Eʋe , Eʋegbe
Native Speakers: 5 million
Ghana, Togo, Benin
Official: Ghana, Togo
Niger-Congo, Gbe
It is a tonal language, using pitch to distinguish meaning between otherwise identical words. Ewe has three level tones (high, mid, and low) and employs vowel harmony, where vowels within a word must agree in certain phonetic features. The language follows a Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) word order and uses agglutinative morphology, meaning words are often formed by stringing together prefixes and suffixes. Ewe also features serial verb constructions, allowing multiple verbs to occur in sequence without conjunctions to express complex actions. Pronouns and verb forms often encode grammatical information such as aspect, mood, and negation.
Comprises several dialects that are generally mutually intelligible but show variation in pronunciation, vocabulary, and tone patterns. Major dialect groups include Anlo, spoken in southeastern Ghana; Tongu, found in the central Volta Region; Avenor, Wachi, and Kpedze, among others. In Togo, notable dialects include those spoken in the Lomé, Kpalimé, and Aného regions. The Anlo dialect is often considered a prestige variety in Ghana and is commonly used in education and media. While the differences between dialects are not typically barriers to communication, they reflect the geographic and social diversity of Ewe-speaking communities.
Latin script
In the U.S., the Ewe language is primarily spoken within West African immigrant communities, especially among individuals from Ghana and Togo. Significant Ewe-speaking populations can be found in urban centers with large African diaspora communities, such as New York City, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Chicago, and Houston. These communities often maintain cultural and linguistic ties through churches, social organizations, and cultural events. While Ewe is not widely spoken outside these immigrant networks, it plays an important role in preserving cultural identity and heritage among first-generation immigrants and their families.
At Latitude Prime, we offer Ewe translation, Ewe interpretation, and Ewe localization services in numerous specialized subject areas and multiple dialects. Whether you need to translate legal documents from Ewe into English for an emergency refugee hearing, need a Ewe interpreter for a business meeting in Accra, or want to localize your website into Ewe to market your products or services in parts of Western Africa (Ghana, Togo, Benin), Latitude Prime has the customized language solution to meet all your Ewe language needs.
