ADEKAN (COUNTING)

Objective

After working your way through this chapter you must be able to: a. Count from one to thousand and beyond b. Express the quantity of items they have c. Express the quantity of nouns

Introduction

Counting is essential in the daily life of a person, especially among the Akans. We need numbers to indicate the quantity of items we have or we want, to be able to transact business, to buy and sell, to tell the time, to get dress made, to measure, to tell dates, and to make appointments. We also need numbers to talk about our itinerary and our daily routines. Among the Akans, counting is done in tens. When we do not want to use specific numbers we use non-specific quantifiers. Counting from one to ten for humans is done differently from counting objects. In this unit, we will be looking at ordinals, cardinals, fractions, percentages, and frequency.

Lesson Vocabulary

(ɛ)fa		Half
(ɛ)mu		Full
Adehyeman		Republican state
Aduro		Medicine
Amansin		District
Amantam		Regions
Ankaa		Orange
Ankorɛ		Barrel
Apɔnkye		Goat
Asikyire		Sugar
Asukuufo		Students
Baako kabea		Singular
Biia		Beer
bisa asɛm		Ask questions
Bu nkontaa		Calculate
Bɔ ho		Multiple
Bɔtɔ		Sack/pocket
Dodoɔ kabea		Plural
Fa...ka...ho		Add
Fahodie		Independence
Fua/baako		One
Hwere		Lost/waste
Kakra		Little/few
Kan adeɛ		Count
kyɛ mu		Divide
Kɔɔpo		Cup
Ma		Give
mmarahyɛ- abadwafo		Legislature/congress
Mprɛ dodo		Frequency
Nkanee		Counting
Nkyene		Salt
Nkyɛm(u)		Division
Nsrahwɛ mmea		Tourist site
Ntoa		Bottles
Nwoma		Water
Nwoma		Book
nya		To have
Semente		Cement
Sika		Money
Te...fi(ri)... mu		Subtract
To aba		To vote
Tɔn		Sell
Wei		This
ɛmo		Rice
ɛyɛ den		It's difficult

Lesson Conversation:

Lesson Monologue

Akosua made on America

Amɛreka wɔ nkurotɔw aduonum. Kurotɔw a adi kan ne Delaware,

Pennsylvania na ɛtɔ so mienu, Massachusetts tɔ so nsia na Ohio tɔ so dunson. Illinois tɔ so aduonu baako, Washington tɔ so aduanan mienu na Hawaii di akyi. Nnipa bɛyɛ ɔpepe ahaasa ne nsia mpem ahanwɔtwe ne aduonum na wɔwɔ Amɛreka. Mmaa yɛ bɛyɛ ɔpepe ɔha aduonum. Amɛrekafo yɛ wiase nnipa dodoɔ ɔha nkyɛm(u) aduasa. Amɛreka anya ɔman mpanyinfo aduanan ɛnan. ɔman panyin a adi kan ne George Washington, nea ɛtɔ so mienu ne John Adams na Abraham Lincoln tɔ so du nsia. ɔmanpanyin a ɛtɔ so aduanan mienu ne W. J. Clinton na Barak Obama na adi akyi. Washington dii ɔmanpanyin mfe nwɔtwe, Abraham Lincoln dii ɔmanpanyin mfe ɛnan na Clinton dii mfe nwɔtwe. ɔmanpanyin Barak Obama ne bibini ɔmanpanyin a adi kan. ɔmanpanyin biara nnii mfe du mienu da wɔ ɔmanpanyin akongua no so.

Lesson Note

Cultural Notes

Counting from one to nine for human beings

1. Baako 6. Baasia

2. Baanu 7. Baason

3. Baasa 8. Baawɔtwe

4. Baanan 9. Baakron

5. Baanum

Grammar Notes

NKANEE AMMA BI (SOME NUMBERS)

