DICTIONARY OF SOUTHERN AFRICAN PLACE NAMES P E Raper Head, Onomastic Research Centre, HSRC CONTENTS Preface Abbreviations ix Introduction 1. Standardization of place names 1.1 Background 1.2 International standardization 1.3 National standardization 1.3.1 The National Place Names Committee 1.3.2 Principles and guidelines 1.3.2.1 General suggestions 1.3.2.2 Spelling and form A Afrikaans place names B Dutch place names C English place names D Dual forms E Khoekhoen place names F Place names from African languages 2. Structure of place names 3. Meanings of place names 3.1 Conceptual, descriptive or lexical meaning 3.2 Grammatical meaning 3.3 Connotative or pragmatic meaning 4. Reference of place names 5. Syntax of place names Dictionary Place Names Bibliography PREFACE Onomastics, or the study of names, has of late been enjoying a greater measure of attention all over the world. Nearly fifty years ago the International Committee of Onomastic Sciences (ICOS) came into being. This body has held fifteen triennial international congresses to date, the most recent being in Leipzig in 1984. With its headquarters in Louvain, Belgium, it publishes a bibliographical and information periodical, Onoma, an indispensable aid to researchers. Since 1967 the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN) has provided for co-ordination and liaison between countries to further the standardization of geographical names. To date eleven working sessions and four international conferences have been held. In most countries of the world there are institutes and centres for onomastic research, official bodies for the national standardization of place names, and names societies. South Africa has not been lagging behind in this regard. Since 1939 a Place Names Committee (now the National Place Names Committee or NPNC) has seen to the standardization of official place names, while since 1970 the Onomastic Research Centre of the Human Sciences Research Council has undertaken, stimulated and helped to co-ordinate research into names. The Names Society of Southern Africa was founded in 1981 and has held three national congresses to date. At universities in Southern Africa research into names has been and is being undertaken, particularly at post-graduate level. As a result of all of these onomastic activities, publications have proliferated. However, most of them have been of a specialist nature. Furthermore, general works on names such as C Pettman’s South African Place Names Past and Present (1931, reprinted by Lowry Publishers in 1985) and P J Nienaber’s Suid- Afrikaanse Pleknaam woordeboek (1963, reprinted for the HSRC by Tafelberg in 1972) either do not contain names given during the past fifty years, or are out of print. This book seeks to provide a semi-popular guide to the major place names in Southern Africa: names of cities, towns, villages, mountains, rivers, promontories, bays, and other cultural and natural features In its compilation the recommendations of the United Nations on Geographical Names and the requirements of the National Place Names Committee have been taken into account, while at the same time an attempt has been made to provide accurate, interesting and valuable data for the use of travellers, tourists, cartographers, researchers, and everyone interested in Southern African place names. The introductory chapters are intended not as comprehensive treatises on all aspects of place names, but as brief glimpses into some of the fascinating problems which have occupied linguists, philosophers and onomasticians over the years. Finally, thanks are extended to all who were involved in the compilation of this work, particularly to Mrs P F Nel and Mrs S S Smit for their assistance with the proof-reading, and to Mrs Smit for helping to compile the bibliography. ABBREVIATIONS Bop Bophuthatswana Bots Botswana C Cape Province Cis Ciskei Escom Electricity Supply Commission HSCR Human Sciences Research Council Iscor (South African) Iron and Steel Corporation Km kilometre(s) Les Lesotho m metre(s) Moc Mozambique N Natal NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration (USA) n.d. not dated O Orange Free State RGN Raad vir Geestes wetenskaplike Navorsing S South-West Africa/Namibia SWA Swaziland T Transvaal Trsk Transkei Ven Venda INTRODUCTION 1. STANDARDIZATION OF PLACE NAMES 1.1 BACKGROUND The place names of Southern Africa present fascinating and intriguing linguistic, cultural, sociological and psychological patterns. The oldest names are those of the San (Bushmen) and Khoekhoen (Hottentots), probably the true indigenous peoples of the country, and those of the African peoples. From the second half of the 15th century, Portuguese, Dutch, English, French, German and other names were given. The evolution of Afrikaans further enriched the geographical nomenclature. Settlement, colonization and immigration, particularly as a result of the exploitation of metal and mineral resources, and of urban and industrial development, added names from Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Indian and other languages. As may be expected, cultural and language contact between