Africanization or Africanisation (lit., making something African) has been applied in various contexts, notably in geographic and personal naming and in the composition of the civil service via processes such as indigenization.
In some cases, changes are not only of transliteration but of the European name.
[2] In many cases during the colonial period, African placenames were Anglicized or Francized.
Various African countries have undergone name changes during the previous century as the result of consolidations and secessions, territories gaining sovereignty, and regime changes.
Examples: In some countries after following their independence, "Africanization" was the name given to racial policies and affirmative action, which were intended to increase the number of indigenous Africans in the civil service.