility rate is at about 5 children per woman. There are about 29 physicians per 100,000 persons. Infant mortality was at 74 per 1,000 live births in 2005. Life expectancy at birth was at 58.4 in the early 21st century. Expenditure on health was 29 US$ (PPP) in 2004.

Language

Main article: Languages of Madagascar

The Malagasy language is of Malayo-Polynesian origin and is generally spoken throughout the island. Madagascar is a francophone country, and French is spoken among the educated population of this former French colony. English, although still rare, is becoming more widely spoken, and in 2003, the government began a pilot project of introducing the teaching of English into the primary grades of 44 schools, with hopes of taking the project nationwide. Many Peace Corps volunteers are serving to further this effort and train teachers.

In the first Constitution of 1958, Malagasy and French were named the official languages of the Malagasy Republic.

No official languages were recorded in the Constitution of 1992. Instead, Malagasy was named the national language; however, many sources still claimed that Malagasy and French were official languages, as they were de facto. In April 2000, a citizen brought a legal case on the grounds that the publication of official documents in the french language only was unconstitutional. The High Constitutional Court observed in its decision that, in the absence of a language law, French still had the character of an official language.

In the Constitution of 2007, Malagasy remains the national language while official languages are reintroduced: Malagasy, French, and English. The motivation for the inclusion of English is partly to improve relations with the neighbouring countries where English is used and to encourage foreign direct investment.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Madagascar

Malagasy culture reflects a blend of Southeast Asian, Arab, African and European influences. Houses in Madagascar are typically four-sided with a peaked roof, in a style commonly seen in Southeast Asia, rather than the circular style of hut construction more commonly found in Eastern Africa. Rice forms the basis of every meal in most parts of the country as in Asia. The dishes prepared to accompany the rice vary depending on local availability of food products and are known as laoka.

Arab influence

Arab immigrants were few in number compared to the Indonesians and Bantus, but they left a lasting impression. The Malagasy names for seasons, months, days, and coins are Arabic in origin, as is the practice of circumcision, the communal grain pool, and different forms of salutation. The Arab magicians, known as the ombiasy, established themselves in the courts of many Malagasy tribal kingdoms. Arab immigrants imposed the patriarchal system of family and clan rule on Madagascar. Previous to the Arabs, the Malagasies practiced the Polynesian matriarchal system whereby rights of privilege and property are conferred equally on men and women.

Education

A significant proportion of the adult population are illiterate. The female youth literacy rate is below the male youth literacy rate. Public expenditure on education was at 16.4 % of total government expenditure in the 2000-2007 period. Public current expenditure on primary education per pupil is at about US$ 57 (PPP). Madagascar has several universities.

Cuisine

Main article: Cuisine of Madagascar

Music

Main article: Music of Madagascar

Madagascar has a distinctive and rich musical heritage. The early Austronesian settlers brought with them the predecessor to the bamboo tube zither known as the valiha as well as other instruments that would form the basis for traditional Malagasy music. The influence of Africans is evident in certain drumming and polyharmonic singing styles, while the tendency toward minor chords along the coasts reflects an Arab musical influence. European pirates likewise contributed to Malagasy musical traditions, importing the guitar, accordion, piano and the instruments used in hiragasy performance including the violin, trumpet and clarinet.

Mythology

Main article: Malagasy mythology

The country has a rich oratory tradition in the form of hainteny, kabary and ohabolana. An epic poem, the Ibonia, has been handed down over the centuries in several different forms across the island and showcases the lively and highly developed oral traditions of Madagascar.

Hainteny

Main article: hainteny

The zebu, or humped cattle, occupies an important place in traditional Malagasy culture. The animal can take on sacred importance and constitutes the wealth of the owner, a tradition originating on the African mainland. Cattle rustling, originally a rite of passage for young men in the plains areas of Madagascar where the largest herds of cattle are kept, has become a dangerous and sometimes deadly criminal enterprise as herdsmen in the Southwest attempt to defend their cattle with traditional spears against increasingly armed professional rustlers. Where African influences are strongest, as in the Southern region around Tulear, wealth and social status are measured in cattle, and the zebu can outnumber the inhabitants by two or three to one. Zebu are a popular motif on aloalo, the carved wooden poles that decorate tombs among some tribes in the southwestern part of the country.

Andrianampoinimerina (circa 17451810) united the Merina kingdom, moving his capital from Ambohimanga to Antananarivo and building his royal palace, or rova, on a strategic location on the highest hilltop overlooking the city. A number of cultural traditions, including the kabary and the hiragasy, were popularized during the period of his administration.

