Twi (pronounced ‘ch-wee’ [ʨʷi]) specifically Ashanti Twi is a language spoken in Ghana by about 8 million people. Within Ghana, Twi is spoken in the Ashanti Region and in parts of the Eastern, Western, Central, Volta and Brong Ahafo Region. There are many divisions of twi languages, but they are all mutually intelligible.
There are numerous dialects of Akan, including Twi, Fante, Bono, Wasa, Nzema, Baule and Anyi, with a high level of mutual intelligibility between them.
Akan languages started to be written down, mainly in religious publications, by Danish, German and British missionaries during the 17th and 18th centuries.
There are currently three standardized orthographies for Asante, Akuapem and Fante, there is also a unified Akan orthography which was created during the 1980s.
Akan Twi Alphabet
| A a | B b | C c | D d | E e | F f | G g | H h | I i | J j | K k | L l | M m |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N n | O o | P p | Ɛ ɛ | R r | S s | T t | U u | V v | W w | Ɔ ɔ | Y y | Z z |
Numbers in Twi:
1. Baako
2. Mmienu
3. Mmiensa
4. Nnan
5. Enum
6. Nsia
7. Nson
8. Nwɔtwe
9. Nkron
10. Du
11 (Eleven) = Du Baako = Du + Baako ( 10 + 1)
16 (Sixteen) = Du Nsia = Du + Nsia ( 10 + 6)
37 (Thirty seven) = Aduasa Nson = ‘Aduasa + Nson (30 + 7)
20. Aduonu
30. Aduasa
40. Aduanan
50. Aduonum
60. Aduosia
70. Aduɔson
80. Aduɔwɔtwe
90. Aduɔnkron
100. Ɔha
1000. Apem Plural Mpem
10,000. Mpem du
Click Here For Free Akan Twi Dictionary & Translator Lesson Two
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