An Ethnography of Communication: Viva Voce in a Ghanaian University

Isaac Afful

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijll.20170505.12

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An Ethnography of Communication: Viva Voce in a Ghanaian University

Isaac Afful

Published in International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 5, Issue 5)

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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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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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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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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TY  - JOUR
T1  - An Ethnography of Communication: Viva Voce in a Ghanaian University
AU  - Isaac Afful
Y1  - 2017/08/02
PY  - 2017
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20170505.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijll.20170505.12
T2  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JF  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JO  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
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EP  - 134
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-0221
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20170505.12
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.
VL  - 5
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Author Information

Isaac Afful

Department of English, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana

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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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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}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - An Ethnography of Communication: Viva Voce in a Ghanaian University
AU  - Isaac Afful
Y1  - 2017/08/02
PY  - 2017
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20170505.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijll.20170505.12
T2  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JF  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JO  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
SP  - 127
EP  - 134
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-0221
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20170505.12
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.
VL  - 5
IS  - 5
ER  -

Copy | Download