Abstract
This article discusses the way a personal name is derived, the context in which a name is given in Ikalanga, as well as the meaning behind the name. It is argued that Ikalanga personal names are derived from different grammatical categories such as verbs, possessives, nouns, adjectives, etc. Ikalanga personal names have different meanings. These meanings are mostly related to incidents that happen before pregnancy, at birth and after birth. The article argues that most of the time the meaning is known to the namer, and not the one to whom the name is bestowed. The article also looks at the arguments selected by names formed from verbs. Verbs select different arguments to build up their predicate argument structure. The article argues that names formed from verbal derivatives select between one and three arguments to build up their argument structure.
Recommended Citation
Gabanamotse-Mogara, Budzani
(2013)
"Ikalanga Derived Personal Names: A Functionalist Approach,"
Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences: Vol. 2
:
No.
1
, Article 4.
Available at: https://doi.org/vlm2/1.3