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Akan language
 
 
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See also Akan languages
Akan languages

The Central Tano languages are languages of the Kwa languages Language families and languages spoken in Ghana and the C?te d'Ivoire*Akan languages...


Akan is a language group spoken by related peoples in mainly Ghana
Ghana

The Republic of Ghana is a country in West Africa. It borders C?te d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south....
 and eastern Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire

, formerly Ivory Coast, officially the , is a country in West Africa. The government officially discourages the use of the name Ivory Coast in English, preferring the French name to be used in all languages ....
. All Akan languages are mutually intelligible. The main languages comprise:

The Bureau of Ghana Languages
Bureau of Ghana Languages

The Bureau of Ghana Languages is an agency of the government of Ghana that focuses on Languages of Ghana, including publication of materials in them....
 has compiled a unified orthography
Orthography

The orthography of a language specifies the correct way of using a specific writing system to write the language. Orthography is derived from Greek language ????? orth?s and ???fe?? gr?phein ....
 of 20,000 words.

The adinkra
Adinkra

Adinkra are visual symbols, originally created by the Akan people of Ghana and the Gyaman of Cote d'Ivoire in West Africa, that represent concepts or aphorisms....
 symbols are old ideogram
Ideogram

An ideogram or ideograph is a graphic symbol that represents an idea or concept. They can be a straighforward pictogram, or a more abstract symbol that is comprehensible only on the basis of prior convention....
s.

The language came to South America
South America

South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere....
, notably Suriname
Suriname

Suriname , officially the Republic of Suriname is a country in northern South America. Originally, the country was spelled Surinam by English settlers who founded the first colony at Marshall's Creek, along the Suriname River, and was Geographical renaming Nederlands Guyana, Netherlands Guiana or Dutch Guiana....
 and Jamaica
Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length and as much as in width situated in the Caribbean Sea. It is about south of Cuba, and west of the island of Hispaniola, on which Haiti and the Dominican Republic are situated....
: Kromanti, with the slaves
Slavery

Slavery is a form of forced labor where a person is compelled to Labor for another . Slaves are held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase, or birth, and are deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to receive Remuneration in return for their labor....
. The descendants of escaped slaves in the interior of Suriname and the Maroons in Jamaica still use a form of this language, including Akan naming convention
Akan name

The Akan people of Ghana frequently name their children after the day of the week they were born and the order in which they were born. These names have spread through West Africa, from Benin and Togo to the C?te d'Ivoire , and throughout the African diaspora....
, in which children are named after the day of the week on which they are born, e.g.






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Encyclopedia


See also Akan languages
Akan languages

The Central Tano languages are languages of the Kwa languages Language families and languages spoken in Ghana and the C?te d'Ivoire*Akan languages...


Akan is a language group spoken by related peoples in mainly Ghana
Ghana

The Republic of Ghana is a country in West Africa. It borders C?te d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south....
 and eastern Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire

, formerly Ivory Coast, officially the , is a country in West Africa. The government officially discourages the use of the name Ivory Coast in English, preferring the French name to be used in all languages ....
. All Akan languages are mutually intelligible. The main languages comprise:
  • Twi
    Twi

    Twi , specifically Ashanti Twi, is a language spoken in Ghana by about 15 million people. It is one of the three mutually intelligible dialects of the Akan language, the others being Akuapem Twi and Fante language, which belong to the Kwa languages....
     - The largest group, spoken chiefly in Ghana. Includes the Akuapem and Asante (Ashanti) dialects
  • Fante
    Fante language

    Fante is one of the languages spoken in Ghana. Like Twi, it is considered a dialect of Akan language. Fante is the common language for communicating between the several Kingdoms of the Fante though each has its own language....
     (Fanti, Mfantse) - Spoken in east coastal Ghana.
  • Brong
    Brong

    Brong can refer to:* Brong-Ahafo Region in Ghana* Abron language, also known as Brong, in Ghana...
     - Spoken in west central Ghana and along the border in Côte d'Ivoire
    Côte d'Ivoire

    , formerly Ivory Coast, officially the , is a country in West Africa. The government officially discourages the use of the name Ivory Coast in English, preferring the French name to be used in all languages ....
  • Baule
    Baule

    Baule is a Communes of France in the Loiret Departments of France in north-central France....
     - Mainly spoken in central Côte d'Ivoire
    Côte d'Ivoire

    , formerly Ivory Coast, officially the , is a country in West Africa. The government officially discourages the use of the name Ivory Coast in English, preferring the French name to be used in all languages ....
    , related to Nzema.
  • Nzema
    Nzema

