Twi
Twi ([tɕᶣi]) 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.[5][2] Like other West African languages, Twi is a tonal language.[6]
| Twi | |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | [tɕᶣi] |
| Native to | Ashanti Region |
| Ethnicity | |
Native speakers | 947,000 (2015)[1][2][3] |
| Dialects | |
| Adinkra Nkyea[4] | |
| Official status | |
Official language in | Ashanti Region |
Recognised minority language in | |
| Regulated by | Akan Orthography Committee |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | tw |
| ISO 639-2 | twi |
| ISO 639-3 | twi |
| Glottolog | twii1234 |
| This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. | |
Twi is a common name for mutually intelligible former literary dialects of the Akan language, Bono, Asante, and Akuapem.[7][8][5] Akuapem, as the first Akan dialect to be used for Bible translation, has become the prestige dialect as a result.[9] It is also spoken by the people of southeastern Côte d'Ivoire.[10][8][11]
Etymology
The name "Twi" is derived from the name of a Bono king, Nana Baffuor Twi.[12]
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
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/.[13]
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, Q, V, X and Z are also used, but only in loanwords.[14]
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, Kobina | Abena |
| Wednesday | Wukuada | Kweku, Kwaku | Akua |
| Thursday | Yawoada | Yaw, Kwaw | Yaa |
| Friday | Fiada | Kofi | Afia/Afua |
| Saturday | Memeneda | Kwame | Ama |
| Sunday | Kwasiada | Akwasi, Kwasi, Kwesi | Asi, Akosua, Esi |
References
- ^ "Asante » Asante Twi (Less Commonly Taught Languages)". University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. University of Michigan.
- ^ a b "Asante » Asante Twi". ofm-tv.com.
- ^ Akan at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ Nkyea, Adinkra. "Adinkra Syllabary". Biswajit Mandal.
- ^ 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
- ^ "Map of tonal languages". wals.info.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b 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. Harvard University. Printed for the Basel evang. missionary society.
- ^ Ager, Simon. "Omniglot". Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ "Akan". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2019-12-25.
- ^ Ofosu-Appiah, L. H. (1998). "Christaller, Johannes Gottlieb". Dictionary of African Christian Biography.
- ^ The Akan of Ghana: Their Ancient Beliefs. Faber & Faber. 1958.
- ^ "Akan languages, alphabet and pronunciation". www.omniglot.com. Retrieved 2017-06-26.
- ^ "Language Guide". The African Linguists Network Blog. 2013-05-14. Retrieved 2018-07-14.
External links
- Akan at Ethnologue (22nd ed., 2019)
- Language resources at LangMedia (Five College Center for World Languages)
- Akan basic course
- Bibliography of structural properties of the Twi language at WALS Online (The World Atlas of Language Structures)
- Akuapem Twi to English Parallel Text Dataset