THE 16TH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF THE NAMES …



Abstracts (Alphabetical)

Agbontaen-Eghafona, Kokunre (UBenin, Nigeria)

kokie@uniben.edu

PRINCIPLES GOVERNING TOPONYMS DERIVED FROM ANTHROPONYMS IN PRE-COLONIAL, COLONIAL AND POST INDEPENDENCE ERAS IN BENIN CITY, NIGERIA

Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names. (KJV psalm 49:11)

Pre-Colonial Benin was divided into two major sections; Ogbe and Ore’Nokua (Ore). Ogbe was the palace section housing residences of the monarch and some members of nobility. Ore was the rest of the town, where most commoners resided. Ore was further divided into wards and streets with specific names after professionals, art and craft guilds. Names such as Igun’N Eronwon (Brass casters guild) or Igbesanmwan (Carvers guild) Oregbeni (Elephant hunters’ ward) for example. Other areas in the erstwhile kingdom were named after founders and important personalities and had prefixes before the personal names such as Evbuogida (land of Ogida) Igueoriakhi (village of Oriakhi) or Ekiadolo (market of Adolo) as examples. Some toponyms derived from anthronyms are also dated to the colonial and independence era. The colonial era brought in western form of education and English language as the lingua franca in Nigeria, while the post independent period brought in indigenous rule of politicians and the military signifying a new ruling class. Archival materials including intelligent reports and colonial maps were examined and relevant oral traditions collected from custodians of Benin culture and tradition. The paper discusses the three categories of toponyms derived from anthronyms in Benin (before 1914, 1914-1960 and post 1960) outlining the deciding factors in each era.

Bergien, Angelika (OVGU, Germany)

Angelika.Bergien@ovgu.de

CULTURAL DIMENSIONS OF METAPHORICALLY USED NAMES

In their primary use names are inherently definite, but they also have various secondary uses where this inherent definiteness is lost. One such use is to identify an individual or place having relevant properties of the bearer of another name (e.g. We make Singapore Boston of the East or André Lange is the Schumacher of bobsleighing). The examples make sense only if we know the source referents (Boston and Schumacher) and then establish a metaphorical relationship with the target referents (Singapore and André Lange). Thus, names are used as an economical way of referring to the transferred properties which are associated with the name bearer.

Metaphors in general are selective and highlight particular aspects of the source and target referents while hiding others. Based on a survey including examples from multiple sources and informants with different backgrounds, I want to explore some of the issues that metaphorically used names raise. In particular, I show that a cultural dimension is reflected a) in the use of local or non-local source referents and b) in the knowledge about the source referent that is evoked in a given discourse context.

Bosch, Sonja (Unisa)

boschse@unisa.ac.za

“NAMED ENTITY” - CHALLENGES IN NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING OF NGUNI LANGUAGES

The term “named entity” is widely used in natural language processing (NLP), and is related to information extraction (IE) tasks where structured information is extracted from unstructured texts, such as newspaper articles and other running texts. This task is intended to be of direct practical value in annotating text so that it can be searched for information units like names, including person, organisation and place names, and numeric expressions including time, date, money, measure and percent expressions. Personal and proper names, place names and organisation/company names pose certain challenges in the recognition process since they are subject to continuous growth and development.

Named entities are often unknown words which are not listed in dictionaries. Morphological analysers are confused when they encounter unknown words and segment them in an inappropriate manner or not at all. In this paper a number of criteria will be referred to, to determine the essence of named entities such as person, organisation and place names with specific reference to the Nguni cluster of languages. For example, according to orthographic criteria, named entities are usually capitalised, and capitalisation rules for multiword proper nouns differ from language to language; according to translation criteria, named entities are usually not translated from one language to the next but the transcribed names of places and well-known persons are often universal; according to morphological criteria, named entities in the Nguni languages usually have a prefix, e.g. noun class prefix, locative prefix etc.

Coetser, Attie (WSU)

acoetser@wsu.ac.za

HECKLING VERSUS IDOLIZING IN NAMING IN A NOVEL BY MARITA VAN DER VYVER

The Afrikaans novel “Die ongelooflike avonture van Hanna Hoekom” by internationally known Marita van der Vyver was awarded several literature prizes, and translated into at least seven languages. One of the reasons for the appeal this novel has for an international audience is its brilliant integration of various naming practices with the plot of the story. Hanna Hoekom is a fifteen year old girl who grows up in an hilariously funny family setup: a mother who believes it is bad for your health to be normal; a father who is gay, a drag queen, and who uses more make-up than any other woman on earth; her younger brother was conceived in a laboratory tube with sperm of a Hollywood star; and two dogs with the names Pampoen (English: Pumpkin) and Patat (English: Sweet Potato).

The novel ridicules ambitious naming practices among Afrikaans speakers who think that idolized names will automatically convert the name bearer into a success story. The paper intends explaining how the heckling and idolizing aspects of naming in this novel bring about a better understanding of peoples’ motives with certain naming practices.

Dowling, Tessa (UCT)

tessa.dowling@uct.ac.za

MAKE IT LONG AND DIFFICULT – POMPOSITY, PURISM AND INACCURACY IN XHOSA SIGNAGE

The speaker has collected examples of Xhosa public and private signs as they are displayed in the Western Cape. Signs are erected to name public spaces, entities and events and, in recognition of our multilingual society, are translated into Xhosa. Very often the formal Xhosa used to translate signs does not take into account the way Xhosa speakers themselves refer to these spaces, entities and events. Translators seem intent on providing names that are only ever used by dictionary makers, with scant regard being taken of informal registers, language change and contemporary language use. Ironically, some of these signs lack accuracy with typing and spelling errors being common-place. The speaker will display examples of these signs and pose some geosemiotic questions with regard to the establishment of a system of African language signage that is more meaningful, robust and significant to the speakers of those languages themselves.

