Translating Colonial Legacies: The Anglicization of Place Names in Aden during the British Occupation

Abstract

This study investigates the Anglicization of place names in Aden during the British occupation (1839–1967), focusing on the cultural, linguistic and ideological implications of colonial toponymy. While the political and economic dimensions of British rule in Aden have been well documented, the symbolic function of language, particularly the renaming of geographic sites, remains underexplored. The study addresses this gap by examining how colonial place-naming practices served as instruments of cultural imperialism, reshaping local identity and spatial memory. Grounded in Said’s (1978) Orientalism, the study adopts a post-colonial theoretical lens to analyze the power dynamics embedded in these naming interventions. Employing a historical-comparative qualitative design, data were collected from archival documents and semi-structured interviews with historians, cultural experts, and older residents of Aden. Ten Anglicized place names were purposively selected based on historical and linguistic relevance. The findings reveal that these names functioned as tools of ideological domination, aesthetic rebranding, and spatial segregation, many of which persist in the post-colonial era. The study concludes that the continued use of colonial toponyms reflects an enduring linguistic legacy and calls for critical engagement with cultural reclamation practices. It contributes to broader debates on decolonization, identity and the politics of naming in post-colonial societies.