Causativity in Ìgbò Personal Names (original) (raw)

A Semantic & Pragmatic Analysis of Igbo Names

The paper investigates the semantic & pragmatic contents of personal names and naming in the Igbo language and culture. The objective of the paper is to examine the structure of Igbo names and analyze their semantic & pragmatic contents. The data are sourced from the Igbo language spoken in the South Eastern States of Nigeria. In other words, they cut across Standard and dialectal Igbo names. Selected personal names are grouped structurally according to their forms in the following order: lexical (or morph-morphemic) names, Noun-Noun phrasal names, Noun-Verb phrasal names, Noun-Verb-Complement/sentential names and Interrogation / Injunction names. The semantic and pragmatic analyses are made based on the structural data generated. The pragmatic analysis is handled by incorporating the context into the semantic contents. Our findings show that structurally Igbo names fall into three broad categories, namely: lexical category, phrasal category and sentential category. From our analysis, it is observed that among Ndigbo, a name is not just a tag of identity or personal label but a story and expression of the events and circumstances surrounding the birth of the child as well as the parents' life experiences and world view.

A diachronic analysis of the socio-semantic features of Igbo personal names

2021

This paper examines Igbo personal names from the perspectives of anthropological linguistics, socio-semantics, pragmatics and diachrony. It traces the evolution of name-giving within three major eras, pre-Christian (before the 1850s), early-Christian (from 1857--1960s) and Pentecostal (1960s to date) among the Igbo. The data for the study are 300 personal names sourced through interviews with both old and young members of the Igbuzo-Igbo community as well as from class registers of some nursery, primary and secondary schools in Port Harcourt. This paper reveals three interesting and important findings. First, indigenous Igbo names are culturally, semantically and pragmatically significant. Second, the principles and practice of name-giving have undergone some drastic changes through the eras. During the early-Christian and Pentecostal eras, the forces of Christianity, modernization and globalization have resulted in new names that reflect these changes. Third, indigenous names which...

The Sociolinguistics of Igbo Personal Names

2019

Naming is a universal linguistic act. In Africa, naming is linked with traditions, values, beliefs, and events in people's lives. This study firstly presents sociocultural relevance of personal names in Igbo. Personal names in Igbo reveal important insights into the patterns of social and cultural organization of the Igbo society. The paper discusses the typology of Igbo names such as family names, occupational names, circumstantial names, market day names, kinship names, honorifics and title names, metaphoric names, etc. Igbo naming systems depict the Igbo culture and philosophy because an indigenous Igbo name identifies the bearer as a member of the Igbo society and carves a space for him/her in the society. In the traditional Igbo society, name givers chose personal names that reflect their culture. However, the changing modern and religious influences on the land and the people have left their impact on naming patterns. This results in changing naming practices. The paper, t...

A Linguistic Appraisal of Igbo Anthroponyms by

Journal of Lexicography and Terminology University of Zambia , 2018

Naming has many times been relegated to the background whenever a linguistic study is involved. It is assumed that names are mere referent, therefore, are not useful in linguistic analysis. But, in actual sense, names are significant as they reflect on the social aspect of the society. Wakumelo, Mwanza & Mkandawire (2016:270) noted that "…names or odonyms are not just mere signposts, they reflect the social, political, and cultural ideologies maintained by the name givers". In other words, names form a major part of the culture of any society and the Igbo people in particular in terms of their values, ideas, reflections, meanings and thoughts. Names identify, motivate and aspire the bearers. This paper discusses personal names among the Igbos of Nigeria and considers naming as an important aspect of the Igbo society. The paper looked at Igbo names within the purview of the grammatical categories. It was noted that Igbo names, like most names in Africa are mostly lexical, phrasal or compound with sentential underlying structures which make them unique and distinct from European personal names.

Causativity and Transitivity in Igbò

2015

The universal grammatical concept of causativity has received little attention from Igbo grammar scholars. On the contrary, the equally universal concept of transitivity is well studied but with attendant controversial issues. Nevertheless, the notions of causativity and transitivity are represented by the morpho-semantic properties of the Igbo verb. This study investigates these morphosyntactic properties in order to identify the contrasts between causativity and transitivity. The investigation involves an anlysis of the predicate and event structures of the Igbo verb. This leads to the conclusion that the contrast between transitivity and causativity in Igbo lies in the event structure of the verb. Verbs with transitivity features represent single events in their conceptualisation while causative verbs represent two sequential events in their conceptualisation.