Du Plessis, Theodorus (ULM, UFS)

duplesslt@ufs.ac.za

LANGUAGE VISIBILITY AND GEOGRAPHICAL NAME CHANGES IN SOUTH AFRICA AND ISRAEL

One of the recognised sociolinguistic principles language legislation is the need for visible change. This principle specifically applies to a situation where a new language regime is being established. One obvious way to realise this is by visibly changing the linguistic profile of public signs in general, thereby altering the patterns of language visibility in the public space. Another related area is that of changing geographical names. Replacing for instance monolingual names with bilingual ones (whether translated or transliterated) or with dual names would be concrete indications of a changed language policy, as would the opposite changes do. In all of these instances, language visibility is at stake, as changes in geographical names are ultimately displayed on public signs. The crucial question from a language policy perspective then is whether top-down initiated changes in geographical names are always aligned with the broader language policy goals of a particular country. And if so, how is this interrelation regulated and managed?

This paper presents a comparison of the regulation of language visibility as language policy factor in the standardisation of geographical names in two different countries, South Africa and Israel. Both countries have policies in place regarding geographical names standardisation and name changes are equally topical (and controversial) in both cases. However, the details regarding the regulation of changes differ, as does the consideration of language visibilityas factor. In Israel language visibility is regulated primarily through case law but in South Africa policy makers seem to be avoiding the issue. Nevertheless, both systems seem to be contributing to a degree of language conflict between the regime and aggrieved language communities.

Data from both polities will be analysed in order to gain a better understanding of the complexities involved in managing language visibility as a mechanism in establishing a changed language regime.

Ekanjume, Beatrice (NUL)

bekanjume@yahoo.fr

THE NAMING SYSTEM AMONG THE BAKOSSI PEOPLE

This paper is an analysis of the naming system of the Bakossi people of the South West Province of Cameroon. It examines the structure of people’s names, the sources and uses of these names, and the formation of pet-names among the Bakossi community. The paper also looks at the way the Bakossi names are pronounced by people from other parts of the Country. The analysis of the data shows that a typical Bakossi child has three names: a first surname (SN1), a forename (FN) and a second surname (SN2). The analysis also discloses that some of the names were recorded inaccurately by semi-literate civil status officers, who usually spelt names as they were pronounced by parents or by themselves. Furthermore, the analysis also reveals the incorrect use of tonal features in the realizations of these names by other Cameroonians. Another observation made in this study is that the Bakossi people select a name very carefully as it is the single most important factor that will set one apart from any other person in one’s whole life. Finally, the paper reveals that not all Bakossi names have meaning, or that some of the Bakossi names have lost meaning and as such the criterion for choosing a name does not depend on the meaning of that name.

Gorayaev, Sergey (Russia)

gorajev@yandex.ru

PERSONAL NAMES AS THE INSPIRATION FOR COMMERCIAL NAMES IN RUSSIA

Using an anthroponym for a trade or company name is traditional in the situation when the proprietor/owner names his business after his own personal name. Nowadays, however, there is a great variety of so-called “anthroponomical” commercial names in Russian (and perhaps not only in Russian). The personal names serve as the inspiration for new nominative models in the field of commercial onomastics. As proof a group of commercial names of Russian has been analyzed which involves borrowing elements from the European languages often accompanied by the borrowed form of the polite reference. Particularly, company names, in which the word "Mr." serves as a stylization marker, can be divided into following groups : 1) Names using the English appellative connected with a kind of company activity (Mr. Doors – manufacturing of doors). 2) Names using a Russian appellative for the same reason (Mr. Dom – sale of building materials; [dom] means a house). 3) Names actualizing the internal form of the English word (Mr. Green – gardening). 4) Names creating a neologism as an English surname (Mr. Chister – cleaning company (the root [chist] means clean)/ 5) Using an English surname/word from another communication context with reference to the company activity: (Mr. Twister – the character of a known satirical poem).

Hala-hala, Mokhoele Aaron (NUL)

ma-hala-hala@nul.ls

NAMING AS A REFLECTION OF DISCURSIVE FORMATIONS: A CASE STUDY OF THE ‘Public Eye’ IN LESOTHO.

The aim of this presentation is to examine naming in Frank Talk in the weekly newspaper, the Public Eye, October 2009. The concept of naming seems to be so fundamental to humanity that its increasingly diverse nature in different contexts warrants a very close attention for the further conceptualization of this social phenomenon. One discursive formation can give a certain label of a certain entity, on the one hand. On the other hand, the same entity can be enacted or reflected differently from another discursive formation. Adopting the Content Analysis as a research instrument, I will analyze the article entitled “With Politicians like these …” in the Opinion & Analysis column: Frank Talk, in the ‘Public Eye’, October 2009. In this article, I argue that naming entities differently, for example, people in this particular case, usually depends on the different discursive formations from which the namer draws in particular contexts. I therefore, conclude that Mankind is the Namer. As the namer, mankind uses language not only as a unitary means of communication, but he or she also uses it as a sociopolitical tool for distributing social goods by labeling entities to reflect a certain perspective.

Hlongwa, Nobuhle (UKZN) & Mazibuko, Gugulethu (UKZN)

Hlongwan1@ukzn.ac.za mazibukog@ukzn.ac.za

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF NICKNAMES OF SOUTH AFRICAN CLUB DJS

This paper deals with the nicknames of South African club DJs. The nicknames (izidlaliso in isiZulu) are bestowed to the DJs by peers, fans and the DJs themselves. The nicknames were collected through a series of interviews with club DJs and also with radio presenters working for the South African Broadcasting Corporation and also those working for local radio stations. The focus of this paper is on the significance of these nicknames in the entertainment industry. In addition to that the paper will also look at how the community perceives these nicknames of club DJs. Nicknames of club DJs are derived from various sources, such as their surnames, names, physical appearance etc. The paper looks at the derivation and functions of the nicknames of club DJs.

Jambaya, Booker (Zimbabwe Open University) & Pfukwa, Charles (MSU)

pfukwac@msu.ac.zw

DOWN MUTARE’S STREETS : AN ONOMASTIC EXCURSION

This paper explores the naming patterns and processes of street names in some suburbs of Mutare, a city that lies on the eastern border of Zimbabwe some 250 Km south east of Harare, the capital city. This paper will give a geographical, historical and linguistic background of the city and then briefly discuss the setting of the major suburbs in the city. The paper then explores some literature in the study of street names and how they have been classified, analysed in different parts of the world especially in southern Africa. Data is drawn from local street maps, telephone directories, literature and historical texts. Basing on studies elsewhere in Southern Africa and beyond, a classification of the street names is proposed for the study and this is followed by an analysis and discussion. The data collected shows that different historical periods have produced different names creating an onomastic mosaic that reflects many cultures and centuries of human interaction. The paper is part of a bigger placenames project that is being carried out in the country.

