International Journal of Language and Linguistics

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School Names in Selected Districts in Southern Province of Zambia: A Critical Toponymies Perspective

Received: Mar. 08, 2020    Accepted: Apr. 13, 2020    Published: May 12, 2020
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Abstract

Studies have exposed place names as embodiments of the history, identity, culture, and language of their bestowers. Whilst this is true, some place naming practices reflect hegemonic tendencies that have not received adequate scholarly attention, especially in Zambia. This study examines school names in four districts in the Southern Province of Zambia and exposes the hegemonic slant inherent in place naming. The names examined in this study were collected from the Provincial Educational Offices. The names fall into two categories; government and private school names. These names were couched on Critical Toponymies Theory, a theory which politicises place naming and place names. The study found out that there is a toponymic hegemony in both categories of school names. The study argues that toponymic hegemony, as is shown in the study sample, is a manifestation of the dominance of the history, culture, world view, and identity or at least of the interests of the people who named the schools. It is concluded that place names, mundane as they may appear, are embroiled in the (re)production of unequal social power balance.

DOI 10.11648/j.ijll.20200803.11
Published in International Journal of Language and Linguistics ( Volume 8, Issue 3, May 2020 )
Page(s) 88-99
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Toponymic Hegemony, Southern Zambia, Critical Toponymies Theory

References
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  • APA Style

    Khama Hang’ombe, Emmanuel Chabata, Zvinashe Mamvura. (2020). School Names in Selected Districts in Southern Province of Zambia: A Critical Toponymies Perspective. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 8(3), 88-99. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20200803.11

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    ACS Style

    Khama Hang’ombe; Emmanuel Chabata; Zvinashe Mamvura. School Names in Selected Districts in Southern Province of Zambia: A Critical Toponymies Perspective. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2020, 8(3), 88-99. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20200803.11

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    AMA Style

    Khama Hang’ombe, Emmanuel Chabata, Zvinashe Mamvura. School Names in Selected Districts in Southern Province of Zambia: A Critical Toponymies Perspective. Int J Lang Linguist. 2020;8(3):88-99. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20200803.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijll.20200803.11,
      author = {Khama Hang’ombe and Emmanuel Chabata and Zvinashe Mamvura},
      title = {School Names in Selected Districts in Southern Province of Zambia: A Critical Toponymies Perspective},
      journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
      volume = {8},
      number = {3},
      pages = {88-99},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20200803.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20200803.11},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20200803.11},
      abstract = {Studies have exposed place names as embodiments of the history, identity, culture, and language of their bestowers. Whilst this is true, some place naming practices reflect hegemonic tendencies that have not received adequate scholarly attention, especially in Zambia. This study examines school names in four districts in the Southern Province of Zambia and exposes the hegemonic slant inherent in place naming. The names examined in this study were collected from the Provincial Educational Offices. The names fall into two categories; government and private school names. These names were couched on Critical Toponymies Theory, a theory which politicises place naming and place names. The study found out that there is a toponymic hegemony in both categories of school names. The study argues that toponymic hegemony, as is shown in the study sample, is a manifestation of the dominance of the history, culture, world view, and identity or at least of the interests of the people who named the schools. It is concluded that place names, mundane as they may appear, are embroiled in the (re)production of unequal social power balance.},
     year = {2020}
    }
    

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    AU  - Khama Hang’ombe
    AU  - Emmanuel Chabata
    AU  - Zvinashe Mamvura
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    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20200803.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijll.20200803.11
    T2  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
    JF  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
    JO  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
    SP  - 88
    EP  - 99
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-0221
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20200803.11
    AB  - Studies have exposed place names as embodiments of the history, identity, culture, and language of their bestowers. Whilst this is true, some place naming practices reflect hegemonic tendencies that have not received adequate scholarly attention, especially in Zambia. This study examines school names in four districts in the Southern Province of Zambia and exposes the hegemonic slant inherent in place naming. The names examined in this study were collected from the Provincial Educational Offices. The names fall into two categories; government and private school names. These names were couched on Critical Toponymies Theory, a theory which politicises place naming and place names. The study found out that there is a toponymic hegemony in both categories of school names. The study argues that toponymic hegemony, as is shown in the study sample, is a manifestation of the dominance of the history, culture, world view, and identity or at least of the interests of the people who named the schools. It is concluded that place names, mundane as they may appear, are embroiled in the (re)production of unequal social power balance.
    VL  - 8
    IS  - 3
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of African Languages and Literature, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe

  • African Languages Research Institute, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe

  • African Languages Research Institute, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe; Department of African Languages, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa

  • Section