Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
is a
multilingual
Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...
country in which about eighty languages are spoken. Of these,
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
, which was inherited from the colonial era, is the
official language
An official language is a language given supreme status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically the term "official language" does not refer to the language used by a people or country, but by its government (e.g. judiciary, ...
and
lingua franca.
Of the languages indigenous to Ghana,
Akan Akan may refer to:
People and languages
*Akan people, an ethnic group in Ghana and C么te d'Ivoire
*Akan language, a language spoken by the Akan people
*Kwa languages, a language group which includes Akan
* Central Tano languages, a language group ...
is the most widely spoken.
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
has more than seventy ethnic groups, each with its own distinct language. Languages that belong to the same ethnic group are usually mutually intelligible. The
Dagbanli and
Mampelle languages of
Northern Region, for instance, are mutually intelligible with the
Frafra and
Waali languages of the
Upper West Region
The Upper West Region of Ghana is located in the north-western corner of Ghana and is bordered by Upper East region to the east, Northern region to the south, and Burkina Faso to the west and north. The Upper West regional capital and largest se ...
of
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
. These four languages are of
Mole-Dagbani ethnicity.
Eleven languages have the status of government-sponsored languages: three
Akan ethnic languages (
Akuapem Twi,
Asante Twi
Asante, also known as Ashanti, Ashante, or Asante Twi, is one of the principal members of the Akan dialect continuum. It is one of the four mutually intelligible dialects of Akan which are collectively known as Twi, the others being Bono and A ...
and
Fante) and two
Mole-Dagbani ethnic languages (
Dagaare
Dagaare is the language of the Dagaaba people of Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Ivory Coast. It has been described as a dialect continuum that also includes Waale and Birifor. Dagaare language varies in dialect stemming from other family languages i ...
and
Dagbanli). The others are
Ewe,
Dangme,
Ga,
Nzema,
Gonja, and
Kasem.
In April 2019, the Ghanaian government declared its intention to make
French one of Ghana's official languages due to the country being surrounded by Francophone countries (
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 馂馂さ馂お馂こ馂き馂げ馂あ 馂馂あ馂ぇ馂ぎ, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to ...
, the
Ivory Coast and
Togo
Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: R茅publique togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...
) and the presence of a French speaking minority in the country.
Government-sponsored languages
The number of government-sponsored languages is either eleven or nine, depending on whether or not
Bono,
Akuapem Twi,
Asante Twi
Asante, also known as Ashanti, Ashante, or Asante Twi, is one of the principal members of the Akan dialect continuum. It is one of the four mutually intelligible dialects of Akan which are collectively known as Twi, the others being Bono and A ...
, and
Fante are considered a single language.
They are supported by the
Bureau of Ghana Languages, which was established in 1951 and publishes materials in the languages; during the periods when Ghanaian languages were used in primary education, these were the languages which were used. All these languages belong to the
Niger鈥揅ongo language family, though to several different branches.
Akan (Fante, Bono, Asante Twi and Akuapem Twi)
Akan Akan may refer to:
People and languages
*Akan people, an ethnic group in Ghana and C么te d'Ivoire
*Akan language, a language spoken by the Akan people
*Kwa languages, a language group which includes Akan
* Central Tano languages, a language group ...
, part of the
Kwa branch of the Niger鈥揅ongo family, is a
dialect continuum
A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulate over distance so that widely separated varie ...
, but with regard to official status, only a few out of the many varieties of Akan are recognised:
Bono,
Fante,
Asante Twi
Asante, also known as Ashanti, Ashante, or Asante Twi, is one of the principal members of the Akan dialect continuum. It is one of the four mutually intelligible dialects of Akan which are collectively known as Twi, the others being Bono and A ...
,
Akuapem Twi. Taken as a whole, Akan is the most-widely spoken language in Ghana.
Ewe
Ewe is a
Gbe language
The Gbe languages (pronounced ) form a cluster of about twenty related languages stretching across the area between eastern Ghana and western Nigeria. The total number of speakers of Gbe languages is between four and eight million. The most widel ...
, part of the
Volta鈥揘iger branch of the Niger鈥揅ongo family. The Ewe Language is spoken in Ghana, Togo and Benin with a trace of the language in West Nigeria. Out of the many dialects of Ewe spoken in Ghana, the major ones are Anlo, Tongu, Vedome, Gbi, and Krepi.
Dagbani
Dagbani is one of the
Gur languages
The Gur languages, also known as Central Gur or Mabia, belong to the Niger鈥揅ongo languages. They are spoken in the Sahelian and savanna regions of West Africa, namely: in most areas of Burkina Faso, and in south-central Mali, northeastern Iv ...
. It is the most spoken language in Northern Ghana. The number of native speakers numbers more than three million, This number will reach six million if dialects such as Nanumba, Mamprusi and Kamara are added. It belongs to the larger
Mole-Dagbani ethnic group found in
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
and
makes up about 18.5% of the population. It is spoken by
Dagombas in the
Northern Region of
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
..
