Comparing the multilingual behavior ofmigrants with the pattern observed in their source Community can provide an interesting perspective on multilingualism in Ghana äs a whole. The paper considers the pattern of linguistic adaptation of migrants to Accra, the coastal capital of Ghana, from Bawku, a smaller center in thefar northeast. Bot h towns are placed in the context of Ghana äs a whole, along with the origins of second-language use in the country, with particular reference to the observed relationship between language policy and practice. Comparison is based on sociolinguistic surveys carriedout in 1982. The example ofthe Bawku Community in Accra shows how a new System of linguistic accommodation may be superimposed on the results of an old one. It is claimed that the observed strategy of multiple bilingualisms represents continuity, not innovative adaptation.