The functions of emotion-referencing names in Ibibio
Vivian Dzokoto | Virginia Commonwealth University
Kirsty Rowan | University of London
In certain societies including the Ibibio of Akwa Ibom State, South-Eastern Nigeria, naming is a distinctive system of communicative practice which is used to express emotion and construct the personhood and identity of the name-bearer. This article examines emotion-referencing names among the Ibibio and adopts an ethnographic approach to investigate the motivations for the name choice, their socio-onomastic significance and the extent of influence they have over their bearers’ ‘selves’. We find that emotion names are bestowed through a range of motivations such as being a reflection of familial problems, death-prevention, religiously inspired and namesaking. We conclude that regardless of these motivations or whether the name has a positive or negative VALENCE, for the Ibibio, emotion-referencing names appear to have a subtle psychological impact upon the name-bearers self-perception. Naming among the Ibibio, therefore, is not only a form of cultural identity but a prominent site to reflect on and interpret emotions.
Keywords: emotion, personal names, personality, psychology of identity, selfhood, linguistic ideology, Ibibio
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Name, identity and psychology
- 3.Methods and participants
- 4.Data analysis and discussion
- 4.1The Ibibio naming tradition
- 4.2Emotion-referencing names
- 5.Conclusions
-
References
Published online: 20 September 2021
https://doi.org/10.1075/ijolc.19009.men
https://doi.org/10.1075/ijolc.19009.men
References
Aboh, R.
Aceto, M.
Anchimbe, E.
Agyekum, K.
Ansa, S. & Okon, B.
Batoma, A.
Bassey, A., Ojua, A., Archibong, E., & Bassey, U.
Beck, A., Freeman, A.
Brendl, M., Chattopadhyay, A., Pelham, B., & Carvallo, M.
Bruning, J.
Buchanan, B. & Bruning, J.
Clyne, M.
Connell, B.
Creswell, D., Welch, W., Taylor, S., Sherman, D., Gruenewald, T., & Mann, T.
Denzin, N. & Lincoln, Y.
Ekanjume-Ilongo, B.
Faraclas, N.
Findlay, J.
(2018) Largest ethnic groups in Nigeria. World Atlas. https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/largest-ethnic-groups-in-nigeria.html Accessed July 17, 2019
Gawronski, B., Bodenhausen, A., & Becker, A. P.
Gebauer, J., Riketta, M., Broemer, P., & Maio, G.
Haviland, W., Prins, H., & McBride, B.
Holland, R., Wennekers, A., Bijlstra, G., Jongenelen, M., & van Knippenberg, A.
Jones, J., Pelham, B., Carvallo, M., & Mirenberg, M.
Kellogg, S. & Young, J.
Koole, S., Dijksterhuis, A., & van Knippenbeg, A.
Kuiper, J. & Askuri, A.
Kuppens, P., Realo, A. & Diener, E.
Lambek, M.
Lamidi, T. & Aboh, R.
Mamvura, Z.
McAndrew, F., King, J., & Honoroff, L.
Mensah, E.
Mensah, E. & Offong, I.
Mensah, E. & Rowan, K.
Nuttin, J.
Nwala, T.
Obeng, S.
Park, C.
Pelham, B., Mirenberg, M., & Jones, J.
Rossi, A.
Schonberg, W., & Murphy, D.
Sherman, D., Nelson, L., & Steele, C.
Steele, C.
Ullmann, S.
Vicary, A.
Williamson, K.
Ysseldyk, R., Matheson, K., & Anisman, H.