Investigating the Onomastic necessity of using Afrocentric names over Eurocentric ones in the renaming of South African Geographical Features
Francinah M. Motupa 
, Tebogo Jacob Rakgogo & Yanga L.P. Majola
Issue: Vol.5 No.11 Issue Article 30 pp. 2014-2028
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.202451130 | Published online 20th September, 2024
© 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
This article investigated the onomastic need to use Afrocentric names as replacements for Eurocentric ones when renaming South African geographical features. The article further showed how the use of Eurocentric names contradicts the transformation and decolonisation agenda for onomastic epistemic justice. Afrocentricity and Decoloniality were identified as relevant theories to underpin the study The article employed a qualitative approach where content analysis was used for data collection and analysis purposes. The data were randomly collected from names attached to stadia, university buildings and streets. The findings of the article established that there should be synergy and alignment between the renaming and transformation agenda. The article further articulated that the reason(s) behind the use of Euro-centric names over Afrocentric ones are onomastically obscure and opaque. The article recommended that committees and structures responsible for the screening and approval of new names should consider involving or co-opting onomasticians, so as to perform an accurate analysis and provide alternative perspectives. Lastly, experts in Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) should also be co-opted by the South African Geographical Names Council.
Keywords: Afrocentric Names, Decolonisation, Eurocentric Names, Renaming, South African Geographic Names Council, Transformation Agenda.
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Ms Francinah Mohlatlego Motupa is a full-time professional teacher in Department of Basic Education, Limpopo, South Africa. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Languages, Postgraduate Certificate in Education (specialising in Languages) and a Bachelor of Arts Honours in African Languages from the University of Johannesburg. She also holds a Master of Language Practice from Tshwane University of Technology. She is a member of the South African Languages Association of African Languages (ALASA). Her research focuses on onomastics, sociolinguistics and dialectology. She has presented a paper at the 2023 ALASA conference.
Dr Tebogo J. Rakgogo is a NRF Y2-Rated Researcher, Senior Lecturer, and Head of the Department of Applied Languages at Tshwane University of Technology (TUT). He possesses a Diploma, B-Tech, and a Master’s Degree in Language Practice from Tshwane University of Technology. Additionally, he holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE), an Honours Bachelor of Education in Educational Management, and an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Translation Studies from Unisa. He completed his PhD in Onomastics at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. His research interests span onomastics, sociolinguistics, dialectology, historiography, language and law as well as language policy and planning. He has published over 10 articles in DHET-accredited journals and delivered more than 25 presentations at local and international conferences. He serves as an external examiner for Wits University, the University of Johannesburg, the University of Pretoria, the University of Limpopo, the Central University of Technology, the University of the Western Cape and the National University of Lesotho. He contributed to language authorities as a member of the Sesotho sa Leboa National Language Body (PanSALB sub-structure) and served on the Board of Directors for the Sesotho sa Leboa National Lexicography Unit (PanSALB sub-structure). He is an active participant in TUT’s governance structures, being a member of Campus Management Committee (CMC), Senate, and Institutional Forum, where he has served as the Chairperson. He further represented the Institutional Forum on TUT Council. He previously served as the President of the Humanities and Social Sciences Alumni Association within the framework of the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS). He has been appointed to serve on the DHET Review Panel on the implementation of the Language Policy Framework for Public Higher Education Institutions. He is the Deputy Chairperson of the African Languages Association of Southern Africa (ALASA) Board. Lastly, he chairs the National Terminology Policy Steering Committee instituted by the Department of Sport, Arts, and Culture.
Dr Yanga LP Majola is a NRF Y2-Rated Researcher and Academic Manager for the Faculty of Humanities (Mbombela Campus) and an Applied Linguistics Lecturer in the Department of Applied Languages at Tshwane University of Technology (TUT). He is a trustee of the TUT Pension Fund Board, a member of the TUT Institutional Forum (IF) and the Secretary-General and EXCO member of the Names Society of Southern Africa (NSSA), in addition to that he is a general member of the African Languages Association of African Languages (ALASA) and South African Translators Institute (SATI). He has also worked as a Translation Studies Lecturer at the Central University of Technology (CUT). He holds a National Diploma, Baccalaureus Technologiae, and a Magister Technologiae in Language Practice from TUT. He completed his Ph.D. in African Languages and Linguistics at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. He also holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education at Rhodes University. Dr Majola’s teaching and research interests and focus are on Applied Linguistics; Language Policy and Planning, Computational Linguistics, Digital Humanities, Sociolinguistics, isiBhaca, Dialectology and Onomastics. He has published articles in DHET-accredited journals, and is currently supervising postgraduate students, and has presented papers at local and international conferences.
Motupa, Francinah M., Tebogo J. Rakgogo & Yanga L.P. Majola. “Investigating the Onomastic necessity of using Afrocentric names over Eurocentric ones in the renaming of South African Geographical Features,” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 5, no.11 (2024): 2014-2028. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.202451130
© 2024 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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