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Difference between revisions of "Typological Features Template for Akan"

 
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By  [[User: Lilian Haugereid| Lilian Haugereid]]
 
By  [[User: Lilian Haugereid| Lilian Haugereid]]
 +
 +
'''To cite this page see footnote <ref> Lilian Haugereid. 2011. Typological Features for Akan - Phonology.  TypeCraft Typological Feature Template. http://www.typecraft.org. Accessed [DATE].</ref>'''
 +
 +
 +
'''The following Typological Feature Template covers some phonological features of Akan.'''
 +
 
{| border="1" cellpadding="2"
 
{| border="1" cellpadding="2"
 
|-valign="top"
 
|-valign="top"
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|Vowels in Akan are described here under five headings: oral, nasalised, and long vowels, diphthongs, and vowel harmony (or vowel combinations across syllables).
 
|Vowels in Akan are described here under five headings: oral, nasalised, and long vowels, diphthongs, and vowel harmony (or vowel combinations across syllables).
 +
The table below shows an overview of the vowels in the language.
 +
 +
{| border="1" cellpadding="2"
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
|width="20%"|'''Orthography'''
 +
|width="20%"|'''Phonetic Symbols'''
 +
|width="20%"|'''+ATR'''
 +
|width="20%"|'''-ATR'''
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
 
 +
|i
 +
|i
 +
|i
 +
|
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
 +
|e
 +
|ɪ/e
 +
|e
 +
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
 +
 +
 +
|
 +
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
               
 +
 +
|a
 +
|æ/a
 +
 +
|a
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
 +
 +
     
 +
 +
|ɔ   
 +
|
 +
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
 +
|o
 +
|o/ʊ
 +
|o
 +
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
 +
|u
 +
|u
 +
|u
 +
|
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
 +
|-
 +
|}
  
  
 
'''Oral Vowels'''
 
'''Oral Vowels'''
  
Akan has 9 or 10 oral vowels, depending on the dialect: [e,ɔ,a,o,ɛ i,u,ɪ,æ,ʊ ]. Vowel [æ] is only used in the Asante and the Akuapem dialects. So you can see from the example below that, where Akuapem and Asante use [æ] Fanti uses [e]
+
Akan has 9 or 10 oral vowels, depending on the dialect: [e,ɔ,a,o,ɛ i,u,ɪ,æ,ʊ ]. Vowel [æ] is only used in the Asante and the Akuapem dialects. So you can see from the example below that, where Akuapem and Asante use [æ] Fante uses [e]
  
        ''' Asante/Akuapem   Ph.Trans Fante   Ph.Trans     English'''
+
{| border="1" cellpadding="2"
          ani             /æni/     enyiwa   /enyiwa/     'eyes'
+
|-valign="top"
 +
|width="20%"|'''Asante/Akuapem'''
 +
|width="20%"|'''Ph.Trans Asante/Akuapem'''
 +
|width="20%"|''' Fante'''
 +
|width="20%"|'''PH.Trans Fante'''
 +
|width="20%"|'''English'''
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
|ani
 +
|/æni/  
 +
|enyiwa  
 +
|/enyiwa/  
 +
|'eyes'
 +
|-
 +
|}
  
  
Line 25: Line 101:
 
For example 1:
 
For example 1:
 
            
 
            
        ''' Akan   Ph.Trans English   Akan       Ph.Trans       English'''
+
{| border="1" cellpadding="5"
          te(w)  /tɪ(w)/   'to tear'    kɛsi      /kɛsɪ/          'big'
+
|-valign="top"       
          fie   /fie/     'home'     esiw/esie /(esiw)(esie)/ 'ant hill'
+
|width="20%"|'''Akan'''
          to(w)  /tʊw/    'to throw'  horo      /hʊhʊ/        'to wash'
+
|width="20%"|'''Ph.Trans'''
           obi    /obi/    'someone'  ako        /ako/          'parrot'
+
|width="20%"|'''English'''
                                                               
+
|width="20%"|'''Akan'''
NB"Ph.Trans" refers to phonetic transcription.                        
+
|width="20%"|'''Ph.Trans'''
 +
|width="20%"|'''English'''
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
|te(w)   
 +
|/tɪ(w)/  
 +
|'to tear'     
 +
|kɛsi       
 +
|/kɛsɪ/           
 +
|'big'
 +
|-valign="top"     
 +
|fie
 +
|/fie/
 +
|'home'
 +
|esiw/esie
 +
|/(esiw)(esie)/  
 +
|'ant hill'
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
|to(w)   
 +
|/tʊw/     
 +
|'to throw'   
 +
|horo       
 +
|/hʊhʊ/         
 +
|'to wash'
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
            
 +
|obi     
 +
|/obi/     
 +
|'someone'   
 +
|ako         
 +
|/ako/           
 +
|'parrot'
 +
|-valign="top"           
 +
|-
 +
|}                                                             
 +
NB"Ph.Trans" refers to phonetic transcription.
 +
                         
 
As can be seen from example 1 above, the vowel e in orthography represents vowels /ɪ/ and /e/, and the vowel o represents /o/, and/ʊ/.  
 