Religion

Main article: Religion in Madagascar

Traditional religion

Main article: Malagasy mythology

Approximately 50% of the country’s population practice traditional religion, which tends to emphasize links between the living and the dead. The Merina in the highlands particularly tend to hold tightly to this practice. They believe that the dead join their ancestors in the ranks of divinity and that ancestors are intensely concerned with the fate of their living descendants. The Merina and Betsileo reburial practice of famadihana, or “turning over the dead”, celebrates this spiritual communion. In this ritual, relatives’ remains are removed from the family tomb, rewrapped in new silk shrouds, and returned to the tomb following festive ceremonies in their honor where sometimes the bodies are lifted and carried high above the celebrants heads with singing and dancing before returning them to the tomb.

Traditionally, the Malagasy hold their ancestors in high esteem and many believe they continue to intervene in events on Earth after their death. A powerful individual may establish a fady (taboo) in his or her lifetime that all their descendents or those of community members will be required to respect well after their death, meaning that when traveling in Madagascar it is advisable to seek out village elders or authorities and inquire into local fady in order not to inadvertently transgress and offend the local population. This veneration of ancestors has also lead to the tradition of tomb building and the famadihana, a practice whereby a deceased family member’s remains may be taken from the tomb to be periodically re-wrapped in fresh silk shrouds before being replaced in the tomb. The event is an occasion to celebrate the loved one’s memory, reunite with family and community, and enjoy a festive atmosphere. Residents of surrounding villages are often invited to attend the party, where food and rum are often served and a hiragasy troupe or other musical entertainment is typically present.

Christianity

Main article: Roman Catholicism in Madagascar

See also: Ranavalona I#Christian persecution

Roman Catholic cathedral in Antsirabe.

Today about 45% of the Malagasy are Christian, divided almost evenly between Catholics and Protestants. Many incorporate the cult of the dead with their other religious beliefs and bless their dead at church before proceeding with the traditional burial rites. They also may invite a Christian minister to attend a famadihana. Many of the Christian churches are influential in politics. The best example of this is the Malagasy Council of Churches (FFKM) comprising the four oldest and most prominent Christian denominations(Roman Catholic, Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar, Lutheran, and Anglican). In the 19th century under Queen Ranavalona I, there was infamous persecution and mass extermination of Christians.

Islam

Main article: Islam in Madagascar

Islam in Madagascar constitutes about 7% of the population. The Arab and Somali Muslim traders who first brought Islam in the Middle Ages had a deep influence on the west coast. For example, many Malagasy converted to Islam and the Malagasy language was, for the first time, transcribed into an alphabet, based on the Arabic alphabet, called Sorabe. Muslims are concentrated in the provinces of Mahajanga and Antsiranana (Diego Suarez). Muslims are divided between those of Malagasy ethnicity, Indians, Pakistanis and Comorians.

Hinduism

Main article: Hinduism in Madagascar

Hinduism in Madagascar began with Gujarati from the Saurashtra region of India as far back as 1900, when Madagascar was a French colony. Most Hindus in Madagascar speak Gujarati or Hindi.

International rankings

Organization

Survey

Ranking

Institute for Economics and Peace

Global Peace Index

72 out of 144

United Nations Development Programme

Human Development Index

145 out of 182

Transparency International

Corruption Perceptions Index

99 out of 180

World Economic Forum

Global Competitiveness Report

121 out of 133

See also

Main articles: Outline of Madagascar and Index of Madagascar-related articles

Military of Madagascar

Transport in Madagascar

Communications in Madagascar

Malagasy diplomatic missions

Firaisan’ny Skotisma eto Madagasikara

References

^ “Malagasy” is the correct form in English; Embassy of Madagascar, Washington D.C. “Madagascan” is used only for the island, not its people National Geographic Style Manual

^ Central Intelligence Agency (2009). “Madagascar”. The World Factbook. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ma.html. Retrieved January 9, 2010. 

^ a b c d “Madagascar”. International Monetary Fund. http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2009/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2006&ey=2009&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=674&s=NGDPD,NGDPDPC,PPPGDP,PPPPC,LP&grp=0&a=&pr.x=54&pr.y=18. Retrieved 2009-10-01. 

^ Human Development Indices, Table 3: Human and income poverty, p. 35. Retrieved on 1 June 2009

^ BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Giant palm tree puzzles botanists

^ Malagasy languages, Encyclopdia Britannica

^ Migration from Kalimantan to Madagascar by O. C. Dahl

^ Archaeology, Language, and the African Past by Roger Blench

^ The African diaspora in the Indian Ocean By Shihan de S. Jayasuriya, Richard Pankhurst pg 82

^ “Background Note: Madagascar”. U.S. Department of State. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5460.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-12. 

