Spelling

Simo Bobda (2000b: 188) observes that an <o> spelling may trigger /ɔ/ in words like love, cover, ton, or honey. This is also illustrated by Speakers A and B’s /ɔ/ pronunciation of some and its compounds – the GhE convention. But at the same time there are also instances where the pronunciation does clearly not follow the spelling, such as done, nothing, or other, all /a/ in the recording. As such, these do not invalidate Simo Bobda’s theory since it allows for /a ~ ɔ/ variability when there is an <o> spelling. Note however, that a number of words, such as come, are never pronounced with an /a/ in GhE but always with an /a/ even though they are spelt <o>. A psychological factor may explain the /a/ in cases of these high frequency words: it has repeatedly been observed that Ghanaians believe their English to be nearer to the British standard and thus “better” than other West African varieties. In Ghana, /kɔm/ is stereotypically associated with Nigeria and is frequently pointed out as one of the differences between Ghanaian and Nigerian English. The categorical /a/ in words of the come type may thus be an attempt by Ghanaian speakers to dissociate themselves from the “bad” Nigerian accent. In addition, Speakers A and B’s /ɔ/ in drug, understand, results cannot be explained by spelling pronunciation. These observations certainly weaken the usefulness of the factor orthography.