Towards a ‘grounding model’ of linguistic landscape through church names

Akoto, Osei Yaw

doi:10.1080/14790718.2023.2212906

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Broadly speaking, onomastics deals with the study of names (Algeo 1992). It covers 'anthroponyms' (the study of personal names), 'toponyms' (the study of place names), 'ethnonyms' (names that are used to refer to ethnic groups or tribes), and 'hydronyms' (names given to rivers and water bodies) as well as plant names, pet names, company names, brand names, and church names, among others (Algeo and Algeo 2000;Yakub 2020;Akuamah 2021;Akoto 2023). As Reszegi (2023) mentions, cognitive onomastics is a relatively new approach to the study of proper names based on a cognitive approach to language, using the assumptions of cognitive linguistics and other cognitive sciences.…”

Section: Theoretical Orientationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In recent times, onomastic research, which generally deals with the study of names and naming practices (Algeo 1992), has increasingly gained scholarly attention. Many researchers have focused on the study of nicknames/personal names (e.g., Ntombela 2019;Abubakari 2020;Owu-Ewie et al 2021;Mensah and Ndimele 2022), place names (e.g., Matthews 2018; Yankey 2022), church names, the names of institutions (Awukuvi and Israel 2018;Akoto 2023), pet and animal names (see Alqarni 2022;Aziaku 2016;Yakub 2020), and the names of water bodies (Mphasha et al 2021; Sun and Jiang 2023), among others. Personal naming practices have become part of the core values of human existence (Sekyi-Baidoo 2019;Mensah 2023b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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‘Refuse Dump, Hurry Up!’: A Cognitive Onomastic and Cultural Metaphor Perspective of Nzema Death-Prevention Names

Yakub

2024

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African personal names have communicative contents that reflect the experiences and expectations of the name-giver as well as the bearer. Death-prevention names, for instance, provide some assurance and security that are vital for a child’s survival, given the implicit assumption that certain spiritual forces are at work. The bestowal of despicable and ‘ugly’ names on children whose preceding siblings died shortly after birth is also a common practice among the Nzema, aiming at preventing succeeding children from death. This study examines cultural conceptions and metaphorical correlations in Nzema death-prevention names. Using 42 death-prevention names obtained through interviews, the study discusses the implications of the names and their metaphoric connections with the objects used to identify this category of people. The study reveals that features of entities such as ɛkpɔtɛ ‘vulture’, nrɛzenra ‘housefly’, kɛndɛne ‘basket’, and fovolɛ ‘refuse dump’ are attributed to these children to make them seem ‘unpleasant’ to the ancestral spirits who are believed to have been snatching them after birth. Other ‘long-lasting’ entities like nyevile ‘sea’, bolɛ ‘rock’, and kpɔma ‘walking stick’ are used metaphorically to refer to a child with the belief that they would survive right from birth and live long on the earth.

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