^ Cities of the Middle East and North Africa By Michael Dumper, Bruce E. Stanley, Janet L. Abu-Lughod pg 391

^ Kingdoms of Madagascar: Maroserana and Merina

^  ”Madagascar”. Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/Madagascar. 

^ Vincent, Rose (1990). The French in India: From Diamond Traders to Sanskrit Scholars. Popular Prakashan. ISBN 0-8613-2259-2. 

^ From MADAGASCAR to the MALAGASY REPUBLIC, by Raymond K. Kent pg 6571

^ Madagascar: An Historical and Descriptive Account of the Island and Its Former Dependencies by Samuel Pasfield Oliver., p. 6. (excerpted in Google Book Search)

^ Ranavalona I (Merina queen). Britannica Online Encyclopedia.

^ Keith Laidler. Female Caligula. Ranavalona, the Mad Queen of Madagascar. Wiley (2005) ISNB -13 978-0-470-02223-8 (HB). 

^ (French) 1947 L’insurrection Madagascar – Jean Fremigacci – Marianne[dead link]

^ a b IRIN Africa | Southern Africa | Madagascar | MADAGASCAR: ‘Violence could escalate’ | Governance Conflict | News Item

^ IRIN Africa | Southern Africa | Madagascar | MADAGASCAR: Former president sentenced to five years in prison | Governance | News Item

^ IRIN Africa | Southern Africa | Madagascar | MADAGASCAR: Hoping for fair, transparent, uncontroversial elections | Economy Governance Other | Feature

^ IRIN Africa | Southern Africa | Madagascar | MADAGASCAR: Appeal launched despite political uncertainty | Children Economy Food Security Governance Health & Nutrition Conflict …

^ a b Corbett, Christina; McGreal, Chris (18 March 2009). “Madagascar’s president resigns as rival claims power”. The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/18/madagascar-marc-ravalomanana. 

^ a b c “Military backs Madagascar rival”. BBC News. 17 March 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7949596.stm. 

^ “Madagascan opposition takes over prime minister’s office”. Xinhua. 14 March 2009. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-03/14/content_11011120.htm. 

^ “Madagascar President Resigns”. Voice of America. http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-03-16-voa65.cfm. Retrieved 2009-03-17. 

^ African Union suspends Madagascar over ‘coup’ – Africa, World – The Independent

^ (UPDATE) Army puts Madagascar opposition leader in charge | Home >> Other Sections >> Breaking News

^ The Eighth Continent: Life, Death, and Discovery in the Lost World of Madagascar

^ a b “Science News: New Genus of Self-destructive Palm found in Madagascar”. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. http://www.kew.org/scihort/news/new_palm_genus.html. Retrieved 2008-01-30. 

^ Terrestrial Ecoregions — Madagascar subhumid forests (AT0118), National Geographic.

^ Davies, S. J. J. F. (2003)

^ Lemurs Hunted, Eaten Amid Civil Unrest, Group Says. National Geographic News. August 21, 2009.

^ Science & the City | Public Gateway to the New York Academy of Sciences

^ “Independent States in the World”. United States Department of State. 2008-03-20. http://www.state.gov/s/inr/rls/4250.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-24. 

^ Madagascar – Country Facts- Goway Travel Experiences

^ “Made in Madagascar: Exporting Handicrafts to the U.S. Market: a Project with the UN Public-Private Alliance for Rural Development; Final Report”, A Project with the UN Public-Private Alliance for Rural Development.

^ Madagascar – Mining: Heavy Minerals Mining

^ Rio Tinto’s Madagascar mining project

^ “Africa rejects Madagascar ‘coup’” bbc.co.uk 20 March 2009 Link accessed 20 March 2009

^ U.S. Library of Congress,”Madagascar – Minorities”

^ L’ethnicisation des rapports sociaux Madagascar

^ “Ethnic strife rocks Madagascar”. BBC News. May 14, 2002.

^ a b c d e f g http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/data_sheets/cty_ds_MDG.html

^ “Le malgache et le franais sont les langues officielles de la Rpublique Malgache.” Constitution, Titre I, Art. 2; Constitutional Law 14 October 1958.

^ Haute Cour Constitutionnelle De Madagascar, Dcision n03-HCC/D2 Du 12 avril 2000

^ Madagascar adopts English as official language, ClickAfrique.com, 10 April 2007.

