Twi

In Ghana the national language is english (which is why Wesleyan's abroad office would let me study here) yet many Ghanians speak a dialect of a language called "Akan." It has 5 major dialects, Akyem, Fante, Akwapim, Asante, and Borong. Asante, otherwise known as Twi, is the dialect most commonly spoken by traders and people who live in Accra and is also the language I'm learning throughout the semester. Before beginning classes, my goal was to be able to keep up in a basic conversation with a Ghanian student about their life, studies, etc. Now that I'm actually learning Twi, I'm starting to think this is a much harder goal than I originally anticipated.

I consider myself to be fairly good with languages - I have taken Spanish for 8 years, can almost consider myself fluent, and it's always my easiest subject. Twi is much more challenging. Many of its tones are sounds that are not part of english, so I have to train my tongue to make the new sounds. Take "Twi" for example: the tw is actually pronounced chw with pursed lips so it sounds like "chwi." Here are some of the words we've learned so far:

Mepa wo kyew - please
Mepaakyew yefre wo sen? - what is your name?
Wo ho te sen - how are you?
Yebehyia bio - we will meet again/see you