![]() Voiceless plosive /p/ ⟨p⟩ /t/ ⟨t, ti⟩ /k/ ⟨k, kyi⟩ /kʷ/ ⟨kw, twi⟩ Likewise, velar ⟨nw⟩ (ŋw) may be transcribed n̩w. Note that orthographic ⟨dw⟩ is ambiguous in textbooks, ⟨dw⟩ = /ɡ/ may be distinguished from /dw/ with a diacritic: d̩w. The transcriptions in the table below are in the order /phonemic/,, ⟨orthographic⟩. In Asante, /ɡu/ followed by a vowel is pronounced /ɡʷ/, but in Akuapem it remains /ɡu/. These sounds do occur before other vowels, such as /a/, though in most cases not commonly. In the table below, palatalized allophones which involve more than minor phonetic palatalization are specified, in the context of the vowel /i/. Asante, like all Akan dialects, involves extensive palatalisation, vowel harmony, and tone terracing.īefore front vowels, all Asante consonants are palatalized (or labio-palatalized), and the plosives are to some extent affricated. On the other hand l-Akan, refers to the Akan cluster comprising Nzema, Baoule, Anyin and other dialects spoken mainly in the Ivory Coast, whose use of the letter “r” in proper usage is very rare.īecause the Akan dialects' phonologies differ slightly, Asante dialect will be used to represent Akan. Clusters are defined by the level of mutual intelligibility.Ĭluster 1 may better be named r-Akan, which do not explicitly have the letter “l” in their original proper use. In Jamaica and Suriname the Anansi spider stories are well known.Contents Īccording to work done by P K Agbedor of CASAS, Mfantse (Fante), Twi (Asante and Akuapem), Abron (Bono), Wassa, Asen, Akwamu, and Kwahu belong to Cluster 1 of the speech forms of Ghana. Akwasi (for a boy) or Akosua (girl) born on a Sunday. The descendants of escaped slaves in the interior of Suriname and the Maroons in Jamaica still use a form of this language, including Akan naming convention, in which children are named after the day of the week on which they are born, e.g. The language came to the Caribbean and South America, notably in Suriname spoken by the Ndyuka and in Jamaica by the Jamaican Maroons known as Coromantee, with enslaved people from the region. The Akan Orthography Committee has compiled a unified orthography of 20,000 words. ![]() Twi–Fante consists of the following dialects:Īsante (Ashanti), which together with Akuapem and Akyem is commonly called Twiįante (Fanti or Mfantse: Anomabo, Abura, Gomua) - Spoken in east coastal Ghana.īrong - Spoken in west central Ghana and along the border in Ivory Coast The Akan people and those who have either lived around Akans or have absorbed Akan people into their population speak Kwa languages, of which Twi/Fante is just one. In 1978 the Akan Orthography Committee (AOC) established a common orthography for all of Akan, which is used as the medium of instruction in primary school by speakers of several other Akan languages such as Anyi, Sefwi, Ahanta as well as the Guang languages. Three dialects have been developed as literary standards with distinct orthographies, Asante, Akuapem (together called Twi), and Fante, which despite being mutually intelligible were inaccessible in written form to speakers of the other standards. For example: Nwunu (to leak)Īkan, also known as Twi and Fante, is an Akan language that is the principal native language of Akan lands in Ghana, spoken over much of the southern half of that country, by about 58% of the population, and among 30% of the population of Ivory Coast. ![]() nw is pronounced as "nyw" with rounded lips at the end.dw as " j" sound inthe beginning of " dreams".ɔ́ as "p o't" but also add s'ofa like p o'oh'".It may be more difficult for native English speakers to reconcile the sounds with their spellings but continuous familiarity with the language will lessen the issue. The diagraphs in Twi have sounds that do not match the perceived Latin letters. ![]() British pronunciation would be "ou" as in ought.īasic Akan (Twi dialect) pronunciation is relatively straightforward, although when native speakers of the language are talking there tend to be a lot of liaisons. For example, * ɔ as "p ot": an American says the "o" in pot like the "a" in aha. Please note that in the "Grammatical points" below, the pronunciation is British English, not American English. Fante and Akuapem/Asante Twi are state-sponsored languages. The Akan languages comprise four orthographies - Fante, Bono, Asante Twi, and Akuapem Twi - and are spoken in most regions of Ghana.
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