yoruba names and gender - orie al 2002

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Yoruba names and gender marking

ARTICLE · JANUARY 2002

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1 AUTHOR:

Olanikė Ola Orie

Tulane University

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Anthropological Linguistics

Yoruba Names and Gender MarkingAuthor(s): Ọlanikẹ Ọla OrieReviewed work(s):Source: Anthropological Linguistics, Vol. 44, No. 2 (Summer, 2002), pp. 115-142Published by: The Trustees of Indiana University on behalf of Anthropological LinguisticsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/30028837 .

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Yoruba Names and Gender

Marking

OLANIKEOLA

ORIE

Tulane

University

Abstract. Attributive names constitute the

principal

locus of

gender

dis-

tinction

in

Yoruba.

Masculine

names have the tone

pattern

LLH

and contain

two

monosyllabic

verbs

denoting

semantic themes such as

bravery

and inten-

tional

possession;

in

contrast,

feminine

names have LLH or LHH tone

patterns

and contain verbs

reflecting

themes

involving nurturing.

These

properties

are

analyzed

as

resulting

from the

interaction

of

phonology, morphology, syntax,

and semantics.

Furthermore,

differences in the

frequency

of masculine and

feminine names are

analyzed

as

following

from markedness.

Finally,

whereas

frequency,

femininity,

and aesthetics

play

some role in the selection of feminine

names,

semantics

plays

the dominant role.

1. Introduction. Gender is a term used to

classify

nouns

as

masculine,

feminine,

and

neuter.

Two

types

of

gender marking

occur

crosslinguistically:

grammatical gender

and natural

gender.

Grammatical

gender regulates gender

agreement

between

words,

whereas individual words

carry

natural

gender

information. French exhibits

grammatical

gender.

Hence,

cooccurring

articles

and

nouns must

agree

with

respect

to

gender.

On the other

hand,

English

does

not

impose gender agreement

on

cooccurring words,

but it exhibits natural

gender,

which is seen

only

in

third-person singular pronouns

and a few words

such

as

prince/princess

and

actor/actress.

Although

gender

is marked

in

many

languages,

some

languages

do not

classify

nouns or

pronouns

in terms

of

gender.

Yoruba

(of

the

Benue-Congo family, Nigeria)

is considered an

example

of such a

language;

it classifies

pronouns

in terms of

person

and number

(Bamgbose

1966;

Awobuluyi

1978),

but

not on the basis of

gender.

Furthermore,

there are

no

affixes

that contrast

nouns in terms of

gender.

While it is true that

gender

is not a

general property

of

Yoruba

nouns,

there

is evidence for

gender

marking

in

personal

attributive names.

According

to

Oyetade (1991),

two tonal

patterns

are

used

in

forming

attributive names:' low-

low-high

(LLH)

and

low-high-high

(LHH).2

The LLH

pattern

is

the

most

com-

mon and is

used for both masculine and feminine names.

This form is derived

by

prefixing

a low-toned

A

to

a

sequence

of two

monosyllabic

verbs,

as in table

1

below.

The LHH

pattern

is also derived

by attaching

a low-toned

A

to two

monosyllabic

verbs,

resulting

in forms that

are feminine

names,

such as those

in

table 2.3

115


4/30

116

ANTHROPOLOGICAL

INGUISTICS

44

NO. 2

Table 1. Masculine and

Feminine Names Derived with

the LIH Tone

Pattern

MASCULINE

FEMININE

A-ji-gbd A-l--ki

PREF-fight-carry

PREF-emerge.uniquely-pamper

A-lk-ni

A-we-ki

PREF-emerge.uniquely-possess PREF-bathe-pamper

A-kin-bt

A-be-ki

PREF-meet.intentionally-born PREF-beg-pamper

A-yin-de A-yin-lke

PREF-praise-arrive

PREF-praise-pamper

Table 2.

Feminine Names Derived with the LHH

Tone Pattern

A-gb-lki

PREF-carry-pamper

A-to-ke

PREF-nurture-pamper

A-j(-ki

PREF-wake.up-pamper

A-ni'-ki

PREF-possess-pamper

This article addresses

three issues related to the data in

tables

1

and 2. The

first

concerns the

characterization

of

the

gender

markers: which

properties sup-

ply

the

gender

distinction?

Oyetade

proposes

that

gender

marking

is

derived

from

the semantics of the

verbs contained in the name and from

the two tonal

patterns

LLH

and LHH. The article

argues

that

these two

properties

are neces-

sary

but

not sufficient to account for

gender marking.

The

existing

account

does

not

explain why

only

a

verb

phrase

with a serial verb

construction

is a valid

base. In

addition,

it

does

not

explain why

the

serial

verb must contain

exactly

two

monosyllabic

verbs. Since

Yoruba is

a

serializing language,

which allows

two

or more

verbs to occur in a

sequence

within

a sentence

(see,

e.g.,

Bamgbose

1974;

Oyelaran

1982;

Awoyale 1988),

why

is it

impossible

to

have

an attributive

name

with

more than two

monosyllabic

verbs? To

explain

these

restrictions,

it is

proposed

that the tonal

and semantic account

must be

supplemented

by syn-

tactic and prosodic requirements, which make a serial verb constituting a binary

foot the

optimal

base of

prefixation.

Analyzing

the base of

prefixation

as a con-

stituent

governed by

prosodic

and

syntactic

constraints

demonstrates,

contrary

to the

proposal

of Selkirk

(1986),

that

prosodic-based processes

cannot

always

be

defined in

purely prosodic

or

morphoprosodic

terms.

The second issue is

why

the

LLH

pattern

is

more common than

the LHH

pattern.

It is

argued

that

the masculine

pattern

is

the more common

pattern


5/30

2002

OLANIKELA

ORIE

117

because

it is

the unmarked form.

Hence,

both masculine and feminine attri-

butive names can be derivedfrom it. The

LHH

pattern

is less common

because

it

is the markedform,the form reservedexclusivelyforcreatingfeminine attribu-

tive names. That

is,

the use of the feminine tonal

pattern provides

more

specific

information

and rules

out the

possibility

of masculine

reference,

whereas

the use

of the masculine tonal

pattern

does not exclude the

possibility

of

feminine

reference

(Baker 1992).

The third issue is

sociolinguistic

in nature. The

specific question

addressed

is the

following: given

that female names can be derived from the

male-based

LLH tonal

pattern

and the

exclusively

female-basedLHH tonal

pattern,

on what

basis do

parents

choose names

for

girls

from one set or the

other?4

n

addressing

this

question,

I show that the

flexibility

of name selection for

girls

results from a

range

of

factors,

including frequency, femininity,

aesthetics,

and

semantics.

First, frequency

is a

factor

because the

LLH tonal

pattern

is considered

more

common

and

popular

than the LHHtonal

pattern.

Second,

femininity

and aes-

thetics are

contributing

factors since the LHH

pattern

is viewed as more

feminine-sounding

and

attractive than the LLH

pattern.

Third,

semantics is a

factor

because some

parents

select names

just

to

express

the circumstancessur-

rounding

the birth of a

child,

to describe who the child

is,

or to

convey

their

wishes

for a child. For

such

parents,

the tonal

pattern may

be LLH or LHH. Of

all

these

factors,

however,

semantics is the most

important;

even when factors

such as

frequency,

emininity,

and

aesthetics

play

a role

in

the selection of

girls'

names,

meaning

is still crucial for all

parents.

The structure of the

article is as follows.

In

section

2,

sociolinguistic

back-

ground

is

briefly

reviewed.

Section

3

discusses traditional

naming among

the

Yoruba. In section 4, the strategies for name formation in Yoruba are presented

and the differences between

personal

names,

attributive

names,

and nicknames

are outlined in detail. Section

5

provides

an

account of

attributive

names show-

ing

the interaction of

morphosyntactic,

tonal, semantic,

and

prosodic properties.

