The German place nomenclature in South west Africa, under the influence of various toponymic and linguistic factors, spontaneously developed into a unique toponymicon. The specific nature of this toponymicon is marked by a large number of inherited name transfers from Europe on the one hand and a partially or fully germanized local toponymicon with numerous examples of translations, adopted loan names and substitutions on the other hand. This unique toponymicon mainly originated from the inter linguistic interaction between German, Afrikaans and the indigenous languages of the territory. The supposition on which the theoretical concept and research method was formulated and executed, is the dichotomous nature of the place names as onomastic and linguistic signs. The German place names have certain general, but also intrinsic toponymic and linguistic features in common. This prompted the diachronic and synchronic analysis of the place names on both linguistic and onomastic levels. The onomastic approach entailed the analysis of the structural composition of the place names; the toponymic motives; the interlinguistic contact situation; the origins, etymologies and semantic aspects of the names. On the linguistic level the names were analyzed according to syntagmatic and paradigmatic criteria and categorized according to linguistic principles pertaining to proper nouns, specifically toponyms or place names. The conclusion was reached that the German South West African toponymicon, despite the large number of name transfers that occurred and the close resemblance with its European origins which is still clearly discernible, appears on the formal and functional level as a unique, yet true Southern African toponymicon . / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1986.