TWEAA makes history and enters the Oxford Dictionary along with two words of Ghanaian origin you may not know. The first place to find the meanings of these Ghanaian words is online. Then get a recent dictionary to check.
“Who said TWEAA?” is the popular reaction from a Ghanaian to a speech being delivered by a DCE in Ghana which turned the word TWEAA around and gave in a world presence and finally a full meaning along with how to use it in expressions.
The English dictionary is not solely words of English origin as other non-English words have been accepted and explained to aid communication globally.
The District Chief Executive (DCE) who asked Who said TWEAA? is “Hon. Gabriel Barima (popularly known as “Tweaa DCE”) is a Ghanaian politician and the former District Chief Executive of the Ahafo Ano South District in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. He is well known for making popular the Akan word “Tweaa”, which has subsequently become a slang.
Now let us turn to the meaning of the Tweaa Word.
According to sciencedirect.com TWEAA,
Tweaa [tɕʏɪaa] is an Akan emotive interjection that went viral in Ghana in 2014. Tweaa is derogatory and expresses strong disapproval and contempt for a person. It is used against national leaders in online discourse that guarantees anonymity.
Newaccra.blogspot.com provided additional useful explanations
TWEAA [tshwiaah] -{noun, adjective or adverb}
A sarcastic exclamation made in response to a question, comment, action or statement, to show that the idea being expressed is silly, laughable, absurd or nonsensical.
Synonyms: Bullshit, crap, rubbish, ‘yeah, right’, ‘ns3m hunu’,
‘ns3m fon’ ‘SMH’, nonsense.
Origin: The word originates from the West African country of Ghana, a
country popular in recent times for football and Azonto dance. It
went viral after a politician verbally attacked and nearly killed
an innocent spectator for chuckling during the politician’s speech.
Ghana police are still searching for the person who said Tweaa.
WHO SAID TWEAA – DEC VIDEO THAT WENT VIRAL
USAGE:
noun
- Tweaahahaha: [tshwiaah- ha-ha-ha]
A unique type of laughter caused by sheer tweaaness. - Tweaadict [tshwiaah- dikt]
Someone who is simply cannot stop using the word Tweaa. - Tweaaphobia:[tshwiaah-fow-beau]
An extreme fear of being tweaad when speaking or performing some other act in public. - Tweaagle: [tshwiaah- gul]
An eagle that cannot soar.
Eg. The Super Green Tweaagles of Nigeria. This was added after Ghana defeated sister- country Nigeria in a CHAN soccer game. - Tweaawama: [tshwiaah- wah-mah]
Sharwama that is poorly done. - Tweakai [tshwiaah-cah-he]
An expression to show that something is outrageously tweaarific
e.g. Tweaakai! Somebody said Justin Bieber sings better than Efya - Mantweaaster United:
A derogatory term describing the state of Manchester United under David Moyes - Tweaalsea FC :
The real name of Chelsea FC.
COMMON EXPRESSIONS:
- The crowd tweaad the boring musician off the stage
- Tweaa, am I your co-equal?
- I couldn’t stand the tweaaness of the Ghana-Nigeria CHAN game, so I was forced to watch Marie Cruz.
- With an empty goal before him, Yahaya Mohammed shot the ball tweaarifically over the bar.
- Yesterday I tweaad, today I am twearing, tomorrow I shall tweaa
Other Ghanaian Words That Have Made It into Dictionaries
Kwashiorkor
Kwashiorkor is a severe form of malnutrition. It’s most common in some developing regions where babies and children do not get enough protein or other essential nutrients in their diet. The main sign of kwashiorkor is too much fluid in the body’s tissues, which causes swelling under the skin (oedema) source www.nhs.uk
You can check this word in any English dictionary.
READ: 11 wrongly pronounced words inherited from the Gold Coast (Pictures)
Dumsor
Dumsor is the problem of frequent power outages in Ghana. Dumsor is the biggest problem for Ghanaians these days.
Source (Macmillandictionary)
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