The metamorphoses in the exposition of certain isiXhosa words

Abstract This article employed a historical and political theory to argue for the metamorphoses in the exposition of randomly selected isiXhosa words for the very reason that some semantic meanings in the isiXhosa domain have undergone an evolution. Qualitative research methodology and the two theories operate in a relationship to underline the historical meanings of certain isiXhosa words, and how political forces influenced their evolution. During the discourse, it becomes evident that semantic shift in the isiXhosa language occurs for various reasons other than political factors and through different processes. The final argument suggests that there is a gap in the paradigm of isiXhosa linguistics. Such a task is facing isiXhosa linguists and ought to be contested.

ii.Such ambiguous meanings are often used erroneously between the speakers of the language.For instance, in isiXhosa, there is a continued confusion between the word ukuzeka which holds such ambiguities.This can all be pinned on the concept of semantic shift.
Therefore, this article seeks to accelerate the scholarly investigation of isiXhosa linguistics in the arena of science.The next section will review existing literature with the intention to locate an existing gap and detail how such a gap will be gratified.

Literature review
Notable existing literature Semantic shift in isiXhosa has been studied; however, a notable gap continues to exist.For instance, Mini (1995) underlines that the semantic shift in the isiXhosa language sabotages the lexicography process.Such sabotage is due to the fact that certain words subsume multiple meanings as a result of semantic shift and, consequently, such meanings may be unknown.When the meaning of certain words is unknown, it is often disregarded during the compilation of dictionaries.With that in mind, some lexicographers tend to focus on a single meaning of a word, or a meaning that is at their disposal.This then leads to the neglect of the other meanings, especially those that have been eroded by political influences, for example.This is prevalent in isiXhosa as will be proven later in the discussions.Drame (2001) argued that semantic shift in most African languages has occurred due to language borrowing, sometimes known as linguistic borrowing.This occurs as a result of dominant languages such as English and Afrikaans in the South African context.To support the idea, Drame (2001) states that semantic shift or the change in a word's meaning is also because of the reality that language speakers cannot neglect the foreign influence that comes as a result of globalisation.Drame (2001: 231) writes that [d]ue to globalisation…English gains more and more influence on other European languages.In developing countries, the languages of the former colonisers also still have an enormous impact on the indigenous languages.
This is a clear indication that, indeed, there are numerous causes or factors that lead to semantic shifts including dominant languages that have a strong economy embedded in them (Diko 2022).Languages whose stature is stronger, tend to impact the semantics of the languages whose status is still developing or considerably lower (Chokoe 2022;Diko 2022;Mutanga and Abayomi 2022;Ndlovu 2022).

