Language visibility and the transformation of geographical names in South Africa

Abstract

This article addresses an aspect of the regulation of language visibility that is not usually covered, namely the language choice in a standardised geographical name. The decision regarding language has implications in respect of the eventual sign whereby the name is displayed in public. Decisions on the language of such names may lead to either bilingual or multilingual names. A typology of ‘bilingual names’ is thus proposed, which could also apply to multilingual names. Data from between 2001 and 2007, obtained from the South African Geographical Names Council, are analysed to establish patterns regarding the choice of language in the standardisation of these names. The results indicate that language visibility is not a factor in the names standardisation process in South Africa. The apartheid preference for monolingual names is being continued, indicating that the transformation of names does not include the transformation of the standardisation process as such.

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