Anthropomastics in Selected Zambian Novels: A Cultural Appraisal

Abstract

This paper concerns itself with character names as mediators of theme in Zambian Literary works notably, Bitterness (2005) by Malama Katulwende, Before Dawn (1970) by Andrea Masiye and A Cowrie of Hope (2000) by Binwell Sinyangwe. Given the focus of the present paper, these literary works were selected because they are interesting texts and artworks in different ways. All the personal names in these texts are studied and analysed using the insights from literary onomastics. This paper aims to explore how the character names in the selected fiction serve as devices through which the social reality that the author writes about is encapsulated and analysed, and comprise a fresh way of understanding the novels. The paper concludes that character names in the texts are carefully chosen to serve particular thematic and stylistic purposed.