Ghanaian Pidgin English

Ghanaian Pidgin English
Kroo Brofo
Native to Ghana
Native speakers
 5 million (2011)[1]
(not clear if this number includes L2 speakers)
English Creole

  • Atlantic

    • Krio
      • Ghanaian Pidgin English
Language codes
ISO 639-3 gpe
Glottolog ghan1244[2]
Linguasphere 52-ABB-be
This article is about an English-based creole. For standard English spoken in Ghana, see Ghanaian English.

Ghanaian Pidgin English (GhPE), also known as Kru English, is a variety of West African Pidgin English spoken in Ghana, predominantly in the southern towns and the capital, Accra. It is confined to a smaller section of society than other West African creoles, probably due to the presence of Twi as the lingua franca of choice.

GhPE can be divided into two varieties. The first is associated with the uneducated and the illiterate, and is spoken mainly by Ghana's multilingual immigrant population. This type can also be used when an educated person communicates with semi-literate or illiterate person. This association has led to schools discouraging the usage of Pidgin, but despite this, a second variety of "educated Pidgin" has emerged among the student classes. Although other languages of Ghana are available to them, students, particularly males, use Pidgin as a means of expressing solidarity, comradery and youthful rebellion. Today, this form of Pidgin can be heard in a variety of informal contexts, although it still carries a certain stigma. The pidgin language is also banned in schools because it tends to prevent students from acquiring new vocabulary.

See also

First Pidgin Musical Film

References

  1. ↑ Ghanaian Pidgin English at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  2. ↑ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian, eds. (2016). "Ghanaian Pidgin English". Glottolog 2.7. Jena: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
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