Anufo language

Anufɔ
Chakosi
Anufɔ
Region	Ghana, Togo, Benin, Ivory Coast
Ethnicity	Anufo people
Native speakers	180,000 (2013)
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Kwa Potou–Tano Tano Central Tano (Akan) Bia North Anufɔ
Official status
Recognised minority language in	Benin
Language codes
ISO 639-3	cko
Glottolog	anuf1239

Anufo (Anufɔ), also known as Chakosi, is a Central Tano language spoken in northeast Ghana, northern Togo, northwest Benin and Ivory Coast by approximately 180,000 people.

According to the 2021 Population and Housing Census in Ghana, the Anufo in northeast Ghana, especially those in the Chereponi District numbered 87,176 with more females of (44,342) representing 50.9 percent than males being (42,834) constituting 49.1 percent. The district a land size of 1,374.7 km2 with a population density of 63 persons per square kilometre. The District shares boundaries with Gushegu District to the West, Bunkpurugu-Nakpanduri District to the North, Saboba Districts to the South and The Republic of Togo to the East bordered by the River Oti.

There is a language contact situation with the Anufɔ language. Language contact is a common sociolinguistic phenomenon among indigenous languages in Africa. Presently, apart from being the major ethnic group and settlers in the district capital, Chereponi, the Anufɔ language has come in contact with sub-ethnic groups such as: the Hausa-speaking people, the Ewe-speaking people, the Fulani-speaking people, the Moshi-speaking people, the Bimoba-speaking people, and the Konkomba (Likpakpaln)-speaking people, whose languages and culture have influenced the Anufɔ language. Apart from its contact with the aforementioned indigenous African languages, Anufɔ has also come into contact with English in the case of Ghana, and French in the case of Togo due to the influence of formal education. It may therefore, be said that the Anufɔ language exists in a multilinguistic environment.

Phonology

Consonants

		Labial			Alveolar		Palatal		Velar		Labial-velar		Glottal
		plain	round	palatal	plain	palatal	plain	palatal	plain	round	plain	palatal
Nasal		m		mʲ	n		ɲ		ŋ		ŋm	ŋmʲ
Stop	voiceless	p	pʷ	pʲ	t	tʲ	c	cʲ	k	kʷ	kp	kpʲ
	voiced	b	bʷ	bʲ	d	dʲ	ɟ	ɟʲ	ɡ	ɡʷ	gb	gbʲ
Fricative	voiceless	f	fʷ	fʲ	s	ʃ		ɕᶣ					h
	voiced				z			ʑᶣ
Rhotic					r	rʲ
Approximant	voiceless			ɥ̥
	voiced			ɥ	l	lᶣ	j				w

Vowels

	Oral		Nasal
	Front	Back	Front	Back
Close	i	u	ĩ	ũ
Close-mid	e	o
Open-Mid	ɛ	ɔ	ɛ̃	ɔ̃
Open	a		ã

Writing

Anufo is written in the Latin alphabet, with the addition of the letters Ɛ ɛ, Ɱ ɱ, Ŋ ŋ and Ɔ ɔ.