Ramaeba, Goabilwe Nnanishie (2019) A comparative study of linguistic and social aspects of personal names in Botswana and Scotland. PhD thesis. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/74387/ Copyright and moral rights for this work are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This work cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Enlighten: Theses https://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF LINGUISTIC AND SOCIAL ASPECTS OF PERSONAL NAMES IN BOTSWANA AND SCOTLAND GOABILWE NNANISHIE RAMAEBA Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Critical Studies College of Arts University of Glasgow September 2019 © Goabilwe Nnanishie Ramaeba 2019 Abstract A personal name is an individual’s badge of identity in all cultures of the world although the qualities and concepts of the name will vary. This cross-cultural study of names and naming practices in two very different societies aims to reveal the overall profiles of names in each society. The study investigates personal naming in Botswana and Scotland at two levels, first the linguistic level which deals with the grammar and semantics of individual names to reveal the overall profile of a personal name in both countries in terms of meaning and grammar. Furthermore, the study compares names it terms ‘Unusual’ in both countries to highlight their meanings and grammar, and attitudes towards them. A name does not exist in isolation, it is a reflection of the society within which it exists; so second the study explores the social aspects of the names to determine how the cultures and traditions of the two societies influence their naming practices. Although the general conclusions from previous studies have been that African names have a meaning and European names do not, none of the studies have been specific to names in Botswana and Scotland, hence the need for this study. Furthermore, the study is interested in the variation between names in each country, particularly in terms of meaning and structure. It also explores the motivations behind name-giving, and aims to establish how these differ or correspond in the two societies. It also investigates Unusual names, to reveal their meaning, grammar and motivations. To achieve these comparisons, the study uses a socio-onomastic approach. The data for this study was collected through an open-ended questionnaire and also from existing records. In Scotland the questionnaire was administered in Glasgow, and in Botswana it was administered in Mahalapye and Molepolole. Part of the data in Scotland was drawn from the National Records of Scotland. The study identifies the overall profiles of the names in terms of their semantics and grammar through a quantitative analysis of the data. A qualitative analysis reveals the respondents’ knowledge of the meanings of the names, the motivating factors behind the names and other aspects that people consider critical in the choice of a name. As anticipated, personal names in the two countries are shown to be at opposite ends of the spectrum. In Scotland they are largely lexically non-transparent, while in Botswana they are largely lexically transparent. However, this study has revealed a much more nuanced situation than was previously recognised. It has also produced a much needed corpus of semantically 2 and grammatically analysed Botswana names together with their motivations. In Scotland the study has highlighted the extent of awareness of name meanings and the motivations behind their bestowal. These findings are a significant contribution in the Botswana and Scottish onomastic landscape as they reveal new perspectives in relation to name studies in the two countries. 3 Table of Contents Table of Figures………………………………………………………………………………………12 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................. 18 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 19 1.1 Aims and Research Questions .................................................................................................. 20 1.2 Background of the Study .......................................................................................................... 21 1.3 Personal Names ......................................................................................................................... 22 1.4 A Linguistic Overview of Botswana and Scotland ................................................................. 22 1.5 The Layout of the Thesis .......................................................................................................... 23 2. Research Context ............................................................................................................................ 25 2.1 Onomastics in Africa ................................................................................................................ 25 2.2 Socio-onomastics ....................................................................................................................... 28 2.2.1 Socio-onomastics and Unusual Names ............................................................................. 31 2.2.2 An Overview of ‘Unusual’ names in Scotland ................................................................. 32 2.2.2.1 Compounding of Words from the Same Language.................................................. 34 2.2.2.2 Compounding of Names from Different Languages ................................................ 34 2.2.2.3 Compounding of Two Common Names .................................................................... 34 2.2.2.4 Different Spellings of the Same Name ....................................................................... 34 2.2.2.5 Single Letter Names .................................................................................................... 35 2.2.3 Unusual Names in Botswana ............................................................................................. 35 2.3 Polemical Names ....................................................................................................................... 35 2.4 Names and Nouns: A Grammatical Perspective .................................................................... 37 2.5 Approaches to the Study of Names .......................................................................................... 39 2.5.1 Prototype Theory ............................................................................................................... 42 2.5.1.1 Lexical Meaning and Names ...................................................................................... 44 2.5.1.2 Semantic Categorization ............................................................................................. 47 2.5.1.3 Grammatical Categorization...................................................................................... 48 2.6 The Derivation, Choice and Use of a Personal Name ............................................................ 49 3. Methodology .................................................................................................................................... 53 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 53 3.2 Data Instruments ...................................................................................................................... 54 3.2.1 The Questionnaire .............................................................................................................. 55 3.3 The Research Sample ............................................................................................................... 57 3.4 Ethical Considerations and Informed Consent ...................................................................... 58 4 3.5 Botswana Data Collection ........................................................................................................ 58 3.5.1 Research Challenges .......................................................................................................... 60 3.6 Scotland Data Collection .......................................................................................................... 61 3.6.1 The Scotland Questionnaire .............................................................................................. 62 3.6.2 Research Challenges .......................................................................................................... 63 3.6.3 The Online Questionnaire ................................................................................................. 64 3.7 The Botswana and Scotland Questionnaire Observations .................................................... 65 3.8 Data Recording and Analysis ................................................................................................... 66 4. Analysis and Discussion: Lexically Non-Transparent Names ...................................................