Conceptualising the modus operandi leading to a semantic shift
As alluded to in the previous section, there are several processes that advance semantic shift.This means that the change in the word's meaning occurs in different ways, just as how a study is conducted using different methods, for example.The reader ought to be mindful that not all the conceptualised semantic shift processes are prevalent in isiXhosa and/or in the examples used in this article.First, broadening or extension is the process by which a word's meaning becomes more inclusive compared to the original or initial meaning (Lee et al. 2020).Here, the word begins to hold several meanings that may be ambiguous and metaphorical in nature.For instance, in isiXhosa, the word inja (dog) originally referred to one animal breed (Sagi et al. 2012).However, in the modern isiXhosa language, it (inja) refers to several connotations such as an insult or useless person, just to name a few.Another word would be ndisele (I drank) which meant that someone drank some kind of a liquid.However, in the current isiXhosa vocabulary it has been observed that ndisele can mean someone had an alcoholic drink, or they were drunk.It is further interesting to observe that the word ndisele has caused numerous disorientations in the South African courts.For instance, one of the witnesses that was testifying in the popular case of Senzo Meyiwa (a former Bafana Bafana captain who was gunned down in 2014) argued that ndisele does not suggest he (the witness) was drunk on the night in which Senzo Meyiwa was shot and killed.It was at this juncture that semantic ambiguities had to be explored during the court proceedings (Diko 2023).This example is used in this article to stress that the word's original meaning ('I drank') gained inclusivity and this may be problematic in some instances.The two examples that have been used here prove the validity that dog and ndisele (in English and isiXhosa respectively) have undergone semantic shift, or their meaning has become more inclusive.Broadening or extending a word's meaning may suggest that a word whose meaning held positive connotations now also carries negative connotations, thereby advancing both positive and negative meanings concurrently.
The second semantic process is called narrowing (Drame 2001).Here, the word's meaning becomes specialised, restricted, or customised.In other words, narrowing is the opposite of broadening or extending the word's meaning.As the term suggests, the word's meaning becomes less inclusive.It excludes and rejects certain meanings.For instance, in Middle English, deer could mean any animal, while girl could refer to a young person of either sex (male or female).Today, these words have a restricted or customised meaning as we now know that girl refers to a young female.This then proves the validity that within the paradigm of semantic shift, some words hold a specialised or restricted meaning.One question that one may interrogate is whether or not such restrictions have an impact on language development and the extent of certain words' meanings.In other words, if certain word meanings are excluded, does that not affect the vastness of ambiguities in that specific language?This needs to be scholarly investigated by future researchers (or we may consider undertaking the discourse).But for now, the principal focus is on semantic shift on randomly selected words in isiXhosa.
The third process that is observable in semantic shift is amelioration (Sagi et al. 2012) which suggests a rise in the status of a word or phrase.Situated differently, the word's meaning is elevated to a higher stature.For instance, the word tshotsho (celebrating someone's downfall) was a word that suggested excitement towards someone's downfall.Today, the word tshotsho can be used metaphorically to celebrate someone's success (congratulatory word).That is why the metaphorical phrase tshotsho ubekho is often used by amaXhosa to celebrate someone's achievements.In respect of this, the word's stature has been elevated from holding a negative nuance to a positive nuance.However, this does not suggest an entire disregard for the original meaning.In other words, these meanings run concurrently, with the one meaning elevating the stature of the word, while the other meaning downgrades the stature of the word.The implication is that some meanings being completely eroded.Another example in isiXhosa can be observed in the word ukunyisa, which initially meant 'abusive and unacceptable conduct'.Today, the word has also been elevated to suggest someone or something that is doing exceptionally well.For instance, isiXhosa speakers can say: hay', uyabanyisa tshomi yam (referring to someone who is doing well).
The fourth process that is involved in semantic shift is pejoration (Arisaka and Ito 2020).This occurs when the word's meaning or connotation has been downgraded or depreciated.Here, the word's meaning takes a negative connotation.In the English language, the word 'silly' originally meant 'blessed' or 'innocent' (Sagi et al. 2012).In the present day, the word has been downgraded to suggest strange behavior, or being foolish.
What one ought to bear in mind is that meanings do not change instantaneously.This process occurs consciously or subconsciously among the speakers of the language over a lengthy period.Existing literature indicates that meanings can change over decades or centuries (Stern 1931;Traugott 1980;Fullan 2001;Coupland 2016).No speaker can decide in their individual capacity to change the meaning of the word.This is because language in general undergoes the process of evolution that directly or indirectly affects all the speakers of the language (Helms et al. 2005).
In consequence, what can be agreed upon is that some meanings can co-exist and overlap, while some may be eroded and others may be introduced.This suggests that changes in the semantics of a language may lead to development or erosion of the language.That is why it is important to undertake a scholarly debate that will establish the extent to which the semantics of a language have changed, and most importantly, establish the reasons for such a change.
From the reviewed literature, it is important to observe the following: i.To the best of our knowledge that has been informed by existing literature, no study has explored the semantic change in the arena of isiXhosa linguistics; ii.Mini (1995) commented on issues that relate to a semantic shift in the isiXhosa domain, however, the author was not explicit about the processes of semantic shift and how such processes have an impact on isiXhosa; iii.While there is an urgency to contribute to the transformation of isiXhosa linguistics, it would be prudent to begin by tracing some of the changes that have occurred in isiXhosa.To do this, it is crucial to use historical linguistics and rely on components such as semantics to examine isiXhosa semantic shift; and iv.The randomly selected words have been explored for the purposes of advancing the isiXhosa semantic shift, and how and why such semantic change occurred.
These four points are the motivating factors for this study as they underline the existing gap that needs to be addressed in the discipline of isiXhosa linguistics.

