The phonetic inventory of Twi is very interesting because it relies on many of the same letters that english does, but shortens and elongates sounds to have very different meanings. “Agorɔ”, “kyerɛ” are words that include letters that do not exist in English. The sounds they make force the end of the words to cut off and elongate in unique ways to display meaning. Context means a lot when utilizing these sounds, but also having an ear for tone shift is very important. It does not necessarily mean that the sounds do not exist in English, but it means that the sounds take a different shape in the nostrils and in the throat. Being able to pronounce these sounds is integral to differentiating between present progressive, past tense, and future tense. For example, “Mereko kɔ, Mereko kɔɔ, and Mekɔ” all have different pronunciation. The “r” is silent and is only used to help delineate differences in writing. The ways that the end of the word and the first “e” are held and pinched are the only way a listener could tell these things apart. I acquired the ability to differentiate segments just growing up in a household where the language is spoken every day consistently. The language also includes a lot of facial expressions and mannerisms that make sentences clear even when you are not paying the closest attention. The phonetic inventory of my language works very well to be efficient. For example, “Ga, ge, gɛ, gi, go, gɔ, gu”, every one of these words has a different meaning yet is so space-efficient and that is what I love. It comes across as a form of poetic simplicity.
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