In section

6,

the difference

in the

frequency

of LLH and

L;HH

names is

explained

as

following

from markedness factors. Section

7

examines

the

issue of name

selection for

girls,

and

section 8

gives

the conclusion.

Finally, sample

lists of

attributive names are

provided

in

appendices

1 and 2.

2.

Sociolinguistic background.

The

Yoruba of West

Africa are one of the

largest

ethnic

groups

south

of the Sahara

(Bascom 1969).

Their

language,

Yoruba,

although predominantly

spoken

in

Nigeria,5

is also

spoken

in Benin and

Togo

(see

map

1).

In

total,

there are over

twenty

million

speakers.6

Yoruba has more

than

twenty

distinct dialects.

Examples

are

Oyo, Ijesa,

Ife,

Igbomina, Ijebu,Egba,

Awori, Ondo, Ekiti,

Ilaje,

Ikale, Owo,

Ijo-Apoi,

Owe,

Ijumu,

Yagba,

Gbede,

Bunu, Shabe,

and Ketu

(see

map 1).7

Aside from

these

dialects,

there is a standard dialect

(Standard Yoruba),8

which

is

taught

in

Nigerian

schools and

used in

literary writing.

It is also the official

language

in


6/30

118 ANTHROPOLOGICALINGUISTICS

44

NO.2

southwestern

Nigeria,

and it is one of the

major languages

of the

media

(used

in

newspapers,

radio,

and television

broadcasting).

ISHA

SHABE

I/yrie

ANA

Atakpame

IDASBA

shabe

CRIdR.

OYO

OgunR.

OYO

IGBOMINA

Its

YAGBAI

AWORO

BUNU

TOGO

m o n o R

wemeR

KETU

ketu

Ibadan

Ebeokuta

owu

UESA

Ilesa

EKITI

Ife

Owo

BENIN

IFONYIN

EGBADO

EGBA

UISBU

Ijebu-ode

Ondo

ONDO

OWO

AWORI

Lagos

OSSER

NIGERIA

ILAJE

ITSEKIRI

Wari

NigerR.

0

20 40 60 80

100

scaleb mles

Map

1.

The location ofYorubadialects in

Nigeria, Benin,

and

Togo.

3. Traditional

naming among

the Yoruba.

Before

1840,

when Christian

names

and surnames

began

to be

used,

a Yoruba

person's

full

name had three or

four elements (Oduyoye 1972; Oyelaran 1976): ordko 'personal name',

ori'ki

zbiso

'attributive

name',9

oriki

Alije

'nickname','o

and oriki

or'le

'totemic

name'. Some

examples

are

given

in table

3.

Table 3. Traditional

Yoruba Names

PERSONALAMES

Ad6yemi

'crown

befits me'

Omddll6

'child

arrives home'

Akinola

'valor of

high

status'

Abiddin

'child born

during

a festival'

ATTRIBUTIVEAMES

Albi

'child who

emerges

singularly

to be

born'

Agbdke

'child to be carried

and

pampered'

Akiznjif

'childwho

brings

awakening'

Alik6

'child who

emerges

to be

pampered'

NICKNAMES

Eyinfinjowd

'white teeth'

Awele.gb

'tall and slim'

P6ldyejti

'pele

befits face'

Ayiluko

'plump

woman'

TOTEMICAMES

Qkin

'peacock'

Opo

'pillar'

Erin

'elephant'

Agbo

'ram'

NOTE: 6l6

denotes a

type

of

facial

marking.


7/30

2002

QLANIKELA

ORIE

119

In

general, people

are

universally

known

by

their

personal

names and are

known

familiarly by

their attributive names

(Johnson 1969:87).

Nicknames are

like attributive names because they are usually used by people who are familiar

with

the owner of

a name.

There are rules

regulating

the

use

of these

names.

For

example,

whereas

everyone may

address individuals

by

their

personal

names,

only

elders can address children

by

their attributive names when

they

want to

express

a

feeling

of endearment or affection for a child

(Johnson 1969:85).

In

contrast,

it is

considered

rude for a

younger person

to

address

an older

person by

his

or her

attributive name.

Unlike

personal

names, attributives,

and

nicknames,

which

belong

to indi-

viduals,

totemic names

belong

to families. In

addition,

they

have

accompanying

poems,

which encode information such as

family origin,

behavior and

character,

profession,

religion,

social

status,

and taboos

(Babalola

1967).

To

fully identify

a

person,

the

names

described

above are mentioned and connected to the names of

an individual's

parents,

as in

(1).

(1) Omo~ld AgbdkeAwe.lgbd Opd,

omo on Koldwpld,

mo

Ad&itutt

'Omodel6Agb6k6Awelegb6 0p6,

child of

K9lawole,

child of Adetutu'

Yoruba full

names,

like

fingerprints,

are

unique

to each

person.

In the words

of

Johnson,

When the

oriko (name),

the oriki and the

orile

(totem)

are

given,

the individual is

distinctive,

the

family

is

known,

and he can at

any

time be

traced

(1969:87).

In a North American

context,

the

equivalent

is a social se-

curity

number

(Oyelaran

1976).

As is well

known,

a social

security

number is a

distinctive number that

is

uniquely assigned

to one

person,

and all vital infor-

mation about that person, including birth, health, education, profession, re-

sidence,

tax

history,

vehicle

ownership,

and so

on,

is documented

using

the

assigned

number. Access to a social

security

number

provides

access to the life

of

an individual.

In

modern times,

Yoruba

naming

has

changed, especially among

the edu-

cated. For

example,

it is common

to find

people

with

only

three names-a first

name,

a middle

name,

and a surname.

Surnames

are names of children's

fathers;

first and middle names are

usually personal

and

attributive names.

Children of Christians and

Moslems are

also

given

Christian- and Moslem-

based first or middle

names,

such

as those in table

4.

Table 4. Names in

Contemporary

Times

FIRST

Adidayo.

Oldwindd

Filisia

Kirnmg

MIDDLE

Alsbt

Tem

Olidr6nki

Te'wogbade

SURNAME

Akinloldi

Fisold

Addwildl

Aydndald


8/30

120 ANTHROPOLOGICAL

INGUISTICS 44

NO. 2

In

the

following

section,

I address the issue of name selection and show that

personal

names,

attributive

names,

and nicknames are chosen based on factors

such as the circumstances surrounding the birth of a child, the type of family a

child

belongs

to,

and the

hopes

and

aspirations

of

parents.

Totemic names

are

not considered because

they

are inherited.

3.1. The choice

of

personal

names.

The

choice of

a name

is

a

solemn

under-

taking

for

parents

and

grandparents

because

the

Yoruba

believe that one's

name can have a

psychological impact

on one's behavior

(Oduyoye

1972:67).

Hence,

much care is taken in the selection of names.

Name selection is driven

by

a number of

considerations. For

instance,

a

name

may

reflect the circumstances

surrounding

the birth of a

child.

To illus-

trate,

there are

special

names for twins and for children born after

them.

The

first-born

twin,

who is

thought

to be

younger

because he or she was

sent

ahead

to

explore

the world

by

the second-born

twin,

is

called

Tiydwo

(from

to

aye

wo)

'taste or

explore

the world'. The second-born

twin,

who is

thought

to be older

because he or she

waited

patiently

for the first-born twin to

explore

the

world,

is

called

Kehinde

'last to arrive'. A child born

immediately

after twins is

given

the

name idwdti

'child

born

after twins'

and the

next child is Alibd 'child born after

after Idwdi'.

Names

may

be

given

based

on the

profession, religion,

or

status of a

child's

family.

For

example,

a child born into a

family

of artists is

likely

to have

a name

that

begins

with

ona

'art';

a child born into a

family

of diviners will

have a

name

beginning

with

ifi

(god

of

divination);

and a child born into a

royal family

will have a name that starts with adk

'crown'.

It

is considered an

oddity

to find a

child from a family of hunters (ode) with a name beginning with ade 'crown'.

