Author: Sambulo Ndlovu
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Published: 2023-08-07
Total Pages: 338
ISBN-13: 3110759373
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →This book fills a gap in the literature as it uniquely approaches onomastics from the perspective of both anthropology and linguistics. It addresses names and cultures from 16 countries and five continents, thus offering readers an opportunity to comprehend and compare names and naming practices across cultures. The chapters presented in this book explore the cultural significance of personal names, naming ceremonies, conventions and practices. They illustrate how these names and practices perform certain culture-specific functions, such as religion, identity and social activity. Some chapters address the socio-political significance of personal names and their expression of self and otherness. The book also links the linguistic structure of personal names to culture by looking at their morphology, syntax and semantics. It is divided into four sections: Section 1 demonstrates how personal names perform human culture, Section 2 focuses on how personal names index socio-political transitioning, Section 3 demonstrates religious values in personal names and naming, and Section 4 links linguistic structure and analysis of personal names to culture and heritage.
Author: Emma Umana Clasberry
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
Published: 2012-01-12
Total Pages: 343
ISBN-13: 1469138069
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →INTRODUCTION Personal name is a vital aspect of cultural identity. As a child, you may have loved or hated your name. But you were rarely indifferent to it. “What’s in a name?” Shakespeare asked. “That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet”, he explained. Perhaps in England or somewhere else in Europe, but not in Africa. Personal names in African have meanings, can affect personality, hinder or enhance life initiatives. They serve to establish a connection between name and cultural background, and thus, provide some information about cultural affinity and more, such as express one’s spirituality, philosophy of life, political or socio-economic status as defined by a given ethnic cleavage. African names tell stories, convert abstract ideas to stories, and tell story of the story about different aspects of one’s life. They commemorate any unusual circumstance the family or community once experienced, or world event that took place around the time of a child’s birth. Outside a given cultural environment, names boost and nurture cultural pride and identity, showcase a people’s appreciation of their culture and their readiness to defend and live their culture with pride and dignity. Naming practices that tell histories behind the names were the norms in Nigeria-Ibibio, and in fact, in Africa, until the encroachment of two historical forces in Africans’ affairs. Christianization and colonization, more than any other forces in history, shattered the connection between personal name and cultural affinity, and have ever-since contributed to the gradual erosion of African culture of names. On the continent, the combined efforts of their human agents - the missionaries and British colonial personnel, directly and indirectly, through their policies and practices, caused African- Nigerians to give up their culture relevant names in favor of foreign ones. Apart from direct erosion of culture of names, ‘colonial administration’ (a term I use mostly to refer to the combined efforts of the missionaries and British colonial personnel) in Nigeria abrogated many religious, socio-economic and political traditions which were intimately intertwined with the people’s naming practices. Their attempt to replace African traditions with European ones through coercing Africans to accept Western values and beliefs consequently disabled many desirable African traditional structures, including authentic African naming practices, and caused some to fall into disuse. A third force was early European-African trade. Although the impact of the presence of European merchants in Nigeria was minimal in this regard, some of their activities have also left a dent on African naming practices by introducing foreign bodies into the people’s names database. Even though these alien forces invaded and injected foreign values into Africa over a century ago, their impact on naming practices continues to be felt by Africans. European intrusion in relation to African naming practices did not end on the continent. The Trans- Atlantic Trade on human cargo was another major historical event that did not only forcefully disconnect many Africans from their cultural root and natural habitat, but also mutilated authentic African naming practices among them. Consequently, Africans in Diaspora had European names imposed upon them by their slave masters. Today, many Africans on the continent and in Diaspora continue to carry names which are foreign, names whose meanings they do not know, names the bearers can not even pronounce correctly in some ethnic contexts, and names which have no relevance to nor any form of link with the bearers’ cultural background. In effect, culture of names, as many other African customary practices, has lost its savor. Some peoples of African descent still cherish these colonized names. Some do not, and are making practical efforts to reclaim authentic African cul
Author: The Rev Hope Masterton Wadell
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2012-11-12
Total Pages: 715
ISBN-13: 1136257306
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →First published in 1970. This vivid account of the missionary work of the Rev. Hope Masterton Waddell in the West Indies and Central Africa was first published in 1863. During his sixteen years in Jamaica he witnessed the slave revolt and the aftermath of the abolition of slavery. The mission helped former slaves adapt to freedom in new communities. In 1846 he left Jamaica for Calabar in West Africa (now part of Nigeria), and his narrative is one of the best European accounts of pre-colonial Africa. The mission was concerned with ending local practices such as polygamy, human sacrifice and witchcraft, and Waddell formed a close relationship with King Eyo. The book gives considerable detail about the history and culture of the area, as well as on the work of the mission. His work in Calabar is still commemorated there in the Hope Waddell Training Institute, Duke Town.
