Africanization
From Freepedia
Africanization, as used in this article, refers to the modification of place names or personal names to better reflect an "African" identity. In some cases, changes are not strictly a change of name, but simply a transliteration different from the European name (e.g. Antananarivo).
Examples:
- Joseph-Désiré Mobutu changed to Mobutu Sese Seko
- François Tombalbaye changed to N'Garta Tombalbaye
- Étienne Eyadéma changed to Gnassingbé Eyadéma
- Francisco Macías Nguema changed to Masie Nguema Biyogo Ñegue Ndong
- Fernando Po island changed to Bioko Island
- Democratic Republic of the Congo changed to Zaïre
- Léopoldville changed to Kinshasa
- Salisbury changed to Harare
- Lourenço Marques changed to Maputo
- Dahomey changed to Benin (in this case, both names are from Africa)
- Bechuanaland changed to Botswana
- Gold Coast changed to Ghana
- Rhodesia changed to Zambia and Zimbabwe
- Nyasaland changed to Malawi
- Afars and Issas changed to Djibouti
- Fort Lamy changed to N'Djaména
- Tananarive changed to Antananarivo
- Bathurst changed to Banjul
- Pretoria changed to Tshwane
Other name changes take place when an African person converts to another religion.
Examples:
- Albert-Bernard Bongo changed to Omar Bongo
- David Jawara changed to Dawda Jawara
- Jean-Bédel Bokassa changed to Salah Eddine Ahmed Bokassa
Categories: Names | Linguistics | Africa | Colonialism
