Abstract
Ga, the language of Accra, arose in a multilingual context and has existed in one ever since. The split between Ga and its only close relative, Dangme, was undoubtedly triggered mainly by the influence of other languages, some of them spoken by much larger and more powerful groups, and many of whose speakers were assimilated into the Ga-speaking society. The way in which this occurred is explored in chapter 5. Such a situation of continual pressure from outside can be expected to provoke defensive reactions. Although Accra has been generally free of serious ethnic conflict, tensions naturally exist. These sometimes give rise to texts of various kinds that reveal much about their narrators’ views of their linguistic universe and of the salient linguistic others.