Jenkins, Elwyn (Unisa)

ejenkins@mweb.co.za

PRETORIA, TSHWANE AND THE LAW

Changes and proposed changes to place and street names in South Africa since 1994 have led to vigorous public debate and both legal and illegal protest action. Freedom of expression in the country is backed up by the rule of law, and in some instances changes have been referred to the courts, the Broadcasting Complaints Commission and the Advertising Standards Authority. The use of the name Tshwane for Pretoria has been subjected to more legal scrutiny than any other change of name. Protest action and hearings about other names provide the context within which the Pretoria hearings can be studied. The arguments put forward before these tribunals and the findings and judgements are analysed.

Kalske, Marja (ULapland)

marja.kalske@ulapland.fi

THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NAMING SYSTEM FOR LAPLAND REINDEER

Reindeer are domestic animals in Lapland , but still living half wild. Some have been used as draught animals, and others are currently used to carry tourists on arctic safaris, or as reindeer participating in races.

This contribution explores the development of a naming system for reindeer from the early nomadic times to the present day. Various motivations have been used to assign a name, usually only to the draught animals at first. Nowadays the tourist and race reindeers are also named. As material for comparison, the naming system found among Finnish homebred horses will be used.

The theoretical orientation will be based on the 1994 meeting of NORNA (Northern Workshop of Onomastics) on ‘other’ names, the studies of Claude Levi-Strauss on French animal names, as well as the theory of the carnivalesque as formulated by Mikhail Bakhtin.

Khotso, P (NUL) & Possa, R (NUL)

palesa09khotso@ possa2009retha@

INDIGENOUS MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY: BASOTHO AS NAMERS

Long before contact with westerners and their type of medicines, African societies cured different forms of illnesses by their indigenous herbs and potions. All these indigenous medicines were given appropriate names, and among the Basotho many of these names were related to the disease the medicine was believed to cure or the problem they were believed to solve. On the other hand, there were and are medicines which are believed to be used by witches. The purpose of this paper therefore, is to discuss the linguistic and cultural processes of naming these many Sesotho indigenous medicines. The paper will further indicate how each name is linked to its alleged function.

Kolobe, Maboleba (NUL)

kmanthati@yahoo.co.uk

A MORPHO-LEXICO ANALYSIS OF VEHICLE NAMING IN LESOTHO

With Basotho nation, names are used as carriers of condensed messages of what the namer communicates to a target audience; hence, they name from a stone to a human being. It is currently observed in Lesotho that the naming process extends to public transport. The proposed study focuses on names given to buses and mini-buses used by public in Lesotho. The aim of the study is to find out how are the names given to vehicles formed in terms of their morphological processes. It further investigates on the attitudes, preferences and motivations of vehicle users as related to such names under consideration. Data are collected from observational notes made by the researcher and the oral interviews held with drivers, owners and passengers of these buses and mini-buses. At the morphological level, data show that except for few examples of derivation and compounding, vehicle names are mostly formed from political, religious and socially based phrases and at the lexical level, data show that passengers are affected to a lesser degree on a name given to a vehicle.

Koopman, Adrian (UKZN)

Koopman@ukzn.ac.za

UNIQUENESS IN ZULU PERSONAL NAMES

In many anthroponymic systems around the world, personal names are chosen from a limited onomasticon. In many countries, parents are obliged to choose children’s names from a limited Government-approved onomasticon. In other countries and in other cultures, parents are free to coin names in any manner whatsoever, and a high proportion of personal and other names are unique to the individual.

Analysis of contemporary data shows that only a very small proportion of children’s names given today are unique (less than 3%), and that there is now a central “core” onomasticon where parents draw names from. That this has not always been the case in the Zulu naming system is shown by an analysis of data reflecting names given in the first half of the 19th Century, which reflect a uniqueness factor of over 98%.

The paper concludes that a major shift in Zulu personal naming strategy has taken place between 1850 and 1950, and looks at suggestions as to why this might have happened.

Kotze, Chrismi-Rinda (ULM, UFS)

kotzecr@ufs.ac.za

THE IMPACT OF NAME-GIVING IN THE LINGUISTIC LANDSCAPE ON LANGUAGE VISIBILITY

The linguistic landscape (LL) of a town or city is the written language displayed in its public space. Among other things, the LL is employed to indicate ownership of buildings, commercial enterprises and even homes. Given the volume of these types of signs, and particularly the bottom-up ones, name-giving is recognised as a significant contributor to the visibility of a specific language, a factor which in turn impacts on its status and vitality. Where most LL studies so far have focussed on cities, a recent study on the LL of a rural setting, Philippolis (Southern Free State), has confirmed name-giving to be one of the most productive variables contributing to language visibility from below (as opposed to top-down or officially initiated language visibility). In fact, the name-signs of this particular rural setting serve to actually demarcate three distinct ethno-linguistic neighbourhoods (black, coloured and white). Particularly significant in this demarcation is the use of the prominent languages of the region. This paper will present an analysis of a larger LL data set collected from two neighbouring towns, Springfontein and Trompsburg, focussing specifically on public signs in the three rural settings that display names. The objective is to show how name-giving impacts on the language visibility of the languages used in these rural settings.

Kremer, Ludger (UAntwerp,Belgium)

ludger.kremer@

NAMING AND RELIGION: ‘CATHOLIC’ AND ‘PROTESTANT’ FORENAMES IN WESTERN GERMANY

It is commonly understood that religious denominations developed their own naming cultures as far as given names are concerned. Up to the Reformation the stock of forenames consisted partly in names of Germanic origin, and partly in names derived from the bible or from Christian saints; name-giving patterns originated mainly from regional or local patron saints, from territorial rulers, or mirrored social stratification. Some time after the Reformation, however, another dimension of name-giving came into existence: the Counter-Reformation brought a number of exclusively Catholic forenames into being (e.g. Alfons, Alois, Franz Xaver, Ignatz etc.), and Protestant Pietism brough newly-coined names like Bringfried, Fürchtegott, Gotthold, Leberecht, Traugott etc. into circulation, albeit with a limited duration. These name giving patterns may form regional clusters.

