Twi

Twi (pronounced [tɕɥi]) is a dialect of the Akan language spoken in Ghana by about 6–9 million Ashanti people as a first and second language.^[7][3] Twi is a common name for two former literary dialects of the Akan language; Asante (Ashanti) and Akuapem, which are mutually intelligible. There are about 9 million Twi speakers, mainly originating from the Ashanti Region ^[1][3] and about a total of 17-18 million Ghanaians as either first or second languages. Akuapem Twi was the first Akan dialect to be used for Bible translation, and became the prestige dialect as a result.^[8]

Twi (Akan Kasa - another name for Twi) is the most popular Ghanaian language in the country, Ghana. There are several versions of the language. Asante Twi (spoken by the Ashanti's), Akuapem Twi (Spoken by the Akuapem people from the Eastern Region), Fante Twi (or Mfante, Fante, Fanti - spoken by the Fante's from the Central Region).

There are Twi-speaking people living in southern and central Ghana and in southeastern Côte d'Ivoire.^[9][10]

Twi Alphabets

Here are the Twi Alphabets (Also the Akan Alphabets - Akanfoɔ ntwerɔɛ)

Pronunciation of the Twi (Akan) letters / alphabets - Twi Diphthongs^[11].

(Sɛnea wo bɛ kan Akanfoɔ ntwerɔɛ no)

Numbering System

Ordinal Numbering

Basic Sentences

The following are basic sentences you need to know in the Asante Twi Language if you want to learn to speak the language. (Sua Asante twi kasa no - Learn the Asante Twi Language)

Learn the Asante Twi alongside the Akuapem Twi. Translation of certain sentences in the two dialects from the English language.

Naming System

The Ashanti's use a system of giving the first name to a child, based on the day of the week that the child was born. This is a normal thing done in Ghana. Almost all the tribes and clans in the country Ghana does similar thing

The Ashanti (Asante's) day naming system is as follows:

The Nation Ghana and the Language Twi

In Ghana today, the most prominent Akan dialects are Asante Twi, Fante and Akuapem Twi, which are all closely related. For a number of different reasons, Asante Twi has become the leading Akan language (and leading native language) spoken in Ghana. Historically, the Asante kingdom played a powerful and dominant military role in this part of West Africa for a number of centuries until it was defeated by the British in 1901 and annexed as a crown colony. At the height of its power the Asante kingdom controlled an area roughly the size of modern day Ghana which would have included many traditional Akan and non-Akan territories.

These were times when rival Akan kingdoms fought among each other primarily for control of the regional trade in gold and slaves, and the area was known as the Gold Coast. Although Ghana today is an independent country with a democratic system of government, most of the traditional tribal chiefs still possess a high degree of influence, power, authority and respect among their respective people. Among the traditional chiefs in Ghana, the king of the Asantes, who is called the Asantehene, is still a very powerful and highly respected royal figure. Due to the strong influence (past and present) of the Asante people, Asante Twi has long been a language of trade among Ghana's diverse tribal groups. Asante Twi has also gained prominence by becoming the main language of Ghana's musicians, with most of the country's (older) highlife and (newer) hiplife songs being performed and recorded in Twi. Some popular Ghanaian singers may sing in Twi, though they themselves are not Akan. Officially, Ghana's national language is English, but many radio stations broadcast news and programs in Twi as well as English. 

The successful spread of Twi in Ghana is no doubt also due to the fact that Twi is mainly a spoken language as opposed to a written one. Regardless of the literacy rate in the country, people still have to communicate with each other, and like everywhere else in the world, the spoken word is the most powerful and effective way of doing so.

What all this means is that if you can speak Twi, you should be able to communicate fairly easily with people in Ghana, regardless of where you are in the country. And if you have any interest in travelling to Ghana or doing business in Ghana, knowledge of Twi will certainly prove helpful.^[13]

References

1. 1 2 3 "Asante » Asante Twi (Less Commonly Taught Languages)". University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. University of Michigan. 
2. ↑ "Asante – Asante Twi". ofm-tv.com. 
3. 1 2 3 "Asante » Asante Twi". ofm-tv.com. 
4. ↑ Akan at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
5. ↑ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian, eds. (2016). "Akuapem". Glottolog 2.7. Jena: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. 
6. ↑ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian, eds. (2016). "Asante". Glottolog 2.7. Jena: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. 
7. ↑ 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
8. ↑ Ager, Simon. "Omniglot". Retrieved 11 January 2015. 
9. ↑ "twi.bb - Online Twi Dictionary - The Twi Language". www.twi.bb. Retrieved 2017-06-26. 
10. ↑ Abu, Katharine; Allman, Jean Marie; Arhin, Kwame; Austin, Gareth; Busia, K. A; Clark, Gracia; Danquah, J. B; Debrunner, Hans Werner; Ffoulkes, Arthur (1999). Akan: FE12. New Haven, Conn.: Human Relations Area Files. 
11. ↑ "Akan languages, alphabet and pronunciation". www.omniglot.com. Retrieved 2017-06-26. 
12. ↑ "Numbers in Twi (Twi Akontaabudeɛ/Dodoɔ)". www.abibitumikasa.com. Retrieved 2017-06-26. 
13. ↑ "twi.bb - Online Twi Dictionary - The Twi Language". www.twi.bb. Retrieved 2017-06-26.