Research methodology and theoretical framework
The article uses a qualitative research methodology that is about locating a phenomenon of interest.
The phenomenon of interest is a semantic shift in randomly selected isiXhosa words.The words have been accrued from Mtuze and Tena's Umhlobo wabafundi besiXhosa (A friend to isiXhosa learners) (1995).Here, an attempt to identify the ambiguous and multitudinous meanings of the words has been utilised.It was at this juncture that historical and contemporaneous meanings emerged.Some words have been selected from my cognitive lexicon for the very reason that every language speaker has a considerable amount of the possible meanings of their language.During the process, a qualitative research methodology became instrumental and significant.For example, Diko ( 2022) defines qualitative research methodology as one that focuses on words and attempts to explain how and why certain phenomena occur.This approach to research does not involve numerical data and/or laboratory tests.A group of randomly selected words from isiXhosa literary texts, especially those literary texts that have been accorded the status classics (i.e.timeless) were used to collect such words.In the process, the meaning of those words was placed under scrutiny for the very reason that seeks to locate their initial meaning (that is the historical component) and how it changed over time (that is the political component).The choice to do this research has been motivated by the fact that it became evident that some words are ambiguous due to semantic shift.Such words are explained using historical and political theory because of the reality that they contain prehistorical understandings or definitions, and have later been understood differently as a result of the change in their meanings.Such changes are fueled by political factors.In essence, qualitative research methodology, historical theory and political theory will operate in a triumvirate relationship.Historical theory recognises that accounts of the past are not fictitious, mythological or propaganda (Fulbrook 2002).Accounts of the past are original in the sense that they were developed by the earliest humans that should be viewed and accepted as historians of the past.Historical accounts are based on realities.This theory holds the argument that words in isiXhosa were used by amaXhosa legendary people for specific purposes.The usage of the earliest amaXhosa words, according to historical theory, should then be viewed as the original word meanings.The utilisation of historical theory in isiXhosa linguistics is therefore an attempt to track down the origins of the meanings of randomly selected isiXhosa words.On the other hand, this article recognises the reality that such word meanings have changed over time due to political influences, among other influences.Therefore, a political theory is suitable to conceptualise how and why South African politics advanced the semantics of certain selected isiXhosa words.
Political theory involves the study of the history of political thought as well as problems in contemporary political life that have a philosophical dimension (Held 2013;Carnoy 2014).Political theory in the discipline of linguistics attempts to find the relationship between language and politics.Its usage for research involves tracing the political phenomena that led to the change in the meaning of words.For instance, Zhang and Zou (2022) argue that language (isiXhosa in this case) is used as a means to form a state and is enacted in various ways that help achieve political objectives.In other words, some isiXhosa word meanings stemmed from semantic shifts as a result of the colonialists in South Africa that had their personal agendas or narratives.
In a nutshell, employing a historical theory is an attempt to trace the originality of some isiXhosa words, while employing political theory is a simultaneous attempt to locate the finer details of political influences that led to the change in the semantics of isiXhosa.

Discussion and findings
What can be deduced and argued for is that the metamorphosis in the meaning of a word can result in a metamorphosis in the emotive content of the word.This spells out that the semantic shift or change in the isiXhosa word propels the emotive change in the word.It is impossible that the word's meaning will change while the emotive content remains the same.Consequently, there are different meanings for different emotive contents.For instance, the word inxaxheba which originally referred to gemsbok meat that was produced or slaughtered to serve the royal kingdom does not have the current emotive effect of inxaxheba, which now refers to participation or involvement.Differently put, one inxaxheba refers to a slice of meat and has an emotive content, while the other inxaxheba refers to participation or involvement, with its own emotive content.Dlephu et al. (2018) claim that isiXhosa is not static, and such claims are evident in Table 1 in that indeed, certain isiXhosa words change over time due to changing times, culture, political forces, religious changes and many more.Such processes can be noted as a change only if the isiXhosa linguists trace the history of the semantics of the word.This is advanced by historical theory.The aforesaid metamorphosis in the exposition of isiXhosa words shows that the isiXhosa language is indeed dynamic.Consider the example izimbo in Table 1 and notice how its meaning changed for reasons of migration.Migration transforms language through language contact.That is why it stands to reason that migration and language have social, economic and political dimensions -suggesting the way people reconstruct their linguistic lexicon (semantics in this instance).The historical theory argues that for one to trace certain language components, one ought to recognise history by recounting past events such as migration (Blair 2022) as in the case of the word izimbo.Concerning that, a certain group from North Africa migrated to South Africa, and that influenced the change of the meaning of the original word.The word izimbo referred to people who travelled from the northern parts of Africa.When they arrived in South Africa and, in particular, in the amaXhosa areas, they would do things that are not known by amaXhosa because they had their own culture.The word has undergone the process of narrowing.The meaning of the word izimbo became so specialised or customised that the original meaning was lost and the current meaning arose.In respect of the word izimbo, there are no ambiguities in the present isiXhosa unless such ambiguities are utilised for the purposes of isiXhosa historical linguistics.This then illustrates how the same linguistic sign or signifier can be used to denote a completely new referent.The change in referent thus resulted in the change of the meaning of the word izimbo, since the word, in Stern's (1931) terms, has now been employed to express a meaning that it had not previously expressed.
Consider, in this regard, also the example of umlungu which referred to '…the encounter between the local amaXhosa and the shipwrecked white people on the Wild Coast of the Eastern Cape' (Diko 2019).Behind every change of meaning there lies a chain of causation that can be analysed at a number of different levels such as material, social, psychological and logical -and at each level, one should get a different answer to the question 'Why did this word change its meaning?' (Louwrens 1993).Also consider the word amaqabane whose meaning has changed to fulfill the interests of political activists.The word's meaning has shifted to suggest political comrades such as those who belong to the African National Congress (ANC), Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), ActionSA and many more (including student formations).While that is the case, there is a notable general speech trend among amaXhosa where iqabane can also be used to mean old unmarried partners.For instance, an old amaXhosa man would say ndiya kwiqabane lam (I am going to my partner).Therefore, one can agree that the word has gained a considerable amount of broadening or extension.In the same vein, the word umtsham is used by some amaXhosa language groups such as the amaMpondo.For example, when two partners meet and fall in love, they will refer to each other as umtsham -ndiya kumtsham (I am going to my partner).The complete set of the When a traditional healer withdraws bad or negative spirits from a person, especially those that can be pinned on witchcraft.
To provoke someone, or when someone is caught off guard.

