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Glite Dictionary
Akan language

Akan language

1 8.1
A language spoken mainly in Ghana and Ivory Coast
  • noun
: idioma akan
  • Sidney formed a group called Nananom, which translates as ancestors or elders, and began rapping in the Akan language.
  • rapping in the Akan language

Examples

  • He says he began rapping in the Akan language because "Ghanaians would really feel the music" if it was put in terms that they understood, rather than in African American vernacular, which they could only partially follow.

    Academic text (2009)

  • The teacher instructed the students to write a story in the Akan language for their language class.

  • Sidney formed a group called Nananom and began rapping in the Akan language to connect with his heritage.

  • Many people in Ghana take pride in speaking the Akan language, celebrating their cultural identity.

Synonyms

Akan
vsAkan language
1 9.2

A language spoken in Ghana and Ivory Coast

emphasizes that those countries are the main locations

Surface Forms

Akan language singular
Akan languages plural

Morphology

Akan + language

This noun phrase is compositionally transparent: 'Akan' names a specific people/language and 'language' denotes a system of speech, so 'Akan language' clearly means the language of the Akan. The same naming pattern (proper name + language) is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Akan language takes its name from the Akan people of Ghana and Ivory Coast. So Akan language literally means 'the language of the Akan people', which is why we use it to name the language that group speaks.