^ a b http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/madagascar_statistics.html

^ Madagascar and Africa III. The Anteimoro: A Theocracy in Southeastern Madagascar, by R. K. Kent The Journal of African History 1969 pg 62

^ “Vision of Humanity”. Vision of Humanity. http://www.visionofhumanity.org/gpi/home.php. Retrieved 2010-02-04. 

External links

Find more about Madagascar on Wikipedia’s sister projects:

Definitions from Wiktionary

Textbooks from Wikibooks

Quotations from Wikiquote

Source texts from Wikisource

Images and media from Commons

News stories from Wikinews

Learning resources from Wikiversity

Government

The Madagascar Government

National Assembly of Madagascar

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Madagascar

Embassies and Consulates

Canada Hungary Washington DC

Chief of State and Cabinet Members, from CIA

General information

Country Profile from BBC News

Madagascar entry at The World Factbook

Madagascar from UCB Libraries GovPubs

Madagascar at the Open Directory Project

Wikimedia Atlas of Madagascar

Madagascar travel guide from Wikitravel

News media

Madagascar Humanitarian news and analysis from IRIN United Nations

Madagascar news headline links from allAfrica.com

Ecology

Madagascar’s National Parks and Reserves official park website

Conservation International Madagascar overview pages

Madagascar Wildlife Conservation MWC is a Malagasy non-profit association, which organises and pursues community-based conservations projects

New York Academy of Sciences Conserving Madagascar Podcast by Helen Crowley

Madagascar conservation story

Journal Madagascar Conservation & Development

Miscellaneous

The Madagascar Project, Project set up to help Malagasy communities tackle the causes and effects of poverty

Old maps of Madagascar by CEGET library (CNRS, France)

Azafady UK charity and Malagasy NGO working in southeast Madagascar to alleviate poverty, improve well-being and protect beautiful unique environments with the help of its award winning volunteering programmes.

Shama Foundation of Madagascar charitable organization providing scholarships for underprivileged students in Madagascar

Opinions of La Haute Cour Constitutionelle du Madagascar

Blue Ventures award winning not-for-profit organisation dedicated to facilitating projects and expeditions that enhance global marine conservation and research. Based in Andavadoaka, South West coast of Madagascar.

Foko-madagascar not-for-profit organization and Rising Voices grantee project dedicated to the use of ICT as a tool to promote sustainable development, especially combining human development and the protection of the environment.

WildMadagascar.org Overview, news, photos, cultural history. English and French

Madagascar Photos Madagascar

The Palmarium reserve, is situated on the East coast of Madagascar.

Keelonga, keelonga is an organisation dedicated to assisting rural primary schools with infrastructures and teachers

 

Articles Related to Madagascar

 

 Geographic locale

Lat. and Long. 1855 4731 / 18.917S 47.517E / -18.917; 47.517 (Antananarivo)

v  d  e

Countries and territories of Africa

West Africa

Benin  Burkina Faso  Cape Verde  Cte d’Ivoire  The Gambia  Ghana  Guinea  Guinea-Bissau  Liberia  Mali  Mauritania  Niger  Nigeria  Senegal  Sierra Leone  Togo

North Africa

Algeria  Egypt  Libya  Mauritania  Morocco  Sudan  Tunisia

Central Africa

Angola  Burundi  Cameroon  Central African Republic  Chad  Democratic Republic of the Congo  Republic of the Congo  Equatorial Guinea  Gabon  Rwanda  So Tom and Prncipe

East Africa

Burundi  Comoros  Djibouti  Eritrea  Ethiopia  Kenya  Madagascar  Malawi  Mauritius  Mozambique  Seychelles  Somalia  Tanzania  Uganda  Zambia  Zimbabwe

Southern Africa

Botswana  Lesotho  Namibia  South Africa  Swaziland

 States with

limited recognition

Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic  Somaliland

 Partially in Africa

France (Runion)  Italy (Pantelleria)  Portugal (Madeira)  Spain (Canary Islands / Ceuta / Melilla / Plazas de soberana)  Yemen (Socotra)

 Dependencies

Iles Eparses (France)  Mayotte (France)  Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha (United Kingdom)

 Disputed areas

Western Sahara

v  d  e

Countries and territories bordering the Indian Ocean

Africa

Comoros  Djibouti  Egypt  Eritrea  Kenya  Madagascar  Mauritius  Mayotte  Mozambique  Runion  Seychelles  Somalia  South Africa  Sudan  Tanzania

