Purpose: This study seeks to employ the theory of literary etymology to investigate the Ewe names of ten fruits. Design/Methodology/Approach: A purposive sample of ten descriptive Ewe fruit names was adopted for the study because literary etymology favours descriptive names and ten is large enough for phenomenological studies such as this one. The names were analysed against the nine analytical criteria of literary etymology. Findings: Findings reveal novel, informative and interesting nuances behind each name and show that conscious reflection rather than random arbitrariness informs the giving of these names. Research Limitation/ Implication: The theoretical framework of literary etymology employed in investigating the names in this study can only be used to analyse descriptive names, like the ones chosen for this study. Practical Implications: The importance of this study is that it allows one to acquire relevant information such as the history behind the names, evidence-based reflection, creativity, and comprehension of the deep meanings behind these common everyday fruit names that could be taken as ordinary names with nothing worth discovering. Finally, the study demonstrates that literary etymology can be used to examine common nouns such as fruit names. Social Implications: Findings of this study have shown that even everyday words are loaded with meaning and understanding these deeper meanings will improve our social and communicative skills. Originality/Value/ Novelty: This study is but one of the very few that has employed the theory of literary etymology to investigate common names and proves its versatility as a framework to analyse all types of names.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.