Language, personal names and the Igbo culture: A cosmological appraisal of two Igbo names -- Ọfọ and Chi

The issue of language cannot be over-emphasised in any culture. This is because language houses culture and also plays a crucial role in personal names. The Igbo language portrays the culture of the Igbo people as it an integral part of it. Names are not just given to an individual in the Igbo setting purposelessly; there are always some significant traditional rituals that precede the coinage of the name/s. This study investigates the concept of language in giving personal names in the Igbo cultural milieu and the image that a name evokes on the bearer and the environment. The aim of the study is to highlight the nexus between the language and the culture as they relate to personal names in Igbo cosmology This study, therefore, considers as its limitation, Igbo names with two morphemes/affixes Ọfọ and Chi. The investigation shows that the two personal names tell stories of events or a life story that necessitated the naming. The study uses both quantitative and qualitative means of data collection. Written materials and oral interviews were employed in the course of this study. The study summarises that those personal names are rooted in the cultures of anecdotes, satire, and innuendoes. In Igbo cosmology, the interpretation of any name is deciphered from the life experience of the person who christened the names or the general meaning of the name.