Dangme language

The Dangme language, Dangme, is a Kwa language spoken in south-eastern Ghana by 800,000 people.

Classification

Dangme is a Kwa language, part of the Niger–Congo family. It is very closely related to Ga, and together they form the Ga–Dangme branch within Kwa. It is also part of the Gbe language group,

Geographic distribution

Dangme is spoken in Ghana by over 800,000 people in 2004.

It is the aboriginal language spoken in Ghana, Togo, Benin by the people of Ada, Osudoku, Manya Krobo, Yilo Krobo, Shai, Ningo, Prampram and Kpone. The Dangme and Ga people can readily understand each other without intentional study or special effort because both languages are mutually intelligible. Dangme as a school subject is taught in the Dangme areas.

The land of these related tribes stretched from the Greater Accra Region to the Easter Region of Ghana, northward to the Akwapim hills and has all the Dangmeland on the east and the Ga to the west of it. Bawaleshi, which is about 4.8 kilometers southwest of Dodowa, is the last Dangme town which is close to the Akwapim and the Ga boundaries. There are six main dialects which coincide with political unit. The coastal dialects are Ada, Ningo and Prampram (Gbugbla). The inland dialects are Shai (Sɛ), Krobo (Klo) and Osudoku.