In my paper I will try to find out to what extent such names with denominational connotations can be found in western German society by comparing the forename tradition in neighbouring communities with either historically strong Catholic or Protestant majorities. The investigation is carried out in the Westphalian-Dutch border region, using a corpus with samples from several places in Westmünsterland and the former County of Bentheim and adjoining areas.

The main questions are: Do such ‘Catholic’or ‘Protestant’ names exist in the area under investigation, and if so, to what extent? How long did this tradition last? How big is the corpus of shared ‘neutral’ names? Are there still today differences of some kind?

Lubbe, HJ (ULM, UFS)

aviljoen@broll.co.za

AN HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF NAME CHANGING IN SOUTH AFRICA, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE PERIOD AFTER 1994

As elsewhere in multilingual countries changes of place names in South Africa is an emotive topic. The process of name changing in five historical political dispensations is investigated:

i. since 1652 with the permanent settlement of Westerners at the Cape;

ii. from 1795 to 1803 with the temporary, and from 1806 with the permanent British occupation of the Cape Colony;

iii. from 1910 with unification;

iv. from 1948 when the National Party came to power;

v. from 1994 when the African National Congress became the rulers.

It will be shown that especially after 1994, more specifically after 2000, a definite orchestrated process of name changing occurred. In this period name changing is used as an empowerment tool, and africanisation of place names as a symbolic resource that contributed towards decolonisation of the political transformation.

This view will be illustrated, mainly on the basis or reportage in the printed media, with reference to three name changes that elicited widespread public reaction, viz the omittance of Orange in the name of the province name Orange Free State, the change of Pretoria to Tshwane, and of Johannesburg International Airport to O R Tambo International Airport.

Mabuza, Mandinda (Unisa)

mabuzem@unisa.ac.za

The power of naming in Nguni and other related groupings

Names have a tremendous and far-reaching effect on a person's life. Activated at birth or even before, first names are repeated and used daily by way of writing, verbalization and thought. In fact, until a child gets to school age, he or she will probably only identify with a first name. As the first name is said, written, used and thought over and over every day, the vibration energy of the name's frequency will affect the formation and expression of a personality, encouraging certain traits and downplaying others. Name givers sometimes it is suggested do not think that names are not just labels that you can carry around to distinguish one person from another, but it is said it has a social significance and is part of the total identity of the bearer. Therefore the name giver it is suggested to avoid names that can destroy the name bearer. This paper advocates and suggests that the parents or the name givers should be in the know that names have power to the name bearer. This paper also advocates that one should always remember that the name given to a child is suggested to be his/her first gift in life. Therefore, it is suggested that parents should choose names that have pleasant and beautiful meanings. Surely, names have always been a handy means of identification, but ancient people understood that each name carries an energy that affects the name bearer's life in a multitude of ways.

Makondo, Livingstone (NWU)

Livingstonemakondo@nwu.ac.za

THE MOST POPULAR AND INTERESTING SHONA ANTHROPONYMS

Humanity and the art of naming share similar origins. Since time immemorial diverse personal names have been popularized and yet, with the passage of time they have gone almost into oblivion. It is a truism that every society has been subjected to this transient nature of anthroponyms. It is against this background that this article explores the most popular and interesting personal names amongst the Shona people of Zimbabwe. This is a worthwhile exercise especially against the backdrop that Zimbabwe has gone through marked diverse political, economic, religious and social metamorphosis stages since her attainment of independence in 1980. Special attention is paid to the era since the 1990s due to the political impasse and economic meltdown that has seen the mass exodus of Zimbabweans outside their political borders. This predominantly transdisciplinary qualitative discussion:

• explores the reasons behind the preference of the most popular and interesting contemporary first names?

• interrogates the etymology of the most popularized anthroponyms?

• examines, among others, their morphology, semiotic, semantic and pragmatic configurations?

Within this context, this article hopes to account for the contemporary and envisaged Shona nomenclature trends as the namers seek to properly foot themselves in the global village. Four primary sources of data have been consulted predominantly from seven Shona speaking provinces of Zimbabwe.

Makondo, Livingstone (NWU)

livingstonemakondo@nwu.ac.za

COMMUTER OPERATORS’ NAMES: AN ADVERTISING GIMMICK

By way of foregrounding, the Zimbabwean government deregulated its transport industry in the late 1980s. The government also declared the importation of public transport vehicles duty-free, an incentive meant to ensure that many local and foreign transport entrepreneurs join hands with the government in providing the general public with alternative modes of transport. As a result, there are many commuter operators plying Zimbabwean routes within and around the Southern Africa Development Community countries. It is within this context that this qualitative article, through an exploration of fifty commuter operators’ trading names, seeks to answer, among others, the following defining questions:

• Which names do these diverse commuter operators prefer?

• Why do they identify themselves with such names?

• Examine the etymology of the preferred names?

• What image(s) do such names portray to prospective clients?

The article argues that commuter operators prefer their existing operating names as advertising gimmicks devised to decoy and propagate certain preferred business ideologies calculated to strategically position their business ventures. Secondly, all the names are in the language dominant in the areas the commuter company operates so that they effectively communicate with the biggest prospective client base. Also, their morphology demonstrates that they are pregnant of diverse denoted and connoted meanings requiring semantic and pragmatic decompositional approaches among others, to get at their embedded meanings.

Masubelele, Rose (Unisa)

masubmr@unisa.ac.za

THE PREFERENCE OF ENGLISH NAMES OF BIBLICAL ORIGIN AMONG THE ZULU

Before the Bible was translated into the indigenous languages of South Africa and people converted in Christianity, the Zulu people used Zulu names only to name their children. They would name their children after prominent people in their clans, or name their children according to circumstances that prevailed during their birth of their child. With the advent of the translation of the Bible and the registering of the African population with colonial administrators, the Zulu people were also expected to give their newborns a Biblical or European name. This paper will focus on names of Biblical origin found in the Book of Matthew. The Book of Matthew has been chosen here as a model for analysis because it was the first book of the Bible to be translated into Zulu. The paper seeks to illustrate that among the Zulu people English names of Biblical are often used in naming children as compared with the original Greek names as illustrated by names such as Peter, John and Mary among others.