As can be seen from example 1 above, the vowel e in orthography represents vowels /ɪ/ and /e/, and the vowel o represents /o/, and/ʊ/.  
  
<Phrase>11538</Phrase>
+
  Example 2a<Phrase>11538</Phrase>
<Phrase>11541</Phrase>
+
 
 +
  Example 2b<Phrase>11541</Phrase>
 
   
 
   
 
The two sentences above examplify the two contrastive vowels [e]=/e,ɪ/ and [o]= /o,ʊ/. They can be transcribed respectively as follows:
 
The two sentences above examplify the two contrastive vowels [e]=/e,ɪ/ and [o]= /o,ʊ/. They can be transcribed respectively as follows:
  
       /bʊsʊmɪ asʊ/
+
       2a. /bʊsʊmɪ asʊ/
 
        
 
        
       /me tu kwan bronya yi/
+
       2b. /me tu kwan bronya yi/
 
+
It can be seen that the letter [o] is /ʊ/ in "bosome" in the first sentence and /o/ in "bronya" in the second sentence. The letter [e] is transcribed as /ɪ/ in "bosome" and remains /e/ in the second sentence.
+
  
 
So in any written Akan text, you will find some of these 7 vowel letters: i e ɛ a ɔ o u, used in the Akan sentence below.
 
So in any written Akan text, you will find some of these 7 vowel letters: i e ɛ a ɔ o u, used in the Akan sentence below.
  
  Example 2:
+
  Example 3:<Phrase>11543</Phrase>
  <Phrase>11543</Phrase>
+
 
        
 
        
In example 2, we have the occurrence of all 7 vowel letters in Akan. It can also be mentioned here that the vowels carry tone(s). This will be discussed later under "Tone", However, the two different sets of Akan vowels based on ATR is discussed under "Vowel Harmony" below.
+
In example 3, we have the occurrence of all 7 vowel letters in Akan. It can also be mentioned here that the vowels carry tone(s). This will be discussed later under "Tone", However, the two different sets of Akan vowels based on ATR is discussed under "Vowel Harmony" below.
  
 
'''B. Nasalised Vowels'''
 
'''B. Nasalised Vowels'''
  
Nasalisation is an important phonological feature in Akan. It can for example bring changes in meaning. There are five nasalised vowels and they are marked in transcription by placing (~), which is normally called the tilde, above the vowel.
+
Nasalisation in Akan can be contrastive: as a result of assimilation nasality can spread to following vowels. There are five nasalised vowels in Akan; and they are: ἶ, ĩ, ã, ῦ, and ũ 
  
These are the five nasalised vowels: ἶ, ĩ, ã, ῦ, and ũ 
+
  Example 4:
 
+
{| border="1" cellpadding="2"
  Example 3:
+
|-valign="top"   
        ''' Fante     Asante     Akuapem     English'''
+
|width="20%"|'''Fante'''
          hũ - hu   hũ - hu    hũw - huw  see - blow (air)  
+
|width="20%"|'''Asante'''
                                               
+
|width="20%"|'''Akuapem'''
 +
|width="20%"|'''English'''
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
 
 +
|hũ - hu  
 +
|hũ - hu     
 +
|hũw - huw   
 +
|see - blow (air)  
 +
|-valign="top"           
 +
|-
 +
|}                                               
 
                                                 (Dolphyne 1988:4)         
 
                                                 (Dolphyne 1988:4)         
  
As a result of assimilation, a neighbouring nasal sound, can give its nasalitiy quality to a vowel; as in this word:
+
In tha Akan word below; the nasal [ŋ] spreads to the sounds following it including the vowel [a].
  
 
             nkwa:  /ŋ̃kʷã/ - 'life'
 
             nkwa:  /ŋ̃kʷã/ - 'life'
  
 
NB: Vowels  [e, ɛ, ɔ, o] are not normally nasalised in Akan, however [ɛ], and [ɔ] can be nasalised in the Fante dialects when they occur as neighbours with nasal consonants, [m] and [n] in a word or a phrase.
 
NB: Vowels  [e, ɛ, ɔ, o] are not normally nasalised in Akan, however [ɛ], and [ɔ] can be nasalised in the Fante dialects when they occur as neighbours with nasal consonants, [m] and [n] in a word or a phrase.
 
+
       
  For Example 4:
+
            '''Akan  English    Akan    English'''
+
 
              
 
              
 
'''C. Long Vowels'''
 
'''C. Long Vowels'''
 
+
Long vowels can determine meaning. Akan orthography represents long vowels by doubling the letter that represents the vowel.  
 
