f.a. ajala

This research focuses on the socio-semantic analysis on belief of preordained names in Yoruba. It explores the values, interpretation and how these names are considered to influence its bearers in the society. This help understand the deeper meanings of these names, which not only serve as a label but embody cultural and historical context. The study adopted sociolinguistics theory adopted and embraced by many scholars such as William Labov and Dell Hymes for the description and analysis of the data. This study used both the primary and secondary method of data collection. The primary method of data collection was used my oral interview and telephone calls from Yoruba informants of 35-60 years age range. The secondary method of data collection was used through watching of different YouTube videos by elderly Yoruba speakers. This study arranged the preordained names into five classes for better understanding and analysed the names showing the beliefs, values of Yoruba people. The study addressed 3 main objectives, the first was grouping the preordained names into 5 categories: Lastly future research on preordained names could be the exploration of the impact of globalization and cultural exchange on naming practices. This could involve studying how names are influenced by cross-cultural interactions, migration, and the adoption of names from different languages and cultures.

This study examines focus construction in Nigerian Pidgin (NP) from the perspective of Information Structure Theory, exploring how speakers organize and highlight information within communication. The research investigates how focus serves as a
discourse strategy for emphasizing new, contrastive, or significant elements in an utterance. Data drawn from natural NP conversations reveal that focus is commonly expressed through fronting (preposing) and the use of the focus marker na.