Jomo Kenyatta

1 7.2

A political leader who helped Kenya gain independence and became its first president

proper noun

: Jomo Kenyatta

Jomo Kenyatta is remembered as the founding father of modern Kenya.

Examples

A statue of Jomo Kenyatta stands proudly in central Nairobi.
During Jomo Kenyatta's leadership, Kenya achieved independence from British rule.
The legacy of Jomo Kenyatta continues to influence Kenyan politics today.
Did Jomo Kenyatta lead Kenya to independence?
Jomo Kenyatta is remembered as the founding father of modern Kenya.
During Jomo Kenyatta's leadership, Kenya achieved independence from British rule.
A statue of Jomo Kenyatta stands proudly in central Nairobi.

Surface Forms

Jomo Kenyatta main

Morphology

Jomo + Kenyatta

This is a proper name referring to a specific historical person; the meanings of the constituent tokens 'Jomo' and 'Kenyatta' (which are not lexical words) do not convey the concept 'first President of independent Kenya'. Understanding this MWE requires cultural/world knowledge rather than compositional word knowledge, so a B1 learner who only knows the parts would not infer the referent or significance.

Etymology

The name Jomo Kenyatta is the name of the leader who led Kenya to independence and became its first president. His given name Jomo may mean 'burning spear' in his language, a strong image of someone leading a fight, so people remember him as the 'founding father' of modern Kenya.