A SEMANTIC ANALYSIS OF HYPONYMIC RELATIONSHIPS AND NAMING PATTERNS OF BIRDS IN NANKA IGBO

Abstract

This research focuses on the hyponymic relationships and naming
patterns of birds in Nanka Igbo with the aim of identifying the common
hyponyms for birds in Nanka, and examining the peculiar names of the
lexical words. It examines the features of the co-hyponyms of birds using
the binary matrix. Twenty-three hyponyms of birds were analysed using
Nida’s (1975) componential theory. Data for this research were
collected through interview from competent native speakers. The
research finds out, among others, that hyponyms of birds in Nanka are
co-hyponyms of the superordinate “nnunu”. The findings indicate that
Nanka speech community has a diverse vocabulary for classifying
various species of birds. The findings show that names of birds in
Nanka are typically structured around a few key components such as
physical properties, habitat, and behaviour. This research contributes
to the preservation and documentation of Nanka speech community
and the Igbo language.