Asia

Bahrain  Bangladesh  Burma  Christmas Island  Cocos (Keeling) Islands  India  Indonesia  Iran  Iraq  Israel  Jordan  Kuwait  Malaysia  Maldives  Oman  Pakistan  Qatar  Saudi Arabia  Sri Lanka  Thailand  United Arab Emirates  Yemen

Oceania

Australia  Christmas Island  Cocos (Keeling) Islands

Islands

Bahrain  British Indian Ocean Territory  Christmas Island  Cocos (Keeling) Islands  Comoros  Madagascar  Maldives  Mauritius  Mayotte  Runion  Seychelles  Sri Lanka

 

International membership

v  d  e

Southern African Development Community (SADC)

Member states

Angola  Botswana  Democratic Republic of the Congo  Lesotho  Madagascar  Malawi  Mauritius  Mozambique  Namibia  South Africa  Swaziland  Tanzania  Zambia  Zimbabwe

Leaders

Chairpersons: Levy Mwanawasa  Kgalema Motlanthe

Secretaries-General: Kaire Mbuende  Prega Ramsamy  Tomaz Salomo

See also

Southern African Development Coordination Conference  Southern African Customs Union  Common Monetary Area  Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa

v  d  e

African Union (AU)

Algeria  Angola  Benin  Botswana  Burkina Faso  Burundi  Cameroon  Cape Verde  Central African Republic  Chad  Comoros  Democratic Republic of the Congo  Republic of the Congo  Cte d’Ivoire  Djibouti  Egypt  Eritrea  Ethiopia  Equatorial Guinea  Gabon  The Gambia  Ghana  Guinea  Guinea-Bissau  Kenya  Lesotho  Liberia  Libya  Madagascar  Malawi  Mali  Mauritania  Mauritius  Mozambique  Namibia  Niger  Nigeria  Rwanda  Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic  So Tom and Prncipe  Senegal  Seychelles  Sierra Leone  Somalia  South Africa  Sudan  Swaziland  Tanzania  Togo  Tunisia  Uganda  Zambia  Zimbabwe

v  d  e

Portuguese Empire

North Africa 

15th century

14151640  Ceuta

14581550  Alccer Ceguer (El Qsar es Seghir)

14711550  Arzila (Asilah)

14711662  Tangier

14851550  Mazagan (El Jadida)

1487 middle 16th century  Ouadane

14881541  Safim (Safi)

16th century

15051769  Santa Cruz do Cabo de Gu (Agadir)

15061525  Mogador (Essaouira)

15061525  Aguz (Souira Guedima)

15061769  Mazagan (El Jadida)

15131541  Azamor (Azemmour)

15771589  Arzila (Asilah)

Sub-Saharan Africa 

15th century

14551633  Arguin

14701975  So Tom1

14741778  Annobn

14781778  Fernando Poo (Bioko)

14821637  Elmina (So Jorge da Mina)

14821642  Portuguese Gold Coast

14961550  Madagascar (part)

14981540  Mascarene Islands

16th century

15001630  Malindi

15001975  Prncipe1

15011975  Portuguese E. Africa (Mozambique)

15021659  St. Helena

15031698  Zanzibar

15051512  Quloa (Kilwa)

15061511  Socotra

15571578  Accra

15751975  Portuguese W. Africa (Angola)

15881974  Cacheu2

15931698  Mombassa (Mombasa)

17th century

16421975  Cape Verde

16451888  Ziguinchor

16801961  So Joo Baptista de Ajud

16871974  Bissau2

18th century

17281729  Mombassa (Mombasa)

17531975  So Tom and Prncipe

19th century

18791974  Portuguese Guinea

18851975  Portuguese Congo (Cabinda)

1 Part of So Tom and Prncipe from 1753.   2 Part of Portuguese Guinea from 1879.

Southwest Asia 

16th century

15061615  Gamru (Bandar-Abbas)

15071643  Sohar

15151622  Hormuz (Ormus)

15151648  Quriyat

1515?   Qalhat

15151650  Muscat

1515??   Barka

15151633? Julfar (Ras al-Khaimah)

