Onomastic strategies: A pragmatic approach to the use of personal names among the Kabye of northern Togo

In this article I propose to analyze three verbal strategies underlying the use of personal names by the Kabye of northern Togo. Such strategies fulfill a variety of purposes, including attempts to influence the behavior of a name-bearer in the context of interpersonal or social relationships. They are often implemented with the intent to help name-bearers live up to their name. Among these strategies I examine (1) the choice of a name, (2) its intonation and (3) its amplification. All three strategies fall within the scope of the socio-pragmatic approach to naming (the giving of names as well as their use) defined here as essentially an act of interpellation.