Pronunciation is a part of everyday life in Ghana. It shapes how people communicate at work, in school, and in social settings.
However, certain words become so commonly mispronounced that the “wrong” version ends up sounding normal.
To test this, GhanaWeb hit the streets of Accra to engage people on how they pronounce some popular words and phrases.
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What we found was that many Ghanaians have been mispronouncing certain words for so long that the incorrect versions have now become part of everyday speech.
Expressions like “oseyee,” “one logo logo line,” “six milidu,” “cam boo,” “Tankass,” and “bofrot” are widely accepted, even though they are actually distorted versions of the originals.
For many, these mispronunciations sound natural because they have been passed down through everyday conversations.
When asked on the streets, most participants struggled to identify the correct pronunciations. A few managed to get one or two right, but the majority either admitted they had no idea or insisted that the mispronounced versions were the “real” ones.
Some even explained that they had always assumed the expressions were in Twi, rather than altered English words.
Here are some examples of the popular mispronunciations and their correct forms:
Oseyee → All say yeah
One logo logo line → One homologous line
Six milidu → Six will lead you
Cam boo → Camp boot
Tankass → Town council
Bofrot → Buff loaf
Watch the video below:
AK/MA