Hybridized Lexical Innovations in Ghanaian English

Abstract

Ghanaian English (GhE) remains one of the notable varieties of English in the discussion of World Englishes; yet many of its features have been very superficially described or totally ignored. One of such features is lexical hybridization. This paper discusses the forms and communicative domains of this very productive feature in the English of educated Ghanaians, and argues that the motivation to use such hybridized lexical formations stems from a conscious awareness of the mutual co-existence between English and the L1 languages in Ghana. The study, while it highlights an aspect of the distinctiveness of GhE lexicon, also has implications for the codification of the features of GhE for its legitimacy to be properly acknowledged in Ghana and beyond.