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An Ethnography of Communication: Viva Voce in a Ghanaian University

Received: 27 January 2017     Accepted: 27 May 2017     Published: 2 August 2017
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Abstract

Over the last few decades, researchers have shown much interest in written academic genres to the detriment of spoken academic genres, though spoken genres such as viva voces are quintessential to postgraduate studies and form part of the enculturation process of novice academics. Using the ethnography of communication approach as proposed by Dell Hymes and focusing on setting, participant and act sequence, this paper examined how these elements of ethnography are operative in three recordings of viva voces organised by a department of a university in Ghana. The study revealed that the setting, day, scene, and clothing of participants highlight the formal nature of viva voces, a finding which projects academics as business-minded individuals. Further, it was revealed that the participants of viva voces are usually academics who share similar beliefs and engage in practices cherished by the community of practice. The relationship between candidates and the assessors, was asymmetrical and power-laden as realized though the address terms and lexico-grammatical choices that the candidates make. Finally, the study revealed that the viva voces are organized into four schematic structures. The study makes key contributions to scholarship on postgraduate pedagogy, text construction, and ethnography of communication.

Published in International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 5, Issue 5)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijll.20170505.12
Page(s) 127-134
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2017. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Viva Voce, Ethnography of Communication, Oral Academic Genres, Postgraduate Studies, Discourse Community

References
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[2] Afful, J. B. A. (2007). Address forms and the construction of multiple identities among university students in Ghana. Sociolinguistic Studies, 1(3), 461-481.
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[10] Hymes, D. (1986). Models of the interaction of language and social life. In J. Gumperz & D. Hymes (Eds.), Directions in Sociolinguistics: The Ethnography of Communication. Oxford, New York: Basil Blackwell. (pp. 35-71). New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
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    Isaac Afful. (2017). An Ethnography of Communication: Viva Voce in a Ghanaian University. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 5(5), 127-134. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20170505.12

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    ACS Style

    Isaac Afful. An Ethnography of Communication: Viva Voce in a Ghanaian University. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2017, 5(5), 127-134. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20170505.12

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    AMA Style

    Isaac Afful. An Ethnography of Communication: Viva Voce in a Ghanaian University. Int J Lang Linguist. 2017;5(5):127-134. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20170505.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijll.20170505.12,
      author = {Isaac Afful},
      title = {An Ethnography of Communication: Viva Voce in a Ghanaian University},
      journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
      volume = {5},
      number = {5},
      pages = {127-134},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20170505.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20170505.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20170505.12},
      abstract = {Over the last few decades, researchers have shown much interest in written academic genres to the detriment of spoken academic genres, though spoken genres such as viva voces are quintessential to postgraduate studies and form part of the enculturation process of novice academics. Using the ethnography of communication approach as proposed by Dell Hymes and focusing on setting, participant and act sequence, this paper examined how these elements of ethnography are operative in three recordings of viva voces organised by a department of a university in Ghana. The study revealed that the setting, day, scene, and clothing of participants highlight the formal nature of viva voces, a finding which projects academics as business-minded individuals. Further, it was revealed that the participants of viva voces are usually academics who share similar beliefs and engage in practices cherished by the community of practice. The relationship between candidates and the assessors, was asymmetrical and power-laden as realized though the address terms and lexico-grammatical choices that the candidates make. Finally, the study revealed that the viva voces are organized into four schematic structures. The study makes key contributions to scholarship on postgraduate pedagogy, text construction, and ethnography of communication.},
     year = {2017}
    }
    

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    AB  - Over the last few decades, researchers have shown much interest in written academic genres to the detriment of spoken academic genres, though spoken genres such as viva voces are quintessential to postgraduate studies and form part of the enculturation process of novice academics. Using the ethnography of communication approach as proposed by Dell Hymes and focusing on setting, participant and act sequence, this paper examined how these elements of ethnography are operative in three recordings of viva voces organised by a department of a university in Ghana. The study revealed that the setting, day, scene, and clothing of participants highlight the formal nature of viva voces, a finding which projects academics as business-minded individuals. Further, it was revealed that the participants of viva voces are usually academics who share similar beliefs and engage in practices cherished by the community of practice. The relationship between candidates and the assessors, was asymmetrical and power-laden as realized though the address terms and lexico-grammatical choices that the candidates make. Finally, the study revealed that the viva voces are organized into four schematic structures. The study makes key contributions to scholarship on postgraduate pedagogy, text construction, and ethnography of communication.
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Author Information
  • Department of English, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana

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