A sociolinguistic study of address terms in a Nigerian university’s staff club

Eyo O. Mensah

doi:10.1515/psicl-2021-0024

Article

A sociolinguistic study of address terms in a Nigerian university’s staff club

Eyo O. Mensah

Published/Copyright: December 9, 2021

Published by

Become an author with De Gruyter Brill

Submit Manuscript Author Information Explore this Subject

From the journal Poznan Studies in Contemporary Linguistics Volume 57 Issue 4

Abstract

This article explores the sociopragmatic functions of address terms in social interactions at the University of Calabar Senior Staff Club. It takes into perspective the metalinguistic categories of address terms, their motivations, and the cultural and sociolinguistic parameters that determine their choice among Club members. The study is rooted in social identity theory and community of practice (CoP) analytical framework as are theorized in contemporary sociolinguistic literature. The study identifies nicknames, titles, acronyms, formulaic appellations, clipped personal names and extended personal names as the primary types of address terms in the Club, and articulates that the use of address terms is a social construction of identity that enacts intimacy, fosters collective belonging, and enhances solidarity. Conversely, address terms can also reinforce social division and inequality given the hierarchical structure of the Club which does not license reciprocal use of some address terms. The study concludes that address terms are a site of highly creative use of language which is reflexively framed through humour, clipping, lengthening, language play and other linguistic devices. Generally, address terms provide mechanisms for members to bond socially and adapt flexibly to the socio-academic environment of the Club.

Keywords: Address terms; university staff club; identity; belonging; intersubjectivity; person-reference; Nigeria

Eyo O. Mensah Faculty of Arts University of Calabar QF/6 Unical Staff Village University of Calabar Calabar, Cross River State 540001 Nigeria

10 Acknowledgments

I am grateful to two anonymous reviewers of this article. They contributed ideas and perspectives which considerably improved the thesis of this article. I wish to thank Dr Idom Inyabri, Patrick Nkang, Tony Ekpe and other members of the University of Calabar Senior Staff Club who participated in this study. I appreciate Prof. Fleming Luke (University of Montreal, Canada) for sharing his ideas and reading an earlier draft of this paper. His suggestions were most insightful, and which this article benefitted immensely. All errors that remain are mine.

References

Afful, J. 2006. “Address terms among university students in Ghana: A case study”. Language and Intercultural Communication 6. 76–91.10.1080/14708470608668909Search in Google Scholar

Afful, J. 2010. “Address forms among university students in Ghana: A case of gendered identities?” Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 31. 443–456.10.1080/01434632.2010.505655Search in Google Scholar

Afful, J. and I. Mwinlaaru. 2012. “When ‘sir’ and ‘madam’ are not: Address terms and reference terms students use for faculty in a Ghanaian university”. Sociolinguistic Studies 6. 491–517.10.1558/sols.v6i3.491Search in Google Scholar

Alford, R. 1988. Naming and identity: A cross-cultural study of personal naming practices. New Haven: HRAF Press.Search in Google Scholar

Bisilki, K.A. 2017. “A sociolinguistic analysis of kinship terms in Likpakpaln (Konkomba)”. Ghana Journal of Linguistics 6. 33–58.10.4314/gjl.v6i3.2Search in Google Scholar

Brown, P. and S. Levinson. 1987. Politeness: Some universals in language usage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.10.1017/CBO9780511813085Search in Google Scholar

Brown, R. and A. Gilman. 1960. “The pronoun of power and solidarity”. In: Sebeok, T. (ed.), Style in language. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press. 252–276.10.1515/9783110805376.252Search in Google Scholar

Bucholtz, M. 1999. “Why be normal?’: Language and identity practices in a community of nerd girls”. Language in Society 28. 203–223.10.1007/978-1-349-92299-4_15Search in Google Scholar

Bucholtz, M. and K. Hall. 2005. “Identity in interaction: A sociocultural linguistic approach”. Discourse Studies 7. 585–614.10.1177/1461445605054407Search in Google Scholar

Buckingham, D. 2008. “Introducing Identity”. In: Buckingham, D. (ed.), Youth, identity and digital media. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1–24.Search in Google Scholar

Burgoon, J. and N. Dunbar. 2006. “Nonverbal expressions of dominance and power in human relationships”. In: Manusov, V. and M. Patterson (eds.), The Sage handbook of nonverbal communication. Thousand Oaks: Sage. 279–297.10.4135/9781412976152.n15Search in Google Scholar

Constitution of the University of Calabar Senior Staff Club. 2012. Calabar: University of Calabar Press.Search in Google Scholar

Crozier, W.R. 2002. “Donkeys and dragons: Recollection of school teachers’ nicknames”. Educational Review 28. 133–142.10.1080/03055690220124579Search in Google Scholar

De Klerk, V. and B. Bosch. 1996. “Nicknames as sex-role stereotypes”. Sex Roles 35. 525–541.10.1007/BF01548251Search in Google Scholar