0	Hwee/hunu	30	aduasa	309	Ahaasa ne nkron
1	Baako/biako/koro	31	Aduasa baako	400	Ahanan (aha ɛnan)
2	mienu	32	Aduasa mienu	401	Ahanan ne baako
3	miɛnsa/meɛnsa	40	aduanan	409	Ahanan ne nkron
4	(ɛ)nan	41	Aduanan baako	500	Ahanum(aha enum)
5	(e)num	42	Aduanan mienu	501	Ahanum ne baako
6	nsia	50	Aduonum	509	Ahanum ne nkron
7	Nson/ ɛnson	51	Aduonum baako	600	Ahansia (aha nsia)
8	nwɔtwe	52	Aduonum mienu	601	Ahansia ne baako
9	nkron	60	aduosia	609	Ahansia ne nkron
10	(e)du	61	Aduosia baako	700	Ahanson (aha nson)
11	Du baako	62	Aduosia mienu	701	Ahanson ne baako
12	dumienu	70	aduoson	709	Ahanson ne nkron
13	dumiɛnsa	71	Aduoson baako	800	ahanwɔtwe (aha nwɔtwe)
14	dunan	72	Aduoson mienu	801	ahanwɔtwe ne baako
15	dunum	80	aduowɔtwe	809	ahanwɔtwe ne nkron
16	dunsia	81	aduowɔtwe baako	900	Ahankron (aha nkron)
17	dunson	82	aduowɔtwe mienu	901	Ahankron ne baako
18	dunwɔtwe	90	aduokron	909	Ahankron ne nkron
19	dunkron	91	Aduokron baako	1000	Apem
20	aduonu	92	Aduokron mienu	1001	Apem ne baako
21	Aduonu baako	100	ɔha	1009	Apem ne nkron
22	Aduonu mienu	101	ɔha ne baako	2000	Mpem mienu
23	Aduonu miɛnsa	102	ɔha ne mienu	10,000	Mpem du
24	Aduonu (ɛ)nan	200	Ahaanu (aha mienu)	100,000	Mpem ɔha
25	Aduonu (e)num	201	Ahaanu ne baako	500,000	Mpem ahaanum
26	Aduonu nsia	202	Ahaanu ne mienu	900,000	Mpem ahankron
27	Aduonu nson	300	Ahaasa (aha miɛnsa)	1,000,000	ɔpepem
28	Aduonu nwɔtwe	301	Ahaasa ne baako	10,000,000	ɔpepem du
29	Aduonu nkron	302	Ahaasa ne mienu	1,000,000,000	ɔpepepem/ɔpepepee

Ordinals

Ordinals: Ordinals are used to indicate the position of something. Examples are 1^st man (barima a adi kan), the 2^nd woman (ɔbaa a ɛtɔ so mienu), the last book (nwoma a adi akyi(re)). Note: For any ordinal between the first and last use ɛtɔ so + the number.

This is how our working model for expressing ordinals will look like

X + a adi kan
X + a ɛtɔ so Y
X + a adi akyi(re)

X = Noun (din) and Y = number

In most cases when you have a proper noun as the noun expressed as the cardinal, we use an emphasize (na). Compare the sentences in group A with those in B

GROUP A GROUP B

Kofi na ɛtɔ so miɛnsa a. Kofi a ɛtɔ so miɛnsa
Abena na adi kan b. Abena a adi kan
New York na ɛtɔ so du c. New York a ɛtɔ so du
ɔman panyin Bush na adi akyi d. ɔman pinyin Bush a adi akyi
Harvard na adi kan e. Harvard a adi kan

The sentences in group A means is... (eg. Kofi is the third) while the sentences in group B means one of many. For example, Kofi a ɛtɔ so miɛnsa means there are so many Kofis and the particular one is the third.

Note: The pronoun nea is used for humans meaning nipa a, while deɛ is used for objects meaning ade(ɛ) a.

Nea adi kan ((the) person who is first
Deɛ adi kan ((the) thing which is first
Nea ɛtɔ so mienu (the person who is second)
Deɛ ɛtɔ so nienu (the thing which is second)

Nkyɛm(u) (Fractions) and ɔha Nkyɛm(u) (Percentages)

Fractions in Akan are expressed by first saying the denominator and then the numerator. Eg. 3/20 is said as aduonum nkyɛm(u) miɛnsa. The exception is ½ (half) which is said fa.

Examples:

4/5 enum nkyɛm(u) ɛnan
1/100 ɔha nkyɛm(u) baako
20/30 aduasa nkyɛm(u) aduonu
5/16 dunsia nkyɛm(u) enum
6/19 du nkron nkyɛm(u) nsia

Percentages in Akan are written the same way as fraction. Remember that a percentage is a fraction with the denominator as 100. Therefore, 2% is 2/100 which is written as ɔha nkyɛm(u) mienu.

Examples:

20% ɔha nkyɛm(u) aduonu
5% ɔha nkyɛm(u) enum
99% ɔha nkyɛm(u) aduɔkron nkron
45% ɔha nkyɛm(u) aduanan enum

200% ɔha nkyɛm(u) ahaanu

Examples:

TWI	ENGLISH	TWI	ENGLISH
prɛko	once	mprɛ dubaako	Eleven times
mprenu	twice	mprɛ aduonu	Twenty time
mprɛnsa	thrice	mprɛ aduasa baako	Thirty-one times
mprɛnan	Four times	mprɛ aduasa num	Thirty-five times
mprenum	Five times	mprɛ aduanan nsia	Forty-six times
mprensia	Six times	mprɛ aduɔwɔtwe	Eighty times

DIN/DINNSIANANMU (X)

NKANEE AMMA (Y)

Bosome

Afe

Dɔnhwere

Wiase ko

Abofra no

ɔbaa

Barima

Nea

Deɛ

Nipa/nyimpa

Afe

a (that)

adi

ɛtɔ so

baako

Enan

du baako

aduasa mienu

ɔha

kan

aduosia

nwɔtwe

ahaasa

nkron

akyi(re) etc.

