If you’ve spent any time scrolling through Ghanaian Twitter (X) or Facebook or TikTok lately, chances are you’ve come across the word “troski”. But as if that rebrand wasn’t enough, the internet has taken it a step further. Now, the same trotro that “graduated from Harvard” to become troski has undergone another transformation. Enter the latest name in town: “ski.”
The birth of ‘ski’ is a perfect example of how language continues to evolve in real time, especially on the internet. Linguists call this kind of word creation neologism, the invention of new words or expressions. These can come from sound imitation, deliberate misspelling, code-switching, or simply playful creativity. In the case of ski or even troski, it appears to have been coined to sound foreign and witha flex. No wonder some are even calling it an ‘A list’ way of calling trotro.
Etymologically, the word “ski” traces its roots back to “trotro,” Ghana’s well-known public transport system believed to have emerged in the 1960s. Historically, the name trotro comes from the Ga word “tro,” which means three pence, a reference to the fare charged during Ghana’s colonial days. At the time, mass transit vehicles collected three pence per passenger, and these vehicles became popularly known as “tro-tros.”
From the 2010s onward, as social media began gaining popularity in Ghana, a new name for trotro began to surface, troski. The term is believed to be a compound of “trotro” and “taxi,” giving rise to the creative morphological blend troski. While the name quickly caught on across Ghanaian social media platforms and became a popular slang among the youth, its use in everyday speech outside the digital space remained limited. In local settings, it was still rare to hear anyone refer to the well-known transport system as troski in regular conversation.
And now, out of nowhere, troski, which never fully caught on outside the digital space has received a fresh rebrand as “ski”, a clipped form of troski that still refers to the same iconic public transport system. This latest twist has gained significant traction online, with many netizens quickly embracing the term. While some are surprised by the sudden birth of ski, others are excited about yet another creative expression emerging from Ghanaian social media culture. It’s become one of those slang terms that captures attention, sparks laughter, and adds to the ever-evolving language of the internet.
Among the many reacting to the trend is Kwabena Opoku-Agyemang , son of the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana and a lecturer in English and Literature-in-English at the University of Ghana, who described the development as a “semantic shift in real time.” Others have gone on to label ski as an “A-list” name, perfectly tailored to give the term a modern, stylish edge and a bit of a flex too. Some also keep joking about the new term whilst others label at as a ‘wild’ term.
Whether trotro, troski, or now ski, what remains unchanged is the place this transport system holds in the daily lives of Ghanaians. From school runs to market trips and work commutes, it continues to move the nation literally. What’s changing, however, is the language and creativity surrounding it, especially among the youth online. In the end, ski may just be another name, but it’s also a reminder of how culture, humor, and identity ride side by side in Ghana’s evolving digital space.
Editor: Ama Gyesiwaa Quansah.
