When 'Sir' and 'Madam are not: Address terms and reference terms students use for faculty in a Ghanaian university

Authors

  • Joseph Benjamin Archibald Afful University of Cape Coast Author
  • Isaac N Mwinlaaru University of Cape Coast Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/sols.v6i3.491

Keywords:

address terms, reference terms, domination, resistance, students, faculty

Abstract

Address terms and reference terms are common but key naming behaviours that are enacted in various social interactions. Thus, unsurprisingly, they have received much attention in sociolinguistic research since the 1960s. The use of these two communicative acts in the academic setting, however, seems under-researched. This study, therefore, investigated address terms and reference terms students used for faculty in a public university in Ghana, utilizing Scott’s (1990) sociological theory on resistance to domination. An ethnographic as well as a triangulated approach, comprising participant and non-participant observations, semi-structured interview, and introspection, was used in the study. Analysis of the data revealed three major findings. First, students used three principal forms of address, namely titles, kinship terms, and nicknames for faculty. Second, students used titles, personal names, and nicknames as the major reference terms for faculty. Finally, address terms and reference terms functioned as symbols of domination and resistance to domination as well as markers of identities which were co-constructed by students. The study has implications for theory, intercultural communication, and further research.

Author Biographies

  • Joseph Benjamin Archibald Afful, University of Cape Coast
    Joseph B. A. Afful is Senior Lecturer at the Department of English and Head of the Department of Communication Studies, both at the University of Cape Coast (Ghana), where he obtained his B.A. (Hons), Dip.Ed. and MPhil. He has a PhD in Applied Linguistics from the National University of Singapore. He teaches courses in Research Methodology, Sociolinguistics, Discourse Analysis, Rhetorical Theory and Practices, Advanced Composition and General Linguistics. His fields of research include English for Academic Purposes, Advanced Academic Literacy, (Critical) Discourse Studies, Sociolinguistics and Postgraduate Pedagogy. He has published in international journals such as Professional and Academic English, ESP World, Nebula, Sociolinguistic Studies, Journal of Multicultural and Multilingual Development and Nordic Journal of African Studies.
  • Isaac N Mwinlaaru, University of Cape Coast
    Isaac N. Mwinlaaru is currently a Senior Research Assistant and an EFL instructor at the Department of English at the University of Cape Coast (Ghana), where he obtained his B.Ed and M.Phil degrees. He is also an instructor at the University’s Centre for Continuing Education. His research interest areas include Literary Stylistics, Systemic Functional Linguistics, (Critical) Discourse Analysis, English for Academic/Specific Purposes and Forensic Linguistics.

Published

2013-08-03

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Afful, J. B. A., & Mwinlaaru, I. N. (2013). When ’Sir’ and ’Madam are not: Address terms and reference terms students use for faculty in a Ghanaian university. Sociolinguistic Studies, 6(3), 491-517. https://doi.org/10.1558/sols.v6i3.491