Abstract: | After coming to power in South Africa, changing place names was one strategy that the ANC could use in order to break with the cultural dominance of the whites and regain self-respect. Name changing started at the top through changing the names of those provinces that strongly reminded of the colonial past. Apart from restoring self-respect, the most important motive for name changes was the need to show that the new incumbents could use their recently acquired power to demonstrate the legitimacy of their rule over a specific geographical area. These motives are analysed, as well as the processes which were set in motion to change the names of three provinces: Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeniging (PWV) became Gauteng, North Transvaal became Limpopo, and East Transvaal became Mpumalanga. The processes included public debates and meetings, and the use of modern communication techniques. They were revealing of the new collective values of a truly democratized society, and demonstrated that the new regime was legitimate and in possession of the necessary instruments of power needed for transformation. Ref., sum. in English, text in Afrikaans. [Journal abstract] |