Even though Ghana is an English speaking country, most people prefer to speak Twi and Pidgin English. A lot of people actually don’t know how to speak any English at all. Examples of the category of people who speak very little or no English at all are market women and taxi drivers. You may sometimes bump into a taxi driver who speakers good English, but that is very rare in a predominantly Twi speaking city like Kumasi. Due to this, it can be very difficult to negotiate fares, let alone start a short conversation when you are in a taxi cab. In this article we shall learn the Twi phrases you have to be conversant with when taking a taxi cab in Ghana.
Click the speaker buttons to hear how to say each phrase. Learn them very well because, they can be very helpful.
NOTE: If you don’t see the speaker buttons below, then download and install the Flash player from Adobe.
TAKING THE TAXI
At the taxi station or when a taxi cab is approaching, you will most likely hear the question below
| Obroni worekɔ hefa? | White person where are you going? |
(Note: Anybody who is not African or speaks with a European or American accent is called Obroni)
If you are going to town, you will answer
| Fa me kɔ kurom | Take me to town |
Then you can add the statement below to inquire the fare
| Mogye sεn? | What’s the fare? |
He will respond by saying
| Yεgye … | We take … |
(Note: It is also very common to hear just the fare)
NEGOTIATING THE FARE WITH THE TAXI DRIVER
If you think the fare is too expensive you can say
| Ne boɔ yε den dodo, te so | It’s too expensive, reduce it |
The drive may say
| Saa ara na yεgye | That is the right price |
Or he may reduce the price by saying
| Ma me … | Give me … |
SHORT CONVERSATION WITH THE DRIVER
Because your Twi may amuse him, he may ask your name
| Wɔfrε wo sεn? | What is your name? |
Your answer to this will be
| Wɔfrε me … | My name is … |
He may also ask which country you come from
| Wofiri ɔman bεn so? | Which country do you come from? |
Your answer to this will be
| Mefiri … | I come from … |
PAYING AND ALIGHTING FROM THE TAXI
When you get to where you want to alight you can say
| Mesrε wo mepε sε mesi wɔ ha | I’d like to get off here, please |
Or you can say
| Gyina wɔ ha | Stop here |
When you are giving the driver the money you can say
| Wei yε wo dea | This is for you |
If the driver needs to give you some change you can say
| Mepa wo kyεw aka me nsesa | My change, please |
So you see, taking a taxi cab in Ghana is not difficult at all. I hope you found this article educative and informative. To learn even more Twi phrases that you can use in all manner of situations, get the Nkyea Twi Phrasebook iphone app for only $2.99 on the Apple Store. If you have any questions feel free to ask in the Nkyea Forum.
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