- Also spoken in
- Ghana, Togo
- Script
- Latin
Where it's spoken
A language-classification database lists Akan as spoken in Ghana and Togo and describes its status as a de facto national working language. A university language page says that over 40% of the Ghanaian population speak various dialects of Akan, and that English is the official language of Ghana.
The same page says that the Twi dialects Asante and Akuapem are mutually intelligible, and that Twi and Fante are also mutually intelligible. The phrases in this app are written in the Asante form of Twi.
Sources
Script & pronunciation
Unicode's locale data for Akan lists its main letters as a b d e ɛ f g h i k l m n o ɔ p r s t u w y, which are the Latin letters plus ɛ and ɔ. In this app, ɛ and ɔ appear in words such as Ɛkwan ("Road").
The World Atlas of Language Structures codes Akan as having a simple tone system, which it defines as essentially one with only a two-way basic contrast, usually between high and low levels. This app's cards write no tone marks, as in the note on the card for Aboa ("Animal"). This app's Akan cards have no separate romanization.
Sources
- WALS Online (Dryer, Matthew S. & Haspelmath, Martin, eds.) — Feature 13A, "Tone" (Maddieson, Ian), Akan datapoint
- WALS Online (Dryer, Matthew S. & Haspelmath, Martin, eds.) — Chapter 13, "Tone" (Maddieson, Ian) — Definition of a simple tone system
- Unicode CLDR v45 — Locale summary chart for Akan (ak) — Main letters
Grammar essentials
The World Atlas of Language Structures codes Akan's basic word order as subject-verb-object, and codes adjectives as following the noun. It also codes the negative morpheme as coming before the verb.
In this app, the card for "I don't know", Mennim, has a note saying that the verb nim "to know" takes a negative nasal prefix n-. The card for "I don't want it", Mempɛ, has a note saying that it is the negative of pɛ "to want", with the nasal becoming m- before p.
Sources
- WALS Online (Dryer, Matthew S. & Haspelmath, Martin, eds.) — Feature 81A, "Order of Subject, Object and Verb", Akan datapoint
- WALS Online (Dryer, Matthew S. & Haspelmath, Martin, eds.) — Feature 87A, "Order of Adjective and Noun", Akan datapoint
- WALS Online (Dryer, Matthew S. & Haspelmath, Martin, eds.) — Feature 143A, "Order of Negative Morpheme and Verb", Akan datapoint
Politeness & etiquette
Wiktionary lists mepa wo kyɛw as an Akan interjection meaning "please". In this app, the card for "Please", Mepa wo kyɛw, describes it as a polite marker placed before or after a request.
The card for "How are you?", Wo ho te sɛn?, says it is a basic greeting for friends and elders alike, and that Nana, Maame or Agya is put before it when greeting an elder.