PRAGMALINGUISTICS STUDY OF NAMES IN THE GHOMALA’ LANGUAGE OF CAMEROON

Abstract

This article presents a pragmalinguistic aspects of names in the Ghɔmálá’ language spoken in Cameroon. A pragmalinguistic study of names is an analysis of the use of names in a specific social and cultural context, taking into account the way they convey meaning and intentions. In Ghɔmálá’- speaking communities, people, places, groups, plants, animals and other entities are assigned names that reflect circumstantial, contextual, historical, social, temporal and cultural perspectives. We want to understand how names in the Ghɔmálá’ language contribute to the construction of cultural and social identity, and how they are used to convey information about the relationship between the speaker and the named identity. This study aims to provide the meaning and function of these names in order to preserve our rich cultural heritage. The theoretical framework is based on the principles of pragmatics and sociolinguistics which highlight the role of context in shaping language use and meaning. The methodology employed in this study combined qualitative and quantitative analysis. Data were collected from interviews with native speakers of the Ghɔmálá’ language and text analyses. The pragmalinguistic analysis reveals that names in Ghɔmálá’ language serve not only to identify specific entities but also to convey information about the relationship between the speaker and the named entity as well as the cultural and social context in which communication takes place.