Vol. 57 No. 3 (2009)
Research Article

The Component Kwa- in Zulu Placenames Derived from Khoisan

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  • Peter E Raper
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1179/175622709X436350

Published 2009-09-01

Copyright (c) 2009 Maney Publishing

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

Abstract

The prefix Kwa occurs in many Zulu placenames, indicating “the place of,” frequently referring to a person or personified feature. In composite placenames derived from Khoisan but adapted into the Zulu phonological and orthographic system, the component Kwa is often found to be a folk etymological adaptation of a Khoisan word, sometimes with the same lexical meaning as the other component of the name. In placenames of the latter sort, the prefix Ma- is sometimes also inserted as a result of misinterpretation of a Khoisan component phonologically similar to Kwa-. The present investigation also reveals a feature of Khoisan placename formation relating to the utilization of demonstrative adverbial locative elements that have in the past sometimes been regarded as generic terms or feature type designators.

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