A Study of Zulu Names, with special reference to the structural aspect

Unpublished dissertation submitted to the Department of Bantu Languages at the University of Natal [Durban], in partial fulfilment of the requirements for a BA Honours degree. 295 x 207 mm; cloth-backed pictorial card wrappers; pp. (iii) + 122, printed rectos. Wrappers a bit smudged and foxed; earlier owner's name inside upper cover; some foxing to edges. Good condition. Highly uncommon: OCLC finds just one international library (University of Florida) holding this title, besides some South African repositories. Adrian Koopman is now Emeritus Professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and the author of such books as "Zulu Plant Names" and "Zulu Bird Names and Bird Lore". 'When I . asked Professor A. T. Cope of the University of Natal's Department of Bantu Languages, to refer me to a book of Zulu names, he told me there were no books on this subject, and only the briefest references to it in the ethnological literature. Thus was this study born. The material was all gathered from Zulus with whom I came into contact during my work at the Bantu Administration Offices. At first I merely copied down personal names (amagama) and surnames (izibongo) as shown in the reference books, but later, becoming more selective, I would question certain people on the correct reflection of their names as shown in the Reference Book, whether their names had been correctly recorded, what they themselves thought their names meant, who had given them, and why. Later Prof. Cope introduced me to the concept of izithakazelo, or "address names" (see 1.1.2), and a whole new vista was opened up, not only academically, in giving me more material to work on, but also practically, as by remembering which address name went with which surname, I was able to address a man by his izithakazelo as soon as I knew his surname. This helped a great deal to win confidence with those about whose names I was asking often embarrassingly personal questions.'.