Hence,

the

saying

Ild

la di

wo

ki

t66

somo idirdko

One

must

look at a

family

(its

status,

profession,

and

religion)

before

giving

a child a

name'.

Furthermore,

a name

may

reflect the

aspirations

of

parents

for

their child-

ren. For

example,

if a woman has several

children

in

succession who die at

childbirth,

such children are known as Abikd

'one

who

is

born to

die',

a child who

wishes to travel back and forth between heaven and earth

(Bascom

1969:74).

This child

is

likely

to be

given

a name like

Muilmod

'do not

go

again', Dir6jaye

'wait and

enjoy

life',

or Kiiti 'one

who cannot die'. These names

show

that

parents

desire that their ibikad children

would not leave them.

3.2. Choice

of

attributive names. Like

personal

names,

attributive names

may also depict the circumstances surrounding the birth of a child. For instance,

if a woman has several male children in

succession who died

at

childbirth,

a

surviving

male child born

after that

experience

is

likely

to be

given

the name

Ajhni'fight

to

possess',

whereas a female child

whom the

parents

waited for a

long

time to conceive

may

be

given

the name

Abebi

'child who was

begged

to be

born'.


9/30

2002

OLANIKE LA

ORIE 121

Attributive names

may express

what the child

is,

as

dictated

by

the child's

orn 'fortune'

(Oyelaran 1976).11

For

example, Alike

is a child that

emerges

singularly (out of all the possible children that her parents might have had at

the time she was

born)

to be

pampered,

Adisd is a child

who is believed to have

supernatural

powers,

which would make it

impossible

for

any

evil force to attack

him,

and

Adigtin

is a child born believed to be

perfect

in

every

respect.

In

addition,

an attributive name

may depict

what it is

hoped

that a

child

will

become

(Johnson 1969:85).

For

instance,

Adafer

s a male child whose

parents

hope

everyone

will

long

to love him and Adake. s a female child whose

parents

hope

everyone

will

long

to

pamper

her.

Unlike

personal

names,

attributivenames do not reflectthe

unique

features

of the

family.

That

is,

it is

impossible

to retrieve

information

such

as

family

profession,

status,

or

religion

from an attributive name.

3.3.

Choice

of

nicknames.

Nicknames are selected based

on

character,

physical appearance, profession,

or achievement of the individual. Nicknames

are often

used

by

women

in

addressing

children who were born before

they

were

married into the

family (Oyelaran

1976:228).12

Although

a woman

may

refer to a

child born after her

marriage by

name,

she

cannot address those born before

by

name because

they

deserve

respect

on account of existential

precedence.

To

avoid a violation of this cultural

norm,

a woman must invent a nickname for

each senior child. We have

already

seen some

examples

in table

3.

Other

examples

are

Eleyinjidege

'beautiful

eyes',

Ejffwimi 'gapped

teeth

please

me',

Sabre'-dowd

'turn

a needle into

money

(a tailor)', Athrf-oj6orunn-o-riMn

'head

does not allow the sun

to shine

(big

head)',

and

Opele'fge-subd-ltwo-bwo-o-

fi-o-subdi-lodd-odd-fAyaa slim personfalls on a plate, a plate is not broken,she

falls

on a mortar and it

breaks

(a

fat

girl)'.

4. The structural

properties

of

given

names.

Although given

names-

ordiko,

oriki

Abiso,

and orfki

Alfei--are functionally

similar in some

respects,

their structural characterizations

are different.

According

to

Oduyoye

(1972),

the structural

composition

of oriko

'name' may

be as follows: two

nouns,

as in

table

5;

a sentence

comprising

a noun and

a verb

phrase (comprising

a verb

plus

noun and sometimes

additionally,

a

prepositional phrase),

as in table

6;

or a

verb

phrase (comprising

a verb

plus

noun and

verb),

as in table

7.

Table 5. Noun

plus

Noun Names

NOUN

olh

ife

akin

wdtir

NOUN

oldiwa

oldwa

old

old

OUTPUT

Oldoldwa

Ifeioldiwa

Akinold

Wdarold

GLOSS

'the

high

estate

of God'

'the love of God'

'the valor of

high

status'

'gold

of honor'


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122 ANTHROPOLOGICAL

INGUISTICS

44

NO.

2

Table 6. Sentential Names

NouN

ad4

omo

oldi

old

VERBPHRASE

wuokl~

dele

sina

jumoke

OUTPUT

Adiwpld

Omoddild

Oldisi.n.

Qldjusm 6.k

GLOSS

'the crown enters the house'

'child arrives

(at home)'

'the

Lord

opens

the

way'

'wealth accumulates to

pamper

a child'

Table

7.

Predicate

(Verb Phrase)

Names

VERBPHRASE

Mit~nmi

K6red4

Gbo.ldhin

Kdldwold

GLOSS

'donot deceiveme'

'arrive with

good things'

'exhibit honor'

'bring

honor

into

the

house'

The names in

tables

5-7

reflect

four

unique properties.

First,

none of the names

is derived

through

affixation.

They

are

mainly composed

from lexical items.

Second,

they

do not reflect

any

prosodic

restriction. In other

words,

they

do not

have to be of a

particular phonological shape

to be well-formed. All that is re-

quired

is that

they comply

with the rules of

phrasal

or sentential

composition.13

Third,

these names do not have a fixed

tonal

pattern.

Fourth,

most of these

names are

gender

neutral;

that

is,

they

can be used

by

males or females.14

Like

oriko,

oriki

lizje

'nicknames'

do

not

display prosodic

restrictions,

they

do not have

fixed tonal

patterns,

and

they

are

mostly gender

neutral. Unlike

oriko, however,

orizki

&lkjei

may

be derived

through prefixation (Oyelaran

1976:

244) and concatenation of lexical words. Examples are shown in table 8.

Table 8. Structure of Nicknames

.Eldyinjd;-ge

owner.of.eyeballs-delicate

'beautiful

eyes'

Sabr.d-dowd

turn-a.needle-into.money

'a

tailor'

Eji-wit-mi

gapped.teeth-please-me

'one with

gapped-teeth'

O.peigd-subd-lhwo- wo--f6d--6uibd-lodd-od6-f-ya

one-who.is.slim-falls-on.a.plate-a.plate-does.not-

break-she-falls-on.a.mortar-a.mortar-breaks

'a fat

girl'

(noun

phrase)

(verb

phrase)

(simple

sentence)

(coordinate

sentence)


11/30

2002

OLANIKE

OLA

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123

A-pon-bdpore.

one-who.is.red-and.friendly.with.palm.oil

'a fair skinned person'

O-pdldiige

one-who.is.slim

'a

slim

person'

(prefixation)

(prefixation)

Finally,

the

properties

of oriki

abizso

'attributive names' differ from the

properties

of

ortiko

and

onri

Alifje

in four

ways.

First,

they

are derived

through

prefixation only,

specifically

a low-toned

A

prefix.

Second,

what

follows the

prefix

is

a

sequence

of verbs.

Third,

the names have fixed

tonal

patterns. Fourth, they

are

divided

along gender

lines.

Fifth,

verbs

denoting gender-based

semantic

themes

are

usually

chosen

in

deriving

these names.

For

instance,

the first verb

in a masculine name is a performative verb denoting notions such as bravery,

decisiveness,

unique

emergence,

and

praise;

the

second

verb,

which is resulta-

tive in

nature,

denotes

possession.

On

the other

hand,

verbs

denoting nurturing,

tenderness,

adulation, praise,

and

beauty

are chosen in

creating

feminine

names.

Examples

have been seen in

tables

1

and

2. Further

examples

of the two

tonal

patterns

are

given

in

tables

9

and 10.

Table 9.

Further

Examples

of Names with

LLH

Tone Pattern

MIASCULINE

A-ji-di

PREF-fight-restore

A-la-gbd

PREF-emerge-carry

A-kn-jif

PREF-meet-wake.up

FEMININE

A-w-ro6

PREF-bathe-adorn

beautifully)

A-bt-bi

PREF-beg-born

A-pe-ke

PREF-beckon-pamper

A-y -ki

PREF-rejoice-round.about

Table

10.

