Akan language

Akan
Ákán
Native to	Ghana
Ethnicity	14 million Akan (2021 census)
Native speakers	L1: 8.9 million (2013) L2: 1 million (no date)
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Volta–Congo Kwa Potou–Tano Tano Central Tano Akan
Dialects	Asante Akuapem Fante Bono Wasa
Writing system	Latin
Official status
Official language in	None. — Government-sponsored language of Ghana
Regulated by	Akan Orthography Committee
Language codes
ISO 639-1	ak
ISO 639-2	aka
ISO 639-3	aka – inclusive code Individual codes: abr – Abron wss – Wasa
Glottolog	akan1251  Akanic

A man speaking Asante Twi

Akan (/əˈkæn/) is the largest language of Ghana, and the principal native language of the Akan people, spoken over much of the southern half of Ghana. About 80% of Ghana's population speak Akan as a first or second language, and about 44% of Ghanaians are native speakers. Akan is also spoken across the border in parts of Côte d'Ivoire.

Three dialects were developed as literary standards with distinct orthographies: Asante and Akuapem, collectively known as Twi, and Fante. Despite being mutually intelligible, they were inaccessible in written form to speakers of the other standards until the Akan Orthography Committee (AOC)'s development of a common Akan orthography in 1978, based mainly on Akuapem dialect. As the first Akan variety to be used for Bible translation, Akuapem had become the prestige dialect.

With the Atlantic slave trade, Akan languages were introduced to the Caribbean and South America, notably in Suriname, spoken by the Ndyuka, and in Jamaica, spoken by the Jamaican Maroons, also known as the Coromantee. The cultures of the descendants of escaped slaves in the interior of Suriname and the Maroons in Jamaica still retain Akan influences, including the Akan naming practice of naming children after the day of the week on which they are born, e.g. Akwasi/Kwasi for a boy or Akosua for a girl born on a Sunday. In Jamaica and Suriname, the Anansi spider stories are still well-known.

History

In history, the Akans who live in Ghana migrated in successive waves between the 11th and 18th centuries. Others inhabit the eastern part of Côte d'Ivoire and parts of Togo. They migrated from the north to occupy the forest and coastal areas in the south in the 13th century. The Akans have a strong oral history tradition of their past and they're also known in the art history world for symbolic artifacts of wood, metal and terracotta. Their cultural ideas are expressed in stories and proverbs and also in designs such as symbols used in carvings and on clothes. The cultural and historic nature of the Akans in Ghana makes it an area of research for various disciplines such as folklore, literary studies, linguistics, anthropology and history.

A map of Ghana's ethno-linguistic areas. Akan areas (light green) extend west about halfway into Côte d'Ivoire.

Dialects

Akan is a dialect continuum that is closely related to the Bia languages, the other Central Tano languages spoken by the Akan people. The relationships of the major Akan dialects are as follows:

Akan	Brong (a.k.a. Bono; multiple dialects) Wasa Asante, Akyem, Kwahu dialects Akuapem Fante (Agona, Gomua, Abura, Anomabu dialects)

Brong and Wasa have limited mutual intelligibility with each other, and so are separate languages by that standard. Neighboring Brong and Asante are mutually intelligible, though geographically more distant Brong and Fante are less so.

Phonology

The Akan dialects contain extensive palatalization, vowel harmony, and tone terracing.

Consonants

Before front vowels, all Asante consonants are palatalized (or labio-palatalized), and the stops are to some extent affricated. The allophones of /n/ are quite complex. In the table below, palatalized allophones which involve more than minor phonetic palatalization are specified, in the context of the vowel /i/. These sounds do occur before other vowels, such as /a/, though in most cases not commonly.

In Asante, /ɡu/ followed by a vowel is pronounced /ɡʷ/, but in Akuapem it remains /ɡu/. The sequence /nh/ is pronounced [ŋŋ̊].

A word final /k/ can be heard as a glottal stop [ʔ]. There is also a nasalization of /h/ and of /j w/ as [h̃] and [j̃ w̃], when occurring before nasal vowels.

