Creating Institutional Solidarity: A Transitivity Analysis of Anthems of Selected Ghanaian Universities

Previous works on the analysis of anthems have focused on unearthing encoded latent meanings through the analysis of linguistic devices such as cohesive devices, deictic expressions, figures  of speech, content words and clauses. However, the analysis of institutional anthems as a sub-genre  of anthems has received minimal attention in linguistic research. The current study therefore  adopts a qualitative exploratory procedure to conduct a transitivity analysis of process types and  their encoded implications in selected Ghanaian university anthems underpinned by the transitivity  framework by Halliday and Matthiessen (2014). The sample for the study is composed of anthems of  four main or traditional universities in Ghana. The four anthems that serve as data for the study  are anthems of University for Development Studies (UDS), University of Cape Coast (UCC), University  of Ghana (UG) and University of Education, Winneba (UEW). The consensual coding strategy is used to  check the validity of the coding process. The results indicate a preponderant use of material  processes to spell out the expected actions to be taken by members of the universities to inure to  the holistic progress of their institutions. Other process types such as relational, mental and  verbal processes are minimally used to establish relationships, eulogize and personify the  universities as important institutions worthy of praise. The study concludes that the creation of  institutional solidarity was better represented through the analysis of process types in the  selected Ghanaian university anthems. The implications of this study unveil the importance of  university anthems in the representation of the goals, visions and missions of universities and  recommend that tertiary institutions who use adopted anthems could relook at that by getting to  compose their own anthems in alignment with the goals, vision and mission underpinning their establishment.