Language/Akan/Pronunciation/Alphabet-and-Pronunciation
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The Akan Alphabet
Akan and English languages use the same alphabet. 20 of the 22 letters of the Akan alphabet also found in the English alphabet.
Akan Alphabet[edit | edit source]
- Aa
- Bb
- Dd
- Ee
- Ɛɛ
- Ff
- Gg
- Hh
- Ii
- Kk
- Ll
- Mm
- Nn
- Oo
- Ɔɔ
- Pp
- Rr
- Ss
- Tt
- Uu
- Ww
- Yy
Missing consonants[edit | edit source]
The Akan alphabet does not have the following consonants (that you will find in the English alphabet):
- j
- q
- v
- x
- z
Additional Vowels[edit | edit source]
2 additional vowels are specific to the Akan language:
- Ɛɛ
- Ɔɔ
Consonants pronunciation[edit | edit source]
Below are the 15 Akan consonants and words in English that have the same sound.
| Letter | IPA | English approximant |
|---|---|---|
| B, b | /b/ | as in book, boom |
| D, d | /d/ | as in dance, drum |
| F, f | /f/ | as in fish, food |
| G, g | /g/ | as in go, good |
| H, h | /h/ | as in hat, halt |
| K, k | /k/ | as in car, come |
| L, l | /l/ | as in loud, ball |
| M, m | /m/ | as in moon, mute |
| N, n | /n/ | as in name, anoint |
| P, p | /p/ | as in purse, pour |
| R, r | /r/ | as in round, road |
| S, s | /s/ | as in sing, surprise |
| T, t | /t/ | as in teach, talk |
| W, w | /w/ | as in we, win |
| Y, y | /y/ /j/ | as in yam, you |
Vowel pronunciation[edit | edit source]
Below are the seven Akan vowels. Note how some vowels have different sounds.
| Letter | IPA | English approximant |
|---|---|---|
| A, a | a | as in bath, add |
| æ | as in man, pan | |
| E, e | e | as in hate, date |
| ɪ | as in dip, sip | |
| Ɛ, ɛ | ɛ | as in set, get |
| I, i | i | as in feet, heat |
| O, o | o | as in old, sold |
| ʊ | as in foot, good | |
| Ɔ, ɔ | ɔ | as in all, short |
| U, u | u | as in moon, food |
Video - Pronunication by a Native Speaker[edit | edit source]
The Akan (Twi) Alphabet Revisited | ALL ABOUT THE SOUNDS
Lesson 1 | Learn Akan | Twi Language Basics