Editing Africanization

{{Short description|Making something African}}
{{hatnote|Africanization can also refer to [[Africanized bee|Africanized "killer" bees]].}}

'''Africanization''' or '''Africanisation''' (lit., making something African) has been applied in various contexts, notably in geographic and personal naming and in the composition of the civil service via processes such as [[indigenization]].<ref>African Successes Four Public Managers of Kenyan Rural Development David K. Leonard UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS</ref>

==Africanization of names==

Africanization has referred to the modification of placenames and personal names to reflect an "African" identity. In some cases, changes are not only of transliteration but of the European name.<ref>{{cite book|title=Language in Africa: An Introductory Survey|author=Edgar A. Gregersen|year=1977|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=0-677-04380-5|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/languageinafrica0000greg}}</ref>

In many cases during the colonial period, African placenames were [[Anglicisation|Anglicized]] or [[Francization|Francized]].

===Place names===
====Country names====
Various African countries have undergone name changes during the previous century as the result of consolidations and [[secession]]s, territories gaining [[sovereignty]], and [[regime change]]s.

{|class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 90%"
|-
! Previous name !! Year !! Current name
|-
| [[Republic of Dahomey|Dahomey]], Republic of
| 1975
| [[Benin]], Republic of
|-
| [[Bechuanaland]] Protectorate
| 1966
| [[Botswana]], Republic of
|-
| [[Republic of Upper Volta|Upper Volta]]
| 1984
| [[Burkina Faso]]
|-
| [[Ubangi-Shari]]
| 1958
| [[Central African Republic]]
|-
| [[Zaire]], Republic of
| 1997
| [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congo]], Democratic Republic of the
|-
| [[Middle Congo]]
| 1960
| [[Republic of the Congo|Congo]], Republic of the
|-
| [[French Somaliland]] / [[French Territory of the Afars and Issas|Afars and Issas]]
| 1977
| [[Djibouti]], Republic of
|-
| [[Spanish Guinea]]
| 1968
| [[Equatorial Guinea]], Republic of
|-
| [[Swaziland]], Kingdom of
| 2018
| [[Swaziland|Eswatini]], Kingdom of
|-
| [[Gold Coast (British colony)|Gold Coast]]
| 1957
| [[Ghana]], Republic of
|-
| [[French Guinea]] 
| 1958
| [[Guinea]], Republic of
|-
| [[Portuguese Guinea]]
| 1974
| [[Guinea-Bissau]], Republic of
|-
| [[Basutoland]], Territory of
| 1966
| [[Lesotho]], Kingdom of
|-
| [[Nyasaland]] Protectorate
| 1964
| [[Malawi]], Republic of
|-
| [[French Sudan]]
| 1960
| [[Mali]], Republic of
|-
| [[South-West Africa]]
| 1990
| [[Namibia]], Republic of
|-
| [[Ruanda-Urundi]]
| 1962
| [[Rwanda]], Republic of / [[Burundi]], Republic of
|-
| [[People's Republic of Zanzibar and Pemba|Zanzibar]] / [[Tanganyika (1961–1964)|Tanganyika]]
| 1964
| [[Tanzania]], United Republic of
|-
| [[Northern Rhodesia]]
| 1964
| [[Zambia]], Republic of
|-
| [[Southern Rhodesia]] 
| 1980
| [[Zimbabwe]], Republic of
|}

====Other place names====

*Fernando Po island changed to [[Bioko]] Island
*Léopoldville changed to [[Kinshasa]]
*Salisbury changed to [[Harare]]
*Lourenço Marques changed to [[Maputo]]
*Nova Lisboa changed to [[Huambo]]
*Fort Lamy changed to [[N'Djaména]]
*Tananarive changed to [[Antananarivo]]
*Bathurst changed to [[Banjul]]
*Santa Isabel/Port Clarence changed to [[Malabo]]
*Élisabethville changed to [[Lubumbashi]]
*Stanleyville changed to [[Kisangani]]
*Luluabourg changed to [[Kananga]]
*Ponthierville changed to [[Ubundu]]
*Novo Redondo changed to [[Sumbe]]
*Moçâmedes changed to Namibe, but changed back to [[Moçâmedes]] in 2016
*Abercorn changed to [[Mbala, Zambia|Mbala]]
*Broken Hill changed to [[Kabwe]]
*Fort Jameson changed to [[Chipata]]
*Hartley changed to [[Chegutu]]
*Fort Victoria changed to [[Masvingo]]
*Many places whose names were of European origin in South Africa have undergone Africanization since 1994; see [[South African Geographical Names Council]].
*Port Elizabeth changed to [[Gqeberha]] in 2021.

===Personal names===
*Joseph-Désiré Mobutu changed to [[Mobutu Sese Seko]]
*François Tombalbaye changed to [[N'Garta Tombalbaye]]
*Étienne Eyadéma changed to [[Gnassingbé Eyadéma]]
*[[Francisco Macías Nguema]] changed to Masie Nguema Biyogo Ñegue Ndong
Sometimes, the name change can be used to reflect a change of faith, most prominently seen in the case of [[Islam]]. (See [[Islamic name]].)
<br/>
Examples:
*Albert-Bernard Bongo changed to [[Omar Bongo]]
*[[Dawda Jawara]] changed to David Jawara in 1953<!-- if he changed it back, please add "temporarily" before "changed". -->
*[[Jean-Bédel Bokassa]] changed to Salah Eddine Ahmed Bokassa

==Africanization of civil services==

In some countries after following their independence, "Africanization" was the name given to [[racial]] policies and [[affirmative action]], which were intended to increase the number of indigenous Africans in the [[civil service]].

==Localization in African languages==

The term Africanization, abbreviated as the [[numeronym]] "A12n," has been applied to discussion of [[internationalization and localization]] of software and content in [[African languages]].

== See also ==
* [[List of renamed places in South Africa]]
* [[List of city name changes]]
* [[List of renamed places in Namibia]]
* [[List of renamed places in Zimbabwe]]
* [[List of renamed places in the Democratic Republic of the Congo]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Portal|Africa}}

{{Pan-Africanism}}
{{Cultural assimilation|sp=ize}}

[[Category:Culture of Africa]]
[[Category:Decolonization]]
[[Category:Cultural assimilation]]
[[Category:Geographical naming disputes]]
[[Category:Names of places in Africa]]
[[Category:Anti-Western sentiment]]
[[Category:Pan-Africanism]]
[[Category:Human names]]
[[Category:Toponymy]]