1 CHAPTER 1 GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1.1 Introduction
1 CHAPTER 1 GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1.1 Introduction People and things are given names for identification purposes. A name is a title given to a person or a thing. A name is defined by Sebashe (2003:12) as a word or words by which a person, animal, place or a thing is spoken of or referred to. In other words, a name distinguishes a particular thing from others. Names have political, social, economic and religious significance. As far as this study is concerned, the emphasis would be on the political significance of a name. The Black South Africans suffered a significant harm during the apartheid regime. The Europeans dominated in everything which resulted in Blacks losing their identity, culture, values, heritage an tradition. The European domination interfered with the naming patterns of the indigenous people of South Africa. Names of places were virtually Eurocentric. This is evident in town names, for example, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Pietersburg and Potgietersrus. Tables turned when a democratic government was elected in 1994. The affected people started to realize the negative impact of apartheid on numerous things, places names inclusive. The new government started to implement political changes. Some place names are changed to strike a balance between races, new places are named according to what the people want. Place naming starts to shift a distance away from Eurocentric to African names. Towns, streets, sporting facilities, names of settlements, businesses and 2 educational institutions are the most places affected by name changes and new naming patterns. 1.2 Background to the problem The problem of place naming in Africa in general and South Africa in particular started during the colonial period when many European countries scrambled for Africa in the 17th century.
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