Twi
| Twi | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Ashanti |
| Ethnicity | Asante people, Akuapem, Fante |
Native speakers | 9 million[1][2] (2015)[1][3][4] |
| Dialects | |
| Official status | |
Official language in | Ashanti City-State and the Ashanti City-State capital Kumasi Ghana (both dialects used in national status) |
| Regulated by | Akan Orthography Committee |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | tw Twi |
| ISO 639-2 | twi |
| ISO 639-3 | twi |
| Glottolog | akua1239[5]asan1239[6] |
Twi (Akan: [tɕᶣi]; also known as Akan Kasa) is a dialect of the Akan language spoken in southern and central Ghana by several million people, mainly of the Akan tribe, the biggest of the about 17 major tribes in Ghana and forms some 70% of the Ghanaian population as a first and second language.[7][3] Twi is a common name for two former literary dialects of the Akan language; Asante (Ashanti) and Akuapem, which are mutually intelligible. There are about 9 million Twi speakers, mainly originating from the Ashanti Region[1][3] and about a total of 17–18 million Ghanaians as either first or second languages. Akuapem Twi was the first Akan dialect to be used for Bible translation, and became the prestige dialect as a result.[8] It is also spoken by the Southeastern people of Cote D'Ivoire.
Contents
Writing system[edit]
The 22 letters of the Twi alphabet are:
| Majuscule forms (also called uppercase or capital letters) | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | B | D | E | Ɛ | F | G | H | I | K | L | M | N | O | Ɔ | P | R | S | T | U | W | Y |
| Minuscule forms (also called lowercase or small letters) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| a | b | d | e | ɛ | f | g | h | i | k | l | m | n | o | ɔ | p | r | s | t | u | w | y |
Letters C, J, V and Z are also used, but only in loanwords.[9]
Phonology[edit]
Pronunciation of the Twi (Akan) letters:[10]
Consonants[edit]
| Labial | Alveolar | Post-alveolar | Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | voiced | m ⟨m⟩ | n ⟨n⟩ | ɲ ⟨ny, n⟩ | ŋ ⟨ng, n⟩ | |||
| labialisation | nʷ ⟨nw⟩ | |||||||
| Stop | voiced | b ⟨b⟩ | d ⟨d⟩ | g ⟨g⟩ | ||||
| aspirated | pʰ ⟨p⟩ | tʰ ⟨t⟩ | kʰ ⟨k⟩ | |||||
| labialisation | kʷ ⟨kw⟩ | |||||||
| Affricate | aspirated | t͡ɕʰ ~ c͡çʰ ⟨ky⟩ | ||||||
| voiced | d͡ʒ ⟨dw⟩ | d͡ʑ ~ ɟ͡ʝ ⟨gy⟩ | ||||||
| labialisation | t͡ɕʷ ⟨tw⟩ | |||||||
| Fricative | voiceless | f ⟨f⟩ | s ⟨s⟩ | ç ⟨hy⟩ | h ⟨h⟩ | |||
| labialisation | hʷ ⟨hw⟩ | |||||||
| Approximant | j ⟨y⟩ | |||||||
| Tap/Flap | ɾ ⟨r⟩ | ɽ ⟨r⟩ | ||||||
| Trill | r ⟨r⟩ | |||||||
| Lateral | l ⟨l⟩ | |||||||
| Labialized velar | |
|---|---|
| Approximat | w ⟨w⟩ |
| Letters | Sounds |
|---|---|
| A a | [a/æ] |
| E e | [e/i] |
| Ɛ ɛ | [ɛ] |
| I i | [ɪ] |
| O o | [o/ʊ] |
| Ɔ ɔ | [ɔ] |
| U u | [u] |
| Letters | Sounds |
|---|---|
| ao | [ao] |
| eɛ | [eɛ] |
| ei | [ei] |
| ia | [ia] |
| ie | [ie] |
| ii | [iː] |
| oo | [oː] |
| oɔ | [oɔ] |
| ue | [ue] |
| uo | [uo] |
Numerals[edit]
| Numbers | Asante akontaabudeɛ (Dodoɔ) | Akuapem akontaabude |
|---|---|---|
| 1/2 | ɛfa | fa |
| 0 | ohunu | |
| 1 | baako | baako/biako/koro |
| 2 | mmienu | ebien |
| 3 | mmiɛnsa | abiɛsa |
| 4 | nnan/ɛnan | anan |
| 5 | enum/nnum | anum |
| 6 | nsia | Asia |
| 7 | nson | ason |
| 8 | nwɔtwe | awɔtwe |
| 9 | nkron | Akron |
| 10 | edu | du |
| 11 | du baako | du baako |
| 12 | du mmienu | du mien |
| 13 | du mmiɛnsa | du mmiɛnsa |
| 14 | du nan | du nan |
| 15 | du num | du num |
| 20 | aduonu | aduonu |
| 21 | aduonu baako | aduonu baako |
| 22 | aduonu mmienu | aduonu abien |
| 30 | aduasa | aduasa |
| 40 | aduannan / aduanan | aduanan |
| 45 | aduanan num / aduannan num | aduanan num |
| 46 | aduanan nsia / aduannan nsia | aduanan nsia |
| 50 | aduonum / aduonnum | aduonum |
| 58 | aduonum-nwɔtwe/aduonnum-nwɔtwe | aduonum-nwɔtwe |
| 100 | ɔha | ɔha |
| 200 | ahanu | ahanu |
| 500 | ahanum | ahanum |
| 1000 | apem | apem |
| 2000 | mpennu | mpennu |
| 8000 | mpem nwɔtwe | mpem nwɔtwe |
| 9000 | mpem nkron | mpem nkron |
| 10,000 | ɔpedu | ɔpedu |
| 100,000 | ɔpeha | ɔpeha |
| 1,000,000 | ɔpepem | ɔpepem |
| 2,000,000 | ɔpepennu | ɔpepennu |
