Language Information

Akan, often called Twi, is one of the Kwa group of Niger-Congo Languages. It was the ruling language of Ashanti empire and is now the most important language of Ghana.Even among, some who use other languages in daily life, Akan is the language of the priesthoodand of liturgical texts in the Ashanti religion, still widely practised.

There are three standard forms of Akan , all mutually intelligible: Twi or Asante (of the region of Kumasi, centre of the Ashanti empire), Fante and Akuapem (of southern Ghana).

Akan has two tones - high and low. It also has a 'vowel harmony' rule based on the position of the root of the tongue: a word may contain either advanced or unadvanced' vowels but not both. In Fante dialect, vowel harmony is more complex.