ONOMASTICS ONLINE | Sambulo Ndlovu: The headedness of proper names

 

The lecture series Onomastics Online continued on 8 October 2026 with a lecture presented by Sambulo Ndlovu (University of Eswatini, Eswatini) with the title "The headness of proper names". Keywords: #noun #propernoun #propernames #headedness #identity Abstract: Proper names pose several challenges if analysed using noun phrase rules and configurations in generative grammar. The refined definite reference in them marks the biggest difference with appellatives. This has resulted in several approaches to the structure of proper names in syntactic theory. Payne and Huddleston (2002) analyse them into proper nouns and proper names which are lexical and phrasal categories respectively. Such an analysis identifies the proper noun as the head of a proper name phrase. However, this approach runs into problems in cases of multiple proper nouns in the same proper name and proper names with no proper noun. Others have opted to analyse them using the DP Hypothesis and make them nominal phrases that complement the D in the DP structure (Abbott, 2002; Carroll, 1985). This approach also runs into its own structural problems too. This lecture uses X-bar schema to propose a different structure on the headedness of proper names. It challenges the proper noun and determiner heads and proposes a neutral head for the proper name NPs. Onomastics Online (ICOS – International Council of Onomastic Sciences) is a series of online lectures dealing with important timely topics related to names and naming. Presented by distinguished scholars from various academic backgrounds, the lectures demonstrate the importance and the multidisciplinary nature of onomastic research. To see the list of upcoming and past lectures, please visit our webpage at: https://icosweb.net/onomastics-online/. Previous lectures can be found on our YouTube channel:    / @theinternationalcouncilofo2460  . If you are interested in ICOS membership, please see the details here: https://icosweb.net/membership/member.... For updates and scholarly engagement, connect with us on any of our platforms: YOUTUBE    / @theinternationalcouncilofo2460   LINKEDIN   / 4081415   FACEBOOK   / icosweb   X https://x.com/ICOSnews

Onomastics Online: Sambulo Ndlovu on “The Headedness of Proper Names”

 The next Onomastics Online lecture will take place on 8 October 2026 and will address a fundamental theoretical question in the grammar of proper names: what is the head of a proper name?

The invited speaker is Prof. Sambulo Ndlovu of the University of Eswatini, with Dr Chrismi Loth of the University of the Free State, South Africa, serving as moderator.

Date: 8 October 2026
Time: 17:00 UTC+2 / GMT+2
Venue: Microsoft Teams
Speaker: Sambulo Ndlovu, University of Eswatini
Moderator: Chrismi Loth, University of the Free State

The Headedness of Proper Names

Proper names are notoriously difficult to accommodate within ordinary noun-phrase analysis. Their highly specific referential function distinguishes them from common nouns and has led to competing proposals concerning their internal syntactic structure.

In his lecture, Prof. Ndlovu will revisit this problem through the question of headedness.

One influential approach, associated with Payne and Huddleston (2002), distinguishes between proper nouns as lexical categories and proper names as phrasal categories, treating the proper noun as the head of the proper-name phrase. This analysis, however, becomes problematic when a name contains several proper nouns - or when a proper name appears to contain no proper noun at all.

Another line of analysis draws on the DP Hypothesis, treating proper names as nominal phrases complementing a determiner within a DP structure, as in the work of Abbott (2002) and Carroll (1985). This solution, too, raises structural difficulties.

Ndlovu’s lecture proposes another possibility. Using X-bar schema, he argues against both the proper noun and the determiner as necessary heads of proper-name constructions and instead proposes a neutral head for proper-name NPs.

The talk therefore promises to be of particular interest not only to onomasticians, but also to scholars working in syntax, semantics, proper-name theory and the grammar of reference.

Keywords: noun, proper noun, proper names, headedness, identity

About the speaker

Prof. Sambulo Ndlovu is Associate Professor of Linguistics at the University of Eswatini (UNESWA) and a Research Associate at the University of South Africa. He holds a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Cape Town.

His research spans onomastics, sociolinguistics, anthropological linguistics and cultural studies. He is Editor-in-Chief of Nomina Africana: Journal of African Onomastics, serves on the Executive Board of the Names Society of Southern Africa (NSSA), and is a member of the scientific board of the International Symposium on Place Names.

His recent books include:

• Naming and Othering in Africa: Imagining Supremacy and Inferiority through Language — Routledge
• Onomastic Performatives: Names and Naming from an Anthropological Linguistic Perspective — De Gruyter Mouton

His LinkedIn profile is available here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sambulo-ndlovu

Registration

Participation is free, but preregistration is required.

Register here:
https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/ddd3a2df-cbc9-4e1b-bde2-6bf9139ba37d@8efc1bb9-b90f-4a48-bf6c-ba0686193b80

After registration, participants will receive the meeting link by email. The system will also send a reminder approximately one hour before the event.

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About Onomastics Online

Onomastics Online is an ICOS lecture series devoted to timely questions concerning names and naming. The series brings together scholars from different academic traditions and demonstrates the strongly interdisciplinary character of contemporary onomastic research.

Upcoming and previous lectures can be found here:
https://icosweb.net/onomastics-online/

The next lecture is scheduled for 12 November 2026.

Recordings of previous lectures are available on the ICOS YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@theinternationalcouncilofo2460

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https://icosweb.net/membership/membership-registration/

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For anyone interested in the grammar of proper names and the interface between syntax, reference and onomastics, this promises to be a particularly thought-provoking session.