Exploring the Feasibility of a Proposed Ghanaian English Pronunciation Standard

Abstract

This paper focuses on the Ghanaian English Pronunciation Standard (GhEPS) proposed by Koranteng (2006) with modifications suggested by Ofori (2012).

The paper seeks to move for the acceptance of this local standard of Ghanaian English pronunciation (especially for teaching and examining of our students) over the Received Pronunciation. It is time a local pronunciation standard was accepted in Ghana since G?rlach (1988:12) observes that English as a Second Language (ESL) countries like India and Nigeria seem to have advanced in accepting local Englishes.   After all, “the task of promoting local varieties of English cannot be left to generous outside donors alone. It is a task that must be faced squarely in our various countries” (Bamgbose 1996:16).

This paper argues that the proposed Ghanaian English Pronunciation Standard to a large extent is already in practice even at the lower level of education in the country. To arrive at this, recordings obtained from some basic school pupils were analyzed phonemically. The results show that a majority of the segmental features can be identified as Ghanaian, and these features are significantly similar to the proposed of Ghanaian English Pronunciation Standard.

Keywords: Ghanaian English, English Pronunciation, Proposed Standard, ESL