Location: Seat of the Maluti-A-Phofung Local Municipality as well as the Thabo Mofutsanyana District Municipality in the Free State province. Was also the capital of the former homeland QwaQwa.
Pietermaritzburg 01 is an initialised sign, with the handshape P followed by M, then B. This is a common abbreviation for Pietermaritzburg in spoken language as well. This variant has no movement. Pietermaritzburg 01 is a lexical variation from Pietermaritzburg 04.
Pietermaritzburg 04 is an initialised-descriptive sign. It has the handshape is X, with the hand placed on the chin and the palm facing towards the signer. We were unable to determine the meaning of this sign. The mouthing of ‘Pietermaritzburg’ identifies this variant as a place-name sign. Pietermaritzburg 04 is a lexical variation from Pietermaritzburg 01.
Location: Seat of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality in the Gauteng province. Serves as the administrative capital of South Africa, home to the executive branch of government.
Pretoria 01 is a descriptive place-name sign that is the similar to the sign for GOVERNMENT, but placed near the centre of the signer’s forehead instead of to the side. This refers to the fact that Pretoria serves as South Africa’s administrative capital, and many government head offices are located there. The handshape is F, which makes it a phonological variation from Pretoria 02.In the case of Pretoria there are three lexical variations: one that resembles the sign for GOVERNMENT (Pretoria 01 and Pretoria 02), another which is the sign for SISTER (Pretoria 14), and two initialised variants that differ phonologically from each other (Pretoria 06 and Pretoria 09).
Pretoria 02 is a descriptive place-name sign that is the similar to the sign for GOVERNMENT, but placed near the centre of the signer’s forehead instead of to the side. This refers to the fact that Pretoria serves as South Africa’s administrative capital, and many government head offices are located there. The handshape is W, which makes it a phonological variation from Pretoria 01.In the case of Pretoria there are three lexical variations: one that resembles the sign for GOVERNMENT (Pretoria 01 and Pretoria 02), another which is the sign for SISTER (Pretoria 14), and two initialised variants that differ phonologically from each other (Pretoria 06 and Pretoria 09).
Pretoria 06 is a descriptive sign with the handshape T followed by P. The handshapes likely refer to the previous number plate for Pretoria, which started with TP.In the case of Pretoria there are three lexical variations: one that resembles the sign for GOVERNMENT (Pretoria 01 and Pretoria 02), another which is the sign for SISTER (Pretoria 14), and two initialised variants that differ phonologically from each other (Pretoria 06 and Pretoria 09).
Pretoria 09 is an initialised sign with the handshape P in the British Sign Language alphabet.In the case of Pretoria there are three lexical variations: one that resembles the sign for GOVERNMENT (Pretoria 01 and Pretoria 02), another which is the sign for SISTER (Pretoria 14), and two initialised variants that differ phonologically from each other (Pretoria 06 and Pretoria 09).
Pretoria 14 is a descriptive place-name sign that is the same as the sign for SISTER. The mouthing of ‘Pretoria’ indicates the sign as a place-name sign.In the case of Pretoria there are three lexical variations: one that resembles the sign for GOVERNMENT (Pretoria 01 and Pretoria 02), another which is the sign for SISTER (Pretoria 14), and two initialised variants that differ phonologically from each other (Pretoria 06 and Pretoria 09).
QwaQwa 01 is initialised with Q in the British Sign Language alphabet. The dominant hand is in the SASL handshape X and moves in a down and up motion to the non-dominant hand which is in the SASL handshape O. The O handshape makes it a phonological variation from QwaQwa 02.
QwaQwa 02 is initialised with Q in the British Sign Language alphabet. The dominant hand is in the SASL handshape X and moves in a down and up motion to the non-dominant hand which is in the SASL handshape F. The F handshape makes it a phonological variation from QwaQwa 02, and could possibly be a spelling error.
Re Thlamaleng 01 is an initialised sign with the handshape R and added side-so-side wrist movement. The mouthing of ‘Re Thlamaleng’ distinguishes this variant from other similar signs and identifies it as a place-name sign.
Geographic variation & Schoolisation: Deaf people tend to congregate in towns where there are schools for the Deaf. Here they are usually taught either a locally conventionalised form of SASL, or a version in line with the signing tradition followed by the school. The result is a group of SASL users with clear localised use. Additionally, Deaf communities only allocate name signs to places that are relevant to them. As a result, participants from a certain site might know all the same place name signs, and for the same places. There are schools for the Deaf in all the research sites (Bloemfontein, Kimberley, Phuthaditjhaba and Thaba ‘Nchu).
Sonitus 01 is a descriptive sign with the handshape K in the Irish Sign Language alphabet. The movement that is done next to the head is similar to the SASL sign for learning or gaining knowledge. The mouthing of ‘Sonitus’ differentiates it from similar signs such as St. Thomas 02.
South Africa 01 is an initialised-descriptive sign with a handshape S that moves in a southward direction (‘South’). The sign for AFRICA is then added - a semicircle movement that mimics the rounding at the top of the continent.
Location: Township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in the Gauteng province; adjoins Johannesburg. South Africa’s largest Black urban complex.
Soweto 01 is a descriptive place-name sign that is similar to the signs for SUN or FLASHING LIGHT. We are unable to determine the origins of this variant, but it could possibly refer to the Sesotho nickname for Gauteng, the province is which Soweto is situated. ‘Maboneng’ means ‘place of lights’.
St. Thomas 01 is an initialised sign. The base handshapes for the sign are S followed by T. Over time, the sign has evolved, and additional movement has been added to make the production of the sign easier, without additional meaning. This variant is a lexical variation from St. Thomas 01.
St. Thomas 02 is an initialised sign with the handshape K in the Irish Sign Language alphabet. The movement that is done next to the head is similar to the SASL sign for learning or gaining knowledge. The mouthing of ‘St. Thomas’ differentiates it from similar signs such as Sonitus 01.
