Thanking strategies in Ghanaian English and Ugandan English: A corpus-based study
(2026) Journal of Pragmatics — Vol. 255, p. 59-70 (2026)
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- Authors
Unuabonah, Foluke 
- Abstract
- This paper investigates thanking strategies in Ghanaian and Ugandan Englishes, using a corpus-based approach to analyse patterns of gratitude expressions. Drawing on data from the Ghanaian and Ugandan components of the International Corpus of English, the study adopts a variational pragmatic framework to examine the frequency, formal properties , and distribution of various expressions of gratitude across different text types. The results show that both varieties favour thank explicitly and stress gratitude as thanking strategies, with thank explicitly occurring most frequently, often accompanied by expressions of appreciation for the addressee or the act itself. Optional complements, which are additional elements that expand a thanking expression but are not grammatically required, such as intensifiers, reasons for gratitude, and mentions of benefactors, are commonly used to reinforce sincerity in both varieties. The findings also show unique features: while thank a supernatural being appears in both varieties, prayer is used exclusively in Ugandan English, highlighting cultural influences in gratitude expression. This study contributes to the empirical description of pragmatic variation in postcolonial Englishes and offers valuable insights into cross-cultural communication in multilingual contexts.
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Fifelola, D., & Unuabonah, F. (2026). Thanking strategies in Ghanaian English and Ugandan English: A corpus-based study. Journal of Pragmatics, 255, 59-70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2026.01.011 (Original work published 2026)