De Klerk, V. and B. Bosch. 1999. “Nicknames as evidence of verbal playfulness”. Multilingua 18. 1–16.10.1515/mult.1999.18.1.1Search in Google Scholar

Dickey, E. 1997. “Forms of address and terms of reference”. Journal of Linguistics 33. 255–274.10.1017/S0022226797006488Search in Google Scholar

DiLisle, H.H. 1993. “Forms of address in academic settings. A contrastive analysis”. Teaching German 26. 22–26.10.2307/3531785Search in Google Scholar

Eckert, P and S. McConnell-Ginet. 1992. “Communities of practice: Where language, gender and power all live”. In: Hall, K., M. Bucholtz and B. Moonwomon (eds.), Locating power: proceedings of the second Berkeley women and language conference. Berkeley: Berkeley Women and Language Group. 89–99.Search in Google Scholar

Fajardo, J.A. and F.R. Gonzalez. 2018. “Motivations and morphological variations in clipped personal names: A cross-linguistic approach”. Lingua 206. 25–48.10.1016/j.lingua.2018.01.006Search in Google Scholar

Formentelli, M. 2009. “Address strategies in British academic setting”. Pragmatics 9. 179–196.10.1075/prag.19.2.02forSearch in Google Scholar

Formentelli, M. 2018. “Strategies of address in English Lingua Franca (EFL) academic interactions”. Linguistics and Literature Studies 6. 298–306.10.13189/lls.2018.060605Search in Google Scholar

Formentelli, M. and J. Hajek. 2016. “Address practices in academic interactions in pluricentric languages: Australian English, American and British English”. Pragmatics 26. 631–652.10.1075/prag.26.4.05forSearch in Google Scholar

Hameit-Sievers, A. 1998. “Igbo traditional rulers: Chieftaincy and state in Southeastern Nigeria”. Afrika Spectrum 33. 57–99.Search in Google Scholar

Hao, S., S. Zhang and F. Zhu. 2008. “A comparative study of Chinese and American Address terms”. Journal of Praxis in Multicultural Education 3. 6–22.10.9741/2161-2978.1011Search in Google Scholar

Harris, H., V. McCready and D. Herr. 1999. “Address forms and their implications in communication sciences and disorder university programs”. Contemporary Issues in Communication Science and Disorder 26. 82–93.10.1044/cicsd_26_S_82Search in Google Scholar

Harris, S.A.J. 2008. “Social identity: Linguistic construction in relation to multiple groups”. Nanzan Junior College Journal 36. 243–267.Search in Google Scholar

Hogg, M. and D. Abrams. 1988. Social identification: A social psychology of intergroup relations and group processes. London: Routledge.Search in Google Scholar

Hwang, S. (1991). “Terms of address in Korean and American cultures”. Intercultural Communication Studies 1. 117–134.Search in Google Scholar

Hymes, D. 1975. “Breakthrough into performance”. In: Ben-Amos, D. and K. Goldstein (eds.), Folklore, performance and communication. The Hague: Mouton. 11–74.10.1515/9783110880229.11Search in Google Scholar

Imbua, D. 2008. “The offshore British community and Old Calabar merchants 1659–1700”. Abibisem: Journal of African Culture and Civilization 1. 34–50.Search in Google Scholar

Ishikawa, A., T. Nagata, A. Nagao and H. Lizuka. 1981. “Address terms in modern Japanese: A sociolinguistic analysis”. Sophia Linguistica 8. 129–141.Search in Google Scholar

Jenkin, R. 2004. Social identity. London: Routledge.10.4324/9780203463352Search in Google Scholar

Kennedy, R. 2015. “Nicknames”. In: Taylor, J. (ed.), The Oxford handbook of the word. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 650–672.10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199641604.013.012Search in Google Scholar

Keshavarz, M. 2001. “The role of social context, intimacy and distance in the choice of forms of Address”. International Journal of the Sociology of Language 148. 5–18.10.1515/ijsl.2001.015Search in Google Scholar

Kubayi, S.J. 2013. Address forms in Xitsonga: A sociopragmatic perspective. (PhD dissertation, University of South Africa.)Search in Google Scholar

Lave, J. and E. Wenger. 1991. Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.10.1017/CBO9780511815355Search in Google Scholar

Leech, G.N. 1999. “The distribution and functions of vocatives in American and British English conversations”. In: Hasselgard, H. and S. Oksefjell (eds.), Studies in honour of Stig Johansson. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 107–118.10.1163/9789004653689_013Search in Google Scholar

Lytra, A. 2003. “Nicknames and teasing: A case study of a linguistically and culturally mixed peer group”. In: Androutsopoulos, J.K. and A. Georgeakopoulos (eds.), Discourse construction of youth identities. Amsterdams: Benjamins. 47–73.10.1075/pbns.110.04lytSearch in Google Scholar

Malinowski, B. 1972. “Phatic communion”. In: Laver, J. and S. Hutchinson, S. (eds.), Communication in face-to-face interaction. Harmondsworth: Penguin. 126–152.Search in Google Scholar

