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Khoisan-invloed bespeurbaar in die transformasie van plekname in Suid-Afrika
Transformation of place names may be manifested inter alia at the phonological and orthographic levels, in the same language or in different languages. Names may be translated from one language to another, either the specific or generic element, or wholly. Political transformation generally involves the replacement of names by those in power; a sometimes contentious issue. Academic transformation involves the "correction" of names perceived to be wrong. The present investigation focuses on a significant proportion of names deemed to be derived from African (Bantu) languages, but which are in reality transformations of names from older indigenous Khoisan languages. Clicks and other characteristics of Khoisan languages are elucidated, as are salient African language phenomena such as class, as well as locative prefixes and suffixes. Place names in various categories are examined linguistically, and Khoisan influence demonstrated. UN resolutions in this regard are discussed briefly.
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