ABSTRACT
This chapter concerns itself with how certain words, symbolism and other referents associated with the mobile telephone have found their way into the local lexicon when people communicate in the Akan language, even by people who do not speak the English language at all. It uses 'mobile phone language' in the Akan lexicon and symbolic referents associated with the mobile technology as a mirror to social values embedded in culture and social relations. The chapter draws on and contributes to the understanding of the role of cultural meanings in language and technology studies. It argues that the adoption and appropriation of mobile technology in Ghana have brought about a range of innovative ways in which mobile telephones are used but have also created symbolic referents and contested discourses in the Akan lexicon. The chapter focuses on mobile phone user practices in Ghana and the symbolism associated with the devices.