+
Vowels in Akan can either be long or short. The length of the vowel can determine the meaning difference of some words in the language. In orthography, long vowels are represented by doubling them.
+
  
 
   Examples 5:
 
   Examples 5:
            '''Akan  English    Akan    English'''
 
            da      sleep    daa      everyday
 
            sa      dance    saa      exactly
 
          * kɔ      go        kɔɔ      red
 
  
Verbs in Akan are inflected for completive aspect or past tense by lengthening the final vowel of the verb if it ends in a vowel. So in most of the verbs in completive aspect have long vowels at the end. This is exemplified in the last example with the asterisk under example 5.
+
{| border="1" cellpadding="2"
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
|width="20%"|'''Akan'''
 +
|width="20%"|'''English'''
 +
|width="20%"|'''Akan'''
 +
|width="20%"|'''English'''
 +
|-valign="top" 
 +
       
 +
|da
 +
|sleep
 +
|daa
 +
|everyday
 +
|-valign="top"
  
It can also be mentioned here that all the oral vowels can be lenghtened. And all nasalised vowels except the unadvanced high front vowel [ɪ], can be lengthened. This is indicated by the examples below. The asterisks are on vowels that can be nasalised.
+
|sa
 +
|dance
 +
|saa
 +
|exactly
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
| kɔ
 +
|go
 +
|kɔɔ
 +
|red
 +
|-valign="top"           
 +
|-
 +
|}   
 +
 
 +
The following table represents which Akan vowel can be lengthtend and which ones can be nasalised.
  
 
   Example 6:
 
   Example 6:
            '''Oral vowel  English    Long vowel  English  Nasal  English      Long Nasal  English'''
 
      * i      ti      head/chase  tii        chased  tἷ      scratch      tἷἷ        scratched
 
      * ɪ      fɪ      go out      fɪɪ        cameout  fĩ      ribs        --          --
 
        e      hwe      to suck    hwee        zero    --      --          --          --
 
        ɛ      sɛ      resempble  sɛɛ        resembled -      --          --          --
 
      * u      pu      spit        puu        spat    pũ      reject/smoke pũũ        rejected/smoked
 
      * ʊ      tʊ      throw      tʊʊ        threw    tῦ      bake/roast  tῦῦ        roasted/baked
 
      * a      ka      bite        kaa        bit      kã      drive/say    kãã        drove/said
 
        æ      æni      eyes        dææbi      no      --      --          --        --
 
        o      som      worship    apoo        cheating --      --          --        --
 
        ɔ      kɔ      go          kɔɔ        went    --      --          --        --
 
  
'''D. Diphthongs'''
+
{| border="1" cellpadding="2"
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
|width="20%"|'''Vowels'''
 +
|'''Oral vowel'''
 +
|'''English'''
 +
|'''Long vowel'''
 +
|'''English'''
 +
|'''Nasal'''
 +
|'''English'''
 +
|'''Long Nasal'''
 +
|'''English'''
 +
|-valign="top"
  
As indicated above, the occurrence of identical vowels in an Akan word is considered as long vowels. There are also occurrence of sequences of nonidentical vowels. These are produced when the tongue glides from one articulation to another.
 
  
  Example 7:
+
|* i
          <Phrase>8704</Phrase>
+
|ti
 +
|head/chase
 +
|tii
 +
|chased
 +
|tἷ
 +
|scratch
 +
|tἷἷ
 +
|scratched
 +
|-valign="top"
  
 +
 +
|* ɪ
 +
|fɪ
 +
|go out
 +
|fɪɪ
 +
|cameout
 +
|fĩ
 +
|ribs
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
 +
|e
 +
|hwe
 +
|to suck
 +
|hwee
 +
|zero
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
 +
 +
|sɛ
 +
|resempble
 +
|sɛɛ
 +
|resembled
 +
|     
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
 +
|* u
 +
|pu
 +
|spit
 +
|puu
 +
|spat
 +
|pũ
 +
|reject/smoke
 +
|pũũ
 +
|rejected/smoked
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
 +
|* ʊ
 +
|tʊ
 +
|throw
 +
|tʊʊ
 +
|threw
 +
|tῦ
 +
|bake/roast
 +
|tῦῦ
 +
|roasted/baked
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
 +
|* a
 +
|ka
 +
|bite
 +
|kaa
 +
|bit
 +
|kã
 +
|drive/say
 +
|kãã
 +
|drove/said
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
 +
 +
|æni
 +
|eyes
 +
|dææbi
 +
|no
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
 +
|o
 +
|som
 +
|worship
 +
|apoo
 +
|cheating
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
 +
 +
|kɔ
 +
|go
 +
|kɔɔ
 +
|went
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
|-
 +
|}
 +
 +
'''D. Diphthongs'''
 
As can be seen in example 7, the verb 'dae' has the vowels [a] and and [ɪ] articulated by the tongue gliding from the central part of the mouth to the middle front part.  
 