icawe
The word was originally ingcawe, and referred to a family gathering that intended to refine and correct all kinds of family misconduct and discipline those who have mistreated or abused others.
The Christian colonialists invaded the family ingcawe and used it to disseminate Christianity.The colonialists had difficultiy in pronouncing ingcawe, so they resorted to icawe and the word was accepted by the amaXhosa.
The current meaning of the word refers to the church building for Christian worship, or any other kind of religious worship.

isinyanya
The word initially referred to an old, valued and esteemed person in the amaXhosa family.
Currently, the word refers to someone who has died.Ordinarily, the amaXhosa will go to a person's grave to pray as part of a traditional custom (Diko 2019). isidanga The original meaning referred to the beadwork that amaXhosa men wore to accessorise themselves.
The current meaning encapsulates a graduation hood or the full graduation outfit.
izikrweqe These are weapons used by the amaXhosa during a war.There were nine series of amaXhosa wars that included the wars between the amaXhosa kingdom and the British Empire, boers and many more.
The term is now used to refer to devices or techniques that are used to unpack the multiplicity of interplaying meanings in an isiXhosa literary text such as a novel, drama, or poem.One may consider how Madolo (2021) has employed this term in their article.

amaqabane
The initial meaning referred to a group of friends.The word was used by amaXhosa young people as an in-group marker.
The current meaning refers to a group of people who are fighting for political freedom, or who are political activists.
That is why they refer to themselves as maqabane when there is a political gathering.
ukuzabalaza It referred to someone who is endeavouring towards something.
Sometimes, the word is used to mean the fight against colonial rule and domination, or a political battle against something.
inkciyo This referred to an amaXhosa item of clothing that was worn by girls that were deemed virgins.
The meaning now suggests an amaXhosa traditional custom where girls undergo virginity testing.
umlungu It refers to everything and anything such as filth that is rejected by the ocean and deposited on the shore.
The word was then used to refer to white people because when they invaded the shores of South Africa, they would be 'deposited' on land by the ocean.
izimbo People who travelled from the northern parts of Africa were called the Mbo/ amaMbo people.When they arrived in South Africa and in particular, in the amaXhosa areas, they would do things that are not known by amaXhosa because they had their own culture -way of doing things.
As a result of the original meaning, someone who did unknown things was referred to as someone onezimbo for the very reason that they would be doing awkward, strange and unknown things.
word in morphological and semantic terms would suggest that umtsha (you are new) and wam (mine), and result in umtsha wam (the rest is a morphological process that leads to umtsham).The word's historical meaning suggested any honored thing that may be new to someone.However, amaMpondo (an amaXhosa language group) customised the word's meaning to such an extent that the word is now restricted to their geolinguistic area.The semantic shift in the domain of isiXhosa linguistics includes the word inkciyo which originally referred to an item of clothing that was worn by amaXhosa girls.Interestingly, today's meaning of the word still remains within the confines of the same gender.However, a new meaning has been added to suggest that it refers to the traditional custom of amaXhosa girls where virginity testing is undertaken.It is also worth bearing in mind that inkciyo is not only concerned with virginity testing, it also encompasses the empowerment of girls.For instance, inkciyo also stresses the importance of one looking after her girlhood in a quest to circumvent health-related complications such as sexually transmitted diseases.
The table shows that some changes in the meanings of words are fueled by cultural reasons (Feltgen 2022).The meaning of the word inkciyo initially referred to as the traditional attire of amaXhosa girls is not so distinct from the current meaning of an amaXhosa traditional customary practice for girls for the very reason that it is still subsumed under the Xhosa cultural domain.In that regard, the word inkciyo can be categorically stated as one that falls under broadening or extension.