A comparative semantic analysis of personal names in Igbo and Tiv

Journal of Languages, Linguistics and Literary Studies

The study entitled ’A comparative semantic analysis of personal names in Igbo and Tiv’ is relevant because the available literature at the disposal of the researchers do not treat the semantics of Igbo and Tiv personal names from the comparative perspective. Hence, the present study is designed to examine the personal names in Igbo and Tiv with the aim of discovering the similarities and differences between Igbo and Tiv personal naming systems. The study is predicated on LoCatsro (2012) notion of Anthropological Pragmatics. LoCatsro notion holds that the interpretation of semantic elements and properties are based on cultural peculiarities that can only be understood using the link between culture and contextual meaning of words. The conceptual framework supports the present study because it accounts for the existing personal names in Igbo and Tiv. The personal names in Igbo and Tiv, which are means of group and individual identities, usually reflect the experiences, wishes, religio...

A Sociolinguistic Study of the Emerging Trends in Igbo Personal Names

Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 2018

Ideally, personal names reflect the ideology, beliefs, values and norms of the bearers, and as such, an embodiment of their social identity. The current wave of westernization sweeping across Africa, especially the Igbo society, has influenced all aspects of her culture, including naming. Some of the names which were once regarded as nicknames have since been transformed to personal names, thus calling for scholarly investigations. The researcher argues that some of the current trends in naming stripe the names of their cultural, social, religious and political relevance, and blot the identity of the bearers, while others violate the norms of naming in Igbo culture. To provide the bases for comparison, the researcher compiled regular and trending Igbo names from her personal contacts in Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria, as well as from the social media, television and radio broadcasts, the internet and the print media for a descriptive analysis. Interview was also incorporated to obtain from the bearers of the names deeper insights into the motivation behind the names. It was observed that some Igbo names no longer have any meaning relationships with their derivatives, while others have experienced different levels of westernization. It is recommended that awareness campaigns should be deployed to educate the people on the interconnectivity of names, language, culture and identity so that they can place meaningfulness and relevance above fashion when it comes to personal names.

THE ETHNO-PRAGMATICS ANALYSIS OF DURU NAMES AMONG THE IGBO

Journal of Languages, Linguistics and Literary Studies (JOLLS), 2021

The study of names has attracted attentions of linguists, philosophers, anthropologists, sociologist, and language analysts among others. Igbo names in general represent the world view of the Igbo people, and the names can be classified broadly into two: given and taken names. While given names embodies the desires, circumstances surrounding the birth of any child or the challenges facing the family, taken names reflect more of personality, achievement, ideology, dreams and aspirations of the bearer. This study focuses on the later and specifically on names associated with Duru, and compares them with eze related names. Like eze, the reoccurrence of Duru affix in some Igbo names has social, economic, and religious undertones. Data were collected from people that bear names associated with duru, as well as some selected elders who are the custodians of the culture of the areas where these names are in operation. The qualitative research method was used to translate, analyse and explain the data from the anthroponomical, semiotic and linguistic perspectives. The data were classified in three major groups: communities, title and personal names. The study reveals a close link between duru and eze: the names are solely for male, and is more of taken name than given name. In other words, eze is synonymous with duru names, and like eze, it is a title and honorific name; given to great men, title holders, warriors, and distinguished men of their time.

Anthropolinguistic study of Àlà names in Igbo

Abstract: Ala names or anthroponyms used to be personal names given to male children. These names bear testimonies to the overwhelming influence of Ala over the various aspects of Igbo life. The Ala names in this study were collected from various parts of Igboland, within the south east of Nigeria. The Igbo world view is examined so as to place the study in proper perspective. The names are then categorized to reflect the various dispositions of the name givers. A de-sentential source is postulated for each name, while samples are selected for linguistic analysis. The analysis shows that the processes of simplification tend to obscure the meanings of some Ala names. The study notes that Ala names have ceased to be borne as forenames since the advent of Christianity. The names are now used as patronyms by those whose fore-bearers had Ala names as forenames. Key words: Ala, anthroponym, forename, patronym, fore-bearer.

A Cognitive Analysis of the Igbo Morpheme 'Na

2015

In the literature on Igbo grammar, the prevailing idea is that the function of the morpheme na depends on its structural position in a syntactic construction. Therefore, the structure of the clause determines the various meanings and functions assigned to na in Igbo grammar. This paper argues that na has one consistent function in Igbo, which is rather cohesive: it functions as a grounding element in all the positions it occurs in the syntax of the language. This grounding function is explored within the Cognitive Grammar framework which proposes the systematic analysis of language within the milieu of universal human cognitive abilities. For Cognitive Grammar, the meaning of a word is not independent of the common traditions (socio-cultural beliefs included) of the users of the language in which it occurs. The study concludes that na functions to ground; (1) subjects to their locations, (2) subjects to their source or goal, (3) the verb in the complement, and (4) a subject to a sta...