Author: Minna Saarelma-Maunumaa
Publisher: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura
Published: 2003-10-17
Total Pages: 373
ISBN-13: 9522228168
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →What are the most popular names of the Ambo people in Namibia? Why do so many Ambos have Finnish first names? What do the African names of these people mean? Why is the namesake so important in Ambo culture? How did the long independence struggle affect personal naming, and what are the latest name-giving trends in Namibia? This study analyses the changes in the personal naming system of the Ambo people in Namibia over the last 120 years, starting from the year 1883 when the first Ambos received biblical and European names at baptism. The central factors in this process were the German and South African colonisation and European missionary work on the one hand, and the rise of African nationalism on the other hand. Eventually, this clash between African and European naming practices led to a new and dynamic naming system which includes elements of both African and European origin.
Author: Moses Effiong Ekpenyong
Publisher: Springer Nature
Published: 2022-11-30
Total Pages: 714
ISBN-13: 9811929327
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →This book is a convergence of heterogeneous insights (from languages and literature, history, music, media and communications, computer science and information studies) which previously went their separate ways; now unified under a single framework for the purpose of preserving a unique heritage, the language. In a growing society like ours, description and documentation of human and scientific evidence/resources are improving. However, these resources have enjoyed cost-effective solutions for Western languages but are yet to flourish for African tone languages. By situating discussions around a universe of discourse, sufficient to engender cross-border interactions within the African context, this book shall break a dichotomy of challenges on adaptive processes required to unify resources to assist the development of modern solutions for the African domain.
Author: Andrea Hollington
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
Published: 2024-02-15
Total Pages: 501
ISBN-13: 9027249229
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →This collection presents new research on key topics in anthropological linguistics, with a focus on African languages. While Africanist linguists have long been concerned with sociocultural aspects of language structure and use, no comprehensive volume dedicated to the anthropological linguistics of Africa has yet been published. This volume seeks to fill this gap. The chapters address a broad range of topics in anthropological linguistics, including classic themes such as spatial reference, color, kin terms, and emotion, as well as emerging interests in the linguistic expression of personhood, sociality, and language ideology. All contributions are based on original empirical research and present insights into African language practices from a sociocultural perspective. The volume showcases research on dozens of African languages spoken across the continent, with particular emphasis on languages of East Africa. This book will be of interest to areal specialists as well as to anthropological linguists worldwide.
Author: Mfoniso Udofia
Publisher: Dramatists Play Service, Inc.
Published: 2018-02-07
Total Pages: 90
ISBN-13: 0822237873
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →SOJOURNERS is Part One of the Ufot Cycle, Udofia’s sweeping, nine-part saga which chronicles the triumphs and losses of Abasiama Ufot, a Nigerian immigrant, and her family. Abasiama came to America with high hopes for her arranged marriage and her future, intent on earning a degree and returning to Nigeria. But when her husband is seduced by America, she must choose between the Nigerian or American Dream.
Author: International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Published: 2013-06-21
Total Pages: 276
ISBN-13: 311097455X
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →