Ghanaianisms: Towards a semantic and a formal classification

Dako, Kari

doi:10.1075/eww.22.1.03dak

Article published In: English World-Wide
Vol. 22:1 (2001) ► pp.23–53

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Ghanaianisms

Towards a semantic and a formal classification

Kari Dako | University of Ghana

Published online: 27 June 2001

https://doi.org/10.1075/eww.22.1.03dak

A list of vocabulary items peculiar to English in Ghana has been compiled over the last ten years. Included are items that have appeared in print at least three times within eight years. Most items were tested on Ghanaians of varying ages, ethnic backgrounds and levels of education to ascertain familiarity and usage.

The paper is based on the above data. It classifies the entries according to (1) origin: English, local, hybrid; and (2) semantic and formal subcategorisations, i.e. (i) which semantic and formal processes the English items have undergone, (ii) from which semantic domains the local items are drawn and (iii) by which processes the hybrids were created.

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This list is based on CrossRef data as of 9 december 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.