Preserving the Setswana Culture through Personal Names

Bibliographic Data

ID8130242
AuthorsGoabilwe Nnanishie Ramaeba (0000-0002-2379-9703, University of Botswana, corresponding author)
Year2026
Volume61
Issue5
Pages4382-4396
Publication date2026-01-21
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Asian and African Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0021-9096 • E-ISSN: 1745-2538
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/00219096251413617
OpenAlexW7125398300
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited12

This paper explores the tripartite relationship of names, languages and cultures focusing on the Botswana society of Southern Africa. Naming is a universal process, but its basic details are unique as they reflect on the cultures and traditions of specific societies. Most African societies, including the Botswana one, have rich cultures that yield largely lexically transparent and communicative names. This paper explores how Botswana’s culture and traditions influence its naming system and how consequently the system preserves Setswana cultural practices and the Setswana language. The study uses qualitative data from questionnaires and oral interviews carried out in the villages of Molepolole and Mahahalapye in Botswana. The paper is situated within the fields of socio-onomastics and social semiotics which reveal how names are crafted from the relationships that societies have with their cultures and languages. The paper concludes that Setswana personal names are archives and semiotic resources of Botswana’s political, economic, and social practices such as chieftainship, farming and marriage

African studies · Onomastics · Qualitative research · Semiotics · Situated · Social relationship · African history and culture studies · African studies and sociopolitical issues · Names, Identity, and Discrimination Research

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