UNIQUENESS OF GHANAIAN ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION: ANALYSIS OF DENTAL FRICATIVE SOUNDS

Emmanuel Asante, Bright Oppong-Adjei, Prince Yaw Adjei, Emmanuel Kwame Okrah

Abstract


The variety of English used in Ghana is not the same as the one used in Britain, America or Nigeria. There seem to be observable differences in Ghanaian English pronunciation, semantics, lexis and grammar which have led to two opposing views. The first group sees those differences as errors that need to be corrected. The second group, on the other hand, believes that not all the differences are errors. Rather, there are some acceptable differences which distinguish the variety of English used in Ghana. It is against this background that the study sought to identify and describe some phonological differences in educated Ghanaian English to contribute to the on-going debate on Ghanaian English. Using Kachru’s ‘Nativisation Theory’, the research argues that there is a Ghanaian variety of English characterized by unique phonological features such as difficulty in pronouncing dental fricative sounds /ð/ and / θ/. To support this argument, instances of “Ghanaianisms” were collected from spoken sources and analysed. A text was read by participants and recorded into a Speech Analyser and described qualitatively. The study has confirmed that, the phonological differences in the English in Ghana are mainly brought about by nativisation process. It is believed that the study will contribute to the on-going debate on Ghanaian English and its codification.

 

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Keywords


Ghanaian English; dental fricative sounds; world Englishes; nativisation

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejlll.v5i4.331

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