Hausa language
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Hausa | |
---|---|
| |
Pronunciation | /ˈhaʊsə/ |
Native to | Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Benin, Ghana, Togo, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso |
Region | West Africa |
Ethnicity | Hausa |
Speakers | L1: 54 million (2021–2023)[1] |
Afro-Asiatic
| |
Official status | |
Official language in | |
Recognised minority language in | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-1 | ha |
ISO 639-2 | hau |
ISO 639-3 | hau |
Glottolog | haus1257 |
Linguasphere | 19-HAA-b |
Areas of Niger and Nigeria where Hausa people are based. Hausa tribes are to the north. | |
Hausa (
Hausa is a member of the
In Nigeria, the Hausa film industry is known as
Classification
Hausa belongs to the West Chadic languages subgroup of the Chadic languages group, which in turn is part of the Afroasiatic language family.[8]
Geographic distribution
Native speakers of Hausa, the Hausa people, are mostly found in southern Niger and northern Nigeria.[4][3][9] The language is used as a lingua franca by non-native speakers in most of northern Nigeria, southern Niger, northern Cameroon, northern Ghana, northern Benin, northern Togo, southern Chad and parts of Sudan.[3]
By country
Nigeria
In Nigeria, Hausa is dominant throughout the
.Niger
In Niger, Hausa is spoken in the south, including the cities of
.Cameroon
In Cameroon, Hausa is spoken in the north, including the cities of
.Ghana
In Ghana, Hausa is the lingua franca of the
Benin
In Benin, Hausa is spoken in the north. Cities where it is spoken include Parakou, Kandi, Natitingou, and Djougou.
Togo
In Togo, Hausa is spoken in the north. Cities where it is spoken include
.Chad
In Chad, Hausa is spoken in the south. Cities where it is spoken include N'Djamena.
Sudan
In Sudan, Hausa is spoken in the states of
Dialects
Hausa presents a wide uniformity wherever it is spoken.[10] However, linguists have identified dialect areas with a cluster of features characteristic of each one.[11]
Traditional dialects
Eastern Hausa dialects include Dauranci in Daura, Kananci in Kano, Bausanci in Bauchi, Gudduranci in Katagum Misau and part of Borno, and Hadejanci in Hadejiya.[12]
Western Hausa dialects include Sakkwatanci in
Northern Hausa dialects include Arewa (meaning 'North') and Arewaci.
Zazzaganci in Zazzau is the major Southern dialect.[14]
The Daura (Dauranchi) and Kano (Kananci) dialect are the standard. The BBC, Deutsche Welle, Radio France Internationale and Voice of America offer Hausa services on their international news web sites using Dauranci and Kananci. In recent language development Zazzaganci took over the innovation of writing and speaking the current Hausa language use.[15]
Northernmost dialects and loss of tonality
The western to eastern Hausa dialects of Kurhwayanci, Damagaram and Adarawa, represent the traditional northernmost limit of native Hausa communities.
This link between non-tonality and geographic location is not limited to Hausa alone, but is exhibited in other northern dialects of neighbouring languages; example includes differences within the
Ghanaian Hausa dialect
The
Gaananci forms a separate group from other Western Hausa dialects, as it now falls outside the contiguous Hausa-dominant area, and is usually identified by the use of c for ky, and j for gy. This is attributed to the fact that Ghana's Hausa population descend from
Gaananci exhibits noted inflected influences from
areas, and native Hausa-speakers plummet to a very small urban minority.Because of this, and the presence of surrounding Akan, Gbe, Gur and Mande languages, Gaananci was historically isolated from the other Hausa dialects.[18] Despite this difference, grammatical similarities between Sakkwatanci and Ghanaian Hausa determine that the dialect, and the origin of the Ghanaian Hausa people themselves, are derived from the northwestern Hausa area surrounding Sokoto.[19]
Hausa is also widely spoken by non-native Gur, and Mandé Ghanaian Muslims, but differs from Gaananci, and rather has features consistent with non-native Hausa dialects.