The transcriptions in the tables below are in the order /phonemic/, [phonetic]. Note that orthographic ⟨dw⟩ is ambiguous; in textbooks, ⟨dw⟩ = /ɡ/ may be distinguished from /dw/ with a diacritic: d̩w. Likewise, velar ⟨nw⟩ (ŋw) may be transcribed n̩w. Orthographic ⟨nu⟩ is palatalized [ɲᶣ].

Akan consonant phonemes

		Labial	Alveolar	Dorsal	Labialized
Nasal	plain	/m/	/n/		/nʷ/
	geminated		/nː/		/nːʷ/
Stop	voiceless	/p/	/t/	/k/	/kʷ/
	voiced	/b/	/d/	/g/	/ɡʷ/
Fricative		/f/	/s/	/h/	/hʷ/
Trill			/r/
Approximant			/l/	/j/	/w/

Allophones of Akan consonants

		Labial	Alveolar		Dorsal		Labialized
			Phoneme	Allophones	Phoneme	Allophones	Phoneme	Allophones
Nasal	plain	/m/	/n/	[n~ŋ, ɲ, ɲĩ]			/nʷ/	[ŋʷ, ɲᶣ]
	geminated		/nː/	[ŋː, ɲːĩ]			/nːʷ/	[ɲːᶣ]
Stop	voiceless	/p/	/t/	[t, tçi]	/k/	[k, tɕ~cç]	/kʷ/	[kʷ, tɕᶣi]
	voiced	/b/	/d/		/g/	[g, dʒ, dʑ~ɟʝ]	/ɡʷ/	[ɡʷ, dʑᶣi]
Fricative		/f/	/s/		/h/	[h, ç]	/hʷ/	[hʷ, çᶣi]
Trill			/r/	[ɾ, r, ɽ]
Approximant			/l/		/j/		/w/	[w, ɥ]

Akan consonant orthography

		Labial	Alveolar	Dorsal	Labialized
Nasal	plain	⟨m⟩	⟨n, ny, ngi⟩		⟨nw, nu⟩
	geminated		⟨ng, nyi, nnyi⟩		⟨nnw⟩
Stop	voiceless	⟨p⟩	⟨t, ti⟩	⟨k, ky⟩	⟨kw, twi⟩
	voiced	⟨b⟩	⟨d⟩	⟨g, dw, gy⟩	⟨gu, dwi⟩
Fricative		⟨f⟩	⟨s⟩	⟨h, hy⟩	⟨hu, hwi⟩
Trill			⟨r⟩
Approximant			⟨l⟩	⟨y⟩	⟨w, wi⟩

Vowels

The Akan dialects have fourteen to fifteen vowels: four to five "tense" vowels (advanced tongue root; +ATR or -RTR), five "lax" vowels (retracted tongue root, +RTR or -ATR), which are not entirely contrastively represented by the seven-vowel orthography, and five nasal vowels, which are not represented at all. All fourteen were distinguished in the Gold Coast alphabet of the colonial era. A tongue-root distinction in orthographic a is only found in some subdialects of Fante, but not in the literary form; in Asante and Akuapem there are harmonic allophones of /a/, but neither is ATR. The two vowels written e (/e/ and /i̙/) and o (/o/ and /u̙/) are often not distinguished in pronunciation.

Akan vowel phonemes

	Front		Central		Back
	-RTR	+RTR	-RTR	+RTR	-RTR	+RTR
Close	/i/	/i̙/			/u/	/u̙/
Mid	/e/	/e̙/			/o/	/o̙/
Open			/a/	/a̙/

Orthog.	-RTR	+RTR
i	/i/ [i]
e	/e/ [e]	/i̙/ [ɪ~e]
ɛ		/e̙/ [ɛ]
a	/a/ [æ~ɐ~ə]	/a̙/ [a]
ɔ		/o̙/ [ɔ]
o	/o/ [o]	/u̙/ [ʊ~o]
u	/u/ [u]

Tongue root harmony

Akan vowels engage in a form of vowel harmony with the root of the tongue.

