Twi

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Twi (pronounced [t??i]; also known as Akan Kasa) is a dialect of the Akan language spoken in southern and central Ghana by about 6-9 million Ashanti people as a first and second language. 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 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. It is also spoken by the Southeastern people of Cote D'Ivoire.

Video Twi

Writing system

Here are the Twi Alphabet (Also the Akan Alphabet - Akanfo? ntwere?)

The 22 letters of the Twi alphabet are:

Letters C, J, V and Z are also used, but only in loanwords.

Maps Twi

Pronunciation

Pronunciation of the Twi (Akan) letters / alphabets - Twi Diphthongs.

(S?nea wo b? kan Akanfo? ntwer?? no)

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Numerals

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Ordinals

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Common phrases

Conparison between Asante Twi and Akuapem Twi:

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Naming system

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:

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In Ghana

In Ghana today, the most prominent Akan dialects are Asante Twi, Fante and Akuapem Twi, which are all closely related. For a number of different reasons, Asante Twi has become the leading Akan language (and leading native language) spoken in Ghana. Historically, the Asante kingdom played a powerful and dominant military role in this part of West Africa for a number of centuries until it was defeated by the British in 1901 and annexed as a crown colony. At the height of its power the Asante kingdom controlled an area roughly the size of modern-day Ghana which would have included many traditional Akan and non-Akan territories.

These were times when rival Akan kingdoms fought among each other primarily for control of the regional trade in gold and slaves, and the area was known as the Gold Coast. Although Ghana today is an independent country with a democratic system of government, most of the traditional tribal chiefs still possess a high degree of influence, power, authority and respect among their respective people. Among the traditional chiefs in Ghana, the king of the Asantes, who is called the Asantehene, is still a very powerful and highly respected royal figure. Due to the strong influence (past and present) of the Asante people, Asante Twi has long been a language of trade among Ghana's diverse tribal groups. Asante Twi has also gained prominence by becoming the main language of Ghana's musicians, with most of the country's (older) highlife and (newer) hiplife songs being performed and recorded in Twi. Some popular Ghanaian singers may sing in Twi, though they themselves are not Akan. Officially, Ghana's national language is English, but many radio stations broadcast news and programs in Twi as well as English.

The successful spread of Twi in Ghana is no doubt also because Twi is mainly a spoken language as opposed to a written one. Regardless of the literacy rate in the country, people still prefer to communicate verbally with each other.

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References

Source of article : Wikipedia