Other native dialects
Hausa is also spoken in various parts of Cameroon and Chad, which combined the mixed dialects of
Non-native Hausa
In
Non-native speakers of Hausa numbered more than 25 million and, in some areas, live close to native Hausa. It has replaced many other languages especially in the north-central and north-eastern part of Nigeria and continues to gain popularity in other parts of Africa as a result of Hausa movies and music which spread out throughout the region.
Hausa-based pidgins
Gibanawa | |
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Region | Jega, Nigeria |
Native speakers | None[20] |
Hausa-based pidgin | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | gib |
Glottolog | giba1240 |
ELP | Gibanawa |
There are several
Loan words
The Hausa language has a long history of borrowing words from other languages, usually from the languages being spoken around and near
Word | Language |
---|---|
akwati - 'box', agogo - 'clock', ashana - 'matches' | Yoruba |
dattijo - 'old man', inna - 'mother', kawu – 'uncle' | Fulani |
karatu – 'reading', rubutu – 'writing', birni – 'city' | Kanuri |
shinkafa – 'rice', angulu – 'vulture' | Nupe |
Phonology
Consonants
Hausa has between 23 and 25 consonant phonemes depending on the speaker.
Bilabial | Alveolar | Post- alveolar |
Dorsal | Glottal | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
front | plain | round | ||||||
Nasal | m | n
|
||||||
Affricate
|
implosive | ɓ | ɗ | |||||
voiced
|
b | d
|
(d)ʒ | ɟ | ɡ | ɡʷ | ||
tenuis | t
|
tʃ | c | k | kʷ | ʔ | ||
ejective | (t)sʼ | (tʃʼ) | cʼ | kʼ | kʷʼ | |||
Fricative
|
voiced | z | ||||||
tenuis | ɸ | s | ʃ | h | ||||
Approximant
|
l
|
j j̰ | w | |||||
Rhotic | r
|
ɽ |
The three-way contrast between palatals /c ɟ cʼ/, plain velars /k ɡ kʼ/, and labialized velars /kʷ ɡʷ kʷʼ/ is found only before long and short /a/, e.g. /cʼaːɽa/ ('grass'), /kʼaːɽaː/ ('to increase'), /kʷʼaːɽaː/ ('shea-nuts'). Before front vowels, only palatals and labialized velars occur, e.g. /ciːʃiː/ ('jealousy') vs. /kʷiːɓiː/ ('side of body'). Before rounded vowels, only labialized velars occur, e.g. /kʷoːɽaː/ ('ringworm').[22][23]
Glottalic consonants
Hausa has glottalic consonants (implosives and ejectives) at four or five places of articulation (depending on the dialect). They require movement of the glottis during pronunciation and have a staccato sound.
They are written with modified versions of Latin letters. They can also be denoted with an apostrophe, either before or after depending on the letter, as shown below:
- ɓ / b', an implosive consonant, [ɓ], sometimes [ʔb];
- ɗ / d', an implosive [ɗ], sometimes [dʔ];
- ts', an ejective consonant, [tsʼ] or [sʼ], according to the dialect;
- ch', an ejective [tʃʼ] (does not occur in Kano dialect)
- ƙ / k', an ejective [kʼ]; [kʲʼ] and [kʷʼ] are separate consonants;
- ƴ / 'y is a palatal approximant with creaky voice, [j̰],[24] found in only a small number of high-frequency words (e.g. /j̰áːj̰áː/ "children", /j̰áː/ "daughter"). Historically it developed from palatalized [ɗ].[25]
Vowels
Hausa vowels occur in five different vowel qualities, all of which can be short or long, totaling 10 monophthongs. In addition, there are four diphthongs, giving a total number of 14 vocalic phonemes.