Ordinals

Examples:

TWI	ENGLISH	TWI	ENGLISH
prɛko	once	mprɛ dubaako	Eleven times
mprenu	twice	mprɛ aduonu	Twenty time
mprɛnsa	thrice	mprɛ aduasa baako	Thirty-one times
mprɛnan	Four times	mprɛ aduasa num	Thirty-five times
mprenum	Five times	mprɛ aduanan nsia	Forty-six times
mprensia	Six times	mprɛ aduɔwɔtwe	Eighty times

DODO KYERɛ (QUANTIFIERS)

Quantifiers are used to modify nouns to show their quantity. In Akan, if a noun is countable and you know the specific quantity, use a specific number. The numeral is written after the noun. (Note: this is directly opposite to what pertains in English). For example, twenty oranges is written as ankaa aduonum, ten goats is written as mpɔnkye/mmirekyie du.

Examples:

Papa Mensa wɔ mmofra du
Nnipa ahaanu wɔ sukuu
Twi asuafo nkron kɔ Ghana
Nwoma miɛnsa gu ɛpono no so
Harvard wɔ asukuufo mpem nsia

There are instances where we need to express an uncountable noun or where a countable noun is so many that we do not know the

specific numbers or quantity. In such cases, we use non-specific

quantifiers like pii/bebree (many/much), kumaabi/ketewaabi

(very little/few). Kakra is also used for ((a) little/(a) few).

Examples:

Nnipa pii kɔ New York
Nsu pii gu fie hɔ
Me maame wɔ ɛmo pii/bebree
Mewɔ nkyene ketewaabi
Nnipa kumaabi ahwere wɔn sika

In some cases we have uncountable nouns in containers.

When it happens this way we express the quantity by using the

number of containers.

Examples

Mewɔ ɛmo bɔtɔ/kotokuo baako
Yɛtɔn nsu ankorɛ mienu
ɔmaa me asikyire kɔɔpo du
Kofi tɔɔ sɛmɛnte mmɔtɔ aduonum
Asuafo no wɔ sika adaka baako
Menomm biia ntoa miɛnsa

Expressing more than (dɔɔso kyɛn/sen) and less than.(sua kyɛn/sen)

Examples

Me sika dɔɔ so kyɛn wo
Kofi nwoma dɔɔ so sen wo
Yɛn ntadeɛ sua kyɛn mo
Me nuanom sua kyɛn wo
Papa Mensa mpɔnkye dɔɔ so kyɛn me de.

Use pii kyɛn/sen or ketewabi/kumaabi kyɛn/sen this way to mean somebody has something more than or less than the other

Mewɔ sika pii sen/kyɛn wo
Mewɔ ntadeɛ pii kyɛn/sen Kwame
Kofi nwoma yɛ pii kyɛn/sen Abena

Other ways of expressing more than or less than with specific quantity in mind; for example, having $10 more than or less than somebody

Me sika dɔɔ so kyɛn/sen wo sidi du
Me sika sua kyɛn/sen wo sidi du
Kofi pɛn dɔɔ so sen Kwame bɛyɛ aduonum.
Akosua aduro sua kyɛn me ntoa miɛnsa

Lesson Exercise

Using the above chart as a guide, can you write the following words in Twi?

1. 86...........................................................................................................................................
2. 999.........................................................................................................................................
3. 106.........................................................................................................................................
4. 1,883......................................................................................................................................
5. 10,208....................................................................................................................................
6. 220,689..................................................................................................................................
7. 1,000,325...............................................................................................................................
8. 10, 300...................................................................................................................................
9. 727.........................................................................................................................................
10. 7004.......................................................................................................................................

	ɔpepem (millions)	Mpem (thousands)	ɔha (Hundredths)	Ne (and)	Du (Tens)	Baako (Ones)
78					aduoson	nwɔtwe
526			ahaanum	ne	aduonu	nsia
1245		apem	ahaanu	ne	aduanan	num
10,421		Mpem du	ahanan	ne	aduonu	baako
100,000		Mpem ɔha	-	-	-	-
2,659,984	ɔpepe mienu	Mpem ahansia aduonum nkron	ahankron	ne	aduowɔtwe	nkron
1,000,004	ɔpepe baako	-	-	ne	-	(ɛ)nan

Form the above table construct as many sentences as you can. You may compete or have it as a game with your friend.

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Etc

class="table table-striped"

DIN/DINNSIANANMU (X)

NKANEE AMMA (Y)

Bosome

Afe

Dɔnhwere

Wiase ko

Abofra no

ɔbaa

Barima

Nea

Deɛ

Nipa/nyimpa

Afe

a (that)

adi

ɛtɔ so

baako

Enan

du baako

aduasa mienu

ɔha

kan

aduosia

nwɔtwe

ahaasa

nkron

akyi(re) etc.