Ghana is a multilingual country with over eighty languages spoken. The official language is English, which was inherited from the colonial era. Akan is the most extensively spoken among Ghana’s indigenous languages.
Akan, part of the Kwa branch of the Niger–Congo family, is a dialect continuum, but, with regard to official status, only three out of the many varieties of Akan are recognised:Fante, Asante Twi, Akuapem Twi . Generally, Akan is the most-widely spoken language in Ghana.
Here are a few of the languages spoken in Ghana.
Akposo
Akposo or Kposo language, or Ikposo (Ikpɔsɔ), is the language of the Akposso people, mainly in the Plateau Region of Togo, west of Atakpamé, but also mainly in eastern Ghana. It is considered one of the Ghana–Togo Mountain languages, It is the indigenous language of people of Akposokubi, Akposo Kabo and Akposo Oklabe.
Ewe
Ewe is a Gbe language, part of the Volta–Niger branch of the Niger–Congo family. The Ewe Language is spoken in Ghana, Togo and Benin with a trace of the language in West Nigeria. Out of the many dialects of Ewe spoken in Ghana, the major ones are Anlo, Tongu, Vedome, Gbi, and Krepi.
Dagbani
Dagbani is one of the Gur languages. It belongs to the larger Mole-Dagbani ethnic group found in Ghana and Burkina Faso.[16] It is spoken by Dagombas in the Northern Region of Ghana.
Dangme
Dangme is one of the Ga–Dangme languages within the Kwa branch. It is spoken in Greater Accra, in south-east Ghana and Togo.
Dagaare
Dagaare is another of the Gur languages. It is spoken in the Upper West Region of Ghana. It is also spoken in Burkina Faso.
Ga
Ga is the other Ga–Dangme language within the Kwa branch. Ga is spoken in south-eastern Ghana, in and around the capital Accra.
Nzema
Nzema is one of the Bia languages, closely related to Akan. It is spoken by the Nzema people in the Western Region of Ghana. It is also spoken in the Ivory Coast.
Kasem
Kasem is a Gurunsi language, in the Gur branch. It is spoken in the Upper Eastern Region of Ghana. It is also spoken in Burkina Faso.
Gonja
Gonja is one of the Guang languages, part of the Tano languages within the Kwa branch along with Akan and Bia. It is spoken in the Northern Region of Ghana and Wa
Language classifications in Ghana
The language of Ghana belong to the following branches within the Niger–Congo language family:
• Kwa languages (Akan, Bia, Guang in Tano; Ga and Adangme)
• Gbe languages (Ewe)
• Gur languages (Gurunsi, Dagbani, Mossi, Dagaare, and Frafra in Oti–Volta)
• Senufo languages (Nafaanra)
• Kulango languages
• Mande languages (Wangara, Ligbi)
Ahanta is one of the Bia languages, closely related to ( nzema) Akan. It is spoken by the Ahanta people in the Western Region of Ghana Older classifications may instead group them as Kwa, Gur, and Mande
Government-sponsored languages
The number of government-sponsored languages is either eleven or nine, depending on whether or not Akuapem Twi, Asante Twi, and Fante are considered a single language.
They are supported by the Bureau of Ghana Languages, which was established in 1951 and publishes materials in the languages; during the periods when Ghanaian languages were used in primary education, these were the languages which were used.
All these languages belong to the Niger–Congo language family, though to several different branches.
source: myghanadaily.com
