Pidgin usually develops in high school, or SS as Ghanaians call it, and is spoken mostly among males.ĭuring my first few weeks in Ghana, I did my best to learn Twi so I could talk to people and integrate with Ghanaian culture as much as possible. Pronounced like the bird, Pidgin (known as West African Pidgin) is a vernacular of broken English combined with certain vocabulary of the local language. In fact, a language spoken more commonly between males on campus is called Pidgin.

So, I’ve decided to let my mind pour out some more thoughts on my experience while it’s still fresh!Īside from the tribal and local languages prevalent in Ghana, English isn’t the only other spoken dialect. = 'It's not your fault.I may be back in the states, but my heart and mind are still in Ghana. = 'I came' or 'I used to come.'Įe no be yo fault. Now let's make some sentences! Try these out on your tongue.ĭen I de caam. So, you want to learn some basic Ghanaian Pidgin?įirst, let's learn some grammar.

Nevertheless, Pidgin survives in mixed-tribe schools and among lower-class people with less access to formal English training, because Ghana is home to several different tribes with mutually uninteligible languages and many times Pidgin is the only way to communicate with someone. Children are often forbidden to speak Pidgin, and teachers usually try to root it out of their students. Nowadays, educated, English-speaking Ghanaians frown upon Pidgin, believing it to be an 'inferior' form of 'true' or 'educated' English. Considered a dialect of West African Pidgin English, Ghanaian Pidgin English is descended from a trade language developed by West African merchants in the 17th and 18th centuries to communicate with each other and with English slave, ivory, and gold traders. Ghanaian Pidgin English is a variety of pidgin English spoken in Ghana.

How to speak ghanaian pidgin