Peace Corps Ewe Pronunciation Guide

PROGRAMS THAT USED THIS LANGUAGE
Ghana: 1961-present
Togo: 1962-present
Niger: 1962-2011; Currently Inactive
Congo: 1970-1991; Currently Inactive

PROGRAM SECTORS
Ghana: Education, Environment, Agriculture, Health
Togo: Education, Environment, Health, Business, Information Technology
Niger: Currently Inactive
Congo: Currently Inactive

COURSE OVERVIEW
This volume consists of a guide to Ewe pronunciation and an Ewe textbook designed for students who are native speakers of English. Consonants, vowels and tones are introduced in the first section, and exercises that drill the contrasts between the segments are provided. The volume is divided into five units, each unit including a dialogue, vocabulary, and grammatical drills. Topics covered by the units include greetings, names, occupations, and farming.

Ewe is a NigerCongo language spoken in southeastern Ghana and southern Togo by over three million people. Ewe is part of a cluster of related languages commonly called Gbe; the other major Gbe language is Fon of Benin. Like most sub-Saharan languages, Ewe is tonal. Some of the commonly named Ewe ('Vhe') dialects are Twun, Awlan, Gbón, Pecé, Kpándo, Vhlin, Hó, Avno, Vo, Kpelen, V, Dayin, Agu, Fodome, Wancé, Wacé, Adóngbe (Capo). Ethnologue 16 considers Waci, Kpesi (Kpessi), and Wudu to be distinct enough to be considered separate languages.

They form a dialect continuum with Ewe and Gen (Mina), which share a mutual intelligibility level of 85%; the Ewe varieties Gbin, Ho, Kpelen, Kpesi, and Vhlin might be considered a third cluster of Western Gbe dialects between Ewe and Gen, though Kpesi is as close or closer to the Waci and Vo dialects which remain in Ewe in that scenario. Waci intervenes geographically between Ewe proper and Gen; Wudu is further north, on the northern edge of Aja territory, and Kpesi forms a Gbe island in the Kabye area.

Ewe is spoken in: Ghana, Togo, Benin

Ewe is also called: Éwé, Ebwe, Efe, Ehwe, Eibe, Eue, Eve, Gbe, Krepe, Krepi, Popo, Vhe