1. +RTR vowels followed by the -RTR non-mid vowels /i a u/ become -RTR. This is generally reflected in the orthography: That is, orthographic e ɛ a ɔ o become i e a o u. However, it is no longer reflected in the case of subject and possessive pronouns, giving them a consistent spelling. This rule takes precedence over the next one.
2. After the +RTR non-high vowels /e̙ a̙ o̙/, -RTR mid vowels /e o/ become +RTR high vowels /i̙ u̙/. This is not reflected in the orthography, for both sets of vowels are spelled ⟨e o⟩, and in many dialects this rule does not apply, for these vowels have merged.

Tones

Akan has three phonemic tones, high (/H/), mid (/M/), and low (/L/). Initial syllable may only be high or low.

Tone terracing

The phonetic pitch of the three tones depends on their environment, often being lowered after other tones, producing a steady decline known as tone terracing.

/H/ tones have the same pitch as a preceding /H/ or /M/ tone within the same tonic phrase, whereas /M/ tones have a lower pitch. That is, the sequences /HH/ and /MH/ have a level pitch, whereas the sequences /HM/ and /MM/ have a falling pitch. /H/ is lowered (downstepped) after a /L/.

/L/ is the default tone, which emerges in situations such as reduplicated prefixes. It is always at bottom of the speaker's pitch range, except in the sequence /HLH/, in which case it is raised in pitch but the final /H/ is still lowered. Thus /HMH/ and /HLH/ are pronounced with distinct but very similar pitches.

After the first "prominent" syllable of a clause, usually the first high tone, there is a downstep. This syllable is usually stressed.

Morphology

Formation of plural nouns in Akan

Akan forms some plural nouns by adding the prefixes 'm' or 'n' to the original word and removing the first sound of the noun. Example include nouns like abofra (child), which forms its plural by removing the 'ab' from the word and adding 'mm' to form its plural: mmofra (children). Same goes for aboa (animal) to mmoa (animals), abusua (family) to mmusua (families), abirekyie (goat) to mmirekyie (goats) etc. in the Asante dialect.

The nouns which use the 'n' prefix include; adaka (box) to nnaka (boxes), adanko (rabbit) to nnanko (rabbits), aduro (medicine) to nnuro (medicines), atare (dress) to ntare (dresses), odwan (sheep) to nnwan (sheep plural), aduane (food) to nnuane (food plural), kraman (dog) to nkraman (dogs), kanea (light) to nkanea (lights), safoa (key) to nsafoa (keys).

Akan can create plural nouns by adding the suffix nom to the original word. Examples include; agya (father) to agyanom (fathers), nana (grandparent/grandchild) to nananom (grandparents/grandchildren), nua (sibling) to nuanom (siblings), yere (wife) to yerenom (wives).

Some Akan nouns are the same in both singular and plural. Nouns such as nkyene (salt), ani (eye), sika (money), etc., are written the same in both singular and plural.

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.

Literature

The Akan languages have a rich literature in proverbs, folktales, and traditional drama, as well as a new literature in dramas, short stories, and novels. This literature began to be documented in written form in the late 1800s. Later, Joseph Hanson Kwabena Nketia collected a number of proverbs and folktales, including Funeral Dirges of the Akan People (1969), Folk Songs of Ghana (1963), and Akan Poetry (1958). Some of the important authors in the language are A. A. Opoku (dramatist), E. J. Osew (dramatist), K. E. Owusu (novelist), and R. A. Tabi (dramatist and novelist). The Bureau of Ghana Languages has been unable to continue printing novels in the language, and the following are out of print: Obreguo, Okrabiri, Afrakoma, Obeede, Fia Tsatsala, and Ku Di Fo Nanawu.

Education

Primary

In 1978 the AOC established a common orthography for all of Akan, which is used as the medium of instruction in primary school. The Akan language is recognized for literacy, from at least the lower primary level (primary 1–3).

University

Akan languages are studied at several major universities in the United States, including Ohio University, Ohio State University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Harvard University, Boston University, Indiana University, University of Michigan, and The University of Florida. Akan has been a regular African language of study in the annual Summer Cooperative African Languages Institute (SCALI) program. The Akan language is studied in these universities as a bachelor or masters program.

