| Hausa هَوْسَ |
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|---|---|---|
| Spoken in: |  Benin Burkina Faso Cameroon Ghana Niger Nigeria Togo |
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| Total speakers: | 24 million as a first language, 15 million as a second language | |
| Ranking: | 41 | |
| Language family: | Afro-Asiatic Chadic West Chadic "A" West Chadic "A. Benin (bə'nɪn officially the Republic of Benin, and also known as Benin Republic, is a country in Western Africa. Burkina Faso (bɚˌkiːnəˈfɑːsoʊ burr-KEE-na FAH-soh) also known by its short-form name Burkina, is a Landlocked nation in West Africa The Republic of Cameroon is a unitary republic of central and western Africa. The Republic of Ghana is a country in West Africa. It borders Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast to the west Burkina Faso to the north Togo to the Niger ( or /ˈnaɪdʒɚ/) officially the Republic of Niger, is a Landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. Nigeria, officially named the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal Constitutional republic comprising thirty-six states and one Federal TOGO was a Japanese roller coaster design company famous for inventing the Stand-up roller coaster. This is a list of languages, ordered by the number of native-language speakers, with some data for second-language use List of language familiesA language family is a group of Languages related by descent from a common ancestor called the Proto-language of that family The Afro-Asiatic languages constitute a Language family with about 375 languages ( SIL estimate and more than 300 million speakers spread throughout North Africa The Chadic languages constitute a language family spoken across northern Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Central African Republic and Cameroon The West Chadic languages belong to the Afro-Asiatic family and are spoken in Nigeria The West Chadic A languages belong to the Afro-Asiatic family and are spoken in Nigeria 1" West Chadic Hausa |
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| Official status | ||
| Official language in: | Northern States of Nigeria |
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| Regulated by: | no official regulation | |
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1: | ha | |
| ISO 639-2: | hau | |
| ISO 639-3: | hau | |
| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. Nigeria is currently divided into 36 states and one federal capital territory This is a list of bodies that regulate Standard languages Natural languages Auxiliary languages Interlingua The auxiliary language ISO 639-1 is the first part of the ISO 639 international-standard language-code family ISO 639-2 is the second part of the ISO 639 standard, which lists codes for the representation of the names of languages ISO 639 -3 (ISO 639-32007 is an international standard for Language codes The standard describes three‐letter codes for identifying languages In Computing, Unicode is an Industry standard allowing Computers to consistently represent and manipulate text expressed in most of the world's | ||
Hausa is the Chadic language with the largest number of speakers, spoken as a first language by about 24 million people, and as a second language by about 15 million more. The Chadic languages constitute a language family spoken across northern Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Central African Republic and Cameroon A language is a dynamic set of visual auditory or tactile Symbols of Communication and the elements used to manipulate them
Contents |
Classification
Hausa belongs to the West Chadic languages subgroup of the Chadic languages group, which in turn is part of the Afro-Asiatic language family. The West Chadic languages belong to the Afro-Asiatic family and are spoken in Nigeria The Chadic languages constitute a language family spoken across northern Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Central African Republic and Cameroon The Afro-Asiatic languages constitute a Language family with about 375 languages ( SIL estimate and more than 300 million speakers spread throughout North Africa
Geographic distribution
Native speakers of Hausa, the Hausa people are mostly to be found in the African country of Niger and in the north of Nigeria, but the language is widely used as a lingua franca (similar to Swahili in East Africa) in a much larger swathe of West Africa (Accra, Abidjan, Dakar, Lomé, Cotonou, Bamako, Conakry, Ouagadougou, etc. The Hausa are a Sahelian people chiefly located in the West African regions of northern Nigeria and southeastern Niger. Niger ( or /ˈnaɪdʒɚ/) officially the Republic of Niger, is a Landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. Nigeria, officially named the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal Constitutional republic comprising thirty-six states and one Federal A lingua franca (from Italian, literally meaning Frankish language, see etymology under Sabir and Italian below is any Language widely Swahili (called Kiswahili in the