Akan (), or Twi-Fante, is the most populous
language of Ghana, and the principal native language of the
Akan people
The Akan () people are a kwa languages, Kwa group living primarily in present-day Ghana and in parts of Ivory Coast and Togo in West Africa. The Akan speak languages within the Central Tano languages, Central Tano branch of the Potou–Tano la ...
, 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.
The
Bono dialect is also spoken across the border in
Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...
.
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
The Atlantic slave trade or transatlantic slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of Slavery in Africa, enslaved African people to the Americas. European slave ships regularly used the triangular trade route and its Middle Pass ...
, Akan languages were introduced to the
Caribbean
The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
and
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
, notably in
Suriname
Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...
, spoken by the
Ndyuka, and in
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
, 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.
[The Brong (Bono) dialect of Akan” by Florence Abena Dolphyne University of Ghana, Legon 1979.]
Name
The language was originally referred to by local designations such as '
Twi' (; ), '
Fante' and '
Brong'. After independence, the national language commission adopted 'Akan', a name that had been used for all the languages spoken by the
Akan people
The Akan () people are a kwa languages, Kwa group living primarily in present-day Ghana and in parts of Ivory Coast and Togo in West Africa. The Akan speak languages within the Central Tano languages, Central Tano branch of the Potou–Tano la ...
, which included Twi-Fante and the
Bia languages, as the name for Twi-Fante specifically. The broader scope was renamed the
Central Tano languages to disambiguate. However, many sources still refer to the Central Tano languages as 'Akan'.
History
In history, the Akans who live in
Ghana
Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...
migrated in successive waves between the 11th and 18th centuries. Others inhabit the eastern part of
Côte d'Ivoire
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...
and parts of
Togo
Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...
.
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
Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...
makes it an area of research for various disciplines such as folklore, literary studies,
linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...
,
anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...
and history.
Dialects
Akan is a
dialect continuum
A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of Variety (linguistics), language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are Mutual intelligibility, mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulat ...
that is closely related to the
Bia languages, the other
Central Tano languages spoken by the
Akan people
The Akan () people are a kwa languages, Kwa group living primarily in present-day Ghana and in parts of Ivory Coast and Togo in West Africa. The Akan speak languages within the Central Tano languages, Central Tano branch of the Potou–Tano la ...
. The relationships of the major Akan dialects are as follows:
Brong and Wasa have limited
mutual intelligibility
In linguistics, mutual intelligibility is a relationship between different but related language varieties in which speakers of the different varieties can readily understand each other without prior familiarity or special effort. Mutual intelli ...
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.
Indeed, 'a Fante-speaker will be right in looking on Bron onoas a different language.'
]
Phonology
The Akan dialects contain extensive palatalization, vowel harmony
In phonology, vowel harmony is a phonological rule in which the vowels of a given domain – typically a phonological word – must share certain distinctive features (thus "in harmony"). Vowel harmony is typically long distance, meaning tha ...
, and tone terracing.
Consonants
Before front vowel
A front vowel is a class of vowel sounds used in some spoken languages, its defining characteristic being that the highest point of the tongue is positioned approximately as far forward as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction th ...
s, all Asante consonants are palatalized (or labio-palatalized), and the stops are to some extent affricate
An affricate is a consonant that begins as a stop and releases as a fricative, generally with the same place of articulation (most often coronal). It is often difficult to decide if a stop and fricative form a single phoneme or a consonant pai ...
d. The allophone
In phonology, an allophone (; from the Greek , , 'other' and , , 'voice, sound') is one of multiple possible spoken soundsor '' phones''used to pronounce a single phoneme in a particular language. For example, in English, the voiceless plos ...
s of are quite complex. In the table below, palatalized allophones which involve more than minor phonetic palatalization are specified, in the context of the vowel . These sounds do occur before other vowels, such as , though in most cases not commonly.
In Asante, followed by a vowel is pronounced , but in Akuapem it remains . The sequence is pronounced .
A word final can be heard as a glottal stop . There is also a nasalization of and of as and , when occurring before nasal vowels.
The transcriptions in the tables below are in the order / phonemic/, Allophone">phonetic
Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds or, in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians ...
]. Note that orthographic is ambiguous; in textbooks, = may be distinguished from with a diacritic: '. Likewise, velar () may be transcribed '. Orthographic is palatalized .
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 , but neither is ATR. The two vowels written ''e'' ( and ) and ''o'' ( and ) are often not distinguished in pronunciation.
