The motivation, according to the chairman of the department Professor Mark Naison is as a result of the growing number people who transact business in the Bronx using Twi as the

medium of communication."It is amazing to see people communicating in Twi, not thousand; but tens of thousands. The churches ,African shops, African Restaurants and Food Joints just name them"

Fordham University is taking the lead in this area due to its location and will be the only University in the New York to offer Twi .All is set for the Twi class to take-off during the summer section one class of 2010.Mr.Kojo Ampah Sahara, a Ghanaian studying at the RoseHill campus of Fordham University where the program will be held and leader of the African Cultural Exchange an umbrella organization that promotes African culture and values hinted that the course will be handled by a seasoned Ghanaian professor based in Connecticut ,Ben Hayford. Twi specifically Ashanti Twi is a language spoken by about 10 million people in Ghana (West Africa).It is one of the three (3) mutually intelligible dialect of the Akan language, the others being Akuapim Twi and Fante which belong to the Kwa language family. Kwa means a group of African language in the Niger-Congo group spoken from Ivory coast to Nigeria.

In Ghana, Twi is spoken in the Ashanti Region, parts of the Eastern, Western, Central, Volta and BrongAhafo Regions .The University is proud to undertake this enterprise as it will help teachers, social workers and others who will be working in the Bronx communities where Twi is spoken.

It is expected that students from other Universities in New York who are interested can be part of the course which will begin with 40 students. Once again Ghana will be in the spotlight as the course will also look at the various cultural practices of the Akans.

Source: EKOW MENSAH-SHALDERS