Prominence and rhythm of Ghanaian english speech: A case study of paliamentary discourse

Abstract

The main purpose of the study was to investigate the rhythm and stress used in the educated Ghanaian English speech with focus on parliamentary discourse. Descriptive and qualitative approaches were adopted for the study. The Members of Parliament (MPs) of the 4th Republic of 2006 formed the population of the study. The number of MPs used for the study was sixty. The instrument used for the study was a recording of the parliamentary discourse. Features of the rhythm of Ghanaian English were analysed. The research revealed that there are several ways to achieve prominence by Ghanaians. These include using pitch and intensity and duration and intensity. It also revealed that there is a peculiar rhythm which could be said to be Ghanaian. It also found that the context of situation and the environment within which the MPs spoke also accounted for the rhythm they used. The research had implications for the recognition and acceptance of the Ghanaian variety of English and the variety to teach in a particular environment. It was recommended that further research be done to help in codifying the Ghanaian variety of English as well as a larger population sample be selected and more female speakers be analysed. The researcher hopes this research serves as one of the means of codifying the Ghanaian English variety and also contributes to the debate on whether or not to accept the Ghanaian English as a variety.