Shona Sentential Names: A Brief Overview

Download or read book Shona Sentential Names: A Brief Overview written by Jacob Mapara and published by African Books Collective. This book was released on 2013-05-13 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book draws on the case of the Shona and other Bantu people of Africa to argue that names are not mere identity tags. Names are an important cultural symbol of the people who give and bear them. The book challenges linguists and other social scientists to pay particular attention to the significance of names in the study of language use in society. Equally, it demonstrates the importance of names as part of the distinctive repertoire of Shona cultural heritage. Each Shona sentential name is a statement about that reality of being Shona. Carried in each name are sentiments that reflect on prevalent social, economic and political relations. The book focuses in particular on social names, religious names and war names inspired by such events as Zimbabwes war of liberation.