15211602  Bahrain (Muharraq and Manama)

15211529?  Qatif

1521?1551? Tarut Island

15501551  Qatif

15881648  Matrah

17th century

1620?   Khor Fakkan

1621??   As Sib

16211622  Qeshm

1623?   Khasab

1623?   Libedia

1624?   Kalba

1624?   Madha

16241648  Dibba Al-Hisn

1624??   Bandar-e Kong

Indian subcontinent 

15th century

14981545  Laccadive Islands (Lakshadweep)

16th century

Portuguese India

   15001663  Cochim (Kochi)

   15021661  Quilon (Coulo/Kollam)

   15021663  Cannanore (Kannur)

   15071657  Negapatam (Nagapatnam)

   15101962  Goa

   15121525  Calicut (Kozhikode)

   15181619  Paliacate (Pulicat)

   15211740  Chaul

   15231662  Mylapore

   15281666  Chittagong

   15341601  Salsette Island

   15341661  Bombay (Mumbai)

   15351739  Baam (Vasai-Virar)

   15361662  Cranganore (Kodungallur)

   15401612  Surat

   15481658  Tuticorin (Thoothukudi)

   15591962  Daman and Diu

   15681659  Mangalore

   15791632  Hugli

   15981610  Masulipatnam (Machilipatnam)

15181521  Maldives

15181658  Portuguese Ceylon (Sri Lanka)

15581573  Maldives

17th century

Portuguese India

   16871749  Mylapore

18th century

Portuguese India

   17791954  Dadra and Nagar Haveli

East Asia and Oceania 

16th century

15111641  Portuguese Malacca

15121621  Banda Islands

15121621  Moluccas (Maluku Islands)

   15221575  Ternate

   15761605  Ambon

   15781650  Tidore

15121665  Makassar

15531999  Macau

15331545  Ningbo

15711639  Decima (Dejima, Nagasaki)

17th century

16421975  Portuguese Timor (East Timor)1

19th century

Macau

   18641999  Coloane

   18491999  Portas do Cerco

   18511999  Taipa

   18901999  Ilha Verde

20th century

Macau

   19381941  Lapa and Montanha (Hengqin)

1 1975 is the date of East Timor’s Declaration of Independence and subsequent invasion by Indonesia. In 2002, the independence of East Timor was recognized by Portugal and the rest of the world.

North America and the North Atlantic Ocean 

15th century

1420           Madeira

1432           Azores

16th century

15001579?  Terra Nova (Newfoundland)

15001579?  Labrador

15161579?  Nova Scotia

Central and South America 

16th century

15001822  Brazil

15361620  Barbados

17th century

16801777  Nova Colnia do Sacramento

19th century

18081822  Cisplatina (Uruguay)

Portuguese colonization of the Americas

Theory of Portuguese discovery of Australia

 

Languages

v  d  e

Member states and observers of the Francophonie

Members

Albania  Andorra  Armenia  Belgium (French Community)  Benin  Bulgaria  Burkina Faso  Burundi  Cambodia  Cameroon  Canada (New Brunswick  Quebec)  Cape Verde  Central African Republic  Chad  Comoros  Cyprus1  Democratic Republic of the Congo  Republic of the Congo  Cte d’Ivoire  Djibouti  Dominica  Egypt  Equatorial Guinea  France (French Guiana  Guadeloupe  Martinique  St. Pierre and Miquelon)  Gabon  Ghana1  Greece  Guinea  Guinea-Bissau  Haiti  Laos  Luxembourg  Lebanon  Macedonia2  Madagascar  Mali  Mauritania  Mauritius  Moldova  Monaco  Morocco  Niger  Romania  Rwanda  St. Lucia  So Tom and Prncipe  Senegal  Seychelles  Switzerland  Togo  Tunisia  Vanuatu  Vietnam

Observers

Austria  Croatia  Czech Republic  Georgia  Hungary  Latvia  Lithuania  Mozambique  Poland  Serbia  Slovakia  Slovenia  Thailand  Ukraine

1 Associate member. 2 Provisionally referred to by the Francophonie as the “former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”; see Macedonia naming dispute.

v  d  e

Austronesian-speaking countries and territories

Formosan

Taiwan

Malayo-Polynesian

American Samoa  Brunei  Burma (Myanmar)  Cambodia  Christmas Island  Cocos (Keeling) Islands  Cook Islands  Easter Island  East Timor  Fiji  French Polynesia  Guam  Hainan  Indonesia  Kiribati  Madagascar  Malaysia  Marshall Islands  FS Micronesia  Nauru  New Caledonia  New Zealand  Niue  Northern Mariana Islands  Orchid Island  Palau  Papua New Guinea   Philippines  Samoa  Singapore  Solomon Islands  Sri Lanka  Suriname  Tokelau  Tonga  Tuvalu  United States (Hawaii)  Vanuatu  Vietnam  Wallis and Futuna

v  d  e

English-speaking world

Anglosphere

Dark blue: Countries and territories where English is spoken natively by a significant population.

Light blue: Countries where English is an official language but not widely spoken.