Further

Examples

of Names with LHH Tone Pattern

(Exclusively

Feminine)

A-bd-ki

PREF-join-pamper

A-tin-ke

PREF-repeat-pamper

A-rf-kie

PREF-see-pamper

A-ji-ke

PREF-wake.up-shine


12/30

124

ANTHROPOLOGICAL

INGUISTICS

44

NO.2

In

summary,

we see that attributive names are indeed

distinctive

with

respect

to their

phonological, syntactic,

and semantic characterization. These

unique properties converge n the verbsequencethat follows the prefixto differ-

entiate

gender.

In the next

section,

these

properties

are

explained

as

resulting

from an attributive

template

whose well-formedness is

regulated by morpho-

syntactic,

tonal, semantic,

and

prosodic

constraints.

5. Attributive names and

gender

differentiation, The

goal

of this

section

is to motivate the canonical

attributive

name

template.

As will

be

shown,

this

template comprises

a

prefix

nominalizer and a verb

phrase

that is

expressed

as

two

monosyllabic

serial verbs. Since it is

logically possible

to have

more than two

verbs in a serial verb

construction,

the verb

phrase

must

be

constrained to

exclude verb

sequences

involving

three

or more

syllables.

It is

proposed

that the

serial verb

phrase

must

obey

foot

binarity,

a

prosodic

constraint,

which

limits its

members to two

syllables

or moras

(McCarthy

and

Prince

1990).

In

addition,

given

the

gender-based

tonal and semantic

patterns

observed

in

section

4,

it is

proposed

that the verb

phrase

is also

subject

to tonal and

semantic constraints

(Oyetade

1991).

5.1.

Motivating

the

morphological

and

syntactic requirements.

Yoruba

is a

highly

prefixing

language (Oyelaran

1987;

Owolabi

1995).'5 Therefore,

new

words are derived from

existing

words

by attaching

a

prefix

to

roots, stems,

or a

given

syntactic

category.

For

example,

i

(here,

a concrete

nominalizer)

and

o/o516

(agentive nominalizer)

are

attached to roots that are verbs or

verb

phrases

containing

verbs and their

objects

or

adverbs.

(2a)

a-lo

PREF-go

'going'

(2b) A-t'egun

PREF-step-climb

'ladder'

(2c) A-rin-kiri

PREF-walk-about

'wandering'

(3a) o-kti

AG.NMZ-die

'corpse'

(3b)

o-le

AG.NMZ-lazy

'lazy person'


13/30

2002

OLANIKEOLA

RIE

125

(3c)

o-sere

o-se-ere

AG.NMZ-do-play

'performer'

(3d)

6-jogbon

o-je-ogbomn

AG.NMZ-eat-wisdom

'professor'

On

the

other

hand,

oni

(possessive

nominalizer)

is

always

attached to nouns or

noun

phrases,

as shown

in

(4a)-(4d).17

(4a)

oni'le

oni ile

POSSESSORhouse

'landlord'

(4b) onigbese

oni

igbese

POSSESSORebt

'debtor'

(4c)

elewon

on' ewon

POSSESSOR

prison

'prisoner'

(4d) ol6w6

oni ow6

POSSESSOR

money

'wealthy

person'

As mentioned

in section

4,

attributive

names are also derived

through

pre-

fixation. In order

to

derive

an attributive

name,

the

prefix

i is attached to a verb

phrase

composed

of a

sequence

of two

monosyllabic

verbs,

as

in

(5a)-(5d)

(drawn

from tables

9

and

10).

(5a) A-khn-jfi

PREF-meet-wake.up

'personwhom one meets and is awakenedby'

(5b) A-yo-k4

PREF-rejoice-round.about

'person

whom

one

rejoices

around'


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126 ANTHROPOLOGICAL

INGUISTICS 44

NO.2

(5c) A-bd-ke.

PREF-join-pamper

'personwhom one rallies to pamper'

(5d) A-nr-ke

PREF-see-pamper

'person

that

one sees

and

pampers'

The

syntactic

restriction

that

the verb

phrase

of an attributive name must con-

sist of two verbs rules out verb

phrases

of other forms.

Thus,

verb

phrases

con-

sisting

of

verb-object

bases are not suitable for attributive

names,

as shown

by

(6a)-(6c),

nor are verb

phrases consisting

of verb-adverb

bases,

as

shown

by

(7).

(6a) *A-rdW

A-rd-iW

PREF-stand-house

'heir'

(6b)

*A-tenum6

a-te-enu-mo

PREF-press-mouth-attach

'emphasis'

(6c)

*A-cdbrire

A-de-il-bd-ire

PREF-arrive-house-meet-goodness

'meeting

fortune at home'

(7) *A-rin-kiri

PREF-walk-about

'wandering'

The

contrast between

permissible

and ill-formed

bases of

prefixation

is

explained

if we characterize the

morphosyntactic properties

of

attributive

names as in

figure

1.

NP

a

PREF

VP

vi Vj

Figure

1. Canonical

attributive name.

This

template

shows

that

the

nominalizing prefix

a&1s

elects a VP

that

consists

of a

serial verb

construction.19

Crucially,

there

must be

only

two verbs in this VP.


15/30

2002

OLANIKE

QLA

ORIE

127

By having

a

template

such as that in

figure

1,

forms such as

(5a)-(5d)

are

predicted

to be

well-formed,

whereas

cases such as

(6a)-(7)

are

ruled out.

5.2.

Motivating

the

tonal and semantic

requirements.

Although

the tem-

plate

in

figure

1

correctly

excludes forms

such as

(6a)-(7),

it

incorrectly

allows

cases such as those in table 11.

Table 11. Forms

Incorrectly

Predicted to

be Permissible

by Morphosyntactic

Template

DERIVED

NOUN

*A-t'e-g~n

PREF-step-climb

'ladder'

*A-f.-se

PREF-speak-come.to.pass

'incantation'

*A-pd-jo

PREF-complete-together

'reunion'

*A-n-yhn

PREF-own-select

'solicitude,

aspiration'

TONALATIERN

LLL

LLM

LHM

LHL

What the

examples

in

table

11

have

in

common s that the tonal

specifications

of

the verb phrase do not meet the required tonal specifications for the verb phrase

of an attributive name. That

is,

they

are

neither

LH

nor

HH.

Therefore,

these

forms are

disqualified.

Disqualifying

the

examples

in table 11 on the basis of tone

immediately

predicts

that forms such as

(8a)-(8d)

(with

LLH

pattern)

and

(9a)-(9d)

(with

LHH

pattern)

should be well-formed attributive

names,

but in

fact,

they

are not.

(8a)

*A-lk-yd

PREF-split-understand

'explanation'

(8b)

*A-kA-yd

PREF-read-understand

'comprehension'

(8c) *A-yhn-mo

PREF-select-attach

'destiny'


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128

ANTHROPOLOGICAL

INGUISTICS 44

NO.2

(8d)

*A-fo-m6

PREF-jump-attach

'mistletoe, parasite'

(9a)

*A-nr-fin

PREF-see-scrutinize

'an insult'

(9b) *A-s-ri

PREF-open-see

'secret'

(9c)

*A-bi-ku

PREF-born-die

'one

who

dies

again

and

again'

(9d)

*A-wf-gbo

PREF-speak-listen

'obedience'

The

major

problem

with

(8a)-(9d)

is that the semantics of the

cooccurring

verbs

is

inappropriate

for an attributive name. As

indicated

in

section

4,

the verbs of


semantically

restricted. For

example,

the first

verb

in

a

masculine

name is

usually

an

action verb

denoting

semantic themes

such as

bravery

(jiA

fight')

or decisiveness

(kAn

meet

intentionally

or

purposefully',yAn

'choose');

the second verb is a

resultative

verb

implying possession

(ni

'to

pos-

sess',

gbe 'carry',

mu

'take',

bi'give

birth').

