Abstract
This article presents an account of the ethnopragmatic functions of personal names in two onomastic traditions in North-central Nigeria: Owé (Kogi State) and Tiv (Benue State). The study undertakes a narrative ethnographic analysis of names to unearth the hidden meaning underlying their representation as symbolic linguistic resources in these cultural contexts. Drawing on qualitative research approach, using participant observations and semi-structured interviews with twenty participants in each study area, we argue that African indigenous personal names are speech practices and tools of interaction that have implied meanings beyond what they literally communicate in practical situations. Names and naming practices are thus embedded with enormous cultural scripts that enable cultural insiders to understand and interpret cultural experiences. In this way, the ethnopragmatic framework provides an analytic plank to unveil the different layers of signification embodied in personal names based on the values, norms and cultural semantics of the people concerned.
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