A cluster of closely related Niger-Congo languages of Ghana and Ivory Coast — including Twi and Fante — spoken by roughly 11 million people as a first language.
Where it’s spoken
Akan is the dominant indigenous language complex of southern Ghana and the eastern Ivory Coast. Its three main mutually intelligible varieties — Asante Twi, Akuapem Twi, and Fante — are written as a single literary language. Around 11 million first-language speakers and another 9 million who use it as a second language.
What it sounds like
A tonal language (two level tones plus downstep) with vowel harmony — vowels in a word must agree on the +/-ATR (advanced tongue root) feature. The phonology has both labial-velar consonants (kp, gb) and palatalised series that complicate transcription.
How it’s written
The Latin alphabet with the West African extensions ɛ and ɔ for open vowels. Government primary schools teach literacy in Akan throughout the relevant regions.
Find more languages by letter
Akan starts with A and ends with N. Browse other languages along the same letter.
Languages that contain a letter from "Akan":