Names (Sep 1998)
Akan Death-Prevention Names: A Pragmatic and Structural Analysis
Abstract
Abstract This paper discusses the content and types of Akan death-prevention names. It provides a structural linguistic analysis of the morphology of these names and presents a socio- and ethnolingustic account of the death-prevention names as they function within Akan communication: Thepaper also classifies the names according to their structures. Death-prevention names are shown to be meaningful and to refer to the lives of both their bearers and the name-givers.