Mathonsi, Nhlanhla (UKZN)

mathonsi@ukzn.ac.za

THE USE OF NAMES IN NDELU’S MAGEBA LAZIHLONZA

The paper serves as a critical response to Ndelu’s Mageba Lazihlonza (1957). Mageba Lazihlonza is one of the Zulu classic dramas of the 20th century. Many readers, scholars have expressed serious concerns about the use of archaic words in the drama which make it difficult to understand. On the contrary the author of this paper asserts that it depends on the approach you employ on the book. By adopting the Onomastic approach the author claims that problematic areas in the drama book may be disentangled and this would ease understanding of the literary work. The hypothesis is that some names allude to the behaviours of actors, even though this might have been intended by the author of the drama. The conclusion drawn is that more just identificative function the names of characters’ in the literary work have a communicative function.

Meiring, Barbara

meiriba@vodamail.co.za

WHO ARE WE? ASPECTS OF SOCIETY AS REFLECTED THROUGH GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES

The study of names in any country involves a closer look at the factors that gave rise to the choice of these names. We not only find out how people see the world around them, how they experience life and what they value and remember, but the history of the country and how it affected the people is fixed and frozen when a geographical feature is named. These features include towns, cities, settlements, historical sites, rivers, mountains, plains, roads, highways and any other topographical feature visited by man. Geographical names describing the natural resources and topographical splendour of South Africa is a topic on its own. For this discussion only human aspects will be attended to and how the environment affects people. This would include natural disasters and wildlife. We will find how attitudes, feelings, values, fears, gratitude, happiness, hopes and dreams in the light of socio-political, historical and cultural experiences in times of conflict or unity were the motivational force behind the bestowal of the name. The descriptive backing of the names as described by Strawson,19 , Meiring,19 )is often hidden and only through research do the real associative meanings of a semantically opaque name make sense. Aspects of meaning in names will be discussed in a sociolinguistic framework to also point out how the meaning of specific names is more than just its etimological meaning and that sociolinguistic variables also apply to geographical names as linguistic items. Special attention will be given to the names in the various indigenous languages and how the particular linguistic structure expresses statements of life experiences. There are also names of Khoe origin but have been corrupted through adaptation to other indigenous languages like isiXhosa, isiZulu, Setswana, Sesotho, etc. and languages like Dutch and English used by colonial forces. Some of the Afrikaans names were originally Dutch and some names have changed due to a new political dispensation since 1994. All these names indicate a way of life and the South African experience of those who call themselves South Africans.

Meyiwa, Thenjiwe (WSU)

tmeyiwa@wsu.ac.za

‘TILL DEATH DO US PART’: QUESTIONING GENDERED PERCEPTIONS AND PRACTICES RELATED TO NAME CHANGE FOLLOWING A DIVORCE

There are a number of human rights gains that South African and the world at large can list with regard to the emancipation of women. A significant era for women was the ‘80s and policies that emanated from the Beijing conference. Resulting from this landmark conference, a number of programmes aimed at improving women’s lives have been spearheaded by the UN and some sovereign countries. However, in the domestic sphere, specifically within the marriage institution, women’s rights are not recognized in the same manner as it is the case in the public sphere. When a marriage is dissolved a woman’s identity, in instances of a name change, can be a bone of contention. The divorce process on its own can be long and drain your energy, leaving you with a feeling of being out of control. A hope of having a chance to rebuild your life and have a new identity can be dampened by trying to get your birth name back. Despite promises of ‘creating your new life hassle free’ by some services like (), the reality is that getting your name back after a divorce is hard for women.

Feminist scholars (e.g. Stanley & Wise, 1983; Bowles & Klein, 1983; and Magwaza, 2006) assert that most processes involving women’s lives must be understood in terms of patriarchal social structures, which have traditionally given patriarchal institutions the right to control women. Employing the social constructivist, self study and auto-ethnographic theoretical approaches, the paper presents experiences of eight women who have tried to change their names following a divorce. The analysis seeks to interrogate the feminist scholars’ arguments in relation to the experiences of the women selected for the study.

Molapo, Lea (NUL)

leamolapo@

BASOTHO NAMES EMPLOYED IN DEATH, FUNERAL RITES AND MARRIAGE CEREMONIES: A WAY OF ENRICHING INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE.

Basotho have many names for different occasions, ceremonies and rituals. The words contribute to the richness of indigenous knowledge. Some words appear to have singular meanings when unpacking them, there are those concrete hidden meanings from contemporary society especially youth. It is the aim of this paper to examine names used for death and funeral rites as well as marriage ceremonies. The deconstruction of words will be employed tapping on many voices. The paper will conceptualize the concept of indigenous knowledge and show the value of the names and suggest ways of disseminating this knowledge among youth in order to strengthen the culture.

Mollema, Nina (Unisa)

mollen@unisa.co.za

THE NAME GAME: EXPLORING THE SIGNIFICANCE OF NAMES AND NAMING IN D.B.Z. NTULI’S SHORT STORIES

Similar to ordinary monikers, names in fiction form part of a dynamic linguistic system. Not only are narrative names markers of personal identity, they also denote the circumstances in which they are used, or even the users themselves. Authors - such as Ntuli - portray their characters mainly by way of direct or indirect delineation. Naming a character forms an important part of this characterization process. This paper proposes to explore the manner in which D.B.Z. Ntuli - consciously or unconsciously - creates and names his fictional characters as well as how literary names in his short stories acquire meaning and take on diverse roles and functions in fiction. The gist of his characters’ names are at times reflective of the descriptive content the names possess in terms of their lexical features; however the meanings can also be found in their function as an alluding expression, within a particular context. Character identity is commonly tracked or teased out by continuity of innumerable sources and influences. As such, an extensive array of non-linguistic associations like the personal, social, cultural, psychological, physical, historical, religious and natural will inform this study.

Moyo, Themba (UZululand)

ctmoyo@pan.uzulu.ac.za

NAMING PRACTICES IN COLONIAL AND POST-COLONIAL MALAWI

In African societies naming practices invariably reflected that such a practice was

always in sync with each society’s ordinary citizens’ socio-cultural and historical

conditions. These were ideological conceptions which were inherent in each society and

this was reflected as a powerful force in naming practices, either of individuals or places.

