Wikipedia

Languages wey dey Ghana

languages for geographic region

Ghana be multilingual country wey get like eighty languages dem dey talk.[1] Of dese, English, wey dem inherit from de colonial era, be de official language den lingua franca.[2][3] Of de languages indigenous to Ghana, Akan be de most widely spoken for de south insyd.[4] Dagbani, Dagare, Sisaala, Waale, den Gonja dey among de most widely spoken insyd de northern part of de country.

Languages wey dey Ghana
languages of a country
Subclass oflanguages of the Earth Edit
Part ofculture of Ghana Edit
SponsorGovernment of Ghana Edit
CountryGhana Edit

Ghana get more dan seventy ethnic groups, each plus ein own distinct language.[5] Languages wey dey belong to de same ethnic group be usually mutually intelligible. De Dagbanli, Nanumba den Mamprusi languages for Northern Region, be almost de same den, be mutually intelligible plus de Frafra den Waali languages for de Upper East den Upper West Regions for Ghana.[6] More dan 20% of de population dey speak de Mole-Dagbani languages.

Eleven languages get de status of government-sponsored languages: three Akan ethnic languages (Akuapem Twi, Asante Twi den Fante) den two Mole-Dagbani ethnic languages (Dagaare den Dagbanli). De odas be Ewe, Dangme, Ga, Nzema, Gonja, den Kasem.[7]

For April 2019 insyd, de Ghanaian government declare ein intention make e make French one of Ghana ein official languages secof Francophone countries (Burkina Faso, de Ivory Coast den Togo) surround de country wey de presence of French speaking minority for de country insyd.[8][9]

Government-sponsored languages

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De number of government-sponsored languages be either eleven anaa nine, dey depend for weda dem consider Akuapem Twi, Asante Twi, den Fante single language anaa not.[7] De Bureau of Ghana Languages dey support dem, wey dem establish for 1951 insyd wey edey publish materials for de languages insyd; during de periods wen dem use Ghanaian languages for primary education insyd, na dis be de languages wey dem dey use. All dis languages dey belong to de Niger–Congo language family, though to chaw different branches.

Akan (Fante, Asante Twi den Akuapem Twi)

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Akan, part of de Kwa branch of de Niger–Congo family, be dialect continuum,[10] buh plus regard to official status, dem dey recognise only few out of de chaw varieties of Akan: Fante, Asante Twi, Akuapem Twi. Dem take as whole, Akan be de most-widely spoken language for Ghana insyd.[4]

Ewe

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Ewe be Gbe language, part of de Volta–Niger branch for de Niger–Congo family. Dem dey speak de Ewe Language for Ghana, Togo den Benin insyd plus trace of de language for West Nigeria insyd.[11] Out of de chaw dialects of Ewe dem dey speak for Ghana insyd, de major ones be Anlo, Tongu, Vedome, Gbi, den Krepi.

Dagbani

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Dagbani be one of de Gur languages. Ebe de language dem mostly dey speak for Northern Ghana insyd. De number of native speakers numbers be more dan three million. Dis number go reach six million if dem add dialects such as Nanumba, Mamprusi den Kamara. Edey belong to de bolla Mole-Dagbani ethnic group dem find for Ghana insyd wey dey make up about 18.5% of de population.[12] Dagombas wey dey speak am for de Northern Region for Ghana insyd.

Dangme

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Dangme be one of de Ga–Dangme languages wey dey de Kwa branch insyd. Dem dey speak am for Greater Accra insyd, south-east Ghana den Togo insyd.

Dagaare

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Dagaare be anoda of de Gur languages. Dem dey speak am for de Upper West Region for Ghana insyd. Dem sanso dey speak am for Burkina Faso insyd.

Ga

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Ga be de oda Ga–Dangme language wey dey de Kwa branch insyd. Dem dey speak Ga for south-eastern Ghana insyd, for den around de capital Accra insyd.

Nzema

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Nzema be one of de Bia languages, closely dem relate to Akan. De Nzema people for de Western Region for Ghana insyd wey dey speak am. Dem sanso dey speak am de Ivory Coast insyd.

Kasem

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Kasem be Gurunsi language, for de Gur branch insyd. Dem dey speak am for de Upper Eastern Region for Ghana insyd. Dem sanso dey speak am for Burkina Faso insyd.

Gonja

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Gonja be one of de Guang languages, part of de Tano languages wey dey de Kwa branch along plus Akan den Bia. Dem dey speak am for Northern Region for Ghana den Wa insyd.

