Bachelor thesis | Afrikaanse talen en culturen (BA)
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The present study seeks to investigate the body part nomenclature and partonomy of the Bantu language Xhosa and to explore its semantics by looking at the conventionalised ways these body part...Show moreThe present study seeks to investigate the body part nomenclature and partonomy of the Bantu language Xhosa and to explore its semantics by looking at the conventionalised ways these body part terms are used figuratively, in metaphorical and metonymical expressions. This is done in order to discover and document the richness of the way this language uses its body part nomenclature while simultaneously analysing to what extent the patterns that are found in the partonomy and the metaphorical use of body parts agrees with universal patterns found in previous research and to what extent it is culturally specific. First, the literature on the topic of body part nomenclature, partonomy and on metaphorical uses of body parts in African languages will be reviewed. Then, the methodology employed and data collected on Xhosa body nomenclature and partonomy and the metaphorical expressions will be presented. Thirdly, the body parts and their metaphorical uses that were collected will be described and analysed. Fourthly, the data collected will be compared to cross-linguistic data and data from similar studies performed on African languages. These components will finally accumulate to a concluding discussion on Xhosa body part nomenclature, partonomy and its metaphorical uses by exploring the ways in which Xhosa speakers conceive of body parts semantically and conceptualise them linguistically, with a special case study of the terms iminwe (fingers) and iinzwane (toes).Show less