However, naming practices have been in contact with the advent of colonialism in Malawi and the rest of Southern Africa, with the result that this has affected the socio-cultural ideologies, which were traditionally embedded with naming practices. They have had to change with the times, with the result that such names bestowed on individuals or places changed the historical times. Names remained indigenous, had been westernised or fused western and indigenous African names. This changing pattern has thus had to change with the education, socio-cultural, economic and subsequently political influences prevailing at each time.

This paper will provide insights into language, language shift and indicate that social issues, which traditionally indicated physical and social environment, beliefs of a given group was, essentially, not a given barometer of meanings and moral codes of each society, as this tended to change with the attitude and the prevailing conditions, at specific historical epochs, of how such names were conceived and assigned. Malawi is given as an example, but this could be applied to the entire Southern African region which has been affected by the advent of colonialism and post-colonialism.

Mutasa, Davie (Unisa)

mutasde@unisa.ac.za

ORAL INNOVATIONS IN THE NAMING OF BEER HALLS AND RECREATIONAL CENTRES IN ZIMBABWE

The naming of beer halls since their inception in colonial Zimbabwe (Rhodesia) to the present day Zimbabwe has undergone metamorphosis. Some names of beer halls have changed commensurate or in tandem with changes in social and political dispensation. New names, a conception of the creative section of society, appear to be more popular and proportionate to the dynamism of language. While it was fashionable in colonial Rhodesia to assume western names for people, landmarks and objects including anglicising the indigenous ones, most of the beer halls that were built in independent Zimbabwe are given indigenous names. However, both old and new names seem to have a common feature between them, which is, to expose aspects associated with commercialised beer and excessive drinking. Hence, the paper seeks to highlight the notion that the names given to beer halls in colonial Zimbabwe and independent Zimbabwe are purposeful and informative, as well as cautionary and humorous statements.

Neethling, Bertie (UWC)

bneethling@uwc.ac.za

BILLY JOEL’S ‘WE DIDN’T START THE FIRE’ : A PICTORIAL AND MUSICAL ONOMASTIC JOURNEY THROUGH HISTORY

The American pop and rock star, Billy Joel, wrote the lyrics and recorded the song ‘We didn’t start the fire’ in 1989. Joel had just turned 40, and being interested in history, took his inspiration from events that occurred during his lifespan, i.e. from 1949 to 1989. Being an American, he focussed mainly on events involving American people and places. The title suggests that the world was in turmoil, but that Joel’s generation, the so-called Baby Boomers, could not be held responsible, and that the world was in a bad state long before they arrived on the scene.

From an onomastic perspective the song is unusual : it exists mainly of onomastic images in the form of the names of people, places, and other onomastic items like brand names, names from the entertainment world and also literary art works. Aside from the short repeated refrain, there are no other supporting lyrics. The onomastic items are presented chronologically from 1949 to 1989.

The purpose with this contribution is to discuss the role of some of the onomastic items in the song and their overall effect in the song. The concept of ‘descriptive backing’ is used to explain how images are evoked through the enumeration of the onomastic images. A short video of the song will be presented.

Nkiwane, Palesa (NUL)

pali@webmail.co.za

NAMING DOGS IN LESOTHO

A dog ntja in Sesotho is kept among the Basotho to guard the house or the person. Unlike in other cultures dogs are rarely kept because they are liked. Almost everyone who has a dog gives it a name. Unlike human beings who are named as soon as they are born, dogs are named later in their lives. This paper looks at the factors that influence the naming of dogs in the Basotho society. The paper argues that in the Basotho society a dog is not just given a name for the sake of naming but there are indeed prompting reasons for giving a particular name. Names are given based on circumstances, experiences, emotions and even events that surround the birth of a dog. In some cases a dog’s name is intended to spite the neighbours with whom the name giver has sour relations. The paper will also display how dogs are given surrogate human status as observers of events, expressers of feelings or as the recipients of human feelings and how this status is indicated by the name given to a dog. .

Ntshinga, Thabazi (Unisa)

ntshitn@unisa.ac.za

PROVERB NAMES IN BUSINESS

The Xhosa attach great importance to the meaning of their names. In Xhosa society names are just not labels or a means of identity. When parents give a name to their child or children, naming is a speech act. The parents or anyone naming a child communicates, inter alia a wish, a prediction about the future of a child, relationship, family history, and events surrounding child’s birth. This idea is confirmed by Finnegan (1970) who asserts that in several African societies, individuals have names belonging to at least one of these categories: umbilical names, lineage names, kinship names and nicknames. Businesses in Xhosa society are given names in the same manner that children are named. When a proprietor names his/her business s/he talks about the behavior pattern of the people around him/her, the social relationship between him/her and these people. A business owner usually gives his/her business a name which reflects the economic aspects concerning the business, or the business assumes a nickname which its owner has been given by the society.

The primary focus of the paper will be the use of individual nicknames as business names. Nicknames reflect the way in which people define, perceive, and manipulate their interpersonal relations in specific situations. Nicknames in business names illustrate that as a communicative behavior, they are closely related to other forms of verbal art such as proverbs, narratives, poems and songs.

Ntsonyana, Mamasheane & Possa, Rethabile (NUL)

ntsonyanakhubie@ Possa2009retha@

CREATIVITY OF NAMING TIME AMONG THE BASOTHO

Basotho people named everything around them based mainly on their observations. They considered the circumstances, environment, behaviour of different creatures and their experiences.  Time was no exception in this regard.  Though they had no watches then, as watches came with modernity, they still had their own unique way of telling time.  They named time according to different observations that surrounded them.  The paper sets out to explore the sentence names given to different times in Sesotho.  It further discusses the names given to time in terms of their origin and reasons for the coinage of such names.

Otlogetswe, Thapelo (UBotswana)

otlogets@mopipi.ub.bw

ON A FREQUENCY ANALYSIS OF BOTSWANA NAMES

We report on a frequency analysis of over a million Setswana names. Software advances in corpus linguistics have made quantitative studies at a large scale possible for names studies. In this paper we present results on a study of over a million names (tokens) collected from a variety of sources in Botswana. The study investigates the frequency of names that begin with certain letters and names that with certain endings. The study also analysis the most frequent names and investigates whether such names share any specific characteristics. The study calculates the number of names in various languages, such as Setswana, English and Kalanga amongst the most frequent 2,000 names. Studying names quantitatively as this paper proposes, it is hoped will provide statistical answers on which names are common in Botswana.