| 1,000,000,000 | ɔpepepem / ɔpepepeepee | ɔpepepem |
Ordinals[edit]
| Numbers | Asante
Mprɛ (number of times) |
Akuapem
Mpɛn |
English translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | prɛko | pɛnkoro | once |
| 2 | mprɛnu | mprenu | twice |
| 3 | mprɛsa | mprɛsa | three times |
| 4 | mprɛnan | mprɛnan | four times |
| 11 | mprɛ du-baako | mpɛn du-baako | eleven times |
| 100 | mprɛ ɔha | mpɛn ɔha | one hundred times |
| many | mprɛ pii | mpɛn pii | many times |
Common phrases[edit]
| Numbers | Asante
Important sentences |
English translation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wo din de sɛn? | What is your name? |
| 2 | Yɛ frɛ me Kwaku Peter | My name is Kwaku Peter |
| 3 | Bra ha / Bra ɛha | Come here |
| 4 | Medaase / me da wo ase | Thank you |
| 5 | Ɛkɔm de me / kɔm de me | I am hungry |
| 6 | Akwaaba | You are welcome |
| 7 | Me retɔ adeɛ | I am buying something |
| 8 | Me retɔ kosua | I am buying egg |
| 9 | Ɛte sɛn? / Wo ho te sɛn? | How are you? |
| 10 | Ɛyɛ | I am good / It is good / I'm fine |
| 11 | Wo wɔ hene? | Where are you? |
| 12 | Me wɔ ha / me wɔ ɛha | I am here |
| 13 | Wo rekɔ hene? Wo kɔ hene? | Where are you going to? |
| 14 | Me rekɔ Kumasi | I am going to Kumasi |
| 15 | Onyame nhyira wo / Nyame nyira wo | God bless you |
Conparison between Asante Twi and Akuapem Twi:
| Numbers | Asante
Important sentences |
Akuapem
Important sentences |
English translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nnipa ahe na ɛbaeɛ? | Nnipa baahe na ɛbae? | How many people came? |
| 2 | Edu ne du yɛ aduonu | Du ne du yɛ aduonu | Ten plus (and) ten make twenty |
| 3 | Yi edu firi aduonu mu | Yi du fi aduonu mu | Subtract ten from twenty |
| 4 | Kyɛ deɛ wobɛnya no mu mmienu | Kyɛ nea wubenya no mu abien | Divide the answer that you will get by two |
| 5 | Fa nsia yɛ ɛnan ahoroeɛ | Fa Asia yɛ anan ahorow | Multiply six by four |
| 6 | Kan wo nsateaa | Kan wo nsateaa | Count on your fingers |
| 7 | Wobɛtumi akan adeɛ akɔsi apem? | Wubetumi akan akosi apem | Can you count up to one thousand? |
| 8 | Matwerɛ me yere prɛko | Makyerɛw me yere pɛnkoro pɛ | I wrote my wife once |
| 9 | ɔtwerɛɛ nkrataa nwɔtwe nnora | ɔkyerɛw nkrataa awotwe nnɛra | S/he wrote eight letters yesterday |
| 10 | Woatwerɛ wo nuabaa mprɛ pii | Woakyerɛw wo nuabea mpɛn pii | You have written your sister many times |
| 11 | Abarimaa no abu ano (nkonta) mmiɛnsa | Abarimaa no abu ano (nkontaa) abiɛsa | The boy has made three calculations |
| 12 | ɔpɛ anobuo (nkonta) | ɔpɛ anobu (akontaabu) | He likes arithmetic |
Naming system[edit]
The Ashantis use a system of giving the first name to a child, based on the day of the week that the child was born, which is commonly done in Ghana. Almost all the tribes and clans in Ghana do a similar thing.
The Ashanti (Asantes) day naming system is as follows:
| Day | Male name | Female name |
|---|---|---|
| Ɛdwoada (Monday) | Kwadwo, Kojo | Adwoa |
| Ɛbenada (Tuesday) | Kwabena | Abena |
| Wukuada (Wednesday) | Kweku, Kwaku | Akua |
| Yawoada (Thursday) | Yaw | Yaa |
| Efiada (Friday) | Kofi | Afia |
| Memenda / Memenada (Saturday) | Kwame | Ama |
| Kwasiada (Sunday) | Kwasi | Akosua |
References[edit]
- ^ a b c "Asante » Asante Twi (Less Commonly Taught Languages)". University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. University of Michigan.
- ^ "Asante – Asante Twi". ofm-tv.com.
- ^ a b c "Asante » Asante Twi". ofm-tv.com.
- ^ Akan at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
- ^ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Akuapem". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
- ^ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Asante". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
- ^ 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
- ^ Ager, Simon. "Omniglot". Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ "Language Guide". The African Linguists Network Blog. 2013-05-14. Retrieved 2018-07-14.
- ^ "Akan languages, alphabet and pronunciation". www.omniglot.com. Retrieved 2017-06-26.
- ^ "Numbers in Twi (Twi Akontaabudeɛ/Dodoɔ)". www.abibitumikasa.com. Retrieved 2017-06-26.