The Tripartite Analysis of God-Based names in Ibibio

Abstract

these paper-focuses on the tripartite analysis of God-based names in Ibibio in terms of morphological, syntactic and semantic features. The aim of this discourse is to highlight a subclass of personal names in Ibibio that transcend cultural, circumstantial, traditional and spiritual barriers. These Abasi (God) based names reflect how God manifest himself to his people in manifold facets. The theoretical framework adopted in this paper is eclectic in nature comprising principle and parameter theory (PPT) as well as the mentalist theory of meanings (MTM). The data for this study were collected from SS (1-3) students with God-based name in eight secondary schools randomly selected in Uyo and Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Areas of Akwa Ibom State. An application of PPT on the data reveals a compounding characteristic of ordered constituents. Besides, these God-based names, as compounds, can be classified into phrases and sentences thereby corroborating the claim that Ibibio is an agglutinating language. Furthermore, the analysis shows that any interchange of the positions or reversal of the constituents in the compounding process may lead to semantic voidness or object change in meanings. In addition, the application of MTM on the data elicits a mental picture of the meanings of specific God-based names in terms of feelings, emotions and belief system in the mind of interlocutors. In conclusion, the findings countersign the belief of an average Ibibio man that there is a strong relationship between Abasi (God) as the creator and man as his creature.