Pfukwa, Charles (MSU) & Barnes, Lawrie (Unisa)

pfukwac@msu.ac.zw barnela@unisa.ac.za

A TRIBUTE TO “HOMBRE” AND OTHERS : THE NAMES WE GAVE TO OUR TEACHERS.

Literature suggests children are some of the greatest namers and they will give their own names to everyone and everything around them as well as themselves. School children will always give their teachers nicknames and each name is driven by some deep emotion that ranges from sheer terror to deep affection. This paper will briefly examine current theory in nicknaming alongside some major tenets in onomastic theory. The paper then presents a collection of names from one Zimbabwean school that were collected from through interviews of former students at the school during the period 1960 to about 1985. The names were classified and analysed to identify patterns among them. It is argued that every generation of scholars has its set of names peculiar to that period and reflect the socio-political trends of the time. This study is part of wider project in all aspects of Zimbabwean onomastics.

Possa, Rethabile & Ntšonyana, Mamasheane (NUL)

Possa2009retha@ ntsonyanakhubie@

STIGMATIZING NAMES IN SESOTHO CULTURE

There are names that stigmatize the name bearers in Sesotho culture and such names make one feel neglected and hated by the family and the society he/she belongs to.  At times one can even question his/her existence.  The results of this is a bitter, heartless, inconsiderate and selfish child. Hence the existence of rapists, serial killers, suicidal individuals and thieves.  The aim of this paper is to discuss the various names directed to the so called illegitimate children.  These names sometimes question the mother about the real father of the child, and at times connotes a humiliating message to the name bearer.  This paper further investigate the impact of such names to their bearer and the behaviour that emanates from bearing such name.

Rapeane-Mathonsi, M & Mohlomi, M (NUL)

rapeane@yahoo.co.uk mapemohlomi@

RENAMING IN SESOTHO: THE CASE OF BUS-STOPS AND BARS/RESTAURANTS

Change is evident in all spheres of life. As change affects the world, people begin to perceive things differently and the perception of the world is often mirrored in the way people use their language. Renaming as a societal exercise provides evidence of the experiences that triggered a shift in the original names that Basotho and other societies, gave to different phenomena, including street names, mountains, bus-stops and bars/restaurants. The analytic focus of this article is to investigate the renaming of some Basotho bus-stops and bars/restaurants. This article shall also discuss how this changing of names affects the Basotho.

Rateau, Michel (France) rateaumichel.perigord@wanadoo.fr

ONOMASTICS AND HERALDRY : WHEN PATRONYMS AND TOPONYMS ARE DESIGNED

If, true enough, over the centuries, a large number of proper names have lost their original meaning, there is a field in which some of them have managed to maintain it, that of the iconographical representation of blazoning (representation, coat of arms description, heraldic wording) of canting arms (blazonery or family emblems or crests) in heraldic, or armes parlantes, in French, sprekend wapen, in Dutch and Afrikaans, redendes Wappen, in German, armas parlantes, in Spanish…

It is then that a piece (ordinary, honourable ordinary which covers one third of the shield) charging a shield and various tincture (colours) graphically participate to the drawing up of a rebus, generally naturally simplified by the exiguity of the field of the coat of arms, and eased by the obvious will of being of a great and necessary legibility, in order to be more easily identified, as well by illiterate people as by persons in the know living at that time. It is as much the meaning of the name (patronym) as the meaning of the sign of that name which are then studied.

Such a group of a heraldic signs may, graphically or phonetically, convey, with more or less acuracy, a name, a surname, a nickname, a feudal land possession, seigniorial or not. Yet, some motivations, with blurred outlines, uncertain, enigmatic, misleading have truncated the messages in an arbitrary manner, which lacks precision or accuracy and which remains improper, incorrect, unjustified, abusive, unwarranted, illegal, usurping…

They are also these various cases that will be explained with the help of a diaporama, including European, Asiatic and South-African examples.

Rutkowski, Mariusz (UWarmia and Mazury, Poland)

rutkow@uwm.edu.pl

DICTIONARY OF PROPER NAMES METAPHORS AND CONNOTATIONS: A TENTATIVE OUTLINE OF METHODOLOGY

Starting from the vantage point of a connotation theory as well as metaphoric usage of proper names, the presentation discusses the methodological background of the Dictionary of Proper Names Metaphors and Connotations. This dictionary includes exclusively the Polish names that go beyond their primary function (identification of objects-named) in the texts and public discourse. The matter of connotations typology will be presented, as well as the question of linguistic (or extralinguistic) position of pragmatic-semantic names` values. Although the names of Polish discourse is taken into consideration, some of the names` connotattions seem to be rather universal (e.g. Einstein ‘a genius’, Hitler ‘a war criminal’).

Seloma, T.M. (NUL)

tmseloma@yahoo.co.uk

THE SOCIO-POLITICAL BASIS AND MEANINGS OF PLACE-NAMES IN LESOTHO

Naming is a world wide phenomenon, though the manner and ways in which it is done varies from place to place. Like all other names, place-names are an identity that distinguishes one place from the other. It also goes further to differentiate places of a similar form from one another. Despite the fact that place-names can be grouped in accordance with their socio-cultural and political origins, they each carry different meanings. The argument is evidenced by Mohome’s assertion that, “Basotho attach great significance to the meaning of names.”[1] It is on the basis of this assertion that this paper seeks to establish the significance of place-names in Lesotho through their meanings and socio-cultural and political origins.

Spitzner, Ingrid (Germany)

ingrid.spitzner@languages-names-and-more.de

GERMAN COMPANY AND BRAND NAMES AND THEIR WAY THROUGH THE ECONOMIC CRISIS

The financial and economic developments throughout the world had a deep influence on the German economy.

German products and their manufacturers were highly reputed for their quality and reliability.

This was reflected in their names - both brand and company names. The symbolic construct they represented contains a lot of information and expectations about the product, the service and the company itself.

The complexity of meaning of these names and the sum of all valuable qualities they included made them a target – a symbol – to achieve.

Some names became thus generic terms or at least manifested in our minds as representatives of realia.

Most of those companies are medium-sized businesses and have a long family tradition.

Such well-known brands and companies, like Maerklin, Fallner, Schiesser, Karmann and others are now suffering from dwindling markets or economic downturn, poor management and thus they are lacking in credit worthiness.