Languages dem dey speak for Ghana insyd by number of speakers

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Dis chart dey reflect data Ethnologue provide.[13]

Rank Language Speakers
1 English 9,800,001
2 Akan (Fante/Twi) 9,100,000
3 Ghanaian Pidgin English 5,000,000
4 Ewe Dialects of Ɛve wey dey include Aŋlo, Tɔŋu, Vɛdomɛ,Gbi, Krepi, among odas) 3,820,000
5 Abron 1,170,000
6 Dagbani (dey include Mamprusi, den Nanumba dialects) 6,160,000
7 Dangme 1,020,000
8 Dagaare 924,000
9 Konkomba 831,000
10 Ga 745,000
11 Kusaal 696,000
12 Farefare 638,000
13 Mampruli 414,000
14 Gonja 310,000
15 Sehwi 305,000
16 Nzema 299,000
17 Wasa 273,000
18 Sisaala, Tumulung 219,000
19 Sisaala, Western 219,000
20 Bimoba 176,000
21 Ahanta 175,000
22 Ntcham 169,000
23 Buli 168,000
24 Bisa 166,000
25 Kasem 149,000
26 Tem 134,000
27 Cherepon 132,000
28 Birifor, Southern 125,000
29 Anufo 91,300
30 Wali 84,800
31 Larteh 74,000
32 Siwu 71,900
33 Chumburung 69,000
34 Anyin 66,400
35 Nafaanra 61,000
36 Krache 58,000
37 Lelemi 48,900
38 Deg 42,900
39 Paasaal 36,000
40 Kabre, (language kabre) 35,642
41 Avatime 27,200
42 Kulango, Bondoukou 27,000
43 Sekpele 23,000
44 Delo 18,400
45 Jwira-Pepesa 18,000
46 Gua 17,600
47 Tampulma 16,000
48 Kulango, Bouna 15,500
49 Ligbi 15,000
50 Nawuri 14,000
51 Vagla 13,900
52 Tuwuli 11,400
53 Selee 11,300
54 Adele 11,000
55 Nkonya 11,000
56 Gikyode 10,400
57 Dwang 8,200
58 Akposo 7,500
59 Logba 7,500
60 Nkami 7,000
61 Hanga 6,800
62 Nyangbo 6,400
63 Chakali 6,000
64 Ghanaian Sign Language 6,000
65 Safaliba 5,000
66 Tafi 4,400
67 Fulfulde, Maasina 4,240
68 Adangbe/Dangbe 4,000
69 Konni 3,800
70 Adamorobe Sigh Language 3,500
71 Chala 3,000
72 Kamara 3,000
73 Kantosi 2,300
74 Kusuntu 2,100
75 Nchumbulu 1,800
76 Kplang 1,600
77 Dompo 970
78 Animere 700
79 French Unclear
80 Hausa Unclear
81 Lama Unclear
82 Nawdm Unclear

Language classification

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De language of Ghana dey belong to de following branches wey dey de Niger–Congo language family insyd:

  • Kwa languages (Akan, Bia, Guang for Tano insyd; Ga den Adangme)
  • Gbe languages (Ewe)
  • Gur languages (Gurunsi, Dagbani, Mossi, Dagaare, den Frafra for Oti–Volta insyd)
  • Senufo languages (Nafaanra)
  • Kulango languages
  • Mande languages (Wangara, Ligbi)

Older classifications fi instead group dem as Kwa, Gur, den Mande.

References

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  1. ↑ "Ghana," in: Lewis, M. Paul, Gary F. Simons, and Charles D. Fennig (eds.). 2014. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 17th ed.Murica Texas: SIL International.
  2. ↑ "The Bureau Of Ghana Languages-BGL". Ghana Embassy Washington DC, USA. 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  3. ↑ Bernd Kortmann Walter de Gruyter, 2004 (2004). A handbook of varieties of English. 1. Phonology, Volume 2. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9783110175325. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Introduction To The Verbal and Multi-Verbal system of Akan" (PDF). ling.hf.ntnu.no. 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  5. ↑ Alhaji Ibrahim Abdulai; John M. Chernoff (1992). "Master Drummers of Dagbon, Volumes 1 and 2". Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  6. ↑ R. S. Rattray Journal of the Royal African Society Vol. 30, No. 118 (Jan.,1931), pp. 40-57 (1931). "The Tribes of the Ashanti Hinterland" (1932)". Journal of the Royal African Society. Oxford University Press. 30 (118): 40-57. JSTOR 716938.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "The Bureau Of Ghana Languages-BGL". National Commission on Culture. 2006. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  8. ↑ "Ghana's president wants to make French a formal language, but it's not a popular plan". 7 April 2019.
  9. ↑ "Ghana adopts French as its second official language". 21 March 2019.
  10. ↑ "The Online Encyclopaedia of Written Systems Languages". Omniglot. 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  11. ↑ "Verba Africana — Ewe background materials — The Ewe language". verbafricana.org. Retrieved 2019-05-18.
  12. ↑ Richard Asante & E.Gyimah-Boadi (2004). "Ethnic Structure, Inequality and Governance of the Public Sector in Ghana" (PDF). United Nations Research Institute For Social Development (UNRISD). Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  13. ↑ "Ghana". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
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