Dangme
Dangme is one of the
Ga鈥揇angme languages
Ga鈥揇angme is a branch of the Kwa language family. Ga鈥揇angme is made up of just two languages: Ga and Dangme. They are closely related and have sometimes been considered as a single language. There are many similarities in the basic vocabul ...
within the Kwa branch. It is spoken in Greater Accra, in south-east Ghana and Togo.
Dagaare
Dagaare
Dagaare is the language of the Dagaaba people of Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Ivory Coast. It has been described as a dialect continuum that also includes Waale and Birifor. Dagaare language varies in dialect stemming from other family languages i ...
is another of the Gur languages. It is spoken in the Upper West Region of Ghana. It is also spoken in
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 馂馂さ馂お馂こ馂き馂げ馂あ 馂馂あ馂ぇ馂ぎ, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to ...
.
Ga
Ga is the other Ga鈥揇angme language within the Kwa branch. Ga is spoken in south-eastern Ghana, in and around the capital Accra.
Nzema
Nzema is one of the
Bia languages, closely related to Akan. It is spoken by the
Nzema people
The Nzema are an Akan people numbering about 328,700, of whom 262,000 live in southwestern Ghana and 66,700 live in the southeast of C么te d'Ivoire. In Ghana the Nzema area is divided into three electoral districts: Nzema East Municipal, also kno ...
in the Western Region of Ghana. It is also spoken in the
Ivory Coast.
Kasem
Kasem is a
Gurunsi language, in the Gur branch. It is spoken in the Upper Eastern Region of Ghana. It is also spoken in
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 馂馂さ馂お馂こ馂き馂げ馂あ 馂馂あ馂ぇ馂ぎ, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to ...
.
Gonja
Gonja is one of the
Guang languages
The Guan languages are languages of the Kwa language family spoken by the Guan people in Ghana and Togo:
*South Guan: Efutu, Cherepon, Gua, Larteh
Larteh is a language of southeastern Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), official ...
, part of the
Tano languages Tano may refer to
Places
;Ghana/Ivory Coast
* Tano North District and
* Tano South District in Ghana, which make up
** Tano North (Ghana parliament constituency) and
** Tano South (Ghana parliament constituency)
* Tano River or Tano茅 River in Gh ...
within the Kwa branch along with Akan and Bia. It is spoken in the Northern Region of Ghana and Wa
Languages spoken in Ghana by number of speakers
This chart reflects data provided by ''Ethnologue''.
Language classification
The language of Ghana belong to the following branches within the
Niger鈥揅ongo language family:
*
Kwa languages
The Kwa languages, often specified as New Kwa, are a proposed but as-yet-undemonstrated family of languages spoken in the south-eastern part of Ivory Coast, across southern Ghana, and in central Togo. The name was introduced 1895 by Gottlob Kr ...
(Akan, Bia, Guang in Tano; Ga and Adangme)
*
Gbe languages
The Gbe languages (pronounced ) form a cluster of about twenty related languages stretching across the area between eastern Ghana and western Nigeria. The total number of speakers of Gbe languages is between four and eight million. The most widel ...
(Ewe)
*
Gur languages
The Gur languages, also known as Central Gur or Mabia, belong to the Niger鈥揅ongo languages. They are spoken in the Sahelian and savanna regions of West Africa, namely: in most areas of Burkina Faso, and in south-central Mali, northeastern Iv ...
(Gurunsi,
Dagbani, Mossi, Dagaare, and Frafra in Oti鈥揤olta)
*
Senufo languages
The Senufo or Senufic languages (''Senoufo'' in French) has around 15 languages spoken by the Senufo in the north of Ivory Coast, the south of Mali and the southwest of Burkina Faso. An isolated language, Nafaanra, is also spoken in the west o ...
(
Nafaanra)
*
Kulango languages
*
Mande languages (Wangara, Ligbi)
Older classifications may instead group them as Kwa, Gur, and Mande.
See also
*
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
*
Demographics of Ghana
The Demography of Ghana describes the condition and overview of Ghana's population. This article is about the demographic features of the population of Ghana, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, re ...
*
Ghanaian English
Ghanaian English is a variety of English spoken in Ghana. English is the official language of Ghana, and is used as a lingua franca throughout the country. English remains the designated language for all official and formal purposes even as the ...
References
External links
Ethnologue listing for GhanaEthnologue map of languages in GhanaOwu-Ewie, Charles. 2006. The Language Policy of Education in Ghana: A Critical Look at the English-Only Language Policy of Education. In Selected Proceedings of the 35th Annual Conference on African Linguistics, ed. John Mugane et al., 76-85. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project.PanAfrican L10n wiki page on GhanaGhanaWeb
{{DEFAULTSORT:Languages Of Ghana
Ghana-related lists