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. 2019 Mar 26;15(1):17.
doi: 10.1186/s13002-019-0294-3.

Folk taxonomy and indigenous names for frogs in Zululand, South Africa

Fortunate M Phaka  1 , Edward C Netherlands  2   3 , Donnavan J D Kruger  4 , Louis H Du Preez  2   5
Affiliations

Folk taxonomy and indigenous names for frogs in Zululand, South Africa

Fortunate M Phaka et al. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. .

Abstract

Background: We use taxonomy to organize the world into recognizable units. Folk taxonomy deals with the naming and classification of organisms through culture. Unlike its scientific counterpart, folk taxonomy is mostly undocumented, the Zoological Code of Nomenclature does not regulate it, and the resulting names are specific to each culture. A growing body of literature is steadily shedding light on the principles underlying this pre-scientific taxonomy. Vernacular names can be an instrument to increase participation of non-scientists in biodiversity matters. In South Africa, great strides have been made in standardizing and increasing relatability of vernacular amphibian names in English and Afrikaans. However, there is a need to achieve the same with the country's autochthonous languages which are used by a majority of the population.

Methods: This study investigates amphibian-related folk taxonomy using a semi-structured interview process in KwaZulu-Natal's Zululand region and pilots methods of applying folk taxonomy principles to compile a comprehensive list of standardized indigenous frog names.

Results: Folk taxonomy in Zululand is systematic, developed, and bears similarities to other indigenous taxonomies around the world. Similarities also exist between folk and scientific taxonomy. Six uninomial indigenous names were found to be used for the 58 amphibian species occurring in the study area. The 58 species were assigned individual indigenous names using folk taxonomy guidelines supplemented with guidelines for modern taxonomies.

Conclusions: There is a gap in the documentation and investigation of amphibian folk taxonomy in South Africa. Standardization of indigenous frog names is required to increase their universality. Similarities between folk and modern taxonomies allow for supplementation of indigenous guidelines when compiling a comprehensive indigenous species list. Through this study, social inclusion in wildlife matters is increased, indigenous knowledge systems are promoted, and a contribution is made to the development of an indigenous South African language.

Keywords: Anura; Ethnotaxonomy; Indigenous knowledge; Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany; Taxonomy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Ethical clearance for the amphibian diversity part of this study was obtained from the North-West University Institutional Research Ethics Regulatory Committee (Ethics Number: NWU-00348-16-A5). This ethics committee stated that no ethics approval was necessary for human participation in this study.

Consent for publication

All data was collected with the consent of the participants and the participants also consented to the publication of the data. Copyright of the photograph used for the Poyntonophrynus genus belongs to LS Minter. Consent was given for use and publication of the photograph in question.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Correspondence of amphibian scientific taxa (24 genera, 12 families) with their folk taxonomy equivalents. Six folk names were obtained through a survey of 13 Zululand community members, 3 folk names were obtained from Tarrant [36], and 1 folk name was borrowed from an existing frog name. Superscript letter “a” denotes the name modified from Tarrant [36] with the assistance of Mr. Bongani Mkhize. Superscript letter “b” denotes name borrowed from existing English generic and common name. Poyntonophrynus sp. photograph was used with permission from LS Minter
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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