Front | Central | Back | |
---|---|---|---|
Close | i iː | u uː | |
Mid | e eː | o oː | |
Open | a aː |
In comparison with the long vowels, the short /i, u/ can be similar in quality to the long vowels,
Medial /i, u/ can be neutralized to [ɨ ~ ʉ], with the rounding depending on the environment.[27]
Medial /e, o/ are neutralized with /a/.[27]
The short /a/ can be either similar in quality to the long /aː/, or it can be as high as [ə], with possible intermediate pronunciations ([ɐ ~ ɜ]).[26]
The 4 diphthongs in Hausa are /ai, au, iu, ui/.
Tones
Hausa is a
- à è ì ò ù – low tone: grave accent (`)
- â ê î ô û – falling tone: circumflex (ˆ)
An acute accent (´) may be used for high tone, but the usual practice is to leave high tone unmarked.
Morphology
Except for the Zaria and Bauchi dialects spoken south of Kano, Hausa distinguishes between masculine and feminine genders.[13]
Hausa, like the rest of the Chadic languages, is known for its complex, irregular pluralization of nouns. Noun plurals in Hausa are derived using a variety of morphological processes, such as suffixation, infixation, reduplication, or a combination of any of these processes. There are 20 plural classes proposed by Newman (2000).[28]
Class | Affix | Singular (ex.) | Plural (ex.) | Gloss (ex.) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | a-a | sirdì | siràda | 'saddle' |
2 | a-e | gulbi | gulàbe | 'stream' |
3 | a-u | kurmì | kuràmu | 'grove' |
4 | -aCe | wuri | wuràre | 'place' |
5 | -ai | malàm | malàmai | 'teacher' |
6 | -anni | watà | wàtànni | 'moon' |
7 | -awa | talàkà | talakawa | 'commoner' |
8 | -aye | zomo | zomàye | 'hare' |
9 | -Ca | tabò | tabba | 'scar' |
10 | -Cai | tudù | tùddai | 'high ground' |
11 | -ce2 | ciwò | cìwàce-cìwàce | 'illness' |
12 | -Cuna | cikì | cikkunà | 'belly' |
13 | -e2 | camfì | càmfe-càmfe | 'superstition' |
14 | -i | tàurarò | tàuràri | 'star' |
15 | -oCi | tagà | tagogi | 'window' |
16 | -u | kujèra | kùjèru | 'chair' |
17 | u-a | cokàli | cokulà | 'spoon' |
18 | -uka | layò | layukà | 'lane' |
19 | -una | rìga | rigunà | 'grown' |
20 | X2 | àkàwu | àkàwu-àkàwu | 'clerk' |
Pronouns
Hausa marks tense differences by different sets of subject pronouns, sometimes with the pronoun combined with some additional particle. For this reason, a subject pronoun must accompany every verb in Hausa, regardless of whether the subject is known from previous context or is expressed by a noun subject.[29]
1st person | 2nd person | 3rd person | indef | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
singular | plural | singular | plural | singular | plural | |||||
m | f | m | f | |||||||
perfect | naː | mun | kaː | kin | kun | jaː | taː | sun | an | |
relative | na | mukà | ka | kikà | kukà | ja | ta | sukà | akà | |
negative | bàn ... ba | bàmù ... ba | bàkà ... ba | bàkì ... ba | bàkù ... ba | bài ... ba | bàtà ... ba | bàsù ... ba | bà’à ... ba | |
continuous | inàː | munàː | kanàː | kinàː | kunàː | janàː / ʃinàː | tanàː | sunàː | anàː | |
relative | nakèː / nikèː | mukèː | kakèː | kikèː | kukèː | jakèː / ʃikèː | takèː | sukèː | akèː | |
