After each and every chapter a conclusion has been offered and the main aim of this chapter is to give a brief summary and recommendations for further study in onomastics.
7.2. Summary of the findings
Names are an important factor in all societies and in the African culture they are not there without rationale or explanation. Despite apparent freedom when selecting a name for a child, people are actually constrained by a range of rules: linguistic, cultural, traditional and
religious. While names cannot be legislated completely, social cooperation is essential if the name is to be successfully used, and patterns of name choice reflect the degree to which groups conform to these constraints. The rare cases in which namers assert their
independence and flout linguistic and cultural expectations, often underlines the strength of these expectations for others. Thus a name can be a striking statement or a bland compliance with expectations, an expression of cultural pride or reconciliation, or a rejection of tradition.
We use names them to identify people and places etc, and they have different meanings to all of us. However, names like surnames are very difficult to explain or break down because of the time frame they were given in. The aim of this research was to investigate certain surnames used by amaXhosa (both African and European) and explain their semantics and morphology and educate others on where these surnames come from. On looking at amaXhosa surnames it was found that all surnames are not of African origin, they were enforced to the African nation. These surnames are said to be names of forefathers of amaXhosa, and the European surnames they are using were given to their fathers by their employers.
Many of amaXhosa surnames are patrilineal and there is a very few number of surnames that were taken from women. Therefore, that raises the question of gender in both names and surnames, because I had found that surnames cannot be distanced from gender, because these names that have now become surnames are a link to the history of amaXhosa. AmaXhosa surnames are said to have a link to other names and that was investigated in this study and found that some surnames were given to individuals because of places they came from, the places they worked in, their nicknames, names of their fathers and clan names.
90 A similar link from surnames and clan names was found because both these names of
amaXhosa are said to be names of ancestors, excluding European surnames because their lineage in not of African origin.
In a paper (Johnson, 2019, presented at the ALASA Conference title ‘Johnson ‘MaGaba’ The Foreigner’), which forms part of the research for this thesis I looked into European surnames used by amaXhosa. The paper sought to investigate the origins of surnames of amaXhosa that are of European ancestry. Unlike amaXhosa surnames, European surnames do not have meaning to amaXhosa because they cannot link them to their history as indicated in chapter 1, and for that reason European surnames cannot be explained by those who have them, but with the help of dictionaries and the internet they have tried to trace what these surnames mean in their original languages. It is very difficult to carry a name and not know its origin because as said above the names we carry are part of our identity and therefore like other amaXhosa names it is important to know their origins and meanings and how they were adopted by Africans (especially South African amaXhosa people).
As stated in chapter 4 many people have changed these names and other have not because of different reasons. In South Africa, luckily people have a right to change their identity when they want to suit the lives they identify with. Many have voiced out that those with European surnames should change their surnames and adopt Xhosa surnames because carrying a white name is more like carrying colonial baggage. However, many have not changed these names because they are afraid that their ancestors will be angry with them and they might not be able to connect with them. Therefore, having a European surname is a win or lose situation in the African culture because names like surnames and clan names have been there for decades and it is difficult for others to just change them.
This research was done by interviewing participants and investigating how much they know about their surnames. Most of the time the information one needs is not in books but the community they live in. Therefore, the community has played a role of giving information, which will not only build the onomastics field but educate youngsters about the names they carry. The community needs to play a role in educating the young about these names, because there is so much history of amaXhosa in names.
In summary the findings in this research were:
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Most participants knew their surnames but most do not know their meanings.
Participants think surnames represent males and names of forefathers more than females.
Participants say amaXhosa had no role in the formation of surnames.
Clan names are more important to amaXhosa than surnames
Surnames should be respected because they are still part of the identity of amaXhosa and they should be treated as African.
7.3 Recommendations
* Many people do not know the meaning of their surnames and find it very diffivult to break downs even the Xhosa surnames they have, therefore societies should teach the younger ones about the history of the names they understand. Conducting community talks on names and also allow the youngerstes to share their understanding of some names.
* It is recommended that the name-givers should make use of naming practices with the ultimate aim of enhancing the amaXhosa tradition, culture and custom. This will make sure that the young generation will know and be proud that their tradition, culture and customs are of paramount importance.
* To open a space where people can share the meaning of their surnames, especially those who do not have an internet access, so that these surnames can be collected.
* To dissmanlte the ideas that some name belong to a certain gender, this is because a a large number of these surnames where taken from names of men, therefore, since surnames are inherited personal names should not be given according to gender but given because of inspirations and the parents’ wishes.
* To write a dictionary of surnames that will include the meaning of surname and their semantics and morphology, this will not only be an addition to the Onomastics field but also to the Lexicography field.
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* While the new generation discards Euro-western names, some people (old generation) do not see the need to discard their Euro-western names. Research on this subject will contribute enormously to the field of onomastics.
Conclusion
Even though the aim of this research was to analyze certain surnames adopted by amaXhosa, it also gave a chance to understand other names and the history of amaXhosa and the views people have about European surnames specifically. AmaXhosa surnames on their own have a rich history, that if they were explained and analyzed more, a light would be shed about the history of AmaXhosa that has been forgotten and that might change something in the new way of naming. Not only does this research add to the onomastics field but also to the link language has on society, linguistics of amaXhosa names and the history of amaXhosa.
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