Address Terms in Classroom Discourse: A Case of University of Cape Coast Students in Ghana
- 1 Institute for Phonetics Johann Wolfgang, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Abstract
Recent researches have focused on the use of address and reference terms in several social settings. The present study contributes to these works by examining the use of address terms in classroom interactions at the University of Cape Coast. Using a face-to-face interview and audio recording, this work examined address terms used among students and lecturers in real time situations. A total of 35 recorded lectures, coupled with interviews, were obtained and transcribed for the analysis. The analysis showed that students usually used title + last names (TLN), honorifics (Hon), and sometimes avoidance strategies when addressing lecturers in class. On the other hand, lecturers usually use first names (FN), nicknames, and also sometimes avoidance strategies when addressing students. The study has shown that the T/V distinction argued by Brown and Gilman (1960) is present in tertiary address systems in Ghana. In general, this work has pedagogical implications for sociolinguistic studies and other internal academic policies.
- Afful, J. B. A., & Mwinlaaru, I. N. (2012). When Sir and Madam Are Not: Address Terms and Reference Terms Students Use for Faculty in a Ghanaian University. Sociolinguistic Studies, 6, 491-517. https://doi.org/10.1558/sols.v6i3.491
- Bargiela, F., Corinne B., Gokzadze, L., Abdurrahman H., Mills, S., & Rukhadze, N. (2002). Ethnocentrism, Politeness and Naming Strategies. Working Papers on the Web. https://extra.shu.ac.uk/wpw/politeness/bargiela.htm#
- Biber, D., Johansson, S., Leech, G., Conrad, S., & Finegan, E. (1999). Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English. Essex: Pearson Education Limited.
- Brown, R., & Ford, M. (1961). Address in American English. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 62, 375-385. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0042862
- Brown, R., & Gilman, A. (1960). The Pronouns of Power and Solidarity. In T. A. Sebeoki (Ed.), Style in Language (pp. 253-276). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
- Clark, C., & Clark, I. (2008). Exploring and Exposing a Gap in L2 Research: How Socio-Linguistic Roles and Relationships Facilitate or Frustrate Second Language Acquisition. Journal of the Spanish Association of Anglo-American Studies, 30, 101-113.
- Clyne, M. (2009). Address in Intercultural Communication across Languages. Intercultural Pragmatics, 6, 395-409. https://doi.org/10.1515/IPRG.2009.020
- Cook, M. (2014). Beyond T and V—Theoretical Reflections on the Analysis of Forms of Address. American Journal of Linguistics, 3, 17-26.
- Dickey, E. (1997). Forms of Address and Terms of Reference. Journal of Linguistics, 33, 255-274. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022226797006488
- Dunkling, L. (1990). A Dictionary of Epithets and Terms of Address. London: Taylor & Francis Routledge.
- Formentelli, M. (2009). Address Strategies in a British Academic Setting. Pragmatics, 19, 179-196. https://doi.org/10.1075/prag.19.2.02for
- Helmbrecht, J. (2013). Politeness Distinctions in Pronouns. In M. S. Dryer, & M. Haspelmath (Eds.), The World Atlas of Language Structures Online. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology.
- McIntire, M. L. (1972). Terms of Address in an Academic Setting. Anthropological Linguistics, 14, 286-291.
- Murphy, G. L. (1988). Personal Reference in English. Language in Society, 17, 317-349. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404500012938