Some Features of Urban Place Names in Central Africa - Open Access Library Journal

OALibJ > Vol.3 No.8, August 2016

Some Features of Urban Place Names in Central Africa ()

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DOI: 10.4236/oalib.1102914 1,567 Downloads 2,467 Views

Author(s)

Michel Simeu-Kamdem, David Koulbout

Affiliation(s)

National Institute of Cartography, The Central African Division of the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographic Names (UNGEGN).

ABSTRACT

More than fifty years after African countries independence, the colonial system continues to reveal its heritage. This is particularly true with urban place names among which a number of currently used are of colonial origin. Through a number of readings, the authors analyze the present situation in Central Africa and question its meaning. The article provides therefore an understanding of urban geographical names in nine countries colonized by French, Germans, British, Belgians and Spaniards. It appears that if Belgium was the colonial power that gave most of its place names to towns in Central Africa, it has been, after the independence, the only country that experienced a total decolonization of urban geographical names. In addition, the heterogeneity of the current urban toponymic situation lays, both on the contrasting profile of the colonial powers and on the different reactions of the colonized countries after independence.

KEYWORDS

Urban Place Names, Colonization, Independence, Central African Countries

Share and Cite:

Simeu-Kamdem, M. and Koulbout, D. (2016) Some Features of Urban Place Names in Central Africa. Open Access Library Journal, 3, 1-7. doi: 10.4236/oalib.1102914.

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