Learn Ga Now: Lessons 1-5

Table of Contents
Tips for Using these Lessons Lesson 1: Nimaa Okadii (Letters of the Alphabet) Lesson 2: Meeting People Lesson 3: W Ye Aduawa (We Eat Fruit!) Lesson 4: Gbii l Agbii (Names of the Days of the Week) Lesson 5: W Y Bi (We Are Here!) 4 5 13 21 29 37

Tips for Using these Lessons

These audio and print lessons were designed to help you quickly begin to learn Ga. Before you dive in to these lessons, think about how you learned your own native language. First you listened. Next, you began speaking by repeating what you heard, then you tried to come up with words to convey your thoughts. Next was reading, then writing. Our brains are designed to learn language in this way, so use this order when learning Ga. First, listen and speak Begin by listening to the audio lessons. Then practice repeating everything you can. Try to mimic the words, the tones, the phrasing and the rhythms. After youve listened for awhile, try saying the words and phrases before the audio. Then, add reading and writing Once youre familiar with the sounds, then begin studying with the printed lessons. Listen to the audio, while you read the lesson. Then complete the written and oral activities. Using language in context As youre learning, youll see that we present the information first in a conversation where possible. Then, we break it down into more manageable parts. Dont worry about learning the meaning of every word or trying to translate word for word. Remember, this is how you learned your language. Resist translating Learn more quickly by speaking and listening in Ga, resisting the temptation to translate into English! Practice with a friend saying what you can in Ga only. Move from controlled to freer activities to build confidence and skill. Learn about Ghana too... We also incorporated parts of daily life in Ghana in the lessons. For example in lesson 4, learn about names given based on the day of the week you were born. Come back for more Once you make it through and are ready for more, check back to www.learnganow.com for more lessons.

O k ni kasem jr!
...Enjoy your lessons!

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1: Nimaa Okadii

Overview Lesson 1: Nimaa Okadii (Letters of the Alphabet)

In this lesson, learn the basic sounds of the Ga language, by learning the alphabet and the 2- and 3-letter consonant combinations (like gb). And youll learn a Ga word that illustrates each sound. Did you know that compared to English, Ga has some extra letters (, , ), and others that are not used (c, q, x)? Lesson 1 Outline a. Ga Alphabet b. 2 and 3-Letter Consonants Combinations Exercises: Exercise 1.1 Alphabet Practice Exercise 1.2 Matching Exercise 1.3 Fill in the Blank Exercise 1.4 Multiple Choice Exercise 1.5 Fill in the Blank Answers to Exercises

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1: Nimaa Okadii

Lesson 1: Nimaa Okadii (Letters of the Alphabet)

a. Ga Alphabet Ga Letters a b d e f g h i j k l m n o p r s t u v w y z Note: c, q, Similar sound in English a in far b in ball d in do a in late, but shorter e in get f in fill g in go h in help ee in seek but shorter j in jump k in keep l in lip m in mean n in neat ng in long o in note, but shorter o in lot p in pit dd in madder s in seat t in tea oo in too, but short v in veal w in well y in yes z in zero and x are not used in Ga. Ga word example am (they) bo (you) duade (cassava) ekome (one) h or h (yes) fo (beautiful) gnti (thumb) hm (hunger) mi (I, me) Juf (Tuesday) k (say) leebi (morning) mli (in) nane (leg) ai (charcoal) ofain (please) w (we) pii (many) jara (market) sabola (onion) toi (ear) Ju (Monday) voo (deep) wl (egg) yoo (woman) zro (zero)

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1: Nimaa Okadii
b. 2 and 3-Letter Consonants Combinations In addition to the single consonants, Ga uses these combinations of two or three consonants. It is difficult to get exact English sound equivalents for some of these, especially gb, kp, m and w. Ga Consonant Combinations gb gw hw jw kp kw ny m w sh shw ts tsw Similar sound in English Ga word example

gb in tugboat but with no pause between g and b gu in La Guardia wh in where dgew in Edgewater, said quickly ckp in stock pot, with no pause between k and p qu in aquarium ny in own yoke, with no gap between n and y ngm in wrong mop, with no gap between ng and m ngw in wrong way, with no gap between ng and w sh in she schw in Schweppes ch in chip chw in the middle of each way, with no gap between ch and w

agbo (big) gwantn (sheep) hwanya (shake) ejw (four) kpawo (seven) kw (look at, watch) ny (you pl.) ma (write) wi (sky) shia (house) shwane (afternoon) tsofa (medicine) tswaa (free)

