The Hausa language: an academic guide

1 Scripts and the alphabet

Hausa belongs to the Chadic branch of the Afroasiatic family. It has two writing traditions: Ajami, in Arabic letters, long used for poetry, letters, chronicles and religious teaching; and Boko, the Latin-letter orthography introduced under British rule and now standard in schools, newspapers and the internet.

Three letters are hooked: ɓ and ɗ (implosives) and ƙ (a glottalised k); ƴ is a glottalised y. Because the hooks are missing from many keyboards, Hausa is often typed without them, yet they separate words such as kudi (money) and ƙudi (a fly).

2 Vowels and tone

Hausa has five vowels, each short or long. It has two level tones, high and low, and a falling tone. Length and tone are normally not written, but dictionaries and grammars mark them because they separate words and carry grammar. Learners are advised to listen to speakers rather than rely on the page.

3 Grammar in brief

Word order is subject–verb–object. A distinctive feature is the pronoun–aspect complex: a short word beside the pronoun shows whether an action is complete, ongoing or future. Nouns are masculine or feminine; plurals take many forms and are learned word by word. Possession is shown by -n (masculine) or -r (feminine). Verbs belong to “grades” that change meaning, for example from “do” to “do for someone”.

4 Dialects

The standard is based on Kano speech (Kananci). Other varieties include Sakkwatanci (Sokoto), Katsinanci, Zazzaganci (Zaria) and the Hausa of Niger, which has more French loanwords, and Gaananci in the zongos of Ghana. Newman groups the dialects into eastern, western, northern and southern types. Differences are mainly in pronunciation and vocabulary, and speakers understand each other.

5 Greetings

Greeting is a serious matter in Hausa life, tied to the value of kirki described in the chapter on Society. A greeting is a short exchange with set replies, and skipping it is considered rude. Sannu is flexible: it can greet, thank a person who is working, comfort someone who is sick or welcome a traveller.

6 Numbers and kinship

The numbers from one to ten are ɗaya, biyu, uku, huɗu, biyar, shida, bakwai, takwas, tara, goma. Eleven to nineteen are built with goma sha plus the unit; then ashirin (20), talatin (30), arba’in (40), hamsin (50), ɗari (100), dubu (1,000). Kinship words include uwa, uba, ɗa, ƴa, yaya, ƙane, ƙanwa, kaka, miji, mata and aboki.

7 Dictionaries and learning

G. P. Bargery’s A Hausa–English Dictionary and English–Hausa Vocabulary (1934) is the great older dictionary; R. C. Abraham’s Dictionary of the Hausa Language (1962) is shorter and widely used. Paul Newman’s The Hausa Language: An Encyclopedic Reference Grammar (2000) and Philip Jaggar’s Hausa (2001) describe sounds, grammar and dialects in detail. Radio (BBC Hausa, Voice of America, Deutsche Welle) is a good teacher for beginners.

Key terms

Ajami

Hausa written in Arabic letters.

Boko

The Latin-letter spelling of Hausa.

Implosive

A consonant made by drawing air in, such as ɓ and ɗ.

Aspect

Whether an action is complete, ongoing or future.

Kananci

The Hausa of Kano, the basis of the standard.

Sannu

Hello; also sympathy or thanks for effort.

Kirki

A prized quality of good conduct, often translated “docility”.

Questions for discussion

1. What is lost, and what is gained, when Hausa is typed without its hooked letters?
2. Why might a language place aspect before tense?
3. What does a long greeting say about a community’s values?
4. What are the advantages and risks of a standard based on one city’s dialect?