Adele language

The Adele language is spoken in central eastern Ghana and central western Togo. It belongs to the geographic group of Ghana Togo Mountain languages (traditionally called the Togorestsprachen or Togo Remnant languages) of the Kwa branch of Niger–Congo. The speakers themselves, the Adele people, call the language Gidire.

Adele
Gidire
Region	Ghana and Togo
Native speakers	37,000 (2003–2012)
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Kwa Anii–Adere Adele
Language codes
ISO 639-3	ade
Glottolog	adel1244

Adele
People	Bidire
Language	Gidire

Writing system

In Ghana, the Ghana Institute of Linguistics, Literacy and Bible Translation (en) (GILLBT) developed an alphabet to translate the Bible into Adele.

Adele alphabet (Ghana)

A

B

Bw

D

E

Ɛ

F

Fw

G

Gb

Gy

H

I

Ɩ

K

Kp

Ky

Kw

L

M

N

Ny

Ŋ

Ŋm

Ŋw

O

Ɔ

P

Pw

R

S

T

U

Ʋ

W

Y

a

b

bw

d

e

ɛ

f

fw

g

gb

gy

h

i

ɩ

k

kp

ky

kw

l

m

n

ny

ŋ

ŋm

ŋw

o

ɔ

p

pw

r

s

t

u

ʋ

w

y

The Adele alphabet used in Togo is essentially the same, however Rongier uses fewer digraphs at the index of his Adele-French dictionary.

Adele alphabet (Togo)

A

B

C

D

E

Ɛ

F

G

Gb

I

Ɩ

J

K

Kp

L

M

N

Ny

Ŋ

O

Ɔ

P

R

S

U

Ʋ

W

Y

a

b

c

d

e

ɛ

f

g

gb

i

ɩ

j

k

kp

l

m

n

ny

ŋ

o

ɔ

p

r

s

u

ʋ

w

y

Further reading

• Adinyah, John B. (1995). "Adele kinship terms, role relationships, and family obligations". GILLBT (Ghana Institute of Linguistics, Literacy and Bible Translation) academic seminar week: proceedings of the 1994 seminar. Legon: Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana. pp. 4–11.
• Clerk, Nicolas (1892). "Meine reise in den Hinterländern von Togo, nach Nkónyã, Boëm, O̱boo̱so, Salaga, Krakye" [My journey in the hinterlands of Togo, to Nkónyã, Boëm, O̱boo̱so, Salaga, Krakye]. Mitteilungen der geographischen Gesellschaft. IX: 77–98.
• Bertho, J. (1952). "Les Dialectes du Moyen-Togo" [The Dialects of Middle Togo]. Bulletin de l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire. XIV: 1046–1107.
• Christaller, J. G. (1895). "Die Adelesprache im Togogebiet" [The Adele language in the Togo region]. Zeitschrift für afrikanische und oceanische Sprachen. I: 16–33.
• Heine, Bernd (1968). Die Verbreitung und Gliederung der Togorestsprachen [The distribution and structure of the Togorest languages]. Berlin: Dietrich Reimer.
• Kantchoa, Laré (2014). "La classification nominale du gidere, langue volta-mono du Togo et du Ghana". Revue du CAMES: Lettres, Langues et linguistique. 2: 120–132.
• Nonon Kpamnona, Mikpakpè Adjovi (2012). Le nominal en adélé: une esquisse d'étude préliminaire (MA thesis). Université de Lomé.
• Rongier, Jacques (1998). Dictionnaire français-adele. Abidjan: Institut de Linguistique Appliquée.
• Westermann, Diedrich (1922). "Vier Sprachen aus Mitteltogo: Likpe, Bowili, Akpafu und Adele, nebst einigen Resten der Borosprache" [Four languages from central Togo: Likpe, Bowili, Akpafu and Adele, along with some remnants of the Boro language]. Mittheilungen des Seminars für Orientalische Sprachen. XXIV: 1–59.

External links

• Listen to a sample of Adele from Global Recordings Network