After you have met a friend or visited a friend and finished your conversation, you ask permission to leave. The one asking permission to leave must sound polite in order not to offend the other. You need to have a good reason or excuse to explain why you are leaving to avoid being seen as arrogant or disrespectful. It is customary for the host to reject a first time request by the guest to leave. This indicates that he/she is not in a hurry to send the guest away no matter how unwanted the visit is. The host normally says: twεn kakra (twεn = wait, kakra = little) (stay/wait a little). As a host, you need to see your guest off sometimes to the bus stop or his/her car if she/brought one or outside the house. It is rude to just say goodbye to your guest and close the door after him/her. Unlike in the US where you need to call to friend to arrange a visit if even you live in the same neighborhood, among the Akans, one visits a friend living in the same neighborhood or community or neighboring village without necessarily making arrangements first. People just visit to see how friends are doing or if they have not seen them for a while. But note that when you want to have an interview with somebody make sure you make some arrangement before you visit. When you visit there is exchange of greetings, you are offered water and a seat. This is followed by the host asking “amandeε/amanneε? (What is your mission?). The guest replies “bk” (its cool) but if there is a serious issue at stake he/she replies “εnyε” (its not good) or “εmu yε den” (it is difficult/its bad news) After working your way through this chapter you must be able to 1. visit a friend and ask permission to leave 2. receive a host and see him/her off 3. Use personal interrogative pronouns appropriately.

The Akans like most groups have seven days in a week. The first day is Sunday (Kwasiada) and the last day is Saturday (Memeneda). Though the Akans have seven day in a week, the week is referred to as nnawɔtwe (eight days) or dapεn. The days of the week are very essential to the Akans because one takes his first name from the day on which one was born. For example, a boy born on Sunday is Akwasi and a girl born on the same day is called Akosua. The days are also special to Akans because certain rituals are performed on particular days. For example if an individual is sick and needs some rituals to be performed, it is done on the day the individual was born. An interesting cultural point about the days of the week worth knowing is that they are divided in “male days” and “female days”. The female days are believed to be fertile days so most marriage activities or rituals about prosperity are performed on these days. There are also twelve months in the year. Mmotae(ε) (Objectives) 1. Identify the days of the week 2. Identify male and female names for people born on a particular day. 3. Identify the months 4. Use coordinating conjunctions effectively.

In time past, the Akans announced time by ringing bells at every hour. The ringing of the bell has been used as a reference point to telling time. When it was one o’clock the bell was rang once. Akans have three main divisions with the day. These are morning (anɔpa), afternoon (awia/awiabere), and evening (anwummere). Other times within the day are dawn (anɔpahema/ahomakye/anɔpa tutuutu), mid-day/noon (owigyinae/prɛmtobere), night (anadwo), midnight (ɔdasuom/anadwo krɔnkrɔn). The time in Akan is said in two forms; past (apa ho) and till/to (aka). In telling the time in Akan, the seconds (kɛkɛ - the noise the ticking makes) is not said. Note: Time is written as mmere or mmerɛ.