Twi

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For other uses, see TWI (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Tiwi language.
Twi
Akan Kasa
Twi
EthnicityAsante people, Akuapem, Bono people
Native speakers
947,000 (2004) [1][2] (2015)[1][3][4]
Dialects
Adinkra Nkyea[5]
Official status
Official language in
Ashanti City-State and the Ashanti City-State capital Kumasi
Ghana (both dialects used in national status)
Regulated byAkan Orthography Committee
Language codes
ISO 639-1tw Twi
ISO 639-2twi
ISO 639-3twi
Glottologakua1239
asan1239
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A man speaking Twi.

Twi (Akan: [tɕᶣi]), also known as Akan kasa, or Akan-speak, is a dialect of the Akan language spoken in southern and central Ghana by several million people, mainly of the Akan people, the largest of the seventeen major ethnic groups in Ghana. Twi has about 17–18 million speakers in total, including second-language speakers; about 80% of the Ghanaian population speaks Twi as a first or second language.[6][3] Like other West-African languages, Twi is a tonal language.[7]

Twi is a common name for mutually intelligible former literary dialects of the Akan language, Fante, Bono, Asante, and Akuapem.[8][9][6] Akuapem, as the first Akan dialect to be used for Bible translation, has become the prestige dialect as a result.[10] It is also spoken by the people of southeastern Côte d'Ivoire.[11][12][13]

Etymology[]

The name "Twi" is derived from the name of a Bono king, Nana Baffuor Twi.[14]

Phonology[]

Consonants[]

Labial Alveolar Post-alveolar Retroflex Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal voiced m ⟨m⟩ n ⟨n⟩ ɲ ⟨ny, n⟩ ŋ ⟨ng, n⟩
labialized nʷ ⟨nw⟩
Stop/
Affricate 		voiced b ⟨b⟩ d ⟨d⟩ d͡ʒ ⟨dw⟩ d͡ʑ ~ ɟ͡ʝ ⟨gy⟩ g ⟨g⟩
aspirated pʰ ⟨p⟩ tʰ ⟨t⟩ t͡ɕʰ ~ c͡çʰ ⟨ky⟩ kʰ ⟨k⟩
labialized t͡ɕʷ ⟨tw⟩ kʷ ⟨kw⟩
Fricative voiceless f ⟨f⟩ s ⟨s⟩ ç ⟨hy⟩ h ⟨h⟩
labialized hʷ ⟨hw⟩
Approximant j ⟨y⟩ w ⟨w⟩
Tap/Flap ɾ ⟨r⟩ ɽ ⟨r⟩
Trill r ⟨r⟩
Lateral l ⟨l⟩

Vowels[]

Front Central Back
Close i u
Near-close ɪ ʊ
Close-mid e o
Open-mid ɛ ɔ
Near-open æ
Open a

Tone[]

Twi has at least 5 tones: high, mid, low, rising, falling.

Diphthongs[]

Twi contains the diphthongs /ao/, /eɛ/, /ei/, /ia/, /ie/, /oɔ/, /ue/, and /uo/.[15]

Orthography[]

Uppercase A B D E Ɛ F G H I K L M N O Ɔ P R S T U W Y
Lowercase a b d e ɛ f g h i k l m n o ɔ p r s t u w y

The letters C, J, V and Z are also used, but only in loanwords.[16]

Writing System[]

Modern Ghanaians use Adinkra Nkyea, a writing system based on the [5]Adinkra Symbols. The Akan Language and it's dialects uses the Adinkra Nkyea writing system. Majority of Adinkra Nkyea is deprived from the original Adinkra Symbols. Adinkra Nkyea contains some 39 characters, 10 numerals, and 3 punctuation marks.

All Adinkra Characters of Adinkra Nkyea.

Naming system[]

The Akan peoples use a common Akan (Ghana) naming system of giving the first name to a child, based on the day of the week that the child was born. Almost all the tribes and clans in Ghana have a similar custom.

Day Male name Female name
English Akan
Monday Dwoada Kwadwo, Kojo Adwoa
Tuesday Benada Kwabena Abena
Wednesday Wukuada Kweku, Kwaku Akua
Thursday Yawoada Yaw Yaa
Friday Fiada Kofi Afia/Afua
Saturday Memeneda Kwame Ama
Sunday Kwasiada Akwasi, Kwasi, Kwesi Asi, Akosua, Esi

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "Asante » Asante Twi (Less Commonly Taught Languages)". University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. University of Michigan.
  2. ^ "Asante – Asante Twi". ofm-tv.com.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "Asante » Asante Twi". ofm-tv.com.
  4. ^ Akan at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b Nkyea, Adinkra. "Adinkra Syllabary". Biswajit Mandal.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b Jane Garry, Carl R. Galvez Rubino, "Facts about the World's Languages: An Encyclopedia of the World's Major Languages, Past and Present", H.W. Wilson, USA, 2001, page 8
  7. ^ "Map of tonal languages". wals.info.
  8. ^ Arhin, Kwame; Studies, University of Ghana Institute of African (1979). A Profile of Brong Kyempim: Essays on the Archaeology, History, Language and Politics of the Brong Peoples of Ghana. Afram.
  9. ^ Johann Gottlieb Christaller (1875). A Grammar of the Asante and Fante Language Called Tshi Chwee, Twi Based on the Akuapem Dialect ... Harvard University. Printed for the Basel evang. missionary society.
  10. ^ Ager, Simon. "Omniglot". Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  11. ^ "Akan". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2019-12-25.
  12. ^ Christaller, Johann Gottlieb (1875). A Grammar of the Asante and Fante Language Called Tshi Chwee, Twi Based on the Akuapem Dialect with Reference to the Other (Akan and Fante) Dialects. Basel evang. missionary society.
  13. ^ Ofosu-Appiah, L. H. (1998). "Christaller, Johannes Gottlieb". Dictionary of African Christian Biography.
  14. ^ The Akan of Ghana: Their Ancient Beliefs. Faber & Faber. 1958.
  15. ^ "Akan languages, alphabet and pronunciation". www.omniglot.com. Retrieved 2017-06-26.
  16. ^ "Language Guide". The African Linguists Network Blog. 2013-05-14. Retrieved 2018-07-14.

External links[]

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