Laura Rupp, Faculty of Arts, VU University Amsterdam

In Ghana, university students speak a variety of English that has been termed Student Pidgin (especially male students). This variety exists next to other English varieties like standard (Ghanaian) English and Pidgin English. Different explanations have been put forward to explain the occurrence of Pidgin English, such as deviant “boyish” behavior and removing the pressure of speaking grammatically correct Standard English. From research that Laura Rupp conducted in September 2011 it seems that students use Student Pidgin as a “tussentaal”: that is, a variety that on the one hand clearly identifies them as educated persons while at the same time permitting them to communicate with people who cannot speak Standard English (relatives and friends at home). The researcher used a written survey and she would like to discuss with the participants of the Seminar other methodologies that could give her more insight into the function of Student Pidgin.

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