A Study of Students’ Preferred Address Terms for Teachers in Two Ghanaian Senior High Schools

Abstract

Address terms are key verbal behaviours in communication that establish social relationships between interlocutors; thereby, reflecting the norms and practices of society. This communicative act has gained considerable attention in sociolinguistics research; however, the use of address terms in Senior High Schools (SHSs) appears under-studied. The study, therefore, aimed to investigate address terms students use for teachers in selected SHSs in Ghana. This study is underpinned by Interactional Sociolinguistics (IS) and Community of Practice (CoP). The study used an ethnographic approach, which consisted of participant and non-participant observations of naturally occurring interactions and semi-structured interview which were recorded. The study identified six major categories of address terms: Title plus Personal Names (TPNs), Nicknames (Ns), Titles (Ts), Kinship Terms (KTs), Zero Address Terms (ZATs), and Acronyms/Abbreviations/Initialisms (ACs/ABs/INs) as the key lexicon of address forms used by students for teachers in their interactions. The students’ choice of address terms for teachers was determined by social variables such as formality, context of situation, religion, power, degree of acquaintanceship, and different levels of salience, socio-pragmatic variables of age, gender, and social status. Address terms provide mechanisms for students to bond socially and academically with their teachers in the SHSs environments. The study has some implications for concept, address terms scholarship and further studies.