Tongue root harmony
Akan vowels engage in a form of vowel harmony
In phonology, vowel harmony is a phonological rule in which the vowels of a given domain – typically a phonological word – must share certain distinctive features (thus "in harmony"). Vowel harmony is typically long distance, meaning tha ...
with the root of the tongue.
# +RTR vowels followed by the -RTR non-mid vowels /i a u/ become -RTR. This is generally reflected in the orthography: That is, orthographic ' 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.
# 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 , 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
Akan historically employed a noun class
In linguistics, a noun class is a particular category of nouns. A noun may belong to a given class because of the characteristic features of its referent, such as gender, animacy, shape, but such designations are often clearly conventional. Some ...
system similar to that of Bantu languages
The Bantu languages (English: , Proto-Bantu language, Proto-Bantu: *bantʊ̀), or Ntu languages are a language family of about 600 languages of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern, East Africa, Eastern and Southeast Africa, South ...
. Although this system is now largely defunct, remnants of it persist in modern Akan plural formation, particularly through prefixes and suffixes. The current pluralisation system blends fossilised class prefixes with newer morphological strategies, especially for human nouns. Notably, human nouns have preserved more elements of the old system than non-human nouns and can employ multiple plural-marking strategies simultaneously.
Modern Akan employs several strategies for plural formation, representing a transition from its historical purely prefixal system to a mixed system using both prefixes and suffixes. These strategies vary based on semantic categories, with human nouns showing particularly complex patterns.
Prefixal plural formation
Many Akan nouns form their plurals through the addition or replacement of nasal prefix
A prefix is an affix which is placed before the stem of a word. Particularly in the study of languages, a prefix is also called a preformative, because it alters the form of the word to which it is affixed.
Prefixes, like other affixes, can b ...
es (, ), reflecting remnants of the old noun class system.
In this process, the original class prefix (typically ) is replaced by a homorganic nasal prefix that assimilates to the initial consonant of the root word. For example, initial becomes and becomes in plural forms.
Suffixal plural formation
A relatively newer morphological development involves using plural suffix
In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns and adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can ca ...
es, primarily for human and agentive nouns. This development is particularly significant as it shows how Akan is evolving from its historical prefix-based system. Human nouns demonstrate the most complex plural marking, often combining both old prefixal and new suffixal strategies — a pattern that highlights their special status in the language's grammatical system.
; With
This suffix is used primarily for kinship and social role terms.
; With
This suffix is used with profession- or agent-based nouns.
In some cases, both a prefix and a suffix are used for pluralisation, especially with human nouns (e.g., → ). This double marking represents a unique development in Akan's plural system, where human nouns have not only preserved elements of the old class system but have also incorporated new morphological strategies, resulting in a more complex marking pattern than non-human nouns.
Invariant nouns
Certain Akan nouns remain unchanged in the plural, representing another way the historical noun class system has been simplified. While human nouns have developed complex plural marking strategies, these invariant nouns — including mass nouns and inherently plural items — have moved in the opposite direction by eliminating plural marking entirely.
Historical noun classes
Akan originally featured a more extensive system of noun classes marked by singular/plural prefixes. These may be reconstructed as follows:
Over time, this class system has undergone morphological decay. Modern Akan lacks productive class agreement between nouns and adjectives or verbs, and many prefixes have become fossilised elements perceived as part of the noun stem.
Orthography
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.[Nina Pawlak, “Akan Folk Literature and the Beginning of Writing in Twi,” ''Literatures in African Languages: Theoretical Issues and Sample Surveys'' by B. W. Andrzejewski and S. Pilaszewicz, 128-157 (Cambridge University Press, 2010).] 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
A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...
. 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
A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
in the United States, including Ohio University
Ohio University (Ohio or OU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Athens, Ohio, United States. The university was first conceived in the 1787 contract between the United States Department of the Treasury#Re ...
, Ohio State University
The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...
, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Harvard University
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
, Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...
, Indiana University
Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...
, University of Michigan
The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
, and The University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...
. 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.
Vocabulary
Common phrases
Placenames
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.
References
Bibliography
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Further reading
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* Reprint:
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
Watch Twi Music Videos
Open Twi Project
a project to bring Asante to software.
Literature and articles in Ahanta
Literature and articles in Ahanta dialect.
{{Authority control
Central Tano languages
Languages of Ghana
Akan people