Twi

Twi
Twi
Akwapem Twi
Pronunciation	[tɕᶣi]
Native to	Ghana
Region	Ashanti Region
Ethnicity	Asante; Akuapem; Bono;
Native speakers	4.4 million (2013)
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Kwa Potou–Tano Tano Central Tano Akan Twi; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Dialects	Asante; Akuapem; Bono;
Writing system	Latin
Official status
Official language in	Ashanti Region
Recognised minority; language in	Ghana
Regulated by	Akan Orthography Committee
Language codes
ISO 639-1	tw
ISO 639-2	twi
ISO 639-3	twi (see [aka] for Ethnologue description)
Glottolog	akan1251
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A man speaking Twi.

Twi ([tɕᶣi]) is a variety of the Akan language spoken in southern and central Ghana by several million people, mainly of the Akan people, the largest of the seventeen major ethnic groups in Ghana. Twi has about 4.4 million speakers.^[1]

Twi is a common name for mutually intelligible former literary dialects of the Akan language of Bono, Asante and Akuapem.^[2]^[3]^[4] Akuapem, as the first Akan variety to be used for Bible translation, has become the prestige dialect as a result.^[5] It is also spoken by the people of southeastern Côte d'Ivoire.^[6]^[3]^[7] It generally subsumes the following dialects: Ahafo, Akuapem, Akyem, Asante, Asen, Dankyira and Kwawu.^[8]

^ ^a ^b Twi at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024)
^ 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.
^ ^a ^b Christaller, Johann Gottlieb (1875). A Grammar of the Asante and Fante Language Called Tshi Chwee, Twi Based on the Akuapem Dialect with Reference to the Other (Akan and Fante) Dialects. Harvard University. Printed for the Basel evang. missionary society.
^ 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
^ Ager, Simon. "Omniglot". Retrieved 11 January 2015.
^ "Akan". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2019-12-25.
^ Ofosu-Appiah, L. H. (1998). "Christaller, Johannes Gottlieb". Dictionary of African Christian Biography.
^ Twi at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)

[e27-1] Twi at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024)

[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.

[grammar-Asante-3] Christaller, Johann Gottlieb (1875). A Grammar of the Asante and Fante Language Called Tshi Chwee, Twi Based on the Akuapem Dialect with Reference to the Other (Akan and Fante) Dialects. Harvard University. Printed for the Basel evang. missionary society.

[:0-4] 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

[omniglot-5] Ager, Simon. "Omniglot". Retrieved 11 January 2015.

[ethnologue-6] "Akan". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2019-12-25.

[dacb-7] Ofosu-Appiah, L. H. (1998). "Christaller, Johannes Gottlieb". Dictionary of African Christian Biography.

[8] Twi at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)

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