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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Ghana's youth go weg big for lafa | Ghana's youth go weg big for lafa |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| There's a joke doing the rounds in Ghana's business schools that goes like this: a Canadian investor who owns a call centre in Accra phones his business from Vancouver only to be greeted with: "Holla client, I gotta take your call big big up ayew …" | There's a joke doing the rounds in Ghana's business schools that goes like this: a Canadian investor who owns a call centre in Accra phones his business from Vancouver only to be greeted with: "Holla client, I gotta take your call big big up ayew …" |
| Baffled, the owner reveals his identity and says: "I gotta take your call big big up? Do you think I'm still going to invest in your country and guarantee your job?" | Baffled, the owner reveals his identity and says: "I gotta take your call big big up? Do you think I'm still going to invest in your country and guarantee your job?" |
| The employee's street talk, known as "lafa" – from locally acquired foreign accent – can be heard in Accra's bars, hotels, schools and taxis. When describing your recent whereabouts you say: "Aye wiv been dere now now." When friends are hungry you'll hear whistles of "Chaley, you chop?" and replies like "No, I go weg small." | The employee's street talk, known as "lafa" – from locally acquired foreign accent – can be heard in Accra's bars, hotels, schools and taxis. When describing your recent whereabouts you say: "Aye wiv been dere now now." When friends are hungry you'll hear whistles of "Chaley, you chop?" and replies like "No, I go weg small." |
| I once asked the receptionist at a local lodge whether she had eaten. She sighed and replied: "No I eat after small small, sir." "Small small?" She shrugged and explained: "I simply mean I'll eat when I show you your room." | I once asked the receptionist at a local lodge whether she had eaten. She sighed and replied: "No I eat after small small, sir." "Small small?" She shrugged and explained: "I simply mean I'll eat when I show you your room." |
| If you hear tax vendors saying "go quench", they mean "die". When you eavesdrop on women in a bank queue saying "wack, garl", what they mean is "eat." If you spot a high school chap bitterly complaining that "I was held in a go-slow, man" he means he was caught in a traffic jam. | If you hear tax vendors saying "go quench", they mean "die". When you eavesdrop on women in a bank queue saying "wack, garl", what they mean is "eat." If you spot a high school chap bitterly complaining that "I was held in a go-slow, man" he means he was caught in a traffic jam. |
| This increasing desire to modify so-called received pronounciation has sparked a debate between conservative older Ghanaians and the youth. Speaking English "properly" was considered prestigious for almost half a century after Ghana's independence in 1960. Nowadays the young, hip and patriotic say they are inventing their own vocabulary, with one student saying it represents "the final curtain on the voice of colonialism". | This increasing desire to modify so-called received pronounciation has sparked a debate between conservative older Ghanaians and the youth. Speaking English "properly" was considered prestigious for almost half a century after Ghana's independence in 1960. Nowadays the young, hip and patriotic say they are inventing their own vocabulary, with one student saying it represents "the final curtain on the voice of colonialism". |
| In the past, Ghanaians musicians mimicked Madonna, Tupac or Beyoncé. Now a new brigade of local artists wearing Ghanaian name tags and brands have come to the fore. "The idea is to mix western music styles with our Accra accents and rhythms for a home audience," explains Pio Fawcett, a local DJ. | In the past, Ghanaians musicians mimicked Madonna, Tupac or Beyoncé. Now a new brigade of local artists wearing Ghanaian name tags and brands have come to the fore. "The idea is to mix western music styles with our Accra accents and rhythms for a home audience," explains Pio Fawcett, a local DJ. |
| But some old-school Ghanaians, often Oxbridge-educated, equate a BBC accent with status and education. They tend to heap derision and insults on the youth. Rather than escaping colonialism, some argue, the lafa merely mimics American slang instead of the Queen's English. | But some old-school Ghanaians, often Oxbridge-educated, equate a BBC accent with status and education. They tend to heap derision and insults on the youth. Rather than escaping colonialism, some argue, the lafa merely mimics American slang instead of the Queen's English. |
| Language purists may argue that English is the mainstay of the internet and global commerce, and any country that waters it down will be sidelined. But young Ghanaian graduate Ammond Kotto is quick with his rebuttal. "Do you mean China, a non-English speaking country, is left out of global commerce?" he asks. | Language purists may argue that English is the mainstay of the internet and global commerce, and any country that waters it down will be sidelined. But young Ghanaian graduate Ammond Kotto is quick with his rebuttal. "Do you mean China, a non-English speaking country, is left out of global commerce?" he asks. |
| Kingston Ayew is a Ghanaian living in Accra | Kingston Ayew is a Ghanaian living in Accra |
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