On the other

hand,

feminine names

have verbs reflecting semantic themes involving nurturing (ke 'pamper', be

'beg', we 'bathe').

Combining

the tonal

and semantic

restrictions, then,

we see that forms such

as those in table 11 and

(8a)-(9d)

cannot be

attributive names in

Yoruba. These

restrictions mean that the

following specifications

must be

added to the tem-

plate

as

given

in

figure

1:

*

A

masculine

name

VP has a

low-high

tonal

pattern;

the VP

begins

with

an

action verb

denoting

themes such as

bravery, decisiveness,

unique

emer-

gence,

and

praise;

it ends with a

resultative

verb

expressing possession.

*

A feminine

name VP

has

a

low-high

or

high-high

tonal

pattern;20

the VP

must contain verbs

reflecting

semantic themes

involving nurturing.

5.3.

Motivating

the

prosodic requirement.

So

far,

it has

been

shown that


subject

to various

restrictions-morphosyntactic,

tonal,

and semantic

constraints.

Recognizing

the

important

role of these

requirements

enables us to

understand

why only

certain verbs and tones are

licensed

in

the

verb

phrase

of

the base of

prefixation.

This section

shows that there is

yet


17/30

2002

OLANIKELA

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129

another

requirement,

a

prosodic

constraint,

which is needed to characterize

attributive names

properly.

As illustrated by the attributive names in (10a)-(10d), the base of pre-

fixationhas a verb

phrase

with two

monosyllabic

verbs.

(10a)

A-kitn-ji

PREF-meet-wake.up

'person

whom one meets and is awakened

by'

(10b) A-kin-fe

PREF-meet-love

'person

whom one meets and loves

(10c)

A-we-r6

PREF-bathe-adorn

'person

who is adorned

(beautifully)

after

being

bathed'

(10d)

A-du-ke

PREF-scramble-pamper

'person

whom one scrambles to

pamper'

Requiring

the VP of an attributive

name

template

to be a serial verb reflects the

strong serializing

tendency

of Yoruba.

As shown

by

(11a)-(lc),

it is

possible

to

have a

sequence

of two or more verbs that

are not

connected

by

an

overt

conjunction

within

a

single

Yoruba clause

(Bamgbose 1974;

Oyelaran

1982;

Awoyale

1988).

(11a) Ade ra isu je.

ade

buy yam

eat

'Ade

bought

(some)

yams

and ate them.'

(11b)

Ade

gb omo

sd

19.

ade

carry

child run

go

'Ade carried the child and ran

away.'

(11c)

Ade rd

aso

jf gbW w'o pdei oba.

ade saw

garment

steal

carry

wear meet

king

'Ade saw a

garment,

stole

it,

carried and wore it and met the

king

in it.'

Given the

existence of serial verb

expressions

such

as

these,

one would

expect

a

sequence

of

more

than two

verbs to be

possible

in an attributive

name.

However,

as shown

in

(12a)-(12d),

forms with three verbs are

unacceptable.

(12a)

*A)-kn-ji-fef

PREF-meet-wake.up-love

'person

whom one

meets,

whom one

is

awakened

by

and

whom one loves'


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130

ANTHROPOLOGICAL

INGUISTICS 44

NO.2

(12b)

*Ai-kn-bi-fe.

PREF-meet-give.birth-love

'personwhom one meets, gives birth to and loves'

(12c)

*A-we-r-Te

PREF-bathe-adorn-pamper

'person

who

is

adorned

(beautifully)

after

being

bathed and is

pampered'

(12d)

*t--dri-ff.-ke.

PREF-scramble-love-pamper

'person

whom one scrambles to love and

pamper'

Moreover,

not all two-verb

sequences

are

acceptable

in

attributive names.

Examples

in

(13a)-(13d)

show that forms

containing

a

monosyllabic

verb

and a

disyllabic

verb

are

ungrammatical.

(13a) *A-pide-ii

PREF-meet-wake

p

'person

whom

one

meets and is awakened

by'

(13b)

*A-we.-ddro

PREF-bathe-stand

'person

who

stands

(beautifully)

after

being

bathed'

(13c) *A-jijhdd-ke

PREF-scramble-pamper

'person

whom one

scrambles

to

pamper'

(13d) *A-kin-fer.fn

PREF-meet-love

'person

whom

one

meets

and

is

awakened

by'

Interestingly, examples

(10a)-(10d)

and the

unacceptable (13a)-(13d)

are simi-

lar in several

respects. Semantically,

they

are identical.

Morphosyntactically,

they

are also

alike;

each name is derived

by prefixing

i

to

a

base

formed of two

verbs. With the

exception

of

(13d),

the

basic

LLH

tonal

melody

is satisfied

by

the

two sets of data.2' As can

be

seen, however,

(10a)-(10d)

are

well-formed but

(13a)-(13d)

are

unacceptable

as attributive

names.

What the forms in

(10a)-

(10d)

have in common is

that

each

verb in the

verb

phrase

is

monosyllabic.

In

contrast,

in

(13a)-(13d),

there is at

least one verb in the

sequence

of

verbs

that

has more than one syllable. That is, the VP has two syllables in (10a)-(10d),

whereas in

(12a)-(13d),

it

has more than two

syllables.

In

order to account for this

contrast,

I

propose

the constraints in

(15)

and

(16),

whereby

the VP of an attributive

name must be

exactly

two

syllables long

and the VP must be a

binary

foot

(see,

e.g., McCarthy

and Prince

1990, 1993;

Hewitt

1994).


19/30

2002

OLANIKEOLA

ORIE

131

(15)

Prosodic constraint

on Yoruba attributive name bases:

The base of

prefixation

for

deriving

an attributive name must be

a

binary

foot.

(16)

Foot

binarity:

A foot is

binary

at the

syllabic

or moraic level.

Given these

constraints,

forms such

as

those

in

(12a)-(13d)

are ill-formed

because foot

binarity

is not

respected

in the VP. In

*A-werdke, given

in

(12c),

and

*A-pde.-ji,

in

(13a),

the foot has three

syllables.

In

*A-jijhdu.-ke,

shown

in

(13c),

there are

four

syllables

within the

foot;

although

one could

group

these

four

syllables

into two feet in

conformity

with the demand

of

foot

binarity,

such

a form is still

unacceptable

because the base

of an attributive name

requires

one

foot,

not two feet.

Diminutive

reduplication provides

evidence that the

VP of an attributive

name

is a

binary

foot. As demonstrated in table

12,

diminutives

are formed

by

reduplicating a name,

which is shortened

to a

binary

foot

(Orie 1997:146-47).

Table

12. Foot-based

Process: Diminutive

Reduplication

FULLNAME DISYLLABIC

ORM

DIMINUTIVE UNATTESTED

AkinolA

Akin or

Old

Akzinakin r

OldolA *AkinoldakinolA

WarAohild

Wdrbor

Old

Wdrdiwurbr

Olioll *Wdridlidwuraoll

Addewole

Ade or

Wold

Acdad& r

Wdlwwol

*Adwoladewole

Oltidsin

Old or

SinA

Oldolu or

SindsinA *hisintdolusinh

One can observe

that,

in addition to

reduplication,

the

tonal

pattern

of the base

is

displaced

by

a

high-high-mid-low

(HHML)

pattern,

the tone

of the diminutive.

Thus,

foot

reduplication

and the

HHML tonal

specification

are distinctive

pro-

perties of the diminutive.

As

the

examples

in table

13 demonstrate,

attributive names

can also

be

turned

into diminutives

by reduplicating

the last two

syllables.22

Table 13.

Foot-based Process:

Diminutive

Reduplication

of Attributive

Names

BASE DIMINUTIVE

ORM

UNATTESTED

A-kin-jif A-kin-jif-kan-ji *A-kin-ji-akan-ji

A-y-ki A-y-kd-yo-ka *A-y6-kdi-ayokA

A-bd-ki A-bd-kd-ba-ke

*A-bd-kd--abd-ke

A-r6-ke

A-r-ke-ri-ke.