Click on the coloured regions to view the related article.

 

 

Regions where English is an official language and spoken by a significant population:

Africa

Nigeria  Mauritius  Saint Helena  South Africa

 Americas

Anguilla  Antigua and Barbuda  The Bahamas  Barbados  Belize  Bermuda  British Virgin Islands  Canada  Cayman Islands  Dominica  Falkland Islands  Grenada  Guyana  Jamaica  Montserrat  Netherlands Antilles (Saba, Saint Eustatius, Saint Maarten)   Saint Kitts and Nevis  Saint Lucia  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines  Trinidad and Tobago  Turks and Caicos Islands  United States  United States Virgin Islands

Asia

Hong Kong  Philippines  Singapore

Europe

Gibraltar  Guernsey  Isle of Man  Jersey  Malta  Republic of Ireland  United Kingdom

Oceania

Australia  Marshall Islands  Federated States of Micronesia  Nauru  New Zealand  Palau

 

Regions where English is an official language but not widely spoken:

Africa

Botswana  Cameroon  Ghana  Kenya  Lesotho  Liberia  Madagascar  Malawi  Namibia  Rwanda  Sierra Leone  Sudan  Swaziland  Tanzania  Uganda  Zambia  Zimbabwe

Americas

Puerto Rico

Asia

India  Malaysia  Pakistan

   Oceania

Fiji  Papua New Guinea  Solomon Islands

English Wiktionary

Categories: Madagascar | African countries | African Union member states | Countries of the Indian Ocean | East Africa | French-speaking countries | Island countries | Islands of Africa | Islands of Madagascar | Least Developed Countries | Malay-speaking countries and territories | Member states of La Francophonie | Physiographic provinces | Southern Africa | States and territories established in 1960Hidden categories: All articles with dead external links | Articles with dead external links from April 2009 | Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages | Articles containing French language text | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements from June 2008 | Articles with links needing disambiguation | Articles with unsourced statements from December 2007 | Articles with unsourced statements from August 2009
About the Author

I am an expert from China Crafts Suppliers, usually analyzes all kind of industries situation, such as long leg braces , orthopedic suppliers.

Dating Tips for Finding The Best Chicago Dating Sites For Local Singles

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Voyageur Contract

In 1749 New France, Jean Francois MAURICE DitLAFANTAISIE signed a contract. Before I get to this interesting document, let me introduce you to the man, the time, and the place.

 

The sobriquet or nom-de-guerre “La Fantaisie” attached to the family name MAURICE is unique though not exclusive to that family, and was passed down for many generations. My fascination with the name led to some research.

 

The name suggests an origin of horse training and dressage. In dressage, a horse that, momentarily, would not obey his master, as though making a break for freedom, was said to be having “a fantasy”.

 

Jean Francois, born in 1712, and his wife, Madelaine LEDUC, whom he married in 1737, have thousands of descendants alive today The French of New France were embarrassingly, prodigiously, rapturously fertile.

 

In 1749, the king of France was Louis XV. He’s the one who said « Apres moi, le déluge » “After me the deluge”. He would take his pleasure as he found it and to hell with consequences for the future.

 

France was still powerful but after the war of the succession of Austria, crushed by debt, it had lost a lot of prestige along with some colonies.

 

Skirmishes and outright battles were a common feature of life in Montreal. When the colonists weren’t fighting the natives, they were fighting the English.

 

  This image is in the public domain – copyright has expired.

 

Francois BIGOT (1703-1778) was “Intendant”, the head honcho in Montreal appointed by the king. He was notorious for throwing over-the-top banquets and balls that scandalized the clergy in young Canada. He was finally recalled to France in 1760, ostensibly for embezzlement, in fact perhaps for one banquet too many.
Sieur Francois could hardly have missed all this; in fact, he may have danced at a scandalous ball or two with the lovely Madeleine LeDuc.

 

Though his father’s occupation is listed as master shoemaker after his retirement from the army, Jean Francois moved in a nice social circle. The contract below shows him as financier for a business venture and his relations included Jacques Joseph CHEVAL, husband to his wife’s sister. Jacques Joseph was in a position of considerable authority and wealth; harbor master in Montreal in 1740 and then bailiff of the High Council in 1750 with an official residence in Montreal.

 

A few years before the signing of our Voyageur contract below, the British established Halifax, Nova Scotia as a counterbalance to the French settlement and Fort at Louisbourg.

 

A few years after that signing, in 1758, Louisbourg fell to the British. Quebec and Montreal went down in 1759 and 1760. The Treaty of Paris in 1763 established that New France had become part of British America.