Some of them were taken over by bigger enterprises, e.g. Volkswagen. But some of them either already went bankrupt or are seemingly going there.

This report wants to deal with these devolopments and explain why traditional names and brands survive in our minds.

Turner, Noleen (UKZN)

turnern@ukzn.ac.za

REVISITING THE TOPONYMIC, HYDRONYMIC AND ORONYMIC MARKERS IN HLUHLUWE/IMFOLOZI GAME RESERVE

 

This paper is an attempt to highlight the aims and recently achieved outcomes of the Magqubu Ntombela Foundation established in 1995, which is named after a deceased game ranger from the Hluhluwe  Imfolozi Game Reserve, Magqubu Ntombela who dedicated his life as a game guard to wildlife conservation from 1914 - 1993. The project I am working on currently has been running for just under a year now and aims at recording oral stories and accounts of the background to all the toponymic, hydronymic and oronymic markers in Hluhluwe/Imfolozi Game Reserve. The intention ultimately is to rectify the orthographic errors, verify the actual areas which some of the names cover, as well as record the mythical stories and traditional customs associated with some specific areas. The information is rendered by a large group of retired African Game Rangers and the recordings are all done in Zulu with the intention of it being transcribed and translated into English and then published into book form.

This paper outlines the difficulties underlying a project of this nature as well as the orthographic inconsistencies It also deals with the problems of toponymic lapses which over time have become so distorted that the pragmatic meaning associated with the name, is now lost.

Van Huyssteen, Linda (TUT)

VanHuyssteenL@tut.ac.za

NAMING AT THE TSHWANE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY - A LINGUISTIC PERSPECTIVE

Naming at the Tshwane University of Technology can be analyzed according to a variety of linguistic trends, i.e. indigenization, abbreviation, compounding and semantically empty naming. Yet, these trends can only be understood within the history of events which took place before and after the merging process of the traditional Universities and the Technikons in 2003 which was initiated by the then minister of Education, Kadar Asmal.

Name changes still take place amidst great controversy in South Africa and the TUT has kept up with national trends to cater for an African university of technology by recognizing, to some extent, the roots of the very African students who form the vast majority of the student population. This paper will highlight a number of these changes representative of the trends named above.

Van Langendonck, Willy (ULeuven, Belgium)

Willy.Vanlangendonck@arts.kuleuven.ac.za

MOTIVATIONS IN NICKNAMES FOR FLEMISH TEACHERS

In this talk, the system of motivations in nicknames for Flemish teachers is analysed. First, I give some reasons why pupils, and especially boys, give nicknames to their teachers. Pupils have to undergo their teachers’ authority, punishments, and often subject-matter they are not interested in. To abreact their frustrations, pupils like to point out their teachers’ deficiencies, drivel, flaws, and so on. This makes school life much more enjoyable. Hence, nicknames like Hitler or Herr Flick. The system of motivations in nicknames for Flemish teachers is rather different from the one of adult nickname-giving in villages. Whilst the latter focuses on familial and geographical origin, occupations and behaviour, nicknames at school focus on the teachers’ physical or psychological and behavioural features. Playfulness and fantasy, metaphor and metonymy characterize this type of naming. Often, abbreviation or lengthening of the teachers’ names is used. I will distinguish four types of nicknames: physical features, psychological and behavioural traits, playing with sounds and word forms, and folk-etymological formations. Finally, differences between boys and girls are indicated. Remarkably, only boys display a significant interest in English or anglicized formations, often taken from Anglophone TV programs.

 

Wakumelo, Mildred (UZambia)

mwakumelo@

BUSINESS NAMES IN LUSAKA CENTRAL BUSINESS AREA

The paper looks at the origins, meanings and significance of business names of small scale businesses in the Lusaka central business area in Zambia. The study of names is part of a sociolinguistic branch called onomastics. By exploring on the origins, meanings and significance of names, whether they are names of people, rivers, possessions or business one would be struck by the wealth of information which certain names provide about the society that gives them and the economic and social environment the businesses operate in. In the paper it is shown that a business name is not just chosen anyhow. A lot of thought goes into the choice of a business name taking into consideration prevailing trends as dictated by the social, cultural and economic set up of a community.

Without discarding the purely linguistic approach, the paper defines business names generally and determines their collective meaning as an expression of the distinct social and economic culture of the Zambian society. In particular the paper shows that business names reveal the nature of the immediate social and economic environment of the people inasmuch as they translate some aspects of the beliefs and customs of the people.

The paper uses a thematic approach to explore the social function of the business names and their role and significance in the reconstruction of the culture, social and economic environment of the Zambian people and their view of the world and the values they attach to business undertakings.

Zondi, Nompumelelo (UKZN)

zondin@ukzn.ac.za

RECLAIMING THEIR VOICES IN POLYGAMOUS MARRIAGES: A CASE OF PERSONAL NAMES GIVEN TO ZWELIBOMVU CHILDREN

Zwelibomvu women, steeped in polygamous marriages claim that naming is one of the strategies they employ to cope with the kind of marriages that are in. Being a common phenomenon that mothers are the one’s who give names to their children in this community this article looks at personal names given to children from such marriages and investigates how effective they are in giving women a voice. The area of focus is Zwelibomvu, in KwaZulu-Natal. In order to arrive at a coherent conclusion and to delimit my scope, only interviews on names of first born children from five districts that comprise Zwelibomvu will be reported upon. In addition the article intends to offer some answers as to why even in the present day context women still avail themselves to polygamy, a custom that can be considered oppressive. Ultimately the article seeks to understand if indeed through the medium of naming Zwelibomvu women, trapped in polygamous unions find a voice to express their true emotions, contrary to what they portray in their daily living.

Zungu, Boni (DUT)

boniz@dut.ac.za

NAMING COMBINATIONS IN ISIZULU

Within the Zulu anthroponymic system, once a child has been given a name, this is the end of the naming process. But this is not true for all Zulu children: in many case, the naming of the child is just the beginning of the naming process, and the child may be given another name or subsequent children in the same family may be given names which relate in one way or another to the name of the first child.

This paper examines such name-combinations in Zulu families, and categories set as 1) semantic extensions; 2)dialogue; 3) unificatory processes and 4) thematic patterns.

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