*A-r6-ke-ari-ke.

The

reduplication

pattern

in

table

13

provides strong

evidence

that the VP of an

attributive name is a binary foot. As we can see, the reduplicants of unaccept-

able

forms

have morethan two

syllables

in violation

of

foot

binarity

and are thus

predicted

to be

ungrammatical.

Incorporating

the

prosodic requirement

into

the set

of constraints

already

established,

the

final

set of

requirements,

which

derive

attributivenames are

as

follows:


20/30

132

ANTHROPOLOGICAL

INGUISTICS

44

NO. 2

*

The

morphosyntactic

structure

is

[NPa[VPViVj]]

(cf.

figure

1).

*

The VP

is a serial verb and a

binary

foot.

*

The VP of a masculine name

has a

low-high

tonal

pattern.

The first verb

in

the VP is an action verb

denoting

themes

such

as

bravery,

decisiveness,

unique

emergence,

and

praise;

the

second

verb,

a resultative

verb,

denotes

possession.

*

The VP of a feminine name has a

low-high

or

high-high

tonal

pattern

and

has verbs

reflecting

semantic themes

involving nurturing

(pampering,

pleading, bathing).

The

characteristics of this

template

show that the VP

base

is the

crucial con-

stituent

responsible

for

gender marking.

As shown

in

sections

5.1-5.3,

there are

other VPs that resemble the ones in the

template

in

some

ways,

but

are

ungram-

matical as attributive

names because

they

do

not

exhibit all the

necessary

pro-

perties.

Finally,

the

analysis presented

here

necessitates a

rethinking

of

one funda-

mental notion within

prosodic

theory,

that the domain for

prosodic processes

should be

prosodic

or

morphoprosodic

ather than

morphosyntactic

e.g.,

Selkirk

1986;

Inkelas

1990).

While it

is true that

many prosodic

processes apply

within

prosodic

and

morphoprosodic

domains

in

Yoruba

(Orie 1997),

I have shown that

attributive names at least demonstrate

that a

morphosyntactic

constituent

may

define the domain of a

prosodic process.

For

instance,

in a

purely prosodic

or

morphoprosodic

account,

the

two-syllable

size limit on

the base

of

prefixation

would be

explained

as

resulting

from foot

binarity.

However,

foot

binarity

allows

any

sequence

of

two

syllables

to be a valid

base.

It

cannot

explain why only

verb-

verb sequences are possible base forms and why verb-object sequences are ex-

cluded. As

shown,

an

adequate

account

of attributive names

must

make refer-

ence to both

morphosyntactic

and

prosodic

domains.

5.4.

Comparison

with a

previous

analysis.

Having

established that a

canonical attributive name

template

must include

morphosyntactic, semantic,

tonal,

and

prosodic information,

I

consider

an alternative

proposal.

In

Oyetade's

(1991) account,

attributive

names

are

derived

through prefixation

of

A

to two

verbs,

and the

observed

gender

differences result from the tonal

patterns

and

from semantic

restrictions

on verb selection.

There are

two

major problems

with

this

proposal. First,

in

accounting

for the

morphological

derivation of

attributive

names,

Oyetade's

account

simply stipu-

lates that the prefix h is normally attached to two monosyllabic verbs. No moti-

vation or

explanation

is

provided

for this

stipulation.

As shown in

section

5.1,

it

is

possible

to

derive nouns

by attaching

this

prefix

to verb

phrases

of various

different forms:

verb-verb,

verb-object,

verb-object-verb, erb-adverb,

and so on.

Since

attributive names

cannot select all of these

plausible

bases,

a

principled

account must

explain why

the attested base is

well-formed and

why

unattested


21/30

2002

QLANIKE LA

ORIE

133

bases are

unacceptable.

The

existing

account

does

not

mention these

possibili-

ties,

and it does not

provide any principled proposal

for

distinguishing

attested

and unattested cases.

Second,

Oyetade's

account

gives

no

explanation

for

why

forms such as

*A-p~ie-ji

and

*A-jijjdui-k,

which meet the tonal and

semantic

specifications

of attributive

names,

are ill-formed. One

might

try

to

argue

that these forms are

unacceptable

because

they

do not contain two

monosyllabic

verbs,

but this

argu-

ment is

flawed,

since it

provides

no means of

accounting

for

why

two mono-

syllabic

forms

are

necessary.

6.

Asymmetries

in

the

function of

gender

tonal

patterns.

In this

section,

a final

unique property

of attributive names is considered. As noted in

Oyetade

(1991),

the

LLH

melody may

be used to create both masculine and feminine

names,

whereas the LHH

melody

is used

exclusively

to derive feminine names.

Thus, in terms of frequency, there are more LLH-based names than L;HH-based

names.

Interestingly,

there are

ILH-based

names that

may

be

used

by

males or

females,

as shown in table

14.23

Table 14. LLH-based Names: Masculine or Feminine

MASCULINE FEMININE

MASCULINE

RFEMININE

A-kiAn-mi

A-li~--ki

A-d-b

PREF-meet-take

PREF-emerge-pamper

PREF-scramble-love

A-mo-b

A-mo-pi A-kin-ke

PREF-know.before-born

PREF-know-be.complete PREF-meet-pamper

A-kAn-bz

A-bb-kk

A-ko-ki

PREF-meet-born

PREF-beg-pamper

PREF-meet-greet

A-yin-dd

A-yin-ke

A-m -ri

PREF-praise-arrive PREF-praise-pamper

PREF-know.before-see

A-jt-nt

A-we-r6

A-y o-fe

PREF-fight-possess

PREF-bathe-adorn

PREF-rejoice-love

A-di-grin A-bg-b

A-beg-fe

PREF-wrap-be.perfect PREF-beg-born

PREF-beg-love

Table 15.

LHH-based Names

(Exclusively Feminine)

A-gbe-ke

PREF-carry-pamper

A-to--ki

PREF-nurture-pamper

A-ji-ke

PREF-wake.up-pamper

A-nf-ke

PREF-possess-pamper


22/30

134

ANTHROPOLOGICAL

INGUISTICS 44

NO. 2

One

may ask,

is this

asymmetry

in

frequency

an accidental

gap,

or does

it

follow from

any

principle

of

grammar?

Let us

first

of all

clarify

that

it would

not

be reasonable to dismiss the observed pattern as an accidental gap. As noted by

Oyetade,

one of the tonal

patterns

discovered

to be dominant

in

oriki

Abiso

[attributive

names]

is the

LLH

pattern.

It is

by

far the

commonest

. . .

the

pattern

is used for both male and female

(1991:58).

He observes

further,

the

second tonal

pattern

observed is the

LHH

... names with this

pattern

are

fewer

than those of

LLH

pattern.

This

pattern

is for

female

only.

I

have not found a

single

male oriki Abiso with the LHH

pattern

(1991:59).

As can

be deduced

from

these

observations,

there is a

systematic

robust

pattern

here.

Dismissing

it

as an accident amounts to

claiming

that the

pattern

is

insignificant,

which

is

clearly

not desirable.

Alternatively,

the

asymmetry may

be

explained

as

following

from

marked-

ness. In

languages

such as

English

and

French,

masculine

pronouns

are some-

times used as universal

signifiers

that

may

have

masculine or feminine refer-

ents. For

example,

in

French,

elles

'they'

is

used

when

all

referents are

feminine.

However,

if one of the referents

is

masculine,

ils

'they'

is

adopted.

Since

the

masculine form can be used

for reference to

both

sexes,

it is

considered to be

the

unmarked version

(Baker 1992).

On

the other

hand,

the feminine

form

can

only

have a feminine reference and

is thus treated as

the marked form.