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1: Nimaa Okadii
Ex 1.1 Alphabet Practice Practice saying the Ga alphabet. What letters are missing from the Ga alphabet? _________ What are the extra letters in the Ga alphabet? __________ Can you say it without looking? Can you say the alphabet backwards? Ex 1.2 Matching For each of the two sets of words below, write the letter of the English meaning for each numbered Ga word. Example: For number 1, the answer is I, because say is the meaning of the Ga word k. Set 1. I 1. k A. beautiful 2. Juf B. cassava 3. mi C. yes 4. leebi D. hunger 5. hm E. I, me 6. fo F. in 7. gnti G. morning 8. h H. one 9. am I. say 10. bo J. they 11. duade K. thumb 12. mli L. Tuesday 13. ekome M. you (singular ---------------------------------------------------------------------------Set 2. G 1. jara A. charcoal 2. Ju B. deep 3. nane C. ear 4. ai D. egg 5. ofain E. leg 6. pii F. many 7. sabola G. market 8. toi H. Monday 9. voo I. onion 10. w J. please 11. wl K. we 12. yoo L. zero 13. zro M. woman

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1: Nimaa Okadii

Ex 1.3 Fill in the Blank Write the missing Ga word for each letter of the Ga alphabet that has the English meaning shown. Example: The Ga word that uses a and means they is am. Ga Letters a b d e f g h i j k l m n o p r s t u v w y z Ga word am Word meaning in English they you cassava one yes beautiful thumb hunger I, me Tuesday say morning in, within leg charcoal please we many market onion ear Monday deep egg woman zero

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1: Nimaa Okadii
Ex 1.4 Multiple Choice For each numbered Ga word, look at the three English words to the right. Write the correct answer: a, b or c. Example: For 1, the answer is a, since ejwe means four. a 1. ejw 2. gwantn 3. hwanya 4. agbo 5. kpawo 6. kw 7. ny 8. ma 9. shwane 10. shia 11. tswaa 12. wi 13. tsofa a. four a. please a. beautiful a. four a. seven a. deep a. you (plural) a. house a. afternoon a. we a. free a. ear a. they b. b. b. b. b. b. b. b. b. b. b. b. b. big hunger shake big afternoon egg you (singular) write many onion four zero medicine c. c. c. c. c. c. c. c. c. c. c. c. c. thumb sheep me in morning look at ear we woman house medicine sky house

Ex 1.5 Fill in the Blank For each consonant combination, write the missing Ga word that has the English meaning shown. Example: Write agbo, since it uses gb and means big. Ga Consonant Combinations 1. gb 2. gw 3. hw 4. jw 5. kp 6. kw 7. ny 8. m 9. w 10. sh 11. shw 12. ts 13. tsw Ga Word agbo Word meaning in English big sheep shake four seven look at, watch you (plural) write sky house afternoon medicine free

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1: Nimaa Okadii
Answers for Lesson 1: Nimaa Okadii Ex 1.1 Alphabet Practice Missing letters: c, q, x Extra letters: , , Ex 1.2 Matching Set 1. I 1. L 2. E 3. G 4. D 5. A 6. K 7. C 8. J 9. M 10. B 11. F 12. H 13. Ex 1.3 Fill in the Blank Letter Ga English a am they b bo you d duade cassava e ekome one h yes f fo beautiful g gnti thumb h hm hunger i mi I, me j Juf Tuesday k k say l leebi morning m mli in, within n nane leg ai charcoal o ofain please w we p pii many r jara market s sabola onion t toi ear u Ju Monday v voo deep w wl egg y yoo woman z zro zero

k Juf mi leebi hm fo gnti h am bo duade mli ekome

A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H. I. J. K. L. M.

beautiful cassava yes hunger I, me in morning one say they thumb Tuesday you (singular)

-----------------------------------------------------------Set 2. G 1. jara A. charcoal H 2. Ju B. deep E 3. nane C. ear A 4. ai D. egg J 5. ofain E. leg F 6. pii F. many I 7. sabola G. market C 8. toi H. Monday B 9. voo I. onion K 10. w J. please D 11. wl K. we M 12. yoo L. zero L 13. zro M. woman

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1: Nimaa Okadii
Answers for Lesson 1 (continued) Ex 1.4 Multiple Choice a 1. ejw c 2. gwantn b 3. hwanya b 4. agbo a 5. kpawo c 6. kw a 7. ny b 8. ma a 9. shwane c 10. shia a 11. tswaa c 12. wi b 13. tsofa

Ex 1.5 Fill in the Blank Ga 1. gb agbo 2. gw gwantn 3. hw hwanya 4. jw ejw 5. kp kpawo 6. kw kw 7. ny ny 8. m ma 9. w wi 10. sh shia 11. shw shwane 12. ts tsofa 13. tsw tswaa

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