language itself is the First language of the Swahili people (Waswahili who inhabit several large stretches East Africa is the Easternmost Region of the African Continent. West Africa or Western Africa is the Westernmost Region of the African Continent. Accra is the capital, and most populous city of Ghana. The city also doubles as the capital of the Greater Abidjan is the largest city and former Capital of Côte d'Ivoire ( Ivory Coast) For the Dakar Rally see Dakar Rally. For the Israeli submarine see INS Dakar. Lomé, estimated population 700000 (1998 is the Capital and largest city of Togo. Cotonou is the economic capital of Benin, as well as its largest city Bamako, population 1690471 (2006 is the Capital and largest city of Mali, and currently estimated to be the fastest growing city in Conakry or Konakry ( Malinké: Kɔnakiri) is the Capital and largest city of Guinea. Ouagadougou (ˌwɑgəˈduːguː Mossi wɑgədəgə is the Capital of Burkina Faso and the administrative ) and Central Africa (Douala, Yaoundé, Maroua, Garoua, N'djaména, Bangui, Libreville, etc. Central Africa is a core Region of the African Continent often considered to include Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Province. Yaoundé, (jɑːuːnˈdeɪ is the Capital city of Cameroon and second largest city in the country after Douala. Maroua is the capital of the Far North Province of Cameroon, on the Ferngo and Kaliao Rivers The city has an estimated 299600 inhabitants Garoua is the capital of the North Province of Cameroon, lying on the Benue River. N'Djamena (ənʤəˈmeɪnə Arabic Niǧāmīnā نجامينا population 721000 (2005 is the Capital city of Chad. Bangui is the Capital of and the largest city in the Central African Republic. Libreville (population 578156 January 1, 2005) is the capital and largest city of Gabon. ), particularly amongst Muslims. For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. Again, radio stations like BBC (England), RFI (France), CRI (China), Voice of Russia (Moscow Radio), VOA (USA), Deutsche Welle (Germany), IRIB (Iran) broadcast Hausa but it is taught in Western and African universities. Voice of Russia is the Russian government's international radio broadcasting service owned by the All-Russia State Television and Radio Company. Voice of Russia is the Russian government's international radio broadcasting service owned by the All-Russia State Television and Radio Company. Deutsche Welle ('Welle' pronounced with a 'v' sound IPA /'vɛlə/ or DW, is Germany's international broadcaster. Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, or IRIB, ( Persian سازمان صدا و سيمای جمهوری اسلامی ايران Sāzmān-e Sedā va Sima-ye Jomhūrī-ye
Official status
Hausa is an official language in the north of Nigeria, and a "national language" in Niger. An official language is a Language that is given a special legal status in a particular Country, State, or other territory A national language is a Language (or language variant, ie Dialect) which has some connection - de facto or de jure - with
Dialects
Eastern Hausa dialects include Kananci which is spoken in Kano, Zazzaganci in Zaria, Bausanchi in Bauchi, Dauranchi in Daura, Gudduranchi in Katagum Misau and part of Borno and Hadejanchi in Hadejiya. A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος dialektos) is a variety of a Language that is characteristic of a particular group of Kano is the administrative center of the Kano State and the third largest City in Nigeria, in terms Zaria is a major city in Kaduna State in Northern Nigeria. First known as Zazzau it was one of the original seven Hausa city-states. Bauchi is the capital of Bauchi State in Nigeria. It is located at, with a population of 316173 ( 2004) Daura is a city emirate and Local Government Area in Katsina State, northern Nigeria. Katagum is a town and traditional emirate of about 4740 (1972 est Borno may refer to Borno Italy Borno State, Nigeria Kanem-Bornu Empire Western Hausa dialects include Sakkwatanchi spoken in Sokoto, Katsinanchi in Katsina, Arewanchi in both Gobir and Adar, Kebbi, Zamfara and Kurhwayanchi in Kurfey of Niger Republic. Sokoto is a city located in the extreme northwest of Nigeria, near to where the Sokoto River and Rima River meet Katsina is also an alternative spelling the Pueblo religious practices of Kachina. Gobir was a city-state in what is now Nigeria. Founded by the Hausa in the eleventh century Gobir was one of the seven original kingdoms of Hausaland, Adar ( Hebrew: אֲדָר, Standard Adar Tiberian ʾĂḏār; from Akkadian Subdivisions Kebbi State is divided into 21 Local Government Areas (LGAs four Emirate councils ( Gwandu, Argungu, Yauri and Local Government Areas Zamfara State is comprised of 14 Local Government Areas. Katsina is transitional between Eastern and Western dialects. Katsina is also an alternative spelling the Pueblo religious practices of Kachina. Northern Hausa dialects include Arewa and Arawa. Zaria is the major Southern dialect. Zaria is a major city in Kaduna State in Northern Nigeria. First known as Zazzau it was one of the original seven Hausa city-states.