Mallison, C. and B. Childs. 2005. “Community of practice in sociolinguistic description: African American women language in Appalachia”. University of Penn Working Papers in Linguistics 10. 1–14.Search in Google Scholar

Mashiri, P. 1999. “Terms of address in Shona: A sociolinguistic approach”. Zambezia 26. 93–110.Search in Google Scholar

Maybin, J. and J. Swann. 2007. “Everyday creativity in language: Textuality, contextuality and critique”. Applied Linguistics 28. 497–517.10.1093/applin/amm036Search in Google Scholar

Mensah, E. 2015. “Personal names in language contact situations: A case of Cross River State, South-eastern Nigeria”. Acta Academica 47. 102–138.Search in Google Scholar

Mensah, E. 2016. “Female nicknames in Nigeria: The case of Calabar Metropolis”. Language Matters 47. 184–202.10.1080/10228195.2016.1155638Search in Google Scholar

Mensah, E. 2017. “Proverbial nicknames among rural youth in Nigeria”. Anthropological Linguistics 59. 414–439.10.1353/anl.2017.0016Search in Google Scholar

Mensah, E. 2020. “Name this child: Religious identity and ideology in Tiv personal names”. Names: Journal of Onomastics 68. 1–15.10.1080/00277738.2020.1731239Search in Google Scholar

Mensah, E. and S. Mekamgoum. 2017. “The communicative significance of Ngemba personal names”. African Identities 15. 398–413.10.1080/14725843.2017.1319753Search in Google Scholar

Mensah, E. and K. Rowan. 2019. “African anthroponyms: Sociolinguistic currents and anthropological reflections”. Sociolinguistic Studies 13. 157–170.10.1558/sols.37819Search in Google Scholar

Meyerhoff, M. 2006. Introducing sociolinguistics. Oxford: Routledge.10.4324/9780203966709Search in Google Scholar

Meyerhoff, M. 1996. “Dealing with gender identity as a sociolinguistic variable”. In: Bergvall, V., J. Bing and A. Freed (eds.), Language and gender research: Rethinking theory and practice. London: Longman. 225–252.Search in Google Scholar

Meyerhoff, M. 1994. “Updating gender as a sociolinguistic variable”. University of Pennsylvania Working Paper in Linguistics 1. 1–16.Search in Google Scholar

Meyerhoff, M. and N. Niedzielski. 1994. “Resistance to creolization: An interpersonal and group account”. Language and Communication 14. 313–330.10.1016/0271-5309(94)90024-8Search in Google Scholar

Ng, S.H. and F. Deng. 2017. Language and power. Oxford research encyclopaedia of Communication. <https://oxfordre.com/communication/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228613.001.0001/acrefore-9780190228613-e-436> Retrieved July 3, 2019.10.1093/acrefore/9780190228613.013.436Search in Google Scholar

Norrby, C. and C. Wide. 2015. Address practices as social action: European perspectives. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillian.10.1057/9781137529923Search in Google Scholar

Norton, B. 1997. “Language, identity and the owner of English”. TESOL Quarterly 31. 409–429.10.2307/3587831Search in Google Scholar

Oyetade, S. 1995. “A sociolinguistic analysis of address forms in Yoruba”. Language in Society 24. 515–535.10.1017/S004740450001900XSearch in Google Scholar

Payne, K.T. 1991. “Open statement to professions on behalf of the clinical instructors in speech-language pathology and audiology”. In: Goldsmith, S.C and S.T. Karr (eds.), In search of self. Rockville: American-Speech-Language-Hearing Association. 29–31.Search in Google Scholar

Pinto-Abecasis, N. 2011. “Towards the inclusion of nicknames in the genre of folklore: A case of the former Jewish community of Tetuan, Morocco”. Folklore 122. 135–154.10.1080/0015587X.2011.570520Search in Google Scholar

Pyrko, I., V. Dorfier and E. Colin. 2016. “Thinking together: What makes communities of practice work?” Human Relations 70. 389–409.10.1177/0018726716661040Search in Google Scholar

Starks, D. and K. Taylor-Leech. 2011. “Research project on nicknames and adolescent identities”. New Zealand Studies in Applied Linguistics 17. 87–97.Search in Google Scholar

Stets, J. and P. Burke. 2000. “Identity theory and social identity theory”. Social Psychology Quarterly 63(3). 224–237.10.2307/2695870Search in Google Scholar

Wenger, E. 1998. Community of practice: Learning, meaning and identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.10.1017/CBO9780511803932Search in Google Scholar

Zawawi, B. 2006. “Linguistic creativity from a cognitive perspective”. South African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies 24(2). 235–254.10.2989/16073610609486419Search in Google Scholar

Ziv, A. 1984. Personality and sense of humour. New York: Springer.Search in Google Scholar

Published Online: 2021-12-09

Published in Print: 2021-12-20

You are currently not able to access this content.

Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/psicl-2021-0024

Keywords for this article

Address terms; university staff club; identity; belonging; intersubjectivity; person-reference; Nigeria