Main Article Content
Abstract
The focus of this study is to discuss some deviations and innovations basic school pupils in the Bono and Ahafo regions of Ghana use in their classrooms and how these deviations are applied to their communication in the classroom. A descriptive survey design was adopted to help achieve these objectives. A qualitative approach was adopted to help explain the study better. A total population of 9,219 pupils and a sample size of 400 pupils were observed for the study. The findings of the study revealed that in the area of phonology, pupils replace the inter-dental fricative /ð/ with a voiced alveolar stop /d/. They also used the voiceless dental fricative /θ/ in place of /t/ a voiceless alveolar in their speech. Again, most pupils also use the trill /r/ in place of the /l/ sound both in writing and articulation. Under semantics, pupils usually transliterate statements from their L1 into the target language (English) and tend to use hyperbole for emphasis. Furthermore, over-generalization of syntactic rules was found as one of the innovations pupils make in classroom communication. Spelling pronunciation was also found as part of the innovations basic school pupils use in classroom communication.
Keywords
Article Details

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
In submitting the manuscript to the FOSTER: Journal of English Language Teaching, the authors certify that:
- They are authorized by their co-authors to enter into these arrangements.
- The work described has not been formally published before, except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, thesis, or overlay journal.
- That it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere,
- The publication has been approved by the author(s) and by responsible authorities – tacitly or explicitly – of the institutes where the work has been carried out.
- They secure the right to reproduce any material that has already been published or copyrighted elsewhere.
- They agree to the following license and copyright agreement.
License and Copyright Agreement
Authors who publish with FOSTER: Journal of English Language Teaching agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the FOSTER: Journal of English Language Teaching right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors can enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the FOSTER: Journal of English Language Teaching published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or edit it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) before and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
References
- Adika, G. S. K. (2012). English in Ghana: Growth, Tensions, and Trends, International Journal of Language, Translation and Intercultural Communication, Accessed on 10/09/2018https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275514500_English_in_Ghana_ Growth_ Tensions_ and_ Trends.
- Adjaye, S. A. (2005). Ghanaian English Pronunciation. New York & Ontario: The Edwin Mellen Press.
- Akpanglo-Nartey, R.A. (2012) ‘Gender Effect on Vowel Quality: A Case Study of Ghanaian English’, Canadian Journal on Scientific and industrial Research, Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 142-150.
- Akpanglo-Nartey, J. N., & Akpanglo-Nartey, R. A. (2012). Some endangered languages of Ghana. American Journal of Linguistics, 1(2), 10–18.
- Arthur-Shoba, J., & Quarcoo, M. (2012). English in the mix: Evolving roles of english in the language practices of twi speakers in Ghana. Language Matters, 43(1), 77–96. https://doi.org/10.1080/10228195.2012.654501
- Bamgbose, A. (1998). Torn between the norms: Innovations in world Englishes. World Englishes, 17(1), 1–14.
- Best, J.W. and Kahn, J.V. (2006) Research in Education. 10th Edition, Pearson Education Inc., Cape Town.
- Bobda, A. S. (2000). Comparing some phonological features across African accents of English. English Studies, 81(3), 249–266. https://doi.org/10.1076/0013-838x(200005)81:3;1-m;ft249
- Creswell, J. W. (2013). Steps in conducting a scholarly mixed methods study.
- Crystal, D. S. (1994). Concepts of deviance in children and adolescents: The case of Japan. Deviant Behavior, 15(3), 241–266.
- Dako, K. (2001). The sound system of Ghanaian English. Exploration: Journal of the English Department, 1(1), 107–119.
- Dako, K. (2003) Ghanaianisms: A Glossary, Accra: Ghana Universities Press.
- Denzin, N., & Lincoln, Y. (2002). The qualitative inquiry reader.d+Lincoln+(2002) &ots=tM6 Dauv XRO&sig=tJ1FaeBD4MxtbkeW2tTJKuQltMhttps://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Mg_SRyR425kC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=Denzin+an
- Foorman, B. R., Francis, D. J., Fletcher, J. M., Schatschneider, C., & Mehta, P. (1998). The role of
- instruction in learning to read: Preventing reading failure in at-risk children. Journal of educational Psychology, 90(1), 37.
