Twi (Akan:[tɕᶣi]), also known as Akan kasa, or Akan-speak, 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, including second-language speakers; about 80% of the Ghanaian population speaks Twi as a first or second language.[6][3] Like other West African languages, Twi is a tonal language.[7]
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Twi is a common name for mutually intelligible former literary dialects of the Akan language, Bono, Asante, and Akuapem.[8][9][6] Akuapem, as the first Akan dialect to be used for Bible translation, has become the prestige dialect as a result.[10] It is also spoken by the people of southeastern Côte d'Ivoire.[11][9][12]
Etymology
The name "Twi" is derived from the name of a Bono king, Nana Baffuor Twi.[13]
Phonology
Consonants
Labial
Alveolar
Post-alveolar
Retroflex
Palatal
Velar
Glottal
Nasal
voiced
m⟨m⟩
n⟨n⟩
ɲ⟨ny, n⟩
ŋ⟨ng, n⟩
labialized
nʷ⟨nw⟩
Stop/ Affricate
voiced
b⟨b⟩
d⟨d⟩
d͡ʒ⟨dw⟩
d͡ʑ ~ ɟ͡ʝ⟨gy⟩
g⟨g⟩
aspirated
pʰ⟨p⟩
tʰ⟨t⟩
t͡ɕʰ ~ c͡çʰ⟨ky⟩
kʰ⟨k⟩
labialized
t͡ɕʷ⟨tw⟩
kʷ⟨kw⟩
Fricative
voiceless
f⟨f⟩
s⟨s⟩
ç⟨hy⟩
h⟨h⟩
labialized
hʷ⟨hw⟩
Approximant
j⟨y⟩
w⟨w⟩
Tap/Flap
ɾ⟨r⟩
ɽ⟨r⟩
Trill
r⟨r⟩
Lateral
l⟨l⟩
Vowels
Front
Central
Back
Close
i
u
Near-close
ɪ
ʊ
Close-mid
e
o
Open-mid
ɛ
ɔ
Near-open
æ
Open
a
Tone
Twi has at least 5 tones: high, mid, low, rising, falling.
Diphthongs
Twi contains the diphthongs /ao/, /eɛ/, /ei/, /ia/, /ie/, /oɔ/, /ue/, and /uo/.[14]
Orthography
Uppercase
A
B
D
E
Ɛ
F
G
H
I
K
L
M
N
O
Ɔ
P
R
S
T
U
W
Y
Lowercase
a
b
d
e
ɛ
f
g
h
i
k
l
m
n
o
ɔ
p
r
s
t
u
w
y
The letters C, J, Q, V, X and Z are also used, but only in loanwords.[15]
Naming system
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.
Jane Garry, Carl R. Galvez Rubino, "Facts about the World's Languages: An Encyclopedia of the World's Major Languages, Past and Present", H.W. Wilson, USA, 2001, page 8
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