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The Englishisation of personal names in Nigeria

What Englishisation of Efik and Ibibio personal names suggests about English in Nigeria

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 May 2021

Eyo O. Mensah Open the ORCID record for Eyo O. Mensah [Opens in a new window]
Eyo O. Mensah*
Affiliation:
University of Calabar, Nigeria
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Email: eyomensah2004@yahoo.com
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Extract

Naming is a linguistic universal. Every known human society distinguishes and individuates its members by their names. In the context of Africa and beyond, names are not just ordinary labels for the identification of their bearers; they mirror the culture, tradition and worldview of the people. Essien (1986: 5) argues that ‘naming is not an arbitrary affair, it is at once a mental, an emotional, a linguistic and a cultural matter’. It is widely believed that names and naming can influence the personality development and behaviour of their bearers. This claim justifies Camden's (1984: 43) admonition that ‘names should be chosen with good and gracious significations to inspire the bearer to good action’. This implies that people are assumed to live according to the message contained in their names. Significantly, names also embed deep cultural insights that reflect their bearers’ social lives, philosophy, religion, emotions and worldview. African names, for instance, are important cultural and symbolic resources that reflect the peculiarities of the African people, and capture their beliefs, values, identity and personality.

Type
Research Article
Information
English Today , Volume 38 , Issue 3 , September 2022 , pp. 152 - 164
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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