 

Of course, one reason for this loss was that the French preferred the Caribbean possessions to Canada, maybe egged on by Voltaire who wrote that the country was nothing but “Quelques arpents de neige” …a few acres of snow… he was a little mistaken.

 

A description of Canada of that time was given by Peter D. Kala, a Swedish (Norwegian) gentleman. He wrote that he saw no potatoes in any St. Lawrence Valley garden, neither white nor sweet. The Canadians didn’t like them and preferred wheat, peas and Indian corn.

 

He said they also produced turnips, cabbage, lettuce, pumpkins, chicory, cucumbers, carrots, beets, radishes, onions, watermelons, gooseberries, apples, and red currents.

 

He thought the common Canadian more civilized and clever than in any other place he had visited. He was amazed at the good breeding and courteous manner in word and deed in New France. He wrote that there was scarcely a Canadian who was not a clever marksmen and who did not own a rifle.

 

Most of us don’t carry rifles anymore but we’re still polite.

 

He wrote: “Whereas many nations imitate the French customs, I notice that, here, it is the French who, in various respects, imitate the customs of the Indians with whom they are in daily contact. They smoke, in Indian pipes, tobacco prepared in the Native way; they wear shoes in Indian fashion, and garters and sashes like the Indians.”

 

And just so could be described the voyageurs who adopted native dress, customs and knowledge; those legendary men who broke the wilderness of America with canoes and paddles and sweat and blood… which brings us to our contract, a document that has survived the centuries and paints a picture, in living color, of a voyageur adventure…an audacious, cocky plan…an everyday occurrence of New France.

 

 © Centre canadien d’architecture et Centre for Landscape Research (University of Toronto), 1996

 The above is a rendering of Montreal in 1725. Notre Dame Street, where Jean Francois and Madeleine had their residence, is the one leading up to the church at the centre of the image.

 

In translating this voyageur contract from the French of the period, I have kept all capitalizations, punctuations and sentence structure as they are in the original as far as possible and bizarre as they seem:

 

June 6, 1749 Pledge
From andre mercille to
Sieur francois Maurice
La fantaisie
Notary: Francois Simonnet
Advertisement

Paleographie: Marie-Josee Milord

INFORMATISATION : Lucienne Dalcourt

Francois Simonnet june 6 1749

1.Before The Royal Notaries
2.Of the city And Royal Jurisdiction of Montreal being resident undersigned
3.here Present andre mercill garcon
4.voyageur residing in Longueuil
5.And at present In this city
6.The which has Recognized And Confessed having Pledged by Those present
7.pledges to Sieur Francois Maurice La
8.fantaisie negotiator [broker/businessman] of this city
9.residing in his house six notre Dame street
10.herewith present and accepting
11.For his first requisition leaving from this city in a
12.Canoe Loaded with Merchandise helping to take it And Guide
13.up to the post of Missilima Kinac
14.All the way to that place and come back This present year
16.with His usual Convoys taking responsibility during all (the) Route.
16. ——————-of Canoes Merchandise furs Supplies
17.And utensils Seeking profit of same (meaning) Avoid damage
18.And Warn if such comes to his knowledge obey In all commands received
19.from herein And honestly And Finally do all That can And should do
20.a good and Loyal Contracted Voyageur without having the option of quitting
21. this service under Pain of penalty And of Loss
22. of wages This Contract thus made for And Paying
23. the Sum of One Hundred Eighty.

Francois Simonnet 6 juin 1749-49

1.Livres in silver——–(crossed out)—————–
2.having currency in This country

 

 Painting, Frances A Hopkins, “Canoe shooting the Rapids,” /National Archives of Canada/C-002774

 

3.That The said sieur Maurice La fantaisie Promises And Contracts to Broker and
4.Pay to said Employee for his wages And salary as soon as arrives
5.Said Employee In This City on Pain of renouncing all gain
6.And rights For thus have Convened Lawfully All Here present Etc
7.Promising Etc. Obliged Etc. Renouce Etc. so be it And more
8.in said Montreal Office of francois Simonnet Lun

9.Of said Notaries undersigned
10.Year One Thousand seven Hundred forty nine The Sixteenth Day of
11.June after Noon And have signed
12.with the exception of said Employee
13.herein named Who has declared he
14.Cannot Write Nor
15.sign This Court Document
16.made according to Order Ten
17.Words Crossed out are nul

francois Morise

aDhemar Fr. Simonnet
Notaire Royal

About the Author

visit my website at www.christophercolumbusfacts.org

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