Gã
Ga
Niger-Congo
Ga (autonymously Gã) is a Kwa language of the Niger-Congo family, spoken by around 750,000 people primarily in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana, where Ga is one of the most prominent urban languages alongside Twi/Akan and English. The Ga people are the traditional inhabitants of Accra (the Ga capital city Nkran) and the surrounding coastal plain east to the Volta River. Linguistically, Ga is closely related to Adangme (ada) — the two form the Ga-Adangme branch of Kwa — and more distantly related to other major Ghanaian languages like Twi/Akan (ak), Ewe (ee), and Dagbani. Ga has been a language of urban modernity in Accra since the 19th century Basel Mission established Ga-language schools, with significant Ga-language press and radio. The annual Ga harvest festival of Homowo (early August) is one of the most prominent cultural events in Ghana.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Ga
Water
nu
/nu/
Fire
la
/la/
Sun
hulu
/hulu/
Moon
ŋɔɔŋmɔ
/ŋɔɔŋmɔ/
Mother
nyɛ
/ɲɛ/
Father
tsɛ
/tsɛ/
Eat
yɛ
/jɛ/
Drink
nu
/nu/
Love
suɔmɔ
/suɔmɔ/
Heart
tsui
/tsui/
Tree
tso
/tso/
House
shia
/ʃia/
Dog
gbei
/ɡbei/
Cat
adi
/adi/
Hand
nine
/nine/
Eye
hiŋmɛi
/hiŋmɛi/
Hello
ɔ jɔ
/ɔ jɔ/
Thank you
oyiwala
/ojiwala/
One
ekome
/ekome/
Good
ekpakpa
/ekpakpa/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Niger-Congo languages
| Meaning | Ga | Adangme | Aja | Ewondo | Akan (Twi) | Fang | Mano |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | nu /nu/ | nyu /ɲu/ | esi /esi/ | medzim /medzim/ | nsuo /nsuo/ | mendim /mendim/ | yi /ji/ |
| Fire | la /la/ | la /la/ | ezo /ezo/ | ndoa /ndoa/ | ogya /odʑa/ | ndoa /ndoa/ | kɔ /kɔ/ |
| Sun | hulu /hulu/ | hyɛ /çɛ/ | eŋke /eŋke/ | dzōb /dʒoːb/ | owia /owia/ | zòp /zop/ | lɛ /lɛ/ |
| Moon | ŋɔɔŋmɔ /ŋɔɔŋmɔ/ | nyɔnyɔɛ /ɲɔɲɔɛ/ | esun /esun/ | ngɔn /ŋɡɔn/ | ɔsrane /ɔsrane/ | ngɔn /ŋɡɔn/ | lɔ /lɔ/ |
| Mother | nyɛ /ɲɛ/ | nyɛ /ɲɛ/ | nɔ /nɔ/ | nyia /ɲia/ | ɛna /ɛna/ | nyia /ɲia/ | ɲɛ /ɲɛ/ |
| Father | tsɛ /tsɛ/ | tsɛ /tsɛ/ | to /to/ | tara /taɾa/ | agya /adʑa/ | tara /tara/ | de /de/ |
| Eat | yɛ /jɛ/ | ye /je/ | ɖu /ɖu/ | di /di/ | didi /didi/ | di /di/ | mɛ /mɛ/ |
| Drink | nu /nu/ | nu /nu/ | nu /nu/ | nyu /ɲu/ | nom /nom/ | nyu /ɲu/ | mi /mi/ |
| Love | suɔmɔ /suɔmɔ/ | suomi /suomi/ | lɔ̃ /lɔ̃/ | nye'e /ɲeʔe/ | ɔdɔ /ɔdɔ/ | ndzem /ndzem/ | ŋalo /ŋalo/ |
| Heart | tsui /tsui/ | tsui /tsui/ | dzi /dzi/ | nlem /nlem/ | akoma /akoma/ | nle /nle/ | gba /ɡba/ |
| Tree | tso /tso/ | tso /tso/ | ati /ati/ | elé /ele/ | dua /dua/ | eli /eli/ | ka /ka/ |
| House | shia /ʃia/ | we /we/ | avia /avia/ | nda /nda/ | efie /efie/ | nda /nda/ | kpɛ /kpɛ/ |
| Dog | gbei /ɡbei/ | gbe /ɡbe/ | avu /avu/ | mvu /mvu/ | kraman /kraman/ | mvu /mvu/ | gba /ɡba/ |
| Cat | adi /adi/ | adi /adi/ | ami /ami/ | esìŋga /esiŋɡa/ | agyinamoa /adʑinamoa/ | esin /esin/ | poso /poso/ |
| Hand | nine /nine/ | nine /nine/ | alɔ /alɔ/ | woó /woʔo/ | nsa /nsa/ | wɔ /wɔ/ | kɔ /kɔ/ |
| Eye | hiŋmɛi /hiŋmɛi/ | hiŋmɛ /hiŋmɛ/ | ŋku /ŋku/ | dzìs /dʒis/ | aniwa /aniwa/ | dis /dis/ | mi /mi/ |
| Hello | ɔ jɔ /ɔ jɔ/ | daa /daː/ | nɛnɛ /nɛnɛ/ | mbɔlɔ /mbɔlɔ/ | akwaaba /akʷaːba/ | mbolo /mbolo/ | ye /je/ |
| Thank you | oyiwala /ojiwala/ | ojakuɛ /odʒakwɛ/ | amɛ akpe /amɛ akpe/ | akiba /akiba/ | medaase /medaase/ | akiba /akiba/ | nyɛŋ /ɲɛŋ/ |
| One | ekome /ekome/ | kake /kake/ | ɖeka /ɖeka/ | fok /fok/ | baako /baːko/ | bok /bok/ | do /do/ |
| Good | ekpakpa /ekpakpa/ | hɛŋmi /hɛŋmi/ | nyo /ɲo/ | mbaŋ /mbaŋ/ | pa /pa/ | mbeng /mbeŋ/ | kɛlɛ /kɛlɛ/ |
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