The tone system of West African Coastal English

ABSTRACT: An outline is given of the tone system common to all varieties of anglophone West African Coastal English. These varieties are identified on two axes: a regional axis corresponding to geographical location and mother tongue, and a socio‐linguistic axis relating to social acceptability, international intelligibility and closeness to native English. On this second axis a typology of three is set up. The features of the tone system are: syllable tone, word accent, word classes, downdrift, and two tone groups. These are described in detail and exemplified from type II Ghanaian English. An indication of how there may be slightly different regional realisations of the system is exemplified from Yoruba English. This highly predictable tone system as a characteristic of all varieties of West African Coastal English, with only minor regional differences, gives rise to some interesting linguistic, pedagogical and socio‐linguistic questions.