“That’s not my understanding”

Amuzu, Evershed Kwasi; Campbell, Akua; Ofori, Seth Antwi

doi:10.1075/ld.00076.amu

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 27 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Ghanaian courtrooms, whether the traditional courts referred to as Native Courts or Customary Courts, or the Westernbased courts, provide a site where diff erent power forums clash and blend (Amuzu et al, 2020;Yankah, 1995;Manuh, 1988;Amissah, 1985). Distinct courtrooms also provide theatres where actors use language to index power.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Turn taking in Ghanaian judicial discourse

Obeng,

Campbell

2023

Legon J. Hum.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Turn construction and turn allocation in social interactions have been studied from different theoretical and methodological perspectives, the most important and debated ones being conversation analysis and (critical) discourse analysis. Even though turn taking has been studied in informal conversations in Ghanaian languages, nothing has been done on turn taking in Ghanaian judicial discourse. This paper examines turn taking management in Ghanaian Western-based judicial interaction. Working within the conversational analytic framework and language and power, the paper investigated how speaker turns were managed, especially, how turn allocations were shaped by speaker roles and identities in judicial domains. Data for the study consisted of transcripts of nine hours of naturally occurring tape-recorded Ghanaian courtroom interactions comprising civil and criminal cases. The data were recorded in Accra and Koforidua between November 2018 and February 2019 and consisted of sixteen court proceedings and seventy-three speakers. Results indicated that turn allocation was managed mostly by the judges with the other court participants, especially the attorneys and interpreters, occasionally self-selecting or selecting others, mainly, the disputants. Also identified was that not all linguistic resources for turn taking were equally accessible to all participants. In conclusion, the identities and roles of the court actors determine and constrain the available linguistic and pragmatic tools needed for effective turn taking management.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Turn taking in Ghanaian judicial discourse

Obeng,

Campbell

2023

Legon J. Hum.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Language and power

Campbell,

Obeng

2023

INTP

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article investigates the power dynamics at play in interpreter-mediated discourse interactions in the district courts in Ghana. Using audio recordings of authentic courtroom proceedings, we analyzed the discursive practices performed by court actors, especially interpreters, and the ways in which these practices signal their power or the lack thereof. We also examine the way language is employed by dominant actors to intrude on the liberty of less dominant actors in the courtroom and how this is sometimes resisted by the latter actors. We couch our analyses in Fairclough’s theory of language and power and Obeng’s theory of language and liberty. Our analysis shows that interpreters in Ghanaian courts are tacitly imbued with an inordinate amount of power, which is exercised in the service of the courts. The interpreters in our study employ speech acts such as questioning, scolding and persuading to control the discursive behavior of lay court users (e.g., litigants, witnesses) in order to ensure efficient court proceedings. These acts impinge on the liberty of litigants as they are not free to engage the court in a manner suitable to them. This study raises questions about the interpreter’s neutrality and professionalism and its findings could be useful to those entities interested in improving legal interpreting standards.

show abstract

Repair in Ghanaian judicial discourse

Obeng,

Campbell

2024

International Journal of Legal Discourse

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Repair is an integral part of every natural human discursive practice due to cognitive anxiety, stress, emotional valence, inability to recover words from one’s mental lexicon, slip of the tongue, among others. This study examined repair in Ghanaian judicial interactions using authentic judicial discourse data and working within the theoretical frameworks of conversational analysis and language and power. Results indicate that repairables include word search, correction proper and misstatements. Repair types included self-initiated self-repair, other-initiated other-repair, other-initiated self-repair, and other-initiated other-repair and self-repair. Linguistic and discourse-pragmatic strategies employed in initiating and carrying out repair include, pauses, sound prolongation, word/expression repetition, and morpho-syntactic and discourse-pragmatic features like yes-no questions, wh-questions, quantifiers, adjectives denoting exactness, pronouns, laughter, supportives, scolding via pejorative utterances, politeness/address forms, and calling on actors to abide by the courts’ moral code. In sum, repair is important on issues relating to understandability and interpretability of what judicial participants say, acceptable modes communication and their impact on facts needed to make cases judicable. Stakeholders in Ghanaian judicial practice and Ghanaian jurisprudence must take note of repair’s un-expendable nature in Ghanaian judicial discourse.

show abstract

“That’s not my understanding”

Cited by 3 publications

References 27 publications

Turn taking in Ghanaian judicial discourse

Turn taking in Ghanaian judicial discourse

Language and power

Repair in Ghanaian judicial discourse

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About