    The Nzema are an Akan people numbering about 328,700 people of whom 262,000 live in southwestern Ghana and 66,700 live in the southeast of C?te d'Ivoire....
     - Spoken mainly in west central Ghana and eastern Côte d'Ivoire
    Côte d'Ivoire

    , formerly Ivory Coast, officially the , is a country in West Africa. The government officially discourages the use of the name Ivory Coast in English, preferring the French name to be used in all languages ....
  • Anyi
    Anyin language

    The Anyin language is spoken principally in C?te d'Ivoire and in Ghana. It is an Akan language member of the Kwa branch of the Niger-Congo family of languages....
     - Spoken in eastern Côte d'Ivoire
    Côte d'Ivoire

    , formerly Ivory Coast, officially the , is a country in West Africa. The government officially discourages the use of the name Ivory Coast in English, preferring the French name to be used in all languages ....


The Bureau of Ghana Languages
Bureau of Ghana Languages

The Bureau of Ghana Languages is an agency of the government of Ghana that focuses on Languages of Ghana, including publication of materials in them....
 has compiled a unified orthography
Orthography

The orthography of a language specifies the correct way of using a specific writing system to write the language. Orthography is derived from Greek language ????? orth?s and ???fe?? gr?phein ....
 of 20,000 words.

The adinkra
Adinkra

Adinkra are visual symbols, originally created by the Akan people of Ghana and the Gyaman of Cote d'Ivoire in West Africa, that represent concepts or aphorisms....
 symbols are old ideogram
Ideogram

An ideogram or ideograph is a graphic symbol that represents an idea or concept. They can be a straighforward pictogram, or a more abstract symbol that is comprehensible only on the basis of prior convention....
s.

The language came to South America
South America

South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere....
, notably Suriname
Suriname

Suriname , officially the Republic of Suriname is a country in northern South America. Originally, the country was spelled Surinam by English settlers who founded the first colony at Marshall's Creek, along the Suriname River, and was Geographical renaming Nederlands Guyana, Netherlands Guiana or Dutch Guiana....
 and Jamaica
Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length and as much as in width situated in the Caribbean Sea. It is about south of Cuba, and west of the island of Hispaniola, on which Haiti and the Dominican Republic are situated....
: Kromanti, with the slaves
Slavery

Slavery is a form of forced labor where a person is compelled to Labor for another . Slaves are held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase, or birth, and are deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to receive Remuneration in return for their labor....
. The descendants of escaped slaves in the interior of Suriname and the Maroons in Jamaica still use a form of this language, including Akan naming convention
Akan name

The Akan people of Ghana frequently name their children after the day of the week they were born and the order in which they were born. These names have spread through West Africa, from Benin and Togo to the C?te d'Ivoire , and throughout the African diaspora....
, in which children are named after the day of the week on which they are born, e.g. Akwasi (for a boy) or Akosua (girl) born on a Sunday. In Jamaica and Suriname the Anansi
Anansi

Anansi the trickster is one of the most important characters of West African and Caribbean folklore. He is also known as Anase, Kweku Ananse, and Anancy; and in the Southern United States he has evolved into Aunt Nancy....
 spider stories are well known.

According to work done by P K Agbedor of CASAS, Mfantse and Twi (together known as Akan) belong to Cluster 1 of the speech forms of Ghana. Clusters are defined by the level of mutual intelligibility. The Abron(Bono) and Wasa dialects are considered part of this cluster.

Cluster 1 comprises:
  • Akan (Niger-Congo – Atlantic Congo – Volta Congo – Kwa – Nyo – Potou-Tano – Tano – Central)
  • Abron (Niger-Congo – Atlantic Congo – Volta Congo – Kwa – Nyo – Potou-Tano – Tano – Central – Akan)
  • Wasa (Niger-Congo – Atlantic Congo – Volta Congo – Kwa – Nyo – Potou-Tano – Tano – Central – Akan).


Cluster 1 may better be named r-Akan (mainly Akuapem, Akyem, Fante, Wasa, Bono, Asen, Akwamu, Twi, Kwahu spoken mainly in Ghana, parts of Togo) which do not explicitly have the letter “l” in their original proper use. On the other hand l-Akan, refers to the Akan cluster comprising Nzema, Baule, and other dialects spoken mainly in the Ivory Coast, whose use of the letter “r” in proper usage is very rare.

See also

  • Akan name
    Akan name

    The Akan people of Ghana frequently name their children after the day of the week they were born and the order in which they were born. These names have spread through West Africa, from Benin and Togo to the C?te d'Ivoire , and throughout the African diaspora....

External links