Ushintsho ekwethiweni kwamagama abantu abangamaZulu esifundweni sase Mkhanyakude ngemuva konyaka wezi 2000.

Abstract

This study is an investigation of shift in naming practices among the Zulu speaking people at UMkhanyakude District. It seeks to illustrate the different patterns of naming that are as a result of the change in naming practices and to explore the views and perceptions of the Zulu speakers on shift in naming practices. Naming is a universal cultural practice. In every society in the world, people are given names. How the names are bestowed, the practices and rituals involved and interpretations attached to the names vary from society to society and from one culture to another and changes from time to time. In this study, the researcher employed a qualitative method to examine the shift in naming practice among the Zulu at UMkhanyakude District post-2000. According to Creswell (2009:4), qualitative research is a means for exploring and understanding the meaning individuals or groups ascribe to a social or human problem. A little bit of quantitative research method has also been used. The interpretive paradigm was used in this particular study. This is important because research undertaken with an interpretive paradigm in mind focuses on social relationships, as well as the mechanisms and processes through which members in a setting navigate and create their social worlds. Unstructured interviews were conducted by the researcher at UMkhanyakude District. At least twenty informants between the ages of 18 to 50 were interviewed in this particular study.