As can be seen in example 7, the verb 'dae' has the vowels [a] and and [ɪ] articulated by the tongue gliding from the central part of the mouth to the middle front part.  
  
 +
Example 7:
 +
          <Phrase>8704</Phrase>
  
 
|-
 
|-
 
|Vowel harmony
 
|Vowel harmony
 
|  
 
|  
The harmony of vowels is defined as the restriction on the occurence of certain vowels in the same word. In the production of Akan vowels, the position of the tongue determines whether a vowel has the feature "advanced tongue root" or "retracted tongue root", +ATR and -ATR respectively. The + Advanced Tongue root vowels are produced by pushing the root of the tongue forward. For the production of the unadvanced tongue root vowels. The root of the tongue is retracted or pushed backward.
+
Akan has +ATR and -ATR vowels:
 
+
         
 
             Set A(+ATR) [i, e, æ, o, u]
 
             Set A(+ATR) [i, e, æ, o, u]
  
 
             Set B(-ATR) [ɪ, ɛ, a, ɔ, ʊ]
 
             Set B(-ATR) [ɪ, ɛ, a, ɔ, ʊ]
  
This feature places restrictions on the occurrence of vowels from set A and set B. Most Akan words have vowels from either set A or B.
+
The +ATR and -ATR vowels can not co-occur. There should be harmony in the occurence of the vowels in the same word, meaning that vowels of one set (either +ATR or -ATR) can co-occur. The +ATR vowels are produced by pushing the root of the tongue forward and the -ATR vowels on the other hand, are produced by pushing the root of the tongue backwards. Example 8 shows some Akan words where there is harmony of vowel as a result of the advanced tongue root restriction.  
  
 
  Example 8:
 
  Example 8:
          ''' +ATR     English      -ATR      English'''
+
{| border="1" cellpadding="2"
            /koko/  'chest'     /kɔkɔ(w)/  'red'
+
|-valign="top"
            /Kun(u)/ 'husband'   /kʊn/      'neck'  
+
|width="20%"|''' +ATR'''
 +
|width="20%"|'''English'''
 +
|width="20%"|'''-ATR'''
 +
|width="20%"|'''English'''
 +
|-valign="top"
  
            /efie/    'home'      /afɪ/      'year'
 
            /adi/    'has eaten' /ædɪ/      'thing'
 
  
So the vowels can be paired as below; those on the left +ATR and on the right -ATR. The front vowels are produced with the front, the central, the center of the tongue and the back, the back part of the tongue.
+
|/koko/
         
+
|'chest'
            '''Front    Central Back'''
+
|/kɔkɔ(w)/
            i/ɪ      æ/a    o/ɔ
+
|'red'
            e/ɛ              ʊ/u
+
|-valign="top"
 +
 
 +
|/Kun(u)/
 +
|'husband'   
 +
|/kʊn/     
 +
|'neck'
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
 +
|/efie/   
 +
|'home'
 +
|/afɪ/
 +
|'year'
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
 
 +
|/adi/
 +
|'has eaten'
 +
|/ædɪ/
 +
|'thing'
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
|-
 +
|}
 +
 
  
 
Harmony Exceptions:
 
Harmony Exceptions:
 
There are few words in Akan that deviates from the harmony rule. The unadvanced vowel /a/ is known to usually occur in such words. However /ɛ/ too does deviate sometime. The following are examples of such deviations.
 
There are few words in Akan that deviates from the harmony rule. The unadvanced vowel /a/ is known to usually occur in such words. However /ɛ/ too does deviate sometime. The following are examples of such deviations.
  
        '''Akan   English'''
+
{| border="1" cellpadding="2"
          sika    'money'
+
|-valign="top"
          kura    'to hold'
+
|width="20%"|'''Akan'''
          dua    'to plant'
+
|width="20%"|'''English'''
          nyinsɛn 'to be pregnant'
+
|-valign="top"
          pinkyɛn 'come close'
+
          ohia  's/he needs'
+
  
We can see from the above examples that vowels /a/ occurred with the advanced vowels /i, u, o/ and /ɛ/ which is also -ATR, occurred with +ATR vowel /i/.
+
|sika
 +
|'money'
 +
|-valign="top"
  
 +
|kura
 +
|'to hold'
 +
|-valign="top"
  
The table below shows an overview of the vowels in the language.
+
|dua
 +
|'to plant'
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
 
 +
|nyinsɛn
 +
|'to be pregnant'
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
 
 +
|pinkyɛn
 +
|'come close'
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
 