negative | baː nàː | baː màː | baː kàː | baː kjàː | baː kwàː | baː jàː | baː tàː | baː sàː | baː àː | |
negative (possessives) |
bâː ni | bâː mu | bâː ka | bâː ki | bâː ku | bâː ʃi | bâː ta | bâː su | bâː a | |
subjunctive | ìn | mù | kà | kì | kù | jà | tà | sù | à | |
negative | kadà/kâr ìn | kadà/kâr mù | kadà/kâr kà | kadà/kâr kì | kadà/kâr kù | kadà/kâr jà | kadà/kâr tà | kadà/kâr sù | kadà/kâr à | |
future | zân / zaː nì | zaː mù | zaː kà | zaː kì | zaː kù | zâi / zaː jà | zaː tà | zaː sù | zaː à | |
negative | bà/bàː zân ... ba / bà/bàː zaː nì ... ba |
bà/bàː zaː mù ... ba | bà/bàː zaː kà ... ba | bà/bàː zaː kì ... ba | bà/bàː zaː kù ... ba | bà/bàː zâi ...ba / bà/bàː zaː jà ... ba |
bà/bàː zaː tà ... ba | bà/bàː zaː sù ... ba | bà/bàː zaː à ... ba | |
indefinite future | nâː | mâː/mwâː | kâː | kjâː | kwâː | jâː | tâː | sâː/swâː | âː | |
negative | bà nâː... ba | bà mâː/mwâː ... ba | bà kâː ... ba | bà kjâː ... ba | bà kwâː ... ba | bà jâː ... ba | bà tâː ... ba | bà sâː/swâː ... ba | bà âː ... ba | |
habitual | nakàn | mukàn | kakàn | kikàn | kukàn | jakàn | takàn | sukàn | akàn | |
negative | bà nakàn ... ba | bà mukàn ... ba | bà kakàn ... ba | bà kikàn ... ba | bà kukàn ... ba | bà jakàn ... ba | bà takàn ... ba | bà sukàn ... ba | bà akàn ... ba |
Writing systems
Boko (Latin)
Hausa's modern official
A a | B b | Ɓ ɓ | C c | D d | Ɗ ɗ | E e | F f | G g | H h | I i | J j | K k | Ƙ ƙ | L l |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
/a/ | /b/ | /ɓ/ | /tʃ/ | /d/ | /ɗ/ | /e/ | /ɸ/ | /ɡ/ | /h/ | /i/ | /(d)ʒ/ | /k/ | /kʼ/ | /l/ |
M m | N n | O o | R r | (R̃ r̃) | S s | Sh sh | T t | Ts ts |
U u | W w | Y y | (Ƴ ƴ) | Z z | ʼ
|
/m/ | /n/ | /o/ | /ɽ/ | / r / |
/s/ | /ʃ/ | /t/ | /(t)sʼ/ | /u/ | /w/ | /j/ | /j̰/ | /z/ | /ʔ/ |
The letter ƴ (y with a right hook) is used only in Niger; in Nigeria it is written ʼy.
Tone and vowel length are not marked in writing. So, for example, /dàɡà/ "from" and /dáːɡáː/ "battle" are both written daga. The distinction between /r/ and /ɽ/ (which does not exist for all speakers) is not marked in orthography, but may be indicated with R̃ r̃ for the trill in linguistic transcription.
Ajami (Arabic)
Hausa has also been written in
As Hausa Ajami script was never recognized and regulated officially, there has never been a top down imposition of a unified convention. Standardization of letters in Ajami has happened over time and in various stages, in synch with neighbouring Ajami traditions, as well as external factors.[33][34]
In Niger and Nigeria, there exists two general orthographic traditions, each derived from two Quranic orthographic practices.[35] One of these is based on the Quran recitation and inscription of the 8th century religious scholar Hafs ibn Sulayman, the other based on the Quran recitation and inscription of another 8th Century scholar, Warsh. Hafs tradition is the most popular across the Muslim world, and especially in Egypt, the Levant, and the Arabian Peninsula. Warsh tradition is the second most popular tradition across the Muslim world, and has been especially popular in North Africa, West Africa, and Andalusia.
