Female nicknames in Nigeria: the case of Calabar metropolis

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Periodical article

Title:	Female nicknames in Nigeria: the case of Calabar metropolis
Author:	Mensah, Eyo
Year:	2016
Periodical:	Language Matters: Studies in the Languages of Africa (ISSN 1753-5395)
Volume:	47
Issue:	2
Pages:	184-202
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Nigeria
Subjects:	nicknames girls adolescents
External link:	https://doi.org/10.1080/10228195.2016.1155638
Abstract:	Nicknames individuate and identify their bearers and stand out with more socio-cognitive forces than the conventional names within the socio-cultural setting and beyond. In this article, the author examines the sociolinguistic and ethnographic significance of nicknaming among female adolescents in Nigeria with particular emphasis on those living in Calabar Metropolis, Cross River State, south-east Nigeria. The author takes into account the dynamics of female nicknames, their social consequences in group integration and solidarity as well as the sources of these nicknames. The study is rooted in Leslie and Skipper's (1991) socio-onomastic theory of nicknames which differentiates between constitutive, preferential and ad hoc rules of nicknaming in understanding the social construction of the nicknaming process. The author concludes that female nicknames are creative, cultural symbols and styles by means of which female adolescents express themselves as a form of critical resistance to the stereotypical image of women in a conservative society, given their psychological, sexual and aesthetic appeal. Bibliogr., sum. [Journal abstract]