 +
|ohia 
 +
|'s/he needs'
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
|-
 +
|}
  
    Orthography        Phonetic Symbols        Set A        Set B 
 
      i                  i                      i
 
      e                  ɪ                                  ɪ
 
      ɛ                  e                      e               
 
                          ɛ                                  ɛ
 
  
      a                  æ                      æ
 
                          a                                  a
 
     
 
     
 
      ɔ                  ɔ                                  ɔ
 
      o                  o                      o
 
      u                  ʊ                                  ʊ
 
                          u                      u
 
  
 
In summary, these are the vowels and their names in Akan:
 
In summary, these are the vowels and their names in Akan:
  
             i      Advanced High Front vowel
+
             i      Advanced High Front  
             ɪ      Unadvanced High Front vowel
+
             ɪ      Unadvanced High Front
             e      Advanced Mid Front vowel
+
             e      Advanced Mid Front  
             ɛ      Unadvanced Mid Front vowel
+
             ɛ      Unadvanced Mid Front  
             æ      Advanced Low Central vowel
+
             æ      Advanced Low Central  
             a      Undvanced Low Central vowel
+
             a      Undvanced Low Central
             o      Adavnced Mid Back vowel
+
             o      Adavnced Mid Back  
             ɔ      Unadvanced Mid Back vowel
+
             ɔ      Unadvanced Mid Back  
             u      Advanced High Back vowel
+
             u      Advanced High Back  
             ʊ      Unadvanced High Back vowel
+
             ʊ      Unadvanced High Back
 
|-
 
|-
 
|Consonant inventory
 
|Consonant inventory
| Akan is known to have 16 consonants:[j,w,p,b,f,d,t,s,m,n,k,kʷ,h,hʷ,g,gʷ]. The table below gives the general overview of these consonants:
+
|  
 +
Akan has 16 consonants: [j, w, p, b, f, d, t, s, m, n, k, kʷ, h, hʷ, g, gʷ]. The table below gives the articulation of these consonants:
  
                Bilabial   Labiodentals   Alveolar   Pre-palatal  Palatal   Velar     Glottal  
+
{| border="1" cellpadding="2"
 
+
|-valign="top"
Stop           p,b                       t,d                               k/kʷ,g/gʷ ʔ
+
|width="20%"|
Fricative                  f              s         
+
|width="20%"|'''Bilabial'''
 +
|width="20%"|'''Labiodentals'''
 +
|width="20%"|'''Alveolar'''
 +
|width="20%"|'''Pre-palatal'''    
 +
|width="20%"|'''Palatal'''
 +
|width="20%"|'''Velar'''
 +
|width="20%"|'''Glottal'''
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
 +
|Stop
 +
|p,b      
 +
|           
 +
|t,d        
 +
|         
 +
|   
 +
|k/kʷ,g/gʷ  
 +
|ʔ
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
 
  
Labialized
+
|Fricative
 +
|       
 +
|f             
 +
|s           
 +
|ɕ(hy)       
 +
|   
 +
|         
 +
|h
 +
|-valign="top"
 +
 
 +
|Labialized
 
Fricatives
 
Fricatives
(Voiceless)
+
(-Voice)  
Affricate
+
|
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|ɕʷ(hw)
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|-valign="top"             
 +
 +
|Affricate    
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|ʥ(gy)/ʨ(ky)
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|               
 +
|-valign="top"             
 +
                                                     
 +
|Labialized affricate
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|ʨʷ,ʥʷ
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|-valign="top"             
  
Labialized
 
Affricate
 
Lateral
 
(voiced)
 
  
Nasal
+
|Lateral(voiced)     
(voiced)
+
|       
Labialized  
+
|
Nasal(voiced)
+
|l
Glide (voiced)
+
|
 +
|
 +
|   
 +
|       
 +
|-valign="top"                 
 +
 
 +
 
 +
|Nasal(voiced)
 +
|m
 +
|
 +
|n
 +
|
 +
|ɲ(ny) 
 +
|ŋ(n)     
 +
|
 +
|-valign="top"             
 +
 
 +
 
 +
|Labialized          
 +
Nasal (voiced)  
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|ɲʷ(nw)
 +
|ŋʷ(nw)     
 +
|
 +
|-valign="top"             
 +
 
 +
 
 +
|Glide (voiced)      
 +
|       
 +
|           
 +
|r           
 +
|         
 +
|y     
 +
|w         
 +
|
 +
|-valign="top"             
 +
|-
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
Some consonants are palatalized or labialized in Akan as in the words; kyerɛ - /ʨɪrɛ/, 'to show' and dwene - /ʥʷɪnɪ/ 'to think'. There is also free variation especially for the consonants [d],[r] and [l] as in the following Akan words: àkwàdàá, àkwàlàá or àkwàràá, all meaning 'a child'
  
 
|-
 
|-
 
|Tone
 
|Tone
|In this field you indicate if [your language] is a tone language and which tones are used; does [your language] have lexical tone?
+
|Akan is a tone language and it also has downdrift. Tone can determine meaning in Akan. In the following Akan words, its is the tone that shows difference in the meaning of the words.
 +
 
