Akan (Twi)
Story
Akan, most widely known through its Twi dialects, is a Kwa-branch Niger-Congo language and the most spoken indigenous language in Ghana, used natively by about 44 percent of the population. The language features vowel harmony and three tones, producing a phenomenon called tone terracing where pitches step down systematically across a phrase. During the Atlantic slave trade, Akan-speaking enslaved people were transported to the Caribbean, and the language directly influenced Jamaican Maroon speech and the Ndyuka language of Suriname, where Akan influence remains detectable today. The Akan Orthography Committee unified four previously separate literary standards, Fante, Asante Twi, Akuapem Twi, and Bono, into a single orthography in 1978.
At a glance
- Also known as: Twi / Akan kasa
- Family: Niger-Congo
- Region: West Africa
- Speakers: 22M (total l1 speakers approximately 9 to 11 million in ghana; around 80 percent of ghana's population (roughly 22 million people) speak akan as a first or second language, per ethnologue and the university of wisconsin language resources)
- Writing system: Latin (Akan orthography, unified in 1978 by the Akan Orthography Committee)
- Greeting: Ete sen (how are you / hello)
Spoken in
Ghana, Ivory Coast, Togo
Common questions
How many people speak Akan (Twi)?
Akan (Twi) is spoken by about 22M people (total l1 speakers approximately 9 to 11 million in ghana; around 80 percent of ghana's population (roughly 22 million people) speak akan as a first or second language, per ethnologue and the university of wisconsin language resources).
Where is Akan (Twi) spoken?
Akan (Twi) is spoken in Ghana, Ivory Coast, Togo.
What language family does Akan (Twi) belong to?
Akan (Twi) belongs to the Niger-Congo language family.