Ghana: the name 'Akan'

[Harold Schiffman]

 *The name 'Akan'*
------------------------------
*The name 'Akan' *

When you learn Akan - whose language do you learn?
The word 'Akan' designates quite different groups of people depending on the
period of time at which it was used and on the context in which it was or is
being used. Roughly, we can distinguish between its traditional native use,
its use as a scientific classificatory term, and its (modern)
socio-political use.
Christaller<http://www.akan.org/akan_cd/ALIAKAN/course/U-References-p210.html>,
in his dictionary, has the following entry:

   -

In Christaller's understanding, the term 'Akan' covered the 'Akan-speaking'
people of Ghana (the then Gold Coast), not including the Fante in the South.
The term 'Twi' ('Tshi'/'Chwee' [Christaller
1875<http://www.akan.org/akan_cd/ALIAKAN/course/U-references-p11.html#Christaller%201875>,
1881<http://www.akan.org/akan_cd/ALIAKAN/course/U-references-p11.html#Christaller%201881>]
are old notational variants not currently used) would have served, according
to Christaller's proposal, to denote the same group of people and language
varieties, but would also have included the Fante. Christaller recognised
that the Fante were closely related to the other groups. His inclusive use
of the term 'Twi' served to stress the fundamental linguistic unity between
those groups and the Fante. Thus in Christaller's terminology, 'Twi' is the
more inclusive ethnoglossonym, covering also the Fante, whereas 'Akan'
(which he rarely uses) is the more restrictive term, excluding the Fante.
In order to avoid confusion, it is important to note that current usage of
these two terms, Akan, and Twi, is the reverse from Christaller's. In modern
usage, Akan is the more inclusive term, which covers the whole of the
Akan-speaking people of Ghana, whereas Twi is the less inclusive term, being
conventionally used to identify a subgroup of Akan dialects and their
speakers. As it is used by the people themselves, as well as in the modern
literature, the Twi comprise notably the Akuapem and the Ashanti (or
'Asante') but not the Fante.
-> Map <http://www.akan.org/akan_cd/ALIAKAN/course/U-References-p19.html>
On the other hand, the wider designation 'Akan', according to modern usage,
includes the Fante. A number of other groups such as the Brong and the Wasa
are also subsumed under the general designation of Akan (as they were
already at Christaller's time) but do not consider themselves to be Twi.
Thus the current use of the term Twi is more limited than what was covered
by the original term 'Akan' as explained in Christaller's dictionary.
The term 'Akan' is also used as a name for self-identification by a number
of populations extending from what is recognised as present-day Akan
territory towards the west including large parts of Eastern and Central
Ivory Coast. From a linguistic point of view, all these groups are indeed
closely related. In the scientific literature, they used therefore to be
classified as Akan, e.g. in Greenberg (1966) -> Annex 1: General
bibliography<http://www.akan.org/akan_cd/ALIAKAN/course/U-references-p11.html>.
In this terminology, which was, and sometimes still is, used by
anthropologists and linguists, the term 'Akan' includes, beyond the Akan
populations of Ghana, the Baule and Anyi of Ivory Coast. From a primarily
linguistic viewpoint, one could consider that the Nzema of Southwestern
Ghana are also part of this dialect-language continuum. The Chakosi, who now
live in the northern border area of Ghana/Togo, isolated from the rest of
Akan, are also linguistically part of it (-> geographic
distribution<http://www.akan.org/akan_cd/ALIAKAN/course/U-References-p19.html>,
tree diagrams 1<http://www.akan.org/akan_cd/ALIAKAN/course/U-References-p21.html>and
2 <http://www.akan.org/akan_cd/ALIAKAN/course/U-References-p22.html>).

As part of an emerging national language policy in the 1950-ies, the present
restricted use of the term 'Akan' was deliberately promoted as the official
designation of the Akan-speaking community of Ghana (Dolphyne
1986<http://www.akan.org/akan_cd/ALIAKAN/course/U-references-p11.html#Dolphyne%201986>,
1988<http://www.akan.org/akan_cd/ALIAKAN/course/U-references-p11.html#Dolphyne>).
In order to keep this official usage distinct from the wider scientific and
classificatory term designating all the groups speaking languages related to
Akan, the term 'Tano' or 'Potou-Tano' was proposed by
Stewart<http://www.akan.org/akan_cd/ALIAKAN/course/U-references-p11.html#Stewart%201976>.
These terms were coined in order to replace 'Akan' for denoting the larger
group of Akan-related languages. According to this more recent terminology,
Akan as a scientific and classificatory term takes its place at a lower
level and is limited to the cluster of dialects which corresponds to the
official Ghanaian designation, as can be seen in the following diagram.
While Christaller was doubtlessly right in stressing the linguistic unity of
all Akan peoples, there were historical reasons both internal and external
which led others in his time to stress the differences rather than the
unity. On objective, linguistic grounds, however, the unity of Akan cannot
be doubted.

-- 
http://www.abibitumikasa.com/forums/akan-twi-language-resources/37055-name-akan.html
**************************************
N.b.: Listing on the lgpolicy-list is merely intended as a service to its
members
and implies neither approval, confirmation nor agreement by the owner or
sponsor of
the list as to the veracity of a message's contents. Members who disagree
with a
message are encouraged to post a rebuttal. (H. Schiffman, Moderator)
*******************************************
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/lgpolicy-list/attachments/20080801/6dafe088/attachment.htm>