Sentential Names in Tiv

This article explores and analyses Tiv personal names which are composed of sentences. The structural, semantic and pragmatic characteristics of these sentence names are described, and simplex sentence names with their unique grammatical peculiarities and propositional contents are identified. Ethnographic data for this research was obtained through interviews, metalinguistic conversations and participant observations in two Tiv speaking communities: Gboko and Makurdi in Benue State, North-central Nigeria. In this article, Tiv sentential names are presented and it is argued that they are not mere referential expressions but also provide a reflection of the grammatical structure of the Tiv language. We conclude that the structure of Tiv sentential names is not constrained to any particular set of expressions; as they have semantic and pragmatic attributes which denote some extralinguistic realities that also contribute to the organization of Tiv grammar and the mental representation of the native speakers' linguistic competence.