:) http://dictionary.kasahorow.com/node/41138

I think most of the things and technologies of foreign origin we have names for in our traditional dialects are those which came on board during the colonial era through to Independence.(By the way Akwapim Twi will probably pronounce Refridgerator as 'adaka wuruduu' meaning cold box).
Apart from those, anything else is pronounced the way it originated.
I used to be a little miffed with the older grannies when they kept going on about 'pouwn enum ni nsia' and so on when you were talking money with them. And yet they equally had twi names for stuff like telephone - ahumatruwfo and match sticks- aperedatwii for instance. Makes you wonder how the adaptations were made.

We definitely do not have traditional names for everything foreign, but come to think of it no other country does either. Once you start seeing names like KWASHIORKOR in the Oxford English dictionary and a host of latin, French, Greek, Spanish and Jewish words, it suddenly dawns on you that no language is definite and that we all borrow from each other.

Can we add to language to make it richer? Now i certainly dont know about making it richer but i think we can adapt and broaden its scope.

THE CRINGE FACTOR! WHAT MAKES YOU THINK THAT GOD MADE THREE WORLDS AND THAT I COME FROM THE THIRD WORLD. THE ISSUE OF RACE IS GEOGRAPHICAL AND NOT A STATUS SYMBOL AND NEITHER IS MY SKIN BLACK NOR YOURS WHITE.

I would love an On-going Access. Many thanks
Gyasi K Dapaa

[quote=paa.kwesi]
Omanba, I noted that the "obroni ahina" and the "adaka wuruduu" are all archaic forms since it's unlikely the kid in Bolga would be using them (going from what you mentioned about your grand-mommy using them)--am I right?
And "kwasheɔkɔ" is a Ga-Adangbe word :)[/quote]

Definitely archaic. I think most people just say 'fridge' these days. Still i think its best to give the colloquial expressions alongside modern ones. Makes for interesting history lessons for people who want to delve back into time.
Didn't know KWASHIORKOR was GA-ADANGBE precisely, but yes i knew it originated from Ghana. Thanks for clarification.

THE CRINGE FACTOR! WHAT MAKES YOU THINK THAT GOD MADE THREE WORLDS AND THAT I COME FROM THE THIRD WORLD. THE ISSUE OF RACE IS GEOGRAPHICAL AND NOT A STATUS SYMBOL AND NEITHER IS MY SKIN BLACK NOR YOURS WHITE.

Not likely... unless some Peace FM presenter has made one up that I haven't heard :) In all possibility such a term can come up once email has gotten sufficiently into the consciousness of the speakers of the language. Then they may find that another word better expresses the concept of "email" (perhaps some amalgamation of "mail" and "electronic" as in the English). Right now it's still a foreign concept. Something along the lines of: "kɔmputa krataa".

In general it should make it into a dictionary when enough mention has been made in the popular press (tv/radio in this case).

[quote=gkdapaa]I think it would be best if we consult with the linguists or the people in charge of our languages (usually they could be found at the chiefs' palace) and ask them. They have such rich vocabulary and could be very resourceful. Even in times that there exists no twi translation, they are able to make up one.

Let me however try to help Abocco: If telephone is ahomatrofo, email could be mframatrofo (lol). But I will ask Grandpa to see what he suggests.

Gyasi K Dapaa
[/quote]

The department of linguistics is probably the best place to ask about this or perhaps we should seek out the street slang. Text messaging is now called 'flashing' so i bet email would probably be along the lines of 'brushing'(lol)
As for the old folks and traditionalists oh no, i doubt if they are big on the fast pace we urban slickers move at. You mention EMAIL to them; you will probably get a response like 'E Deng? or ediebeng E'? (E what?). Its bad enough getting them to switch TV channels or load a CD let alone ask them to tackle the computer and its associated lingo. Unless of course your grand-pappy is a Krakyi and not as old as mine hehehe...

THE CRINGE FACTOR! WHAT MAKES YOU THINK THAT GOD MADE THREE WORLDS AND THAT I COME FROM THE THIRD WORLD. THE ISSUE OF RACE IS GEOGRAPHICAL AND NOT A STATUS SYMBOL AND NEITHER IS MY SKIN BLACK NOR YOURS WHITE.