Common phrases

• Akwaaba – Welcome
• Aane (Asante) - Yes
• Nyew (Fante)– Yes
• Yiw (Akuapem) – Yes
• Yoo – Okay/Alright
• Oho / anhã (Fante)/Daabi (Asante)– No/Nope
• Da yie (Asante) – Good night (literally "sleep well")
• Me rekɔ da(Fante) – I'm going to sleep
• Ɛte sɛn? (Asante) – How is it going/How are you? (could also be used in the non lit. sense as "hello")
• Medaase – Thank you
• Mepa wo kyɛw – Please/excuse me/I beg your pardon
• Ndwom (Fante)/nnwom (Asante) – Song/songs or music
• Wo din de sɛn?/Yɛfrɛ wo sɛn? (Asante) - What is your name?
• Wo dzin dze dεn? (Fante) – What is your name?
• Me dzin dze.../Wɔfrɛ me... (Fante) – My name is/I'm called...
• Woedzi mfe ahen? (Fante) – How old is he/she?
• Edzi mfe ahen (Fante) – How old are you?
• ɔwɔ hen? – Where is it?
• Me rekɔ – I am going/ I am taking my leave.
• Mbo (Fante)/Mmo (Asante)– Good
• Jo (Fante)/Kɔ (Asante) – Leave
• Ayɛ Adze (Fante) – well done
• Gyae – Stop
• Da – Sleep
• Bra - Come
• Bra ha - Come here
• Bɛ didi - Come and eat

Names of places

• Fie - Home
• Sukuu - School
• Asɔre - Church
• Dwaaso - Market
• sukuupon - University or a tertiary Institution
• Ayaresabea - Hospital

System of given names

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

Bibliography

• Cleland, Esi; Gyang, Kofi Oteng; Imbeah, Nana Kodwo (Jojoo); Imbeah, Paa Kwesi (2005). Modern Akan: A concise introduction to the Akuapem, Fanti and Twi language. Kasahorow Language Guides. Accra: Kasahorow. ISBN 978-9988-0-376-7-3.
• Dolphyne, Florence Abena (1988). The Akan (Twi-Fante) Language: Its Sound Systems and Tonal Structure. Accra: Ghana Universities Press. ISBN 9964-3-0159-6.
• Dolphyne, F. A. (1996). A Comprehensive Course in Twi (Asante) for the Non-Twi Learner. Accra: Ghana University Press. ISBN 9964-3-0245-2.
• Schacter, Paul (1968). A Phonology of Akan: Akuapem, Asante, Fante. Los Angeles: University of California Press.
• Nketia, William (2004). Twi für Ghana: Wort für Wort (in German). Bielefeld: Reise Know-How Verlag. ISBN 3-89416-346-1.
• Obeng, Samuel Gyasi (2001). African anthroponymy: An ethnopragmatic and norphophonological study of personal names in Akan and some African societies. LINCOM studies in anthropology. Vol. 08. München: LINCOM Europa. ISBN 3-89586-431-5.
• Redden, J. E.; Owusu, N. (1963). Twi Basic Course. Foreign Service Institute. hdl:2027/mdp.39015005280261. Reprint: Twi basic course. Hippocrene. 1995. ISBN 0-7818-0394-2.

External links

• English-Tshi (Asante) : a dictionary = Enyiresi-Twi nsem-asekyere-nhõma (1909), Evangelische Missionsgesellschaft in Basel
• Akan Language Resources
• Journal of West African Languages: Akan
• My First Akan Dictionary Online Akan (Twi, Fanti) Dictionary
• Twi Word of the Day and Articles
• Akan Language Resources
• The Bible in Twi
• The Quran in Twi Language
• Poem translated into Twi
• Watch Twi Music Videos
• Prayer in Asante used by Ghanaians of the Baha'i Faith
• Open Twi Project, a project to bring Asante to software.
• Literature and articles in Ahanta Literature and articles in Ahanta dialect.