IJELLR

A Socio-onomastic Analysis of the Selected School Names in Kabwe District in Zambia

© 2024 by IJELLR

Volume 2 Issue 1

Year of Publication : 2024

Author : Kennedy Njenje Kangwa, Pethias Siame

: 10.56472/25842773/IJELLR-V2I1P104

Citation :

Kennedy Njenje Kangwa, Pethias Siame, 2024. "A Socio-onomastic Analysis of the Selected School Names in Kabwe District in Zambia" ESP-International Journal of English Literature and Linguistics Research (ESP- IJELLR)  Volume 2, Issue 1: 22-27.

Abstract :

This essay examines the social context around the names assigned to particular Zambian primary and secondary schools. Therefore, by examining the significance of naming five government schools in the Kabwe District of Central Province from a socio-onomastic point of view, the study aims to discover and reveal the culture and history buried in these names. Everyone's entire name, including first and last name, is available for the sample schools. To direct the investigation, a qualitative case study design was selected. The study employed semi-structured in-person interviews, telephone interviews, document analysis, and participant observation to gather data from ten individuals who were representative of the five sample schools. To support the investigation, a phenomenological theoretical region was chosen. The study demonstrates how humans have a deep-seated urge to give names to objects that are influenced by specific processes, and academics have long understood that names have great power. The study also shows that names are given to objects, places, and people in order to simplify, organise, identify, symbolise, and describe them. The study also shows that humans felt obligated to name objects, people, and even weather patterns long before the written alphabet was invented, dating back to the time of oral history. The study also demonstrates how naming practices transcend nations, religions, historical periods, and geographical locations, extending from prehistoric tribes to the modern era. As a result, the names serve as a historical document that captures elements of a people's culture, including its history, beliefs, and customs.

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Keywords :

Beliefs, Culture, Historical Record, Naming, Phenomenon, Zambia.