Dangme language
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| Dangme | |
|---|---|
| Dangbe | |
| Native to | Ghana |
| Region | South-eastern Ghana, east of Accra |
| Ethnicity | Dangbe |
Native speakers | 1,020,000 (2013)Template:Ethnologue25 does not exist |
| Latin (Dangbe alphabet) | |
| Official status | |
Official language in | Ghana |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 | Template:ISO 639-2 |
| ISO 639-3 | ada |
| Glottolog | adan1247 |
| ELP | Template:Endangered Languages Project |
| Linguasphere | Template:Infobox language/lingualist |
| Template:Infobox language/lingualist | |
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The Dangme language, also written Dangbe or Dangbɛ, and less properly Adangme,[1] Dangbe or Adaŋgbi, is a Kwa language spoken in south-eastern Ghana by the Dangme people (Script error: No such module "Lang".). They are part of the larger Ga-Dangme ethnic group. Klogbi is a variant, spoken by the Kloli (Klo or Krobo People). Kropp Dakubu (1987) is the most thorough grammar of the language.
Classification
Adangme is a Kwa language, part of the Niger–Congo family. It is closely related to Ga, and together they form the Ga–Dangme branch within Kwa.
Geographic distribution
Adangme is spoken in Ghana by over 800,000 people as of 2004.
It is the aboriginal language spoken in Ghana, Togo, and Benin by the people of Ada, Osudoku, Manya Krobo, Yilo Krobo, Shai, Ningo, Prampram and Kpone. Adangme is partly mutually intelligible with Ga, and, to a lesser extent, Ewe. Nevertheless, many Adangme people also speak or understand at least one of these languages, painting the relationship as asymmetric. Adangme as a school subject is taught in the Adangme areas.
The land of these related tribes stretched from the Greater Accra Region to the Eastern Region of Ghana, northward to the Akwapim hills and has all the Adangmeland on the east and the Ga to the west of it. Bawaleshi, which is about 4.8 kilometres (3.0 mi) southwest of Dodowa, is the last Adangme town which is close to the Akwapim and the Ga boundaries. There are six main dialects which coincide with political units. The coastal dialects are Ada, Ningo and Prampram (Script error: No such module "Lang".). The inland dialects are Shai (Script error: No such module "Lang".), Krobo (Script error: No such module "Lang".) and Script error: No such module "Lang"..
Phonology
Consonants
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Labial-velar | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | ŋ͡m | |
| Plosive/ Affricate |
voiceless | p | t | t͡ʃ | k | k͡p |
| voiced | b | d | d͡ʒ | ɡ | ɡ͡b | |
| Fricative | voiceless | f | s | |||
| voiced | v | z | ||||
| Approximant | l | j | w | |||
- Script error: No such module "IPA". are bilabial, whereas Script error: No such module "IPA". are labiodental.
- Script error: No such module "IPA". are singly articulated plosives, Script error: No such module "IPA". are affricates (stops with a strong fricative release), whereas Script error: No such module "IPA". are doubly articulated plosives.
- Script error: No such module "IPA". varies between a lateral approximant [l] and a central trill [r].[citation needed]
- Script error: No such module "IPA". has a fricative allophone [ʒ].[citation needed]
Vowels
Dangme has 7 oral vowels and 5 nasal vowels.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found.
| Front | Back | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| oral | nasal | oral | nasal | |
| Close | i | ĩ | u | ũ |
| Close-mid | e | o | ||
| Open-mid | ɛ | ɛ̃ | ɔ | ɔ̃ |
| Open | a | ã | ||
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- Script error: No such module "IPA". are close-mid Script error: No such module "IPA".. They do not have nasal counterparts.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found.
- Script error: No such module "IPA". are open-mid Script error: No such module "IPA"., whereas Script error: No such module "IPA". are somewhat lower (near-open) Script error: No such module "IPA"..Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found.
- The nasal Script error: No such module "IPA". is open front [ã], whereas the oral Script error: No such module "IPA". is slightly retracted (near-front) [a̠].Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found.
Tones
Dangme has three tones: high, mid and low. Like many West African languages, it has tone terracing.
Phonotactics
The possible syllable structures are V, CV, or CCV where the second consonant is Script error: No such module "IPA"..
Writing system
Dangme is written in the Latin script, with the addition of the letters ɛ, ɔ, and ŋ. Tones are not normally written.[2]
Orthographic and phonemic correspondences include the following:
- j - Script error: No such module "IPA".
- ŋ - Script error: No such module "IPA".
- ŋm - Script error: No such module "IPA".
- ny - Script error: No such module "IPA".
- ts - Script error: No such module "IPA".
- y - Script error: No such module "IPA".
- ɛ - Script error: No such module "IPA".
- ɔ - Script error: No such module "IPA".
Sample text
The following text is Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
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References
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- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Source (2022-02-02). "Correction: Ga-Dangme, not Ga-Adangbe/Adangme". Development Report. Retrieved 2026-05-26.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Hartell, Rhonda L. (1993). Alphabets of Africa. The Long Now Foundation. Dakar: UNESCO and Summer Institute of Linguistics.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link) - ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Universal Declaration of Human Rights - Dangme" (in English and ada). Retrieved 2024-04-04.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
Bibliography
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- Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Kropp Dakubu, M. E., ed. (1977). West African Language Data Sheets. Vol. 1. West African Linguistic Society.
- Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Kropp Dakubu, M. E. (1987). The Dangme Language: An Introductory Survey. London: Macmillan.
- Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Kropp Dakubu, M. E., ed. (1988). The Languages of Ghana. London: Kegan Paul International for the International African Institute. ISBN 0-7103-0210-X.
- Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Language Guide. Accra: Bureau of Ghana Languages 4th Edition. 1977.
External links
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- My First GaDangme Dictionary Script error: No such module "webarchive". kasahorow
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Dangme
- Lessons in Wikiversity
- Listen to a sample of Dangme from Global Recordings Network
- Listen to a sample of Dangme from Global Recordings Network
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