What does the change in the meaning of various isiXhosa words mean?
From the discussions and findings as well as the data that has been randomly selected, it remains apparent that human language is subject to constant evolution driven by the need to reflect on the ongoing changes in the world and to become a more efficient means of communication.Words acquire new meanings and stop being used with the old meanings.This is evident for anyone who desires to read older texts, even ones created only a few decades ago.Properly understanding the nature of changes in the meaning and usage of words is thus important for anyone who works with historical texts, such as librarians, historians, or isiXhosa linguists.Knowledge of word and language evolution is also a subject of interest to the general public since language is a basic communication tool for expressing and sharing our thoughts.These are evidenced by the large number of websites devoted to etymology studies, and several books discussing word origins (Liberman 2009;Jatowt and Duh 2014;Curtis et al. 2022).Thus scholarly investigations of language evolution and, in particular, word etymology is a worthy problem for specialists, the general public and language researchers alike.However, such studies have generally been limited to relatively small scale and fragmentary investigations of individual words, phrases or grammatical patterns.The isiXhosa words go through semantic change and speakers refer to new or changed concepts in the surrounding world.In this work, the interest is in the semantic shift of isiXhosa words.
Diachronic linguistics (also known as historical linguistics) is an area in modern linguistics that concerns itself with the process of language development over time and, in particular, with questions about why and how languages change and in which way these changes spread across spatiotemporal dimensions.This is then enough to underline that this article on its own is not enough to address semantic shift in isiXhosa linguistics.There is a genuine need to continue the debate.One way or the other, the discourse ought to be undertaken.
The change in the meaning of isiXhosa words, therefore, denotes that: i.The speakers of the language are sensitive to the everchanging times since both the speaker and the listener can efficiently adapt and accept the semantic shift of the word; ii.The isiXhosa words change semantically and this change is reflected in the way the words are being used; iii.As people use words in new contexts, the meanings of the words change gradually, often to the point that the new meaning is radically different from the original usage.For instance, the meaning of the word izikrweqe in isiXhosa changed so much that it is largely used to refer to devices or techniques of critiquing isiXhosa literary texts nowadays (Madolo 2021); and iv.Some isiXhosa words also change in a way that they acquire additional meanings or are used to refer to other entities over time.For example, in English, a mouse was used originally to refer to a small long-tailed animal, but it is now also used to refer to a device used to control cursor movement (Wijaya and Yeniterzi 2011).From Table 1, amaqabane has an added meaning as it is still used to suggest political partners and/or friends.

Conclusion, and then what?
This article points to the reality that isiXhosa linguistics requires more scholarly discourse focusing on semantic shift.Such a process should assess and establish why and how certain words went through a semantic metamorphosis.Concerning that, historians and politicians will be sensitive and mindful of their role in the study of isiXhosa linguistics.That is why it was stressed that the change in the meaning of words cannot be confined to the study of language only.It requires a multi-collaborative process among different disciplines.Therefore, there are recommendations that can be considered by isiXhosa linguists for future research.First, there is a need to explore the semantics of the isiXhosa language.Second, there is a need to use history and politics as foundational instruments in isiXhosa linguistics.That will prove that the isiXhosa language is epistemologically multidimensional in nature.And finally, semantics in higher education institutions should be given careful attention by focusing on the historical meanings of words and not just on current meanings.

Table 1 :
isiXhosa semantic shift isiXhosa original word isiXhosa original meaning isiXhosa current meaning ukuqubula