The Kano dialect is the 'standard' variety. The BBC offers a Hausa Service on its international news web site.
Derived languages
Barikanchi is a pidgin formerly used in the military. A pidgin is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common in situations such as Trade A military is an Organization authorized by its Nation to use force usually including use of Weapons in defending its Country (or by attacking
Phonology
Consonants
Hausa has between 23 and 25 consonant phonemes depending on the speaker.
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Post- alveolar |
Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| palatalized | Plain | labialized | Plain | labialized | ||||||
| Nasal | m | n | ||||||||
| Stop | voiceless | t | tʃ | kʲ | k | kʷ | ʔ | ʔʲ | ||
| voiced | b | d | dʒ | ɡʲ | ɡ | ɡʷ | ||||
| ejective | tsʼ | tʃʼ | kʲʼ | kʼ | kʷʼ | |||||
| implosive | ɓ | ɗ | ||||||||
| Fricative | voiceless | ɸ | s | ʃ | h | |||||
| voiced | z | |||||||||
| Trill | r | |||||||||
| Flap | ɽ | |||||||||
| Approximant | l | j | w | |||||||
The three-way contrast between palatalized velars /kʲ ɡʲ kʲʼ/, plain velars /k ɡ kʼ/, and labialized velars /kʷ ɡʷ kʷʼ/ is found only before long or short /a/, e. In Phonetics, a bilabial consonant is a Consonant articulated with both Lips The bilabial consonants identified by the International Phonetic Alphabet Alveolar consonants are articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior Alveolar ridge, which is called that because it contains the alveoli (the sockets Postalveolar consonants are Consonants articulated with the tongue near or touching the back of the Alveolar ridge, placing them a bit further back in the Palatal consonants are Consonants articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the Hard palate (the middle part of the roof of the mouth Glottal consonants are Consonants articulated with the Glottis. Palatalization or palatalisation (ˌpælətəlɨˈzeɪʃən generally refers to two phenomena As a process or the result of a process "Lip rounding" redirects here See Roundedness for the lip rounding of vowels "Lip rounding" redirects here See Roundedness for the lip rounding of vowels A nasal consonant (also called nasal stop or nasal continuant) is produced with a lowered velum in the mouth allowing air to escape freely through the A stop, plosive, or occlusive is a Consonant sound produced by stopping the airflow in the Vocal tract. In Phonetics, ejective consonants are Voiceless Consonants that are pronounced with simultaneous closure of the Glottis. Implosive consonants are stops (rarely Affricates with a mixed Glottalic ingressive and Pulmonic egressive Airstream mechanism. Fricatives are Consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together In Phonetics, a trill is a Consonantal sound produced by vibrations between the articulator and the Place of articulation. In Phonetics, a flap or tap is a type of Consonantal sound which is produced with a single contraction of the muscles so that one articulator (such as the Approximants are speech sounds ( Phonemes) that could be regarded as intermediate between Vowels and typical Consonants In the articulation of approximants g. /kʲʼaːɽa/ ('grass'), /kʼaːɽaː/ ('to increase'), /kʷʼaːɽaː/ ('shea-nuts'). Before the front vowels, only palatalized and labialized velars occur, e. g. /kʲiːʃiː/ ('jealousy') vs. /kʷiːɓiː/ ('side of body'). Before the rounded vowels, only labialized velars occur, e. g. /kʷoːɽaː/ ('ringworm'). [1]
Glottalic consonants
Hausa has glottalic consonants (implosives and ejectives) at four or five places of articulation (depending on the dialect). A glottalic consonant is a Consonant produced with some important contribution (a movement a closure of the Glottis (the opening that leads from the nose and mouth In Articulatory phonetics, the place of articulation (also point of articulation) of a Consonant is the point of contact where an Obstruction They require movement of the glottis during pronunciation and have a staccato sound. In Musical notation, the Italian word staccato (literally detached, plural staccatos or staccati) indicates that notes
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.
b' / ɓ, an implosive consonant, IPA [ɓ], or sometimes [ʔb];
d' / ɗ, 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)
k' / ƙ, an ejective [kʼ]; [kʲʼ] and [kʷʼ] are separate consonants;
'y is a palatalized glottal stop, found in only a small number of high frequency words. Implosive consonants are stops (rarely Affricates with a mixed Glottalic ingressive and Pulmonic egressive Airstream mechanism. In Phonetics, ejective consonants are Voiceless Consonants that are pronounced with simultaneous closure of the Glottis. Palatalization or palatalisation (ˌpælətəlɨˈzeɪʃən generally refers to two phenomena As a process or the result of a process Historically it developed from palatalized [ɗ].
