A Semantic Analysis of Personal Names in Datooga Society

Naming can sometimes be associated with particular situations or someone’s birth. This study intends to find out the association between Datooga names and socio-cultural backgrounds. The study employs a qualitative research approach, in which case the collected data was subjected to descriptive analysis. Data have been collected from Datooga speaking students studying at the Dar es Salaam University College of Education, through Interviews and Questionnaire. The analysis is based on the Kripke’s three arguments in naming as described by Speaks (2007). The theory explains how naming is achieved with reference to the modal argument, the semantic argument and the epistemic argument. The findings of the study have revealed that in the Datooga society, naming is associated with different phenomena particularly time of birth and prevailing situations, traditions, norms and customs.