How to type Twi on iOS and Android
Most Ghanaians sometimes want to type in Twi when they are chatting but find it a bit difficult to get Akan keyboard. They use the characters 3 and ) in place of Ɛ and Ɔ. This is because the standard Android and iOS keyboards don’t come with Ɛ and Ɔ.
In this article, I will show you how you can easily get the Twi alphabets on your smartphone.
On iOS:
Method 1 — Using Text Replacement
1. Open the Notes app on your iPhone or iPad and copy and paste ɛ and ɔ from this article into a note.
2. Open the Settings app, tap General, tap Keyboard and tap Text Replacement to open the Text Replacement screen.
3. Tap the + button in the top-right corner.
4. Copy ɛ from the Notes app, paste it into the Phrase field, type eee into the Shortcut field and tap Save.
5. Tap the + button again.
6. Copy ɔ from the Notes app, paste it into Phrase and type ooo into Shortcut and tap Save.
Now anytime you want to type ɛ or ɔ on the keyboard, all you have to do is type eee or ooo and Space respectively.
However, the text replacement option can sometimes be a bit cumbersome. If you need a full Akan keyboard, check out the second option.
Method 2 — Nkyea Keyboard App (This is a paid App)
1. Download and install the Nkyea Keyboard from the App Store for about USD 1.99.
2. Open the Settings app, tap General, tap Keyboard and tap Keyboards.
3. On the Keyboards screen tap Add New Keyboard…
4. On the Add New Keyboard screen tap Nkyea to add the Nkyea Keyboard
5. Finally, tap Nkyea Keyboard – Nkyea and tap Allow Full Access and choose Allow from the alert.
Now to use Nkyea Keyboard press the globe button on the standard iOS keyboard and choose Nkyea Keyboard – Nkyea.
NOTE: You can only choose different keyboard colours and hear key taps when Allow Full Access is enabled.
Apart from making it easy to type Ɛ and Ɔ, Nkyea Keyboard also includes a nifty built-in English-to-Twi word translator. You can use the translator when you get stuck typing a Twi word. Below is how to use the translator.
1. Swipe down on the keyboard to reveal the translator.
2. Type the word you want to translate, in English, and tap trans and it’ll be translated into Twi.
3. Now tap add at the bottom of the keyboard to add the translation into what you are typing.
4. Swipe up on the keyboard to hide the translator and continue typing.
Apart from Twi, the Nkyea keyboard can also be used to chat in Ewe and Ga. See the images below;
On Android:
Method 1 — Text shortcuts and Hot Keys
1. Open Settings.
2. Tap Language & Input.
3. Select Keyboard or Samsung Keyboard (if you use Samsung Phone)
4. Tap Text Shortcuts. (This option may not be available for certain phones for android versions)
5. Tap Add.
6. Type in your shortcut text (ɛ and ɔ) and expanded text.
7. Tap Add again.
On android versions without the Text Shortcuts option, there’s another option called My hot keys. Follow the steps below to set them;
1. Open Settings.
2. Tap Language & Input.
3. Select Keyboard or Samsung Keyboard (if you use Samsung Phone)
4. Tap My hot keys and enable the option in the top-right corner.
5. Insert ɛ and ɔ, each in your desired numbers (0-9)
Now if you want to use the ɛ and ɔ in a chat, simply tap and hold the number you set for them. In my case, I set 1 for ɛ, and 2 for ɔ.
Method 2 — Twi/Akan Keyboard
If you find the text shortcut and hot keys complicated, or probably your phone doesn’t have those options, this second options works on all Android versions and devices.
All you have to do is to launch the Google Play Store and type Twi keyboard in the search box. You’ll see several search results, but I personally prefer the GhanaKey – Keyboard for Ghana.
Open the App after download and follow the on-screen instructions to set it up. Enjoy!
Credits: Nkyea.com
