A few weeks ago, the self-styled English Language tutor on Ghanaweb.com- Madam Lerny Lomotey- who is said to hold a degree in Theatre Arts from the University of Ghana, sought to educate Ghanaians on how to correctly pronounce the word ‘herb’. According to her the right way of pronouncing the word ‘herb’ was ‘erb’, insisting the letter ‘h’ as silent.

What this self-styled English expert forgot to clarify was that the word ‘herb’ has an English pronunciation and an American one (and when I say English here, I mean the language from England- where the language originates).

Her pronunciation of the word as ‘erb’ with the silent ‘H’ was clearly the American version and NOT the English one. And for a country like Ghana, whose heritage is more English than American, it is a bit dubious, if also unnecessary for Miss Lomotey to attempt to re- educate or re-orient us towards the American version of the language.

While this can be ignored if coming from a layman such as myself, an individual claiming to be an expert such as Madam Lomotey- cannot be excused. A clarification and an apology are apt! This is English after all, NOT American!

Bernie Asher (Lecturer in Management, University of Professional Studies, Accra. Email- berniedangelo@gmail.com)