Vowels
Hausa has 5 phonemic vowel sounds which are both single and long, giving a total of 10 vowel phonemes which are called Monophthongs and 4 joint vowel sound that are called Diphthongs giving a total number of 14 vowel phonemes. A monophthong ( Greek μονόφθογγος "monophthongos" = single note) is a "pure" Vowel sound one whose articulation at In Phonetics, a diphthong (also gliding vowel) (from Greek grc δίφθογγος "diphthongos" literally "with two sounds" or "with
Monophthongs are:
Single Vowels :/a/, /e/, /i/, /o/ and /u/. Long Vowels:/aa/, /ee/, /ii/, /oo/, and /uu/.
Diphthongs are: /ai/, /au/, /iu/ and /ui/.
Tones
Hausa is a tone language. A tonal language is a language that uses tone to distinguish words Each of its five vowels a, e, i, o and u may have low tone, high tone and falling tone. In Phonetics, a vowel is a Sound in spoken Language, such as English ah! or oh!, pronounced with an open Vocal tract
For representing tones accented vowels may be used:
à è ì ò ù (low tone)
á é í ó ú (high tone)
â ê î ô û (falling tone)
In standard written Hausa, tone is not marked. However it is needed for disambiguation and thus it is marked in dictionaries and other scientific works.
Writing systems
Boko (Latin)
Hausa's modern official orthography is a Latin-based alphabet called boko, which was introduced in the 1930s by the British colonial administration. The orthography of a language specifies the correct way of using a specific Writing system to write the language
| 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 | S s | Sh sh | T t | Ts ts | U u | W w | Y y | (Ƴ ƴ) | Z z | ʼ | |
| /m/ | /n/ | /o/ | /r/, /ɽ/ | /s/ | /ʃ/ | /t/ | /(t)sʼ/ | /u/ | /w/ | /j/ | /ʔʲ/ | /z/ | /ʔ/ |
The letter ƴ is used only in Niger; in Nigeria it is written ʼy. Ɓ ( minuscule: ɓ) is a letter of the Latin alphabet. The lower case ɓ represents a Voiced bilabial implosive in the International Phonetic Ɗ ( minuscule: ɗ) is a letter of the Latin alphabet. The lower case ɗ represents a voiced dental or alveolar implosive in the Ƙ ( minuscule: ƙ) is a letter of the Latin alphabet, used in Hausa to represent an ejective k ( IPA: /kʼ/ Sh is a digraph of the Latin alphabet, a combination of S and H. Ts is a digraph of the Latin alphabet, a combination of T and S. Ƴ ( minuscule: ƴ) is a letter of the Latin alphabet, formed from Y with the addition of a hook. Ƴ ( minuscule: ƴ) is a letter of the Latin alphabet, formed from Y with the addition of a hook. Niger ( or /ˈnaɪdʒɚ/) officially the Republic of Niger, is a Landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. Nigeria, officially named the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal Constitutional republic comprising thirty-six states and one Federal
Tone, vowel length, and the distinction between /r/ and /ɽ/ (which does not exist for all speakers) are not marked in writing. So, for example, /daɡa/ "from" and /daːɡaː/ "battle" are both written daga.
Ajami (Arabic)
Hausa has also been written in ajami, a variant of the Arabic script, since the early 19th century. The term Ajami (عجمي or Ajamiyya (عجمية which comes from the Arabic root for "foreign" or "stranger" has been applied to Arabic-based orthographies The Arabic alphabet is the script used for writing several languages of Asia and Africa such as Arabic, Persian, and Urdu. There is no standard system of using ajami, and different writers may use letters with different values.
