AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF THE INTERSECTION BETWEEN COMPOUNDING AND NAMING: A CASE STUDY OF SISWATI PERSONAL NAMES

Abstract

Personal names are significant indicators of social observation, particularly regarding gender roles and categories. Most studies on anthroponyms focus on the meanings of African personal names, naming patterns and practices, and their communicative functions. However, scholars have paid little attention to the linguistic aspects of personal names, such as compounding and word-formation processes. Consequently, this study examines how the relationship between naming and compounding contributes to the formation of Siswati personal names. The study adopts a qualitative approach and is based on a sample of ten interviewees who provided information about their Siswati personal names. Additional data was collected from university graduation programmes that list graduates' names. The analysis draws on ethnopragmatic, social identity, and onomasiological theories. A compound noun is defined as a noun formed by combining two or more words into a single lexical item. The findings reveal that Siswati personal names formed through compounding follow several structural patterns, including verb + noun (e.g. -banga ‘verb’ + indlala ‘noun’ → Bangindlala ‘personal name’), noun + verb stem or pronoun (e.g. Nkosi ‘noun’ + -nathi ‘pronoun’ → Nkosinathi), noun + adjective (e.g. imini ‘noun’ + -nhle ‘adjective’ → Minenhle), and noun + possessive pronoun (e.g. gugu ‘noun’ + letfu ‘possessive pronoun’ → Guguletfu)