11 · Explore
The Hausa language: letters, tones, grammar, greetings and numbers
Hausa is one of the most widely spoken languages of Africa, a lingua franca from Kano to Niamey, and one of the few African languages with two scripts and a century of print.
From the hook on a letter to the way you greet an elder: a short course on the language that links Kano, Zinder and Accra, with the main reference works for learners.
In this chapter
01Letters and scripts
Two scripts, four hooked letters and why “kudi” is not “ƙudi”.
2 min read →
02Vowels and tones
Five vowels, two tones and a falling glide.
1 min read →
03Grammar in a nutshell
Aspect before tense, two genders and plurals you learn one by one.
2 min read →
04Dialects and the standard
The Kano standard, Sokoto speech and the Hausa of Ghana.
1 min read →
05Greetings: the first lesson
How did you sleep? The first lesson in Hausa manners.
2 min read →
06Numbers and kinship
Count to ten, and see where Hausa Bakwai comes from.
1 min read →07Dictionaries and learning
Bargery, Abraham, Newman and Jaggar: where to look things up.
1 min read →