1994/04/01 by Susan M. Suzman · 121 citations
Social Sciences · #Acculturation #African history and culture analysis #Anthropology #Ethnic group #History #Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies #Linguistics #Names, Identity, and Discrimination Research #Sociology #Tswana #Xhosa #Zulu
paper · doi:10.1017/s0047404500017851
published in Language in Society 23(2), 253-272 (Cambridge University Press)
openalex publication_date 1994/04/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/25
ABSTRACT Children in many African societies have meaningful names – unlike their Western counterparts, whose names are primarily labels. In Zulu, Xhosa, Sotho, Tswana, and many other cultures, namegivers traditionally chose personal names that pointed to a range of people and circumstances that were relevant at the time of the child's birth. These highly individual or unique names were part of particular social frameworks that have long been evolving with Western acculturation. Like the social frameworks within which they are embedded, naming practices are in the process of change. This article investigates change in Zulu naming practices as a reflection of wider social changes. Taking historical accounts as the source of traditional namegiving, an analysis of rural, farm, and urban names shows quantitative and qualitative differences in naming practices. Contemporary names differ significantly from traditional ones, and provide evidence that the world view within which names are given is in the process of redefinition. (Anthropological linguistics, naming, South Africa, Zulu)