these peoples is reflected in the place names of the country. Older names were altered, adapted, translated (wholly or in part), and supplanted. Hybrid forms, with part of the name in one language and another part in a different language, came into being. It also happened that many names were spelt in different ways by different people and at different times. Moreover, some individual places came to bear more than one name, bestowed by different language groups. The variety of forms and spellings resulted in a measure of confusion and some problems in communication, with a concomitant wastage of time, expense and energy. These and similar problems are, of course, not unique to Southern Africa, but occur world-wide, with greater or lesser ramifications, depending on the linguistic and other relevant conditions applying in the various countries. 1.2 INTERNATIONAL STANDARDIZATION Efforts towards the international standardization of geographical names date from as early as 1820, when attempts were made to develop a script or alphabet which could be used world-wide to write place names. Since then, various national and international organizations have given attention to the problem of international standardization, inter alia the International Committee of Onomastic Sciences, the International Civil Aviation Association, the Pan American Institute of Geography and History, and similar organizations. In 1953 the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations requested the Secretary-General to draft a framework of a programme aimed at maximum uniformity of writing geographical names, and to set up a small group of consultants to deal with the matter. In 1960 the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN) came into being. Since that date eleven sessions of the UNGEGN have been held, as well as four international Conferences on the standardization of geographical names. The UNGEGN comprises experts in the fields of cartography and linguistics designated by governments of states at the invitation of the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Experts participating in the sessions of the UNGEGN serve in their personal capacities as individuals of recognized competence and experience in their respective fields. In 1984 the Permanent South African Mission to the United Nations in New York designated Dr P E Raper to represent the Republic of South Africa in the UNGEGN. The UNGEGN has the task of providing for continuous coordination and liaison between countries to further the standardization of geographical names. One of the fundamental guidelines for the international standardization of geographical names is that it be based on national standardization. 1.3 NATIONAL STANDARDIZATION 1.3.1 THE NATIONAL PLACE NAMES COMMITTEE As early as 1936 it was realized that a measure of standardization of place names in South Africa was necessary, and a committee was appointed by the then Minister of the Interior to investigate the situation. At the recommendation of this committee, a Place Names Committee, later to become the National Place Names Committee (NPNC), was appointed in 1939. Comprising experts in the various languages of the country, onomasticians, and representatives of state departments and academic institutions, this committee has a mandate which includes (a) the gradual correction of the spelling of all geographical names in the Republic of South Africa; (b) the approval or rejection of all proposed new place names; (c) the consideration of all cases where a change of name is desired; (d) the compilation of dictionaries of geographical names; and (e) the standardization of foreign place names in Afrikaans. The work of the NPNC has led to the publication of Official Place Names in the Union and South-West Africa (1951), and Official Place Names in the Republic of South Africa and in South-West Africa (1978), as well as a Manual for the Giving of Place Names (1979). A list of official place names approved between 1978 and 1985 is currently in preparation, while from 1986 the official names approved will be published annually. All of the above publications, however, deal with official place names, that is, names of cities, towns, townships, post offices, railway stations, sidings, airports, stopping places of South African Transport Services buses, etc. The compilation of dictionaries of geographical proper names has been entrusted to the Onomastic Research Centre of the Human Sciences Research Council. Since these dictionaries are to include names of cultural entities as well as those of geographical features, and since these names originate in all the various languages spoken in the country, it is clear that the compilation of these dictionaries must be based on intensive scientific research, and that this is a long term undertaking. The present publication may be regarded as a first step towards the final work. It includes the names of the most important cities, towns, townships, villages, regions, mountains, rivers, lakes, forests, and other features. Where such names have been approved by the NPNC, they have been marked with an asterisk.