Dangme Language
From Halbeeg, the open encyclopedia · Af-Soomaali
27 languages
Dangme (also spelled Adangme) is a language spoken in southeastern Ghana, particularly in coastal regions and areas east of Accra. It belongs to the Niger-Congo language family, within the Kwa branch, in a group designated Ga-Dangme.
Dangme and Ga are two related and similar languages, but speakers do not fully understand each other. Speakers of the language are known as Dangmeli (Adangbe). The language is written in Latin script, using diacritical marks suitable for African language phonetics, such as ɛ and ɔ.
Dialects
Dangme is divided into several dialects corresponding to ethnic settlement areas, including Ada, Nungua, Kpone, Prampram (Gbugbla), Shai (Se), Krobo (Klo), and Osudoku. Differences between them are mainly phonetic and lexical; they do not impede mutual understanding.
Linguistic features
Dangme is a tonal language, meaning that pitch rises or falls change the meaning of a word or its grammatical function. Sentence structure is typically object-verb-subject. Serial verbs are a common feature found in Kwa languages.
Community use
Dangme is one of Ghana's languages taught in primary schools and used in some media outlets. It has been published in religious texts, educational books, and dictionaries. Many speakers also use English, which is the official language, and Twi or Ga when conducting business or in urban settings.