twi

{{Short description|Dialect of the Akan language in Ghana}}

{{Other uses|TWI (disambiguation)}}

{{Distinguish|Tiwi language}}

{{Infobox language

| name = Twi

| pronunciation = {{IPA|tw|tɕᶣi|}}

| states = Ghana

| region = Ashanti Region

| ethnicity = {{Unbulleted list|Asante|Akuapem|Bono}}

| familycolor = Niger-Congo

| fam1 = Niger–Congo?

| fam2 = Atlantic–Congo

| fam3 = Kwa

| fam4 = Potou–Tano

| fam5 = Tano

| fam6 = Central Tano

| fam7 = Akan

| stand1 = Asante

| stand2 = Akuapem

| script = Latin

| agency = Akan Orthography Committee

| iso1 = tw

| iso2 = twi

| iso3 = twi

| iso3comment = (see [aka] for Ethnologue description)

| glotto =

| notice = IPA

}}

Twi ({{IPAc-en|tS|w|i:|,_|t|w|i:|,_|tS|i:}};{{Cite OED|term=Twi|id=6964978785|access-date=2025-05-03|access=free}}{{Cite Merriam-Webster|Twi|access-date=2025-05-03}} {{IPA|tw|tɕᶣi|lang}}) is the common name of the Akan literary dialects of Asante and Akuapem.{{Cite book|last1=Arhin|first1=Kwame|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R9gJAQAAIAAJ&q=twi|title=A Profile of Brong Kyempim: Essays on the Archaeology, History, Language and Politics of the Brong Peoples of Ghana|last2=Studies|first2=University of Ghana Institute of African|date=1979|publisher=Afram|language=en}}

Effectively, it is a synonym for 'Akan' that is not used by the Fante people. It is not a linguistic grouping, as Akuapem Twi is more closely related to Fante dialect than it is to Asante Twi.Dolphyne, Florence Abena (1986) The languages of the Akan peoples. Research review. Vol. 2 No. 1, Pages 1-22[https://n2t.net/ark:/85335/m5dz0640k] University of Ghana.

Twi generally subsumes the following Akan dialects: Ahafo, Akuapem, Akyem, Asante, Asen, Bono, Dankyira and Kwawu, which have about 4.4 million speakers in southern and central Ghana.{{e27|aka|Akan}}{{Cite journal |last=African 671 |first=University of Wisconsin-Madison Students in |title=About Akan (Twi) |url=https://wisc.pb.unizin.org/lctlresources/chapter/about-akan-twi/ |journal=UW Press Journals |language=en}}{{Cite journal |last=Boaheng |first=Isaac |date=2021 |title=An Akan (Bono-Twi) Mother-Tongue Commentary on the Second Letter of John |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/355410564_An_Akan_Bono-Twi_Mother-Tongue_Commentary_on_the_Second_Letter_of_John |journal=Journal of Mother Tongue Biblical Hermeneutics and Theology}}