Nzema, also known as Nzima or Appolo, is a

Central Tano language Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

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 Côte d'Ivoire. In Ghana the Nzema area is divided into three electoral districts: Nzema East Municipal, also kno ...

of southwestern

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 southeastern

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

. It is partially intelligible with Jwira-Pepesa and is closely related to Baoulé. Although it is a Bia language, Nzema has had considerable influence from

Akan language Akan () is a Central Tano language and the principal native language of the Akan people of Ghana, spoken over much of the southern half of Ghana. About 80% of Ghana's population can speak Akan, and about 44% of Ghanaians are native speakers. I ...

s, especially

Twi Twi () 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, includ ...

and Fante.

Phonology

Consonants

Vowels

Of Nzema's ten vowels, eight may be nasalized: /i᷈/, /ɪ᷈/, /ɛ̃/, /ɐ̃/, /a᷈/, /u᷈/, /ʊ᷈/, and /ɔ̃/.

Writing system

References

External links

Nzema language dictionaries
Central Tano languages Languages of Ghana Languages of Ivory Coast {{kwa-lang-stub