DENOTATIVE MEANINGS OF NAMES GIVEN TO BUSINESSES IN CHOGORIA TOWN: A PRAGMATIC ANALYSIS

Abstract

Naming is an important aspect of our everyday life. Practically everything in the world has a name. This Article sought to provide a pragmatic analysis of names given to businesses in Chogoria town, Tharaka Nithi County in Kenya. The objectives of the study was to establish the denotative meanings of business names in Chogoria town. The study adopted a descriptive research design and used the Frame Semantic Theory to explain how encyclopedic knowledge can be used to arrive at the meanings of these business names. Literature was reviewed on meaning, naming, other studies on the same and how context determines meaning. Stratified sampling and purposive sampling were used to sample thirty business names from the various business types in the area of study to determine those names that would help achieve the objective. Interview schedule was used as the data collection instrument. The data was analyzed using the thematic analysis.