 +
      Example 9:
 +
  pàpà  father  pápá  good  pàpá  fan
 +
 
 +
Akan has two types of downsteps; automatic dwonstep and non-automatic downstep. In a sequence of a High-Low-High sequence, the second high tone is downstepped oir lowered in pitch than the first one.
 +
 
 +
  For example: 10
 +
<Phrase>12891</Phrase>
 +
 
 +
Example 10 above has a tonal sequence: High-Low-ꜜhigh, meaning that the second high tone is downstepped as a result of the middle low tone. 11 below illustrates a gradual drop of tone in an Akan sentence with Low-High tone sequence.
 +
 
 +
  Example 11
 +
<Phrase>12892</Phrase>
 +
 
 
|-
 
|-
 
|Syllable Structure
 
|Syllable Structure
|In this field you indicate the basic syllable structures of [your language].
+
|In Akan the syllable structure can be described in terms of tone apart from consonants (C), and vowels (V). It has V, CV and C syllables. The C syllable, which is a syllabic consonant always bears a tone. There are however no VC or CVC syllable types in Akan. Meaning that, it does not have syllables ending in consonants.
 +
 
 +
  Examples 12:
 +
          a. V-syllable: '''ɔ'''sa - ɔˋ-sá  - 's/he dances' 
 +
                          ohu'''i'''- ò-hù-í - 'he saw it' 
 +
         
 +
          b. CV-syllable: kɔ - kɔ´- 'go'
 +
         
 +
          c. C-syllable:  '''n'''suo -  ǹ-sù-ó  - 'water' 
 +
                          so'''m'''  -  sò-ḿ    - 'hold it'
 +
                          '''n'''kwa -  ŋˋ- kʷá - 'life'
 +
                          etsi'''r''' - è-tsí-ŕ - 'head'
 +
Akan has syllabic nasals which are often realised as plural markers in nouns and negative markers in verbs.
 +
  For example:13 
 +
<Phrase>12893</Phrase>
 +
 
 +
Asante has open syllables but Fante and Akuapem may have close syllables.
 +
 
 +
    For example;
 +
  Asante: kai - 'to read'
 +
  Fante and Akuapem: kan - 'to read'
 +
 
 +
|-
 
|-
 
|-
 
|}
 
|}
  
[[Typological Features Template for Akan - morpho-syntax]]
+
===References===
 +
<references/>
 +
 
 +
Dolphyne, Florence A. 1988. The Akan (Twi-Fante) language: Its sound systems and tonal structure.
 +
Accra, Ghana: Ghana Universities Press.
 +
|-
  
[[Category:Akan]]
+
[[Category:Typological Features Template|Akan]]

Latest revision as of 21:36, 20 July 2014

By Lilian Haugereid

To cite this page see footnote [1]


The following Typological Feature Template covers some phonological features of Akan.

Feature Description
Phonological Features In the following I will describe the phonological inventory of Akan and the features that its dialects share. Some of these dialects are Asante, Fante and Akuapem as well as Bono. Dialects of Akan are mainly characterized by phonological differences, but other difference can also be described. The account we are providing here is directed towards a description of the grammatical features that all dialects of Akan share.
Vowel Inventory Vowels in Akan are described here under five headings: oral, nasalised, and long vowels, diphthongs, and vowel harmony (or vowel combinations across syllables).

The table below shows an overview of the vowels in the language.

Orthography Phonetic Symbols +ATR -ATR
i i i
e ɪ/e e ɪ
ɛ ɛ ɛ
a æ/a æ a
ɔ ɔ ɔ
o o/ʊ o ʊ
u u u


Oral Vowels

Akan has 9 or 10 oral vowels, depending on the dialect: [e,ɔ,a,o,ɛ i,u,ɪ,æ,ʊ ]. Vowel [æ] is only used in the Asante and the Akuapem dialects. So you can see from the example below that, where Akuapem and Asante use [æ] Fante uses [e]

Asante/Akuapem Ph.Trans Asante/Akuapem Fante PH.Trans Fante English
ani /æni/ enyiwa /enyiwa/ 'eyes'


In the orthography, the letters e and o represent two contrastive vowels each: e represents both [e] and [ɪ], and o represents both [o] and [ʊ].

For example 1:

Akan Ph.Trans English Akan Ph.Trans English
te(w) /tɪ(w)/ 'to tear' kɛsi /kɛsɪ/ 'big'
fie /fie/ 'home' esiw/esie /(esiw)(esie)/ 'ant hill'
to(w) /tʊw/ 'to throw' horo /hʊhʊ/ 'to wash'
obi /obi/ 'someone' ako /ako/ 'parrot'

NB"Ph.Trans" refers to phonetic transcription.