- Forson, B. E. (2006). Student Pidgin English (SPE): A Ghanaian English in Vitro ‘. Unpublished PhD Thesis, Department of English, University of Ghana, Legon.
- Green, B.G, (2012). Pacific English: What is it, why is it and its? Implications- PhD Thesis, School of Language, Arts and Media, Faculty of Arts and Laws, The University of the South Pacific.
- Huber, M. (2008). Ghanaian English: Phonology. Varieties of English, 4, 67–92.
- Huber, M., Dako, K., & Kortmann, B. (2008). Ghanaian English: morphology and syntax. Varieties of English: Africa, South and Southeast Asia, 368–380.
- In J. Mukherjee & M. Hundt (Eds.), Exploring Second-Language Varieties of English and Learner Englishes: Bridging a Paradigm Gap. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 189–208. doi: 10.1075/scl.44.10roo
- Koranteng, L. A. (2006). Ghanaian English: A description of its sound system and phonological features. Unpublished PhD Thesis, University of Ghana.
- Lomotey, C. F. (2016). The significance of the level tone in Ghanaian English: Evidence from spoken discourse. Legon Journal of the Humanities, 27(1), 144–171.
- Maniam, M. (2010). The influence of first language grammar (L1) on the English language (L2) writing of Tamil School students: A case study from Malaysia. Language in India, 10(4), 1–209.
- Ngula, R. S. (2011). Ghanaian English: Spelling pronunciation in focus.
- Ngula, R. S., & Nartey, M. (2014). Language corpora: The case for Ghanaian English. 3L: Language, Linguistics, Literature, 20(3), 79–92. https://doi.org/10.17576/3l-2014-2003-07
- Osei-Tutu, K. (2008). Exploring meaning in students’ pidgin (SP). Unpublished MPhil Thesis, Department of English, University of Ghana.
- Pak-TaoNg P. (2003) Effective Writing: A Guide for Social Science Students, the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
- Ranta, E. (2022). From learners to users - errors, innovations, and universals. ELT Journal, 76(3), 311–319. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccac024
- Riaz, M. (2021). Deviation from the standard pronunciation of English: 350 words in Pakistani English. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 17(1), 493–511. https://doi.org/10.52462/jlls.32
- Roach P. (2009). English Phonetics and Phonology, A practical course 4th ed. Cambridge University Press.
- Sackey, E. (2010). What is Africa doing with the Novel? Fall, 2010(1).
- Sarfo, E. (2011). English language and sustainable development in Ghana.
- Schneider, E.W. 2012. “Exploring the interface between World Englishes and Second Language Acquisition – and implications for English as a Lingua Franca”, Journal of English as a Lingua Franca 1(1), 57–91. doi: 10.1515/jelf-2012-0004.
- Sey, K. A. (1973). Ghanaian English: an exploratory survey. Macmillan.
- Simo Bobda, A. (2000). The uniqueness of Ghanaian English pronunciation in West Africa. 30(2) pp.185-198. Social media statistics/Ghana.html).
- Strevens, P. (1985). Standards and the standard language. English Today, 1(2), 5–7.
- Tabiri, M.O. (2016). Teaching Reported Speech Through Communicative Language Teaching and Principled Eclecticism Approaches: The Case of Ghana Technology University College. International Journal of English Language Teaching. London: European Centre for Research Training and Development. Vol.4, No.10, pp.71-81.
- The University of Pretoria, Library Services (2012). “Standard English” Accessed on 15/09/2018: https://repository.up.ac.za/bitstream/handle/2263/29881/ 02chapter3.pdf?sequence=3.
- VanRooy, B. 2011. “A principled distinction between error and conventionalized innovation in African Englishes”. Academy Review, 10(1), 1–13.
- Wright, L. (1993). English in South Africa: effective communication and the policy debate. The English Academy Review, 10(1), 1–13.