Akan Language

Akan is a language group spoken by related peoples in mainly Ghana and eastern Côte d'Ivoire. All varieties of Akan are mutually intelligible. The main languages comprise:

  • Twi - The largest group, spoken chiefly in Ghana.
  • Fante (Fanti, Mfantse) - Spoken in east coastal Ghana.
  • Brong - Spoken in west central Ghana and along the border in Côte d'Ivoire
  • Baule - Mainly spoken in central Côte d'Ivoire, related to Nzema.
  • Nzema - Spoken mainly in west central Ghana and eastern Côte d'Ivoire
  • Anyi - Spoken in eastern Côte d'Ivoire

The Bureau of Ghana Languages has compiled a unified orthography of 20,000 words.

Twi and Fante are the two main sub-divisions of the Akan language and are further divided into the following dialects:

  • Twi
  • Ahafo
  • Akuapem,
  • Akyem
  • Asante
  • Asen
  • Dankyira
  • Kwawu.
  • Fanti
    • Agona
    • Anomabo Fanti
    • Abura Fanti
    • Gomua

Twi is the most widely spoken language in Ghana, with about 8.3 million speakers. It consists of mutually intelligible dialects of the Akan language, all of which belong to the Kwa language family. Twi is spoken in the Ashanti Region, parts of the Eastern, Western, Central, Volta and Brong Ahafo Regions of Ghana.

Fante (Mfantse) is one of the languages spoken in the Western Region of Ghana. Fante is the common language for communicating between the several Kingdoms of the Fante, though each has its own dialect of the language. Many Fanti are monolingual. It is classified as part of the Kwa branch of the Niger-Congo language family.

Abron or Bono is the language of the Abron people, and one of the official and more common languages in Ghana. It is spoken in southwestern Ghana and eastern Côte d'Ivoire. Alternative names include Brong, Bron, Doma, and Gyaman.

Baule is spoken in the central region of the Cote d'Ivoire (including Baouké, Yamoussoukro, Bouaflé, Béoumi, Sakassou, Toumodi, Dimbokro, M'Bahiakro, Tiassalé).

The Nzema language, also known as Nzima or Appolo, is spoken by the Nzema people of southwestern Ghana and southeast Côte d'Ivoire, and is close to Ahanta, Anyi and Baule.

The Anyin language is spoken mainly in Côte d'Ivoire and in Ghana. The closest relative of Anyin is Baoulé, and it is also close to Nzema.

Akan People
The Akan people are an ethnic linguistic group of West Africa that speak the Akan languages. The includes the following sub-ethnic groups:

  • Ashanti
  • Akwamu
  • Akyem
  • Abron
  • AowinAhanta
  • Anyi
  • Akropong-Akuapem
  • Baoulé
  • Chokosi
  • Fante
  • Kwahu
  • Sefwi
  • WassaAdjukru
  • Akye
  • Alladian
  • Attie
  • Avikam
  • Denkyira
  • Ebrie
  • Ehotile
  • Nzema (both Ghana and neighboring Côte d'Ivoire to the west)

From the 15th century to 19th century, the Akan people dominated gold mining and gold trade in the region. Akan art is wide-ranging and renowned, especially for the tradition of crafting bronze gold weights, which were made using the lost wax casting method. The Akan culture is the most dominant and apparent in resent-day Ghana.

Akan in the Diaspora
Kromanti language is spoken by the Maroons in Jamaica also known as Kromanti), the Caribbean and South America, notably in Suriname spoken by the Ndyuka. The descendants of escaped slaves in the interior of Suriname, the Maroons in Jamaica and groups in the Dominican Republic still use a form of this language. An example is Akan naming convention, 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 spider stories are well known. The Uncle Remus stories in America featuring Brer Rabbit and the Tar baby originated from these stories.