Monthly Archives: January 2016

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How To Count In Asante Twi

Hello Twi learners, welcome back to the mini Twi blog series. In this post we shall learn Twi numbers from 0 to 10 and simple tips to help you to count further. Let’s get started.

ASANTE TWI NUMBERS FROM 0 TO 19
Below is a list of Twi numbers from zero to ten.

ohunu        zero
baako         one
mienu         two
miɛnsa       three
ɛnan           four
enum          five
nsia             six
nson            seven
nwɔtwe      eight
nkron          nine
edu              ten

 

From eleven to nineteen, the numbers are a concatenation of du (ten) and another number e.g. baako to become dubaako (eleven). Note that for numbers with vowel prefixes, such are enum and ɛnan, the vowels are removed.

dubaako       eleven
dumienu       twelve
dunan            fourteen
dunum          fifteen

 

COUNTING IN TENS IN ASANTE TWI
Counting in tens in Twi is quite simple. Ten is edu, so twenty, two tens, becomes edu nu written and pronounced as aduonu. Thirty, three tens, becomes edu sa written and pronounced aduasa. Below is a list of Twi tens from ten to hundred. Please take not of the spelling of each number.

edu                       ten
aduonu               twenty
aduasa                thirty
aduanan             forty
aduonum            fifty
aduosia               sixty
aduoson              seventy
aduɔwɔtwe        eighty
aduɔkron            ninety
ɔha                       one hundred

 

This will be about all for now. Our next blog post will be about telling the time in Twi. Stay tuned.

If you have an iPhone or an iPad and you want to learn more, you should download Twi Primer from the Apple App Store.

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How To Say The Twi Alphabet (Digraphs)

In the previous blog post we learnt about Twi vowels and the sounds they make. Today, we shall build on that and learn about Asante Twi digraphs. Let’s get started.

ASANTE TWI ALPHABET OVERVIEW
A digraph is a combination of two letters representing one sound, as in ph to form f in English. There are 9 digraphs in Asante Twi. Below are the Twi digraphs.

dw pronounced jw with rounded lips.

dw
dwene       to think

 

gy sounds like the j in jug.

gy
gye       to receive

 

hw is like the initial sound made by the word whew!

hw
ɛhwene       nose

 

hy pronounced sh as in shirt.

hy
hye       to burn

 

kw is like the initial sound made by the word quick.

kw
ɛkwan       road

 

ky pronounced ch as in chat.

ky
ɛkyɛ       hat

 

ny is the same as the ñ in the pronunciation of España.

ny
nyansa       wisdom

 

nw pronounced nyw. This is ny with rounded lips.

nw
nwunu       cold

 

tw pronounced chw. This is ch with rounded lips.

tw
twa       to cut

 

This is about all for now. Go over the digraphs and their associated words as many times as you can so that you can remember them. I hope you found this useful. We shall learn about Twi numbers in our next blog post. Stay tuned.

If you have an iPhone or an iPad and you want to learn Asante Twi grammar and vocabulary, you should download Twi Primer from the Apple App Store.

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How To Say The Twi Alphabet (Vowels)

In this mini blog post we shall learn about Asante Twi vowels. We shall build on what we learn here in subsequent blog posts. Let’s get started.

ASANTE TWI ALPHABET OVERVIEW
The Twi alphabet is made up of 22 letters. There are 15 consonants and 7 vowels. Twi does not include the consonants c, j, q, v, x and z. Apart from the vowels a, e, i, o and u, Twi also includes two more vowels, ɛ and ɔ.

Twi consonants have the same sounds as their English counterparts, but the vowels e, ɛ, i, o, ɔ and u sound a bit different. Below are Twi vowels and the sounds associated with them.

a sounds like the a in apple.

a
aso       ear

 

ɛ sounds like the e in bed.

ɛ
fɛfɛ       beautiful

 

ɔ sounds like the oo in door.

ɔ
tɔn       to sell

 

i sounds like the ee in feet.

i
di       to eat

 

u sounds like the oo in do.

u
bu       to break

 

e stands for two sounds.
It can be pronounced as the i in sit or the a in way.

e
bebree       a lot

 

o also stands for two sounds.
It can be pronounced as the oo in foot or the o in go.

o
foro       a climb

 

This will be about all for now. Go over the vowel sounds and their associated words as many times as you can so that they stick better. I hope you found this useful. Our next blog post will be about Twi digraphs. Stay tuned.

Also, if you have an iPhone or an iPad and you want to learn more, you should download Twi Primer from the Apple App Store.