In the following table, vowels are shown with the Arabic letter for t as an example.
| Latin | IPA | Arabic ajami |
|---|---|---|
| a | /a/ | تَ |
| a | /aː/ | تَا |
| b | /b/ | ب |
| ɓ | /ɓ/ | ب (same as b), ٻ (not used in Arabic) |
| c | /tʃ/ | ث |
| d | /d/ | د |
| ɗ | /ɗ/ | د (same as d), ط (also used for ts) |
| e | /e/ | تٜ (not used in Arabic) |
| e | /eː/ | تٰٜ (not used in Arabic) |
| f | /ɸ/ | ف |
| g | /ɡ/ | غ |
| h | /h/ | ه |
| i | /i/ | تِ |
| i | /iː/ | تِى |
| j | /(d)ʒ/ | ج |
| k | /k/ | ك |
| ƙ | /kʼ/ | ك (same as k), ق |
| l | /l/ | ل |
| m | /m/ | م |
| n | /n/ | ن |
| o | /o/ | تُ (same as u) |
| o | /oː/ | تُو (same as u) |
| r | /r/, /ɽ/ | ر |
| s | /s/ | س |
| sh | /ʃ/ | ش |
| t | /t/ | ت |
| ts | /(t)sʼ/ | ط (also used for ɗ), ڟ (not used in Arabic) |
| u | /u/ | تُ (same as o) |
| u | /uː/ | تُو (same as o) |
| w | /w/ | و |
| y | /j/ | ى |
| z | /z/ | ز, ذ |
| ʼ | /ʔ/ | ع |
Other systems
At least three other writing systems for Hausa have been proposed or "discovered. Bet, Beth, or Vet is the second letter of many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician Bet, Beth, or Vet is the second letter of many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician B̤ē is an additional letter of the Arabic alphabet, derived from Bāʼ (ب with an additional dot. Dalet ( also spelled Daleth or Daled) is the fourth letter of many Semitic alphabets including Phoenician, Aramaic Dalet ( also spelled Daleth or Daled) is the fourth letter of many Semitic alphabets including Phoenician, Aramaic (also Teth, Tet) is the ninth letter of many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Tet, Pe is the seventeenth letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Pei, Persian alphabet Pe pr Ghain, ghayn, or (ar ﻍ is one of the six letters in the Arabic alphabet not in the twenty-two akin to the Phoenician alphabet (the others He is the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew, Syriac ܗ and Arabic Gimmel redirects here for the musical group see Gimmel (music group. Kaph (also spelled Kap or Kaf) is the eleventh letter of many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Kaph (also spelled Kap or Kaf) is the eleventh letter of many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Qoph or Qop (In modern Hebrew Kuf, Arabic Qāf) is the nineteenth letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic Lamed or Lamedh is the twelfth letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Lamed and Arabic Mem (also spelled Meem or Mim) is the thirteenth letter of many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Nun is the fourteenth letter of many Semitic Abjads including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew and Arabic alphabet ar ن (in for the town in Nepal see Resh Nepal Resh is the twentieth letter of many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician Shin (also spelled Šin or Sheen) is the twenty-first letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Shin (also spelled Šin or Sheen) is the twenty-first letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Taw or Tav is the twenty-second and last letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Tav (also Teth, Tet) is the ninth letter of many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Tet, Waw ( also spelled vav or vau) (In Hebrew Vav) is the sixth letter of many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Aramaic Zayin (also spelled Zain or Zayn) is the seventh letter of many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician 𐤆 Aramaic, Hebrew (ar ﺫ is one of the six letters the Arabic alphabet added to the twenty-two inherited from the Phoenician alphabet (the others being,,,,) For the village in Azerbaijan see Əyin. or is the sixteenth letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician " None of these are in active use beyond perhaps some individuals.
- A Hausa alphabet supposedly of ancient origin and in use in north of Maradi, Niger. [2] There are serious doubts about these claims.
- A script that apparently originated with the writing/publishing group Raina Kama in the 1980s. [3]
- A script called "Tafi" proposed in the 1970s(?)[4]
References
- ^ Schuh, Russell G. ; Lawan D. Yalwa. "Hausa", Handbook of the International Phonetic Association. Cambridge University Press, 90–95. ISBN 0-521-63751-1.
- ^ "Hausa alphabet"
- ^ Hausa alphabet from a 1993 publication
- ^ Hausa alphabet from a 1993 publication
See also
External links
- kasahorow Hausa Dictionary
- Ethnologue report on Hausa
- Omniglot
- Hausa at UCLA
- Kofar Hausa dictionary at University of Vienna
- Bargery's Hausa Dictionary Online
- Learning Hausa Online
- Hausa Wiktionary
- Hausa phrasebook
- PanAfriL10n page on Hausa
- BBC World Service Hausa - Based in London
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