Codifying Ghanaian English
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Jemima Anderson
Abstract
Although non-native varieties of English used in English as Second Language (ESL) communities such as India, Nigeria, Cameroon and South Africa have been described and codified in dictionaries and grammar books, there are other ESL communities such as Ghana where the localized varieties of English are still low on the continuum. In spite of the efforts that have been made to describe the development of a distinctive Ghanaian variety of English, there are many factors that have militated against these efforts. This paper gives some of the factors that affect the description and codification of a distinctive variety of “Ghanaian English” and also explores some of the possible solutions to these problems. The paper begins by discussing the status of English in Ghana and then goes on to explore some of the factors that have made it impossible to describe and codify Ghanaian English. It also discusses the means by which the English language spoken in Ghana can be accepted as a peculiar Ghanaian variety. The paper finally discusses how the codification of Ghanaian English can help in the development and growth of a Ghanaian variety of English.
Abstract
Although non-native varieties of English used in English as Second Language (ESL) communities such as India, Nigeria, Cameroon and South Africa have been described and codified in dictionaries and grammar books, there are other ESL communities such as Ghana where the localized varieties of English are still low on the continuum. In spite of the efforts that have been made to describe the development of a distinctive Ghanaian variety of English, there are many factors that have militated against these efforts. This paper gives some of the factors that affect the description and codification of a distinctive variety of “Ghanaian English” and also explores some of the possible solutions to these problems. The paper begins by discussing the status of English in Ghana and then goes on to explore some of the factors that have made it impossible to describe and codify Ghanaian English. It also discusses the means by which the English language spoken in Ghana can be accepted as a peculiar Ghanaian variety. The paper finally discusses how the codification of Ghanaian English can help in the development and growth of a Ghanaian variety of English.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Series editor’s preface ix
- Acknowledgements xiii
- Introduction xv
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1. Focus on
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1.1 Africa
- Deracialising the GOOSE vowel in South African English 3
- Codifying Ghanaian English 19
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1.2 The Caribbean
- Corpus linguistics meets sociolinguistics 39
- Rhoticity in educated Jamaican English 61
- Standard English in the secondary school in Trinidad 83
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1.3 Australia and New Zealand
- Australian English as a regional epicenter 107
- Finding one’s own vowel space 125
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1.4 Asia
- Language in Hong Kong 143
- The roles of English in Southeast Asian legal systems 155
- Not just an “Outer Circle”, “Asian” English 179
- “Where’s the party yaar !” 207
- Innovation in second language phonology 227
- Intelligibility assessment of Japanese accents 239
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2. The global perspective
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2.1 Comparative studies
- World Englishes between simplification and complexification 265
- Global feature — local norms? 287
- The shared core of the perfect across Englishes 309
- Word-formation in New Englishes 331
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2.2 New approaches
- The indigenization of English in North America 353
- Perspectives on English as a lingua franca 369
- A discourse-historical approach to the English native speaker 385
- World Englishes and Peace Sociolinguistics 407
- New voices in the canon 415
- Index 433
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Series editor’s preface ix
- Acknowledgements xiii
- Introduction xv
-
1. Focus on
-
1.1 Africa
- Deracialising the GOOSE vowel in South African English 3
- Codifying Ghanaian English 19
-
1.2 The Caribbean
- Corpus linguistics meets sociolinguistics 39
- Rhoticity in educated Jamaican English 61
- Standard English in the secondary school in Trinidad 83
-
1.3 Australia and New Zealand
- Australian English as a regional epicenter 107
- Finding one’s own vowel space 125
-
1.4 Asia
- Language in Hong Kong 143
- The roles of English in Southeast Asian legal systems 155
- Not just an “Outer Circle”, “Asian” English 179
- “Where’s the party yaar !” 207
- Innovation in second language phonology 227
- Intelligibility assessment of Japanese accents 239
-
2. The global perspective
-
2.1 Comparative studies
- World Englishes between simplification and complexification 265
- Global feature — local norms? 287
- The shared core of the perfect across Englishes 309
- Word-formation in New Englishes 331
-
2.2 New approaches
- The indigenization of English in North America 353
- Perspectives on English as a lingua franca 369
- A discourse-historical approach to the English native speaker 385
- World Englishes and Peace Sociolinguistics 407
- New voices in the canon 415
- Index 433
