Vowels sex-based symbolism in Setswana personal names

• Published in: Studies in African linguistics Vol. 52; no. Supplement 13
• Main Authors: Boikanyego Sebina, Thapelo Otlogetswe
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: LibraryPress@UF 01.12.2023
• Subjects: sound symbolism, Setswana, vowels, gender, anthroponym, ethnonym, naming
• ISSN: 0039-3533; 2154-428X

Traditionally it was believed that language was arbitrary; that is there was no association between the word and the form it signifies. However, later research has shown that some phonemes naturally have features associated with the meaning they express thereby supporting iconicity. This study investigates sound symbolism in Setswana personal names with a particular focus on vowels. It analyses a corpus of 958 names and the results show that female names statistically significantly preferred front vowels, lax vowels and generally have more vowels than male names. Male names favoured tense vowels, but back vowels did not produce a significant result.  Across languages, female names tend to have more front vowels whereas males have more back vowels. While the results of the study demonstrated sex-biased size dimorphism, the non-significant back vowels in male names rejects the possibility of vowels sex-biased size dimorphism universality. The study concluded that vowel sound symbolism in gender names is not universal; it depends on the phonology of the language as well as the naming culture of that society. The results of the study offer a great avenue for similar research in other languages especially lax and tense vowels which have not been widely researched.