By

analogous reasoning,

the

asymmetry

in

attributive

name tonal

frequency

can

be

explained

as

resulting

from

markedness distinctions. The

observation

that

the

LL;H

pattern

is more common than

the LHH

pattern

because

both

male

and female

names are formed from it is

explained

if the

LLH

pattern

is

the

unmarked form-the

universal

generic

form

that

may

have both

masculine and

feminine referents. The LHH pattern is less common because it is the marked

form,

the form

reserved

exclusively

for

creating

feminine

praise

names.

Follow-

ing

Baker

(1992),

this shows that

the use of the feminine tonal

pattern provides

more

specific

information

and rules

out

the

possibility

of

masculine

reference,

whereas the use of

the masculine tonal

pattern

does not

exclude the

possibility

of feminine

reference.

7. Factors

governing

the selection of

feminine names.

In

closing,

I

address a

sociolinguistic question.

Given that female names can

be

derived from

the

male-based

LLH

tonal

pattern

and the

exclusively

female-based LHH

tonal

pattern,

on what

basis do

parents

choose names for

girls

from

one set or

the

other? In

addressing

this

question,

I

interviewed

ten Yoruba

adults who

are

parents

of

girls.24

The

result

of

my

research

reveals that three

major

factors are

crucial for the

selection

of

female

attributive

names--frequency

and

popularity,

femininity

and

aesthetics,

and semantics. Of

all these

factors,

semantics

is

the

most

prominent

because

consultants

consider it

crucial

even

when

other

factors

seem

to

play

a

role. Each factor

is considered in

turn below.


23/30

2002

OLANIIKELA

ORIE

135

7.1.

Frequency

and

popularity.

Of all the ten consultants

interviewed,

only

one considers

frequency

and

popularity

to be a crucial factor in

selecting girls'

names. As pointed out by this consultant, who has two daughters with LLH

names,

the attributive names of these

girls

(Ab'en

and

Awer6)

have

LLH

tones

because that is the more common and

popular

tonal

pattern.

This view is in

harmony

with the observation noted in sections

4-6

that LLH names have a

higher frequency

of

occurrence

than LHH names because both males and fe-

males can use

LLH

names.

Intriguingly,

this consultant

equates frequency

with

popularity

and notes that

popular

names are more

appealing

than

unpopular

ones.

However,

he observes that

meaning

is

also essential: his first

daughter's

name is Abeni 'child

whom one

pleaded

or

begged

to

possess'

because

they

had

several

miscarriages

before she was

born;

his second

daughter's

name is

Aw.ero

'child who is bathed and adorned

beautifully'

because she is beautiful.

7.2.

Femininity

and

aesthetics.

The second

factor,

which was

suggested

by

another Yoruba

speaker

who has two

daughters

with LHH

names,

is

femininity

and aesthetics.

According

to this

speaker,

the names

Agbeke.

and

Abdke.

were

chosen for her

daughters

because

they

sound

more feminine

and attractive than

names such as

Aduke.

or

Aweke'.

In

essence,

this

speaker

views LHH names as

displaying femininity

and

aesthetics,

factors that

may explain

why

LHH names

are

exclusively

feminine.

Again,

the semantics of attributive

names was considered

important:

Agbeke

was chosen because

her desire is that the child be

carried and nurtured

by

all

and

sundry; Abike.

was selected because she felt

that her

daughter belongs

to

the

community

and her

nurturing

should

be

community-based.

7.3. Semantics.

The third and final factor

responsible

for the selection of

female names

is semantics. As

pointed

out

by eight

consultants,

the

meaning

of

an attributive

name

is more

important

than the

tonal

patterns.

These

speakers

note that a feminine name

may

be

LLH or LHH as

long

as it

explains

the

cir-

cumstances

surrounding

the birth of a child

or

conveys

the wishes of the

giver

of

the name. For these

consultants,

factors

such as

frequency,

femininity,

and

aesthetics are not crucial.

7.4.

Summary.

On

the basis

of these

findings,

we see

that the semantics of

attributive

names is central to the selection

of

girls'

names. Even

when other

factors are

involved,

semantics

is

important.

Table 16 summarizes

the identified

patterns based on the three basic factors observed--frequency and popularity,

femininity

and

aesthetics,

and semantics.

Recall that even those

parents

who

mentioned factors other

than

semantics as

important

also rated semantics

as

essential

(sections 7.1-7.2).


24/30

136

ANTHROPOLOGICAL

INGUISTICS

44

NO. 2

Table

16.

Summary

of

Factors

Responsible

for the Selection of

Girls'

Attributive Names

FACTOR

Frequency

and

popularity

Femininity

and aesthetics

Semantics

PERCENTAGEFPARENTSWHO

RATED HAT ACTOR S

CRUCIAL

10%

10%

100%

Finally,

I

should

point

out that I discovered two

additional

groups

of

parents

recently

whose

daughters'

attributive names were selected

by

their

parents

or

grandparents.

Whereas the

parents

in the first

group

do not know

why

a

parti-

cular name

was

chosen,

the

parents

in the second

group

do;

their

daughters

in-

herited

either

their mother or

grandmother's

names.

Consequently,

for

these

parents,

none of

the

factors

in

sections

7.1-7.3

is

relevant. The

response

of

these

two groups is an indicator that the factors described in this section are not the

only

ones that

affect name choice. Further research

may

show

that still other

factors

play

a

role

in

the

selection

of

female names.

8. Conclusion. In

summary,

it has been shown that

gender-based

names

(oriki

abiso)

are

unique

in

several

respects.

Morphologically, they

are formed

through

prefixation

to a

verb

phrase. Syntactically,

the verb

phrase

must

consist

of a serial verb

construction.

Semantically,

the first verb in

a

masculine name

illustrates themes such as

bravery, decisiveness,

unique emergence,

and

so

on;

the

second verb denotes

possession.

Feminine

names, too,

have

semantic

restric-

tions on

verbs--only

verbs

reflecting

nurturing

(pampering, pleading, bathing,

and so

forth)

are selected.

Phonologically,

two restrictions

apply. First, the tonal

melody

of

a

masculine name is

LILH,

whereas feminine names

may

have LLH

or

LHH tonal

melodies.

Second,

the verbal base of

prefixation

must be a

binary

foot,

expressed

as two

syllables.

To

account for these

properties,

I

proposed

a

canonical

attributive name

template,

which

incorporates

the

morphosyntactic,

semantic,

tonal and

prosodic

requirements

mentioned

above. The

advantage

of

this

analysis

over the

alternative account is that it

explains

the attested

pat-

terns and

rules

out unattested forms.

As

regards

the

asymmetry

in

the

use of masculine and

feminine tonal

pat-

terns,

it is

suggested

that this results

from

markedness

distinctions.

In

particu-

lar,

the

proposal

is that the

masculine tonal

pattern

is

the universal

generic

unmarked

form; hence,

it

may

be used

of both

male and female

referents. In

contrast, the feminine tonal pattern is reserved exclusively for creating female

attributive

names because it is the

marked form.

Finally,

the

flexibility

of

name

selection for

girls

is shown to

result from a

range

of

contributing factors,

including

frequency,

femininity, aesthetics,

and

semantics.

Frequency

is a

factor,

since some LLH names

are selected

based

on

the

fact that the LLH

tonal

pattern

has a

higher frequency

than the LHH

tonal

pattern.

Femininity

and

aesthetics are

factors,

because

some LHH

names

are


25/30

2002

OLANIKE

OLA

ORIE

137

viewed

as more

feminine-sounding

and attractive than the

LLH

pattern.

Se-

mantics is a crucial

factor,

because

meaning,

not tonal

pattern,

is

crucial

to

some

parents in the selection of girls' names. Research shows that semantics is the

most

important

factor

because

the

meaning

of an

attributive name is considered

crucial

even

when other factors

are

involved.

Appendix

1: Additional

Examples

of LLH Attributive Names

MASCULINE

A-lk-de

PREF-emerge-arrive

A-m-bi

PREF-know-born

A-kin-bi

PREF-meet-born

A-yin-dd

PREF-praise-arrive

A-ja-ni

PREF-fight-restore

A-jh-nz

PREF-fight-possess

A-dd-fe.