As can be seen from example 1 above, the vowel e in orthography represents vowels /ɪ/ and /e/, and the vowel o represents /o/, and/ʊ/.

Example 2a
Bosome aso
“The month has ended”
Bosome
bosome
monthSBJ
N
aso
aso
beUp
V


Example 2b
Me tu kwan bronya yi
“I will travel this christmas”
Me
me
meSBJ
PN
tu
tu
takeFUT
Vtr
kwan
kwan
travel
N
bronya
bronya
christmasOBJ
N
yi
yi
thisDEF
DEM


The two sentences above examplify the two contrastive vowels [e]=/e,ɪ/ and [o]= /o,ʊ/. They can be transcribed respectively as follows:

      2a. /bʊsʊmɪ asʊ/
      
      2b. /me tu kwan bronya yi/

So in any written Akan text, you will find some of these 7 vowel letters: i e ɛ a ɔ o u, used in the Akan sentence below.

Example 3:
Esi bɛkɔ owura no hɔ
“Esi will go to the gentleman”
Ési´
Esi
esiSBJ
N
bɛ́kɔ́
bɛ́kɔ́
FUTgo
V
oˋwuˋraˋ
owura
gentlemanOBJ
N
noˋ
no
DEF
DET
hɔ´
thereDXSDIST
PN


In example 3, we have the occurrence of all 7 vowel letters in Akan. It can also be mentioned here that the vowels carry tone(s). This will be discussed later under "Tone", However, the two different sets of Akan vowels based on ATR is discussed under "Vowel Harmony" below.

B. Nasalised Vowels

Nasalisation in Akan can be contrastive: as a result of assimilation nasality can spread to following vowels. There are five nasalised vowels in Akan; and they are: ἶ, ĩ, ã, ῦ, and ũ

Example 4:
Fante Asante Akuapem English
hũ - hu hũ - hu hũw - huw see - blow (air)
                                                (Dolphyne 1988:4)        

In tha Akan word below; the nasal [ŋ] spreads to the sounds following it including the vowel [a].

            nkwa:  /ŋ̃kʷã/ - 'life'

NB: Vowels [e, ɛ, ɔ, o] are not normally nasalised in Akan, however [ɛ], and [ɔ] can be nasalised in the Fante dialects when they occur as neighbours with nasal consonants, [m] and [n] in a word or a phrase.


C. Long Vowels Long vowels can determine meaning. Akan orthography represents long vowels by doubling the letter that represents the vowel.

 Examples 5:
Akan English Akan English
da sleep daa everyday
sa dance saa exactly
go kɔɔ red

The following table represents which Akan vowel can be lengthtend and which ones can be nasalised.

 Example 6:
Vowels Oral vowel English Long vowel English Nasal English Long Nasal English
* i ti head/chase tii chased tἷ scratch tἷἷ scratched
* ɪ go out fɪɪ cameout ribs
e hwe to suck hwee zero
ɛ resempble sɛɛ resembled
* u pu spit puu spat reject/smoke pũũ rejected/smoked
* ʊ throw tʊʊ threw tῦ bake/roast tῦῦ roasted/baked
* a ka bite kaa bit drive/say kãã drove/said
æ æni eyes dææbi no
o som worship apoo cheating
ɔ go kɔɔ went

D. Diphthongs As can be seen in example 7, the verb 'dae' has the vowels [a] and and [ɪ] articulated by the tongue gliding from the central part of the mouth to the middle front part.

Example 7:

Yaa dae
“Yaa slept”
Yaa
yaa
YaaSBJ
Np
dae
dae
sleepPAST
Vitr


Vowel harmony

Akan has +ATR and -ATR vowels:

           Set A(+ATR) [i, e, æ, o, u]
           Set B(-ATR) [ɪ, ɛ, a, ɔ, ʊ]

The +ATR and -ATR vowels can not co-occur. There should be harmony in the occurence of the vowels in the same word, meaning that vowels of one set (either +ATR or -ATR) can co-occur. The +ATR vowels are produced by pushing the root of the tongue forward and the -ATR vowels on the other hand, are produced by pushing the root of the tongue backwards. Example 8 shows some Akan words where there is harmony of vowel as a result of the advanced tongue root restriction.

Example 8:
+ATR English -ATR English
/koko/ 'chest' /kɔkɔ(w)/ 'red'
/Kun(u)/ 'husband' /kʊn/ 'neck'
/efie/ 'home' /afɪ/ 'year'
/adi/ 'has eaten' /ædɪ/ 'thing'


Harmony Exceptions: There are few words in Akan that deviates from the harmony rule. The unadvanced vowel /a/ is known to usually occur in such words. However /ɛ/ too does deviate sometime. The following are examples of such deviations.