For example, vowels in Hausa Ajami script, including representation of vowel [e], and differentiation of short versus long vowels, were one of the first aspects to be unified and standardized. Consonants on the other hand, especially consonant letters for representing sounds that don't exist in Arabic, took longer to become standardized. Some new letters were even coined in the late 19th and early 20th century, and because of the direct influence of the Boko alphabet (Latin alphabet). For example, whereas previously in writing, sounds [b] and [ɓ] may have usually been written with a singe letter ba 'ب', it was the innovation of introducing the separate letter in Latin alphabet that created an impetus for scholars writing in Ajami script, to innovate and introduce a separate Ajami letter for the distinct sound as well.[34]
Below is the list of letters of Hausa Ajami, in both
|
|
Other systems
Hausa is one of three indigenous languages of Nigeria that have been rendered in
At least three other writing systems for Hausa have been proposed or "discovered". None of these are in active use beyond perhaps some individuals.
- A Hausa alphabet, named in some sources as Salifou or Gobiri, supposedly of ancient origin[38] and in use north of Maradi, Niger.[39][failed verification][40][41]
- A script that apparently originated with the writing/publishing group Raina Kama in the 1980s.[42]
- A script called "Tafi" proposed in the 1970s(?)[43]
See also
- History of Niger
- History of Nigeria
- Kanem Empire
- Bornu Empire
- Bayajidda
References
- ^ a b c d Hausa at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024)
- ^ Bauer (2007), p. ?.
- ^ a b c Wolff, H. Ekkehard. "Hausa language". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
- ^ a b "Spread of the Hausa Language". Worldmapper. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
- ^ "Hausa". Ethnologue. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ Chayes. "The Hausa Language". Website des Institutes für Asien- und Afrikawissenschaften der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
- ^ "Nigerian actress Rahama Sadau banned after on-screen hug". BBC News. 2016-10-03. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
- ^ "Chadic languages | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
- OCLC 48668741.
- ^ Department, United States Army; Army, United States Department of the (1964). U.S. Army Area Handbook for Nigeria. Second Edition, March 1964. U.S. Government Printing Office.
- ^ "Hausa Language Variation and Dialects". African Languages at UCLA. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
- ^ "The Hausa Language – Department of African Studies". www.iaaw.hu-berlin.de. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
- ^ a b Caron, Bernard (2011). Hausa Grammatical Sketch. Paris: LLACAN.
- ^ "Nigeria: 'Tribalism' and the nationality question". Punch Newspapers. 2020-11-16. Retrieved 2022-02-17.
- ^ onnaedo (2021-08-31). "Hausa Language: 4 interesting things you should know about Nigeria's most widely spoken dialect". Pulse Nigeria. Retrieved 2022-02-17.
- ^ a b Hausawa (January 7, 2021). "Hausa dialects (part-two)". Facebook. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
- ^ "'The improtance [sic] of Hausa language as a verbal communication to Hausa people' as the research topic". InfantLinguistmam's conner for Undergraduate Students. 13 April 2013. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
- ^ Bodomo, Adams B. (1996). "On Language and Development in Africa: The Case of Ghana" (PDF). Nordic Journal of African Studies. 5 (2): 31–51. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-02-07. Retrieved 2021-07-17 – via University of Helsinki.
- ^ Guerini, Federica. "Multilingualism and language attitudes in Ghana: a preliminary survey" (PDF). Ethnorêma. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-11-28. Retrieved 2021-07-17.
- ^ a b Gibanawa at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
- S2CID 143323447.
- ^ Schuh & Yalwa (1999), p. 91.
- ^ Newman, Paul (1996). "Hausa Phonology". In Kaye, Alan S.; Daniels, Peter T. (eds.). Phonologies of Asia and Africa (PDF). Eisenbrauns. pp. 537–552.
- Thomson/Wadsworth.