PREF-scramble-love

A-la-mu

PREF-split-take

A-kan-mu

PREF-meet-take

A-yAn-fer

PREF-choose-love

A-lA-nt

PREF-emerge-possess

A-kin-nz

PREF-meet-own

A-si-ma

PREF-select-take

A-kin-dde

PREF-meet-arrive

A-ttn-d&i

PREF-lure-create

A-yhn-dd

PREF-choose-create

A-1a-b

PREF-emerge-born

A-di-gdin

PREF-wrap-be.perfect

FEMININE

A-la-ke

PREF-emerge-pamper

A-mo-pi

PREF-know-be.complete

A-be-ki

PREF-beg-pamper

A-yin-kse

PREF-praise-pamper

A-we-ro

PREF-bathe-adorn

A-pe-ki

PREF-beckon-pamper

A-be-bt

PREF-beg-born

A-b~-gbd

PREF-beg-carry

A-sun-kle

PREF-sleep-pamper

A-sh-bt

PREF-select-born

A-mo-kc

PREF-know-pamper

A-w~-ke

PREF-bathe-pamper

A-yo-nt

PREF-rejoice-own

A-y-ni

PREF-rejoice-pamper

A-be-nr

PREF-beg-own

A-si-nz

PREF-select-own

A-shA-k

PREF-select-pamper

A-b~-je

PREF-beg-answer

MASCULINE R

FEMININE

A-di-bi

PREF-scramble-born

A-kan-kle

PREF-meet-pamper

A-ko--ki

PREF-meet-greet

A-m-nri

PREF-know-see

A-yo-fe

PREF-rejoice-love

A-b~-fe

PREF-beg-love

A-pE-fe.

PREF-beckon-love

A-mofe

PREF-know-love

A-sPF-fee

PREF-select-love


26/30

138

ANTHROPOLOGICAL

INGUISTICS

44

NO.2

A-khn-fe.

PREF-meet-love

A-yin-ld

PREF-praise-lick

A-m-6*

PREF-know-fall.(in.

we)

A-kin-6*

PREF-meet-fall.(in.awe)

A-ji-6*

PREF-fight-fall.(in.awe)

A-yhn-o*

PREF-choose-fall.(in.awe)

A-du-k?.

PREF-scramble-love

A-din-ni

PREF-sweet-possess

A-begf*

PREF-beg-fall.(in. awe)

NOTE: The

meaning

of verbs with

deleted

consonants

is unclear.

Oyetade

proposes

that

the deleted consonant in

&mid

and &beo

s

w. If this

assumption

is

true,

then,

the

compositionofAmoois PREF-know-fallndthe compositionof Ab~o s PREF-beg-fall.

Appendix

2: Additional

Examples

of LHH Attributive Names

(Exclusively

Feminine)

A-bt-ke'

PREF-born-pamper

A-nr-kle

PREF-see-pamper

A-nt-kei

PREF-own-pamper

A-ji-ke

PREF-wake.up-pamper

A-pin-~ke

PREF-take.turns-pamper

A-tin-k4

PREF-repeat-pamper

A-tuin-n'

PREF-repeat-pamper

A-fi-n

PREF-wake.up-own

A-jf-le~

PREF-wake.up-shine

A-gbe-kz

PREF-carry-pamper

A-pe-k~

PREF-gather-pamper

A-bd-lk1

PREF-join-pamper

A-t6-ki

PREF-nurture-pamper

A-t6-ni

PREF-nurture-own

A-t6-l1

PREF-nurture-shine

Notes

Acknowledgments.

I

would like to thank Akin

Akinlabi,

Victoria

Bricker,

Laura

Downing,

and two

anonymous

reviewers

for

valuable

comments,

which

improved

both

the

substance and the

presentation

of this article. Thanks also

to

James Welch for

help

with

the

map. Special

thanks to

Olasope

Oyelaran,

who first showed me that

my

own

language

is

interesting

and whose work on

orinti

and Yoruba

morphology

s

a rich re-

source. I am

grateful

to him for

many

fruitful discussions about Yoruba and about this

topic

in

particular.


27/30

2002

OLANIKEOLA

ORIE

139

Abbreviations.The

following

abbreviationsare used:

AG.NMZ

agentive nominalizer,

NP

=

noun

phrase;

VP

=

verb

phrase;

V

=

verb;

PREF

=

prefix.

Transcription.

The

examples

in

this article are

given

in Standard Yoruba ortho-

graphy.

In Yoruba

orthography,

e

=

[e];

o

=

[o];

Vn

=

nasalized

vowel;

s

=

[U];

p

=

[kp];

an

acute

accent

[']

=

high

tone

(H);

a

grave

accent

[']

= low

tone

(L);

no accent

=

mid

tone

(M);

a

wedge

[']

=

rising

tone;

a tone-marked nasal

=

syllabic

nasal.

1.

Oyetade

(1991)

characterized attributive names

as

personal praise

names. Given

that

these

praise

names do not

always praise

an individual

(Oyelaran

1976),

I use the

terminology

attributivenames

instead

(Johnson 1969).

2.

Oyetade

(1991:59)

observes that there is one attributive

name,

Ajpk4,

which has a

LMH

pattern.

3.

Masculine names with the

LHH

pattern

are

extremely

rare,

but do exist as

exceptions

to the rule on feminine names. For

example,

while I was

conducting

this

research on this

topic,

some Yoruba

speakers pointed

out the

exception

Aijiz7i

one whom

one wakes

up

to salute.'

They

note,

however,

that this form is

exclusively

used for the

Creator,

who is sometimes referred to as 'mother' in the

expression

ablyamp,

aboji

gb~or gbo.ro 'mother, one who has a cloth sash, which is indefinitely long'. Qlasope

Oyelaran

(p.c.

2001)

also notes another

counterexample-a

nickname with a LHH

pattern,

Arisi 'fearful

person',

which was used in

addressing

a

man

in

a

poem.

4.

Many

thanks to Victoria Bricker for

raising

this

question.

5.

The Yoruba

of

Nigeria

are found

in southwestern

Nigeria,

especially

in the follow-

ing

states:

.yo, Ogun,

Ondo,

Osun,

Ekiti, Kwara,

Lagos,

the western local

government

of

Kogi,

and

Edo.

6.

According

to Johnstone

(1993),

there are

18,850,000 speakers

in

Nigeria

and

465,000

speakers

in Benin. Yoruba

speakers

in

Togo

are estimated at about

250,000.

In

addition,

there are several thousand Yoruba n

diaspora

in

Asia,

Europe,

the

Americas,

and Australia.

7.

Crozier and

Blench

(1992:111),

based

on classifications motivated in

Akinkugbe

(1976)

and

Capo

(1989),

group

these dialects as follows: Central Yoruba

(Ife,

Ijesa,

Ekiti),

Northwest

(Oyo,

Qsun,

Egba),

Northeast

(Yagba,

Gbede,

Ijumu),

Southwest

(Shabe and Ketu spoken in Benin and adjacent border areas of Kwara and Ogun

States),

Southeast

(Ondo, Qwo, Ikale,

Ilaje).

8. Because there

are several

resemblances between the

.y9

dialect and Standard

Yoruba,

it is

commonly

assumed that the latter

originated

from that

dialect. But

as

Bamgbose

(1986)

demonstrates,

there is evidence

that Standard Yoruba has

properties

found in other

dialects,

such

as

Ijesa

and

Ekiti.

Bamgbose's

view is in

harmony

with

Fagborun's

(1994)

account of the

development

of Standard Yoruba.

According

to

Fagborun,

Standard Yoruba

developed among

speakers

of the

Oyo

dialect,

who

mi-

grated

from the northwest

region

to the south under

pressure

of Fulani

expansion

in the

early

nineteenth

century.

These

immigrants

settled in

la

yoruba names and gender - orie al 2002

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