Speaking Ewe: The Three Dialect Rule

To speak Ewe in Togo, you need to know at least three separate dialects. Ewe is also spoken in Ghana and Benin, but I am not sure whether this discussion carries over to those countries.

First, there is the dialect of the village. For example, a person may come from a village in the Kpele canton, in which case they probably speak Kpelegbe, which is a dialect of Ewe. Some other dialects of Ewe of Togo include: Agu, Avenɔ, Be, Togo, Danyi, Kpesi, Vo, Waci, Wudu.

Second, in Togo you need to know the lingua franca, which is Gen/Mina (also called Ewe). This dialect originates in Anecho, but through commerce has spread throughout the entire country (especially in markets). In Lome, it is the dialect of all communication outside of the home. It even dominates French, which is the national language. People do speak French in Lome, but nowhere near as much as Gen/Mina.

Gen/Mina differs lexically, syntactically and phonologically from other dialects of Ewe. If I had to estimate I would say that the difference is a little greater than the difference between a dialect of American English and a dialect of Scottish English. Mutual comprehension is high, but there are still many opportunities for miscommunication. 

A simple example: When I went to buy a hat on the side of road, I asked the vendor if he sold ‘hat’ kuku (MH). He thought I was talking about chickens. When I told him in French that I wanted a ‘chapeau’, he corrected my Ewe pronunciation to kuku (HH). MH is the Kpelegbe pronunciation. HH is the Gen/Mina pronunciation. But just the difference between MH and HH blocked all communication between us.

Third, you also need to know standard Ewe, which is taught in schools and used at church. The bible is written in standard Ewe, as are any other Ewe books. The daily news is also broadcast in standard Ewe.

Even somebody born in Lome, who only speaks Gen/Mina will also understand standard Ewe (through school, church and the radio). Their parents or friends probably speak another dialect (e.g., Aflaogbe, the original Lome dialect) and they will be familiar with that as well. So they also obey the rule of three.

To give an example of the differences, consider the sentence ‘Where are you going?’:

a. Kpelegbe: Gane yi e-le? (lit. where go 2sg-cop?)

b. Gen/Mina: Fike wo-le yi o? (lit. where 2sg-cop go particle)

c. Standard Ewe: Afika yi-m ne-le? (lit. where go-prog 2sg cop)

Even from this simple example, it can be seen that there are major differences between the dialects. For example, in the progressive, the verb follows the question word in Kpelegbe and Standard Ewe, but not in Gen/Mina. Also, Gen/Mina has a sentence final particle for wh-questions, but Kpelegbe and Standard Ewe do not. The word for ‘where’ in Kpelegbe is quite different from the word for ‘where’ in the other two dialects. 

But any Kpelegbe speaker will easily understand all three (a-c).

In addition to these three dialects, people might know others. For example, a young man I know in Lome speaks Gen/Mina fluently. His mother and father both speak Kpelegbe, so he also speaks Kpelegbe. He has friends in Lome who speak Aflaogbe, so he also knows that. And of course, like everybody else he understands standard Ewe.

More generally, many people in Lome will recognize the Kpele dialect as Kpalimegbe, meaning one of the dialects spoken in and around Kpalime Togo (southwestern part of country).

If a person from Kpele moves to Lome, they will continue to speak Kpelegbe at home, and their children will therefore acquire it as a second language (second to Gen/Mina). Their children will be competent speakers of Kpelegbe. But their grandchildren will definitely not speak Kpelegbe at all (although they will still understand it).

Outside of the home, the Kpelegbe speaker will mix dialects. Pure Kpelegbe spoken on the streets of Lome will give rise to difficulty in communication (like the one sketched above), and remarks like ‘You speak Kpalimegbe?’. 

All of Lome has bought solidly into the idea that Gen/Mina is the lingua franca. Even speakers of totally different languages from the north, like Kabiye or Tem or Moba will come to Lome and speak Gen/Mina as the lingua franca.

In neighboring Ghana, roles are reversed. The lingua franca is Twi (Akan), and Ewe is clearly a minority language. In Togo, it is relatively rare for an Ewe speaker to speak Twi, unless they happen to have worked in Ghana during their lives. But in Ghana, it is very common for Ewe speakers to speak Twi.