Interpreting Igbo Innuendo Names: A Pragmatic Approach

The paper argued that Igbo innuendo names perform pragmatic acts and the name givers engage in illocutionary acts to communicate their intentions to the hearer. The paper acknowledged that the acts are intention –inference base. Igbo innuendo names are natural expressions or utterances that can flout maxims; but whenever maxims are breached in them it leads to implicature. And given the inferential ability of the hearer and the mutual knowledge or cooperation shared by the name giver and the hearer it is difficult for the Igbo innuendo names to flout maxim. The paper suggested that hearers should rely on the name giver's illocutionary force, intention, and their inferential ability in interpreting the names. The theoretical framework adopted is Bach and Harnish(1979) mutual contextual belief which states that every speech exhibits an act known as speech act which is intention –inference based. Our data were collected introspectively.