- ^ Newman, Paul (1937/2000) The Hausa Language: an encyclopedic reference grammar. Yale University Press. p. 397.
- ^ a b Schuh & Yalwa (1999), pp. 90–91.
- ^ a b Schuh & Yalwa (1999), p. 90.
- ^ Guzmán Naranjo, Matías; Becker, Laura (April 2017). Quantitative methods in African Linguistics – Predicting plurals in Hausa (PDF). ACAL 48. Indiana, U.S.
- ^ "Hausa Verb Tense – African Languages at UCLA". Archived from the original on 2020-11-11. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
- ^ Bernard Caron. Hausa Grammatical Sketch. 2015. Hausa Grammatical Sketch – HAL-SHS
- ^ "Hausa language". Britannica. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
- ^ Verde, Tom (October 2011). "From Africa, in Ajami". Saudi Aramco World. Archived from the original on 2014-11-30. Retrieved 2014-05-25.
- ^ Dobronravine, N., Philips, J.E., 2004. Hausa ajami literature and script: colonial innovations and post-colonial myths in northern Nigeria. Lang. Africa 15, 85–110. Retrieved from. [1]. (PDF Access)
- ^ a b c Bondarev, Dmitry and Dobronravin, Nikolay and Bondarev, Dmitry and Gori, Alessandro and Souag, Lameen. Standardisation Tendencies in Kanuri and Hausa Ajami Writings. 2019. DOI: 10.1515/9783110639063-010
- ^ A.Brockett, Studies in Two Transmission of the Qur'an, doctorate thesis, University of St. Andrews,Scotland, 1984, p.138
- ^ "Hausa (Ajami) orthography notes".
- ^ Wali Naʼibi Sulaimanu and Haliru Binji. (1969). Mu Koyi Ajami Da Larabci / مُکُوْیِ أَجَمِ دَ لَارَبْثِی. Zaria: Northern Nigerian Pub. ISBN: 978-978-169-120-0
- ^ "Salifou Hausa". scriptsource.org. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
- ^ "Hausa alphabet"
- ^ Riley, Charles L. (3 March 2022). "L2/22-073 Update on implementation status of African scripts" (PDF). Unicode Consortium. p. 2. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
- ^ "ScriptSource – Salifou Hausa". scriptsource.org. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
- ^ "Hausa alphabet from a 1993 publication". www.bisharat.net. Retrieved 2018-04-20.
- ^ "Hausa alphabet from a 1993 publication". www.bisharat.net. Retrieved 2018-04-20.
Bibliography
- Philips, John Edward . “Hausa in the Twentieth Century: An Overview.” in Sudanic Africa, vol. 15, 2004, pp. 55–84. online, on Romanization of the language.
- Bauer, Laurie (2007). The Linguistics Student's Handbook. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-2758-5.
- Schuh, Russell G.; Yalwa, Lawan D. (1999). "Hausa". Handbook of the International Phonetic Association. Cambridge University Press. pp. 90–95. ISBN 0-521-63751-1.
- Charles Henry Robinson; William Henry Brooks; Hausa Association, London (1899). Dictionary of the Hausa Language: Hausa–English. The Oxford University Press.
- Schön, James Frederick (Rev.) (1882). Grammar of the Hausa language. London: Church Missionary House. p. 270. Archived from the original on October 19, 2018. Retrieved Oct 19, 2018 – via archive.org. (Now in the public domain).
External links
- Hausa language at Curlie
- Omniglot
- Hausa Language Acquisitions at Columbia University Libraries
- Hausa Vocabulary List –World Loanword Database
- Hausa Dictionary at University of Vienna
- Hausar Yau Da Kullum: –Intermediate and Advanced Lessons in Hausa Language and Culture
- Robinson, Charles Henry. (1899) Hausa-English Dictionary, in both Latin and Ajami, Vol 1. https://archive.org/details/dictionaryhausa01englgoog/page/n2/mode/2up