Loanwords in Twi

Level 5

A borrowed noun follows Twi grammar: kaa no (the car), krataa bi (a letter), me sukuu (my school).

How It Works

1. Where they come from
Portuguese traders reached the Gold Coast in 1471, and some everyday words date from that time: paanoo (bread, from pão), krataa (paper, letter, from carta) and adaka (box, from arca). English gave many more: sukuu (school), kaa (car), tikya (teacher), dɔkota (doctor), polisi (police).

2. Sound changes
Twi breaks up consonant clusters and adds final vowels: school → sukuu, shirt → hyɛɛte, computer → kɔmputa. The spelling uses Twi letters, including ɛ and ɔ.

3. Twi grammar
The words take the usual no, bi, numbers and possessives: kaa no (the car), krataa bi (a letter), kaa mmienu (two cars), me sukuu (my school).

4. Plurals and people
Some loans take a nasal plural: krataa → nkrataa (papers, letters). Others keep one form and show the plural with a number or context. Words for people can add Twi endings, as in tikyani (a teacher) and polisini (a police officer); see -ni and -foɔ.

5. Loans and native words
Many loans sit beside an older Twi word: kaa or ɛhyɛn (vehicle), asopiti or ayaresabea (hospital), tikya or ɔkyerɛkyerɛfoɔ (teacher). Established loans are ordinary Twi words; mixing in fresh English words is a separate habit, covered in English in everyday Twi.

Examples (6)

  1. Kaa no yɛ foforɔ.

    The car is new.

    Word by Word: car the is new

  2. Me ba kɔ sukuu.

    My child goes to school.

  3. Ama atwerɛ krataa bi.

    Ama has written a letter.

    Krataa comes from Portuguese carta.

  4. Tɔ paanoo ma me.

    Buy bread for me.

    Paanoo comes from Portuguese pão.

  5. Tikya no reba.

    The teacher is coming.

  6. Nkrataa no wɔ adaka no mu.

    The papers are in the box.

    Word by Word: papers the are box the inside

    Krataa takes a Twi nasal plural, and adaka is another old Portuguese loan.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the English plural -s.

    kaas mmienu
    kaa mmienu

    Twi has no -s plural. After a number, the noun stays as it is.

  • Putting the article first, as in English.

    No kaa yɛ foforɔ.
    Kaa no yɛ foforɔ.

    No (the) always comes after the noun, even when the noun is borrowed.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Loanwords in TwiLevel 5

Learn This First

Loanwords follow Twi noun grammar.