Akan English
sika 'money'
kura 'to hold'
dua 'to plant'
nyinsɛn 'to be pregnant'
pinkyɛn 'come close'
ohia 's/he needs'


In summary, these are the vowels and their names in Akan:

           i       Advanced High Front 
           ɪ       Unadvanced High Front
           e       Advanced Mid Front 
           ɛ       Unadvanced Mid Front 
           æ       Advanced Low Central 
           a       Undvanced Low Central
           o       Adavnced Mid Back 
           ɔ       Unadvanced Mid Back 
           u       Advanced High Back 
           ʊ       Unadvanced High Back
Consonant inventory

Akan has 16 consonants: [j, w, p, b, f, d, t, s, m, n, k, kʷ, h, hʷ, g, gʷ]. The table below gives the articulation of these consonants:

Bilabial Labiodentals Alveolar Pre-palatal Palatal Velar Glottal
Stop p,b t,d k/kʷ,g/gʷ ʔ
Fricative f s ɕ(hy) h
Labialized

Fricatives (-Voice)

ɕʷ(hw)
Affricate ʥ(gy)/ʨ(ky)
Labialized affricate ʨʷ,ʥʷ
Lateral(voiced) l
Nasal(voiced) m n ɲ(ny) ŋ(n)
Labialized

Nasal (voiced)

ɲʷ(nw) ŋʷ(nw)
Glide (voiced) r y w

Some consonants are palatalized or labialized in Akan as in the words; kyerɛ - /ʨɪrɛ/, 'to show' and dwene - /ʥʷɪnɪ/ 'to think'. There is also free variation especially for the consonants [d],[r] and [l] as in the following Akan words: àkwàdàá, àkwàlàá or àkwàràá, all meaning 'a child'

Tone Akan is a tone language and it also has downdrift. Tone can determine meaning in Akan. In the following Akan words, its is the tone that shows difference in the meaning of the words.
      Example 9:
 pàpà   father   pápá   good   pàpá   fan

Akan has two types of downsteps; automatic dwonstep and non-automatic downstep. In a sequence of a High-Low-High sequence, the second high tone is downstepped oir lowered in pitch than the first one.

 For example: 10
Ama fɛre
“Ama is shy”
Ama
àmá
amaSBJ
N
fɛ̀ré
fɛ̀ré
shy
V


Example 10 above has a tonal sequence: High-Low-ꜜhigh, meaning that the second high tone is downstepped as a result of the middle low tone. 11 below illustrates a gradual drop of tone in an Akan sentence with Low-High tone sequence.

  Example 11
Odi nokware dabiara
“S/he is truthful all the time”
Odi
ò
s/he3SGspeak
V
nokware
nokware
truthOBJ
N
dabiara
dabiara
everyday
ADVtemp


Syllable Structure In Akan the syllable structure can be described in terms of tone apart from consonants (C), and vowels (V). It has V, CV and C syllables. The C syllable, which is a syllabic consonant always bears a tone. There are however no VC or CVC syllable types in Akan. Meaning that, it does not have syllables ending in consonants.
  Examples 12:
          a. V-syllable: ɔsa - ɔˋ-sá  - 's/he dances'  
                         ohui- ò-hù-í - 'he saw it'  
         
          b. CV-syllable: kɔ - kɔ´- 'go' 
          
          c. C-syllable:  nsuo -  ǹ-sù-ó  - 'water'  
                          som  -  sò-ḿ    - 'hold it'
                          nkwa -  ŋˋ- kʷá - 'life'
                          etsir - è-tsí-ŕ - 'head'

Akan has syllabic nasals which are often realised as plural markers in nouns and negative markers in verbs.

  For example:13  
Mbɔfra no anfa ntɛ no anto ambɔ wɔn
“The children did not pick marbles and throw them at them.”
Mbɔfra
mbɔfra
PLchild
N
no
no
DEF
DET
anfa
anfa
PASTNEGtake
V
ntɛ
n
PLmarble
N
no
no
DEF
DET
anto
anto
PASTNEGthrow
V
ambɔ
am
PASTNEGhit
V
wɔn
wɔn
them3PLOBJ
PN


Asante has open syllables but Fante and Akuapem may have close syllables.

   For example; 
 Asante: kai - 'to read'
 Fante and Akuapem: kan - 'to read'

References

  1. Lilian Haugereid. 2011. Typological Features for Akan - Phonology. TypeCraft Typological Feature Template. http://www.typecraft.org. Accessed [DATE].

Dolphyne, Florence A. 1988. The Akan (Twi-Fante) language: Its sound systems and tonal structure. Accra, Ghana: Ghana Universities Press. |-