Umumbu (maize) (noun) primary stem + wesikhiwa (European) adjective (secondary stem = umumbu wesikhiwa umumb'wesikhiwa (retronym) (European maize)
When the features are sufficient to count as an instance of a known concept, the name of the known concept is revisited to derive a retronym for the new concept.
The derivation of a retronym using a stem assumes that the opposite stem retronym is there as well.
The construction of the Ndebele retronym is premised on the philosophy that culture is divided into two; English and African, and that all technology is part of the English culture.
Western colonialism affects the Ndebele ethnocentric retronym up to the present day.
In ecological and material concepts the Ndebele ethnocentric retronym uses Ndebele primary stems to retro name English concepts among other concepts.
Table2: Examples of Ndebele and English religious retronyms. Ndebele English English Supposed Ndebele Religious Stem Equivalent Retronym Retronym inyanga doctor witchdoctor Inyanga yesikhiwa isangoma prophet witch hunter Isangoma sesikhiwa ukuthethela Sacrificing/ Evil/ancestor Ukuthethela offering appeasing kwesikhiwa umbuyiso Sacramento ancestor worship Umbuyiso wesikhiwa imikhobo demons African magic Imikhobo yesikhiwa The English equivalents in the table above should be retro named by the supposed Ndebele retronyms in the table like all other concepts.
The appropriate ethnocentric retronym would then be isangoma sesikhiwa (an English sangoma) for prophet.
It is only colonialism that has created a difference between the two concepts and the Ndebele ethnocentric retronym has fallen prey to this colonial construct.
Monkey nuts for indlubu (round nuts) Monkey oranges for umkhemeswane (wild hard shelled fruit) Black magic for isintu (African culture) Rural people for amaNdebele (the Ndebele) Tribal chief for induna (royal African ruler) Wild bubble gum for uxakuxaku (snot apple) Kangaroo court for idale lenduna (chief's court) The derogatory philosophy used by the English to derive retronyms for Ndebele concepts has affected Ndebele retronym derivation.
Table3: Example of Ndebele derogatory retronyms Culture Primary Stem English of Origin Retronym impahla clothes China impahlazeTshayina/ zhingzhong ilobolo bride price Shona ilobololesiShona inkomo cattle Tonga inkomoyesiTonga igwayi tobacco Tonga igwayilesiTonga umvundla rabbit Shona umvundlawesiShona inkomo Cow Tswana inkomoyamaTswana Primary Stem English impahla fake clothes ilobolo unreasonably high lobola charge inkomo small breed of cattle igwayi Tonga tobacco/dagga umvundla Shona rabbit/ mice inkomo Tswana cow/ donkey Retronyms that use other cultures but English are prevalent in Ndebele jokes and terms used to refer to detested and despised concepts.
The Ndebele ethnocentric retronym is full of Eurocentric constructions yet the Europeans came into contact with the Ndebele much later compared to other African civilisations.
Shona axe is an English retronym yet Ndebele uses the type of axe but does not retro name it to the Shona.
Retronyms have been classified by Ndebele linguists under compound nouns, and no further description is proffered.
Retronyms are nouns that are derived due to the need to distinguish elements of a related sense.
