Akan language

Akan, also called Twi-Fante, is the most commonly spoken language in Ghana. It is the main language of the Akan people, who live mostly in the southern part of Ghana. About 80% of people in Ghana speak Akan either as their first language or as a second language, and around 44% of Ghanaians grow up speaking it at home.

Akan has three main dialects: Asante, Akuapem, and Fante. These dialects are very similar and people can usually understand each other, but they each have their own way of writing. In 1978, a group called the Akan Orthography Committee made a common way to write Akan that everyone could use.

Long ago, during the time of the Atlantic slave trade, Akan languages were carried to places like the Caribbean and South America. In countries such as Suriname and Jamaica, the language had a big effect on the way people there speak and tell stories today. For example, many people in these places still tell stories about the Anansi spider, which comes from Akan culture. They also often name their children after the day of the week they were born on, a tradition that started with the Akan people.

Name

Originally, the language had different local names. Inland groups called it Twi, while coastal groups called it Fante. After Ghana gained independence, the national language commission chose "Akan" as the name for this language, which includes both Twi and Fante. Some sources still use the name "Akan" for a larger group of languages called the Central Tano languages.

History

The Akan people moved to Ghana in many waves between the 11th and 18th centuries. Some also moved to parts of Côte d'Ivoire and Togo. In Ghana, they spread from the north to the southern areas during the 13th century. The Akan have a strong tradition of sharing their history through stories and are known for their beautiful wooden, metal, and clay artworks. Their culture is studied in many subjects like folklore, literature, linguistics, anthropology, and history.

Dialects

Akan is closely related to the Bia languages and the Central Tano languages, which are spoken by the Akan people. There are several major dialects of Akan. Brong and Wasa are not very easy for each other to understand, so they are considered separate languages. However, Brong and Asante can understand each other well. Fante and Brong, though farther apart, are harder to understand between each other.

Phonology

The Akan language has special sounds and patterns. It includes palatalization, vowel harmony, and tone terracing.

Consonants

Before certain vowels, the sounds in Asante change in specific ways. Some sounds become palatalized or labio-palatalized, and stops can become affricated. The sound /n/ has many different forms. In Asante, /ɡu/ followed by a vowel sounds like /ɡʷ/, but in Akuapem it stays /ɡu/. The sound /nh/ is pronounced [ŋŋ̊]. A final /k/ can sound like a glottal stop [ʔ]. There is also nasalization of /h/ and /j w/ as [h̃] and [j̃ w̃] when before nasal vowels.

Vowels

Akan has fourteen to fifteen vowels. These include "tense" vowels, "lax" vowels, and nasal vowels. All fourteen were used in the old Gold Coast alphabet.

Tongue root harmony

Akan vowels change based on the position of the tongue. Some vowels change to match others in a word.

Tones

Akan has three tones: high (/H/), mid (/M/), and low (/L/). The first syllable can only be high or low. The pitch of tones changes depending on surrounding sounds.

Morphology

Akan once used a system to group nouns into categories, similar to some other languages. Though this system isn't as active now, we can still see bits of it when making words that talk about more than one thing.

Today, Akan uses different ways to show that a word is plural, meaning more than one. For words about people, the old system mixed with new ways, making it a bit more complicated.

One way is adding special beginning parts to words, like putting a nasal sound in front. For example, a word starting with "ab-" might change to "mm-" when it’s plural.

Another way is adding ending parts to words, especially for words about people or jobs. Sometimes, both a beginning and ending part are used together for people, making the word even more special.

Some words in Akan stay the same whether they talk about one thing or many. This shows how the old system has simplified over time.

Orthography

The letters C, J, Q, V, X and Z are also used, but only in words borrowed from other languages.

Literature

The Akan languages have a rich collection of proverbs, folktales, and traditional dramas. In the late 1800s, people started writing down this literature. A person named Joseph Hanson Kwabena Nketia collected many proverbs and folktales. He wrote books like Funeral Dirges of the Akan People (1969), Folk Songs of Ghana (1963), and Akan Poetry (1958). Some important writers in the Akan language are A. A. Opoku, E. J. Osew, K. E. Owusu, and R. A. Tabi. The Bureau of Ghana Languages tried to print novels in the language, but some books are no longer available.

Education

In 1978, a group created a common way to write the Akan language, which is used to teach children in primary school. Akan is taught to help children learn to read and write, starting from the early grades.

Akan is also studied at many big universities in the United States, like Ohio University, Ohio State University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Harvard University, Boston University, Indiana University, University of Michigan, and The University of Florida. Students can choose to study Akan as part of their degree, either for a bachelor’s or master’s program.

Vocabulary

Common phrases

Placenames

System of given names

The Akan people in Ghana have a special way of naming children. They give a child’s first name based on the day of the week the child was born on. Many tribes and clans in Ghana follow this same tradition.