We are supposed to use their spellings, constructions and when we speak, we should aim at the “Received Pronunciation” (RP), otherwise known as “BBC English”. What kind of English should the Ghanaian, then, speak? This piece is about the spoken, rather than the written, language since for the latter, many Ghanaians can reach quite a high level of excellence.Īnyone who has gone to school in Ghana is confronted with English as the British speak it. Today, Twi is assuming a predominant role that is unprecedented in the history of our country but it is doubtful if it will ever replace English as our principal official language not least because Ghanaians will still want to be fully integrated into the globalised village. English is, arguably, the most unifying cultural element of our nation state given the fact that when Ghanaians do not speak it, they resort to one of, at least, forty languages many of which are unintelligible to their fellow countrymen and women.

Educational authorities typically feel that Student Pidgin reflects the fact that the standard of English in Ghanaian senior secondary schools and universities has fallen.One of the most important things the British left us after more than a hundred years of colonisation is, perhaps, their language which has, today, become the world’s foremost. 2 In this context, the question to consider is what underlies this behavior? This has been the subject of recurrent debate. The fact that students use Student Pidgin seems unexpected, considering the fact that they are competent speakers of Standard English.

The use of Student Pidgin has since been spreading among some girls and is currently found in an increasing number of contexts, including the home. Male students in high prestige senior secondary schools and universities have been credited with leading in the development of Student Pidgin. The emergence of Student Pidgin in Ghana is estimated to have started fairly recently: between 1965 and the early 1970s (Huber, 1999 Dako, 2002).

How to speak ghanaian pidgin