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Twi

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Twi
Pronunciation[tɕᶣi]
Native toGhana
RegionAshanti Region
Ethnicity
Dialects
Latin
Official status
Official language in
Ashanti Region
Recognised minority
language in
Regulated byAkan Orthography Committee
Language codes
ISO 639-1tw
ISO 639-2twi
ISO 639-3twi (see [aka] for Ethnologue description)
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Twi ([tɕᶣi]) is a variety of the Akan language spoken in southern and central Ghana by several million people, mainly of the Akan people.[1] It is a common name of the Akan literary dialects of Asante, Akuapem and Bono[2][3] Effectively, it is a synonym for 'Akan' that is not used by the Fante people. It is not a linguistic grouping, as Akuapem Twi is more closely related to Fante dialect than it is to Asante Twi.[4] Twi generally subsumes the following Akan dialects: Ahafo, Akuapem, Akyem, Asante, Asen, Bono, Dankyira and Kwawu, which have about 4.4 million speakers in southern and central Ghana.[5][4]

Etymology

The name "Twi" is derived from the name of a Bono king, Nana Baffuor Twi.[6]

References

  1. ^ "Twi language, alphabet and pronunciation". www.omniglot.com. Retrieved 2024-12-01.
  2. ^ Arhin, Kwame; Studies, University of Ghana Institute of African (1979). A Profile of Brong Kyempim: Essays on the Archaeology, History, Language and Politics of the Brong Peoples of Ghana. Afram.
  3. ^ African 671, University of Wisconsin-Madison Students in. "About Akan (Twi)". UW Press Journals.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ a b Dolphyne, Florence Abena (1986) The languages of the Akan peoples. Research review. Vol. 2 No. 1, Pages 1-22[1] University of Ghana.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference e27 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ The Akan of Ghana: Their Ancient Beliefs. Faber & Faber. 1958.