Hausa
Facts
- Spoken by: 22 million people as a first language and 15 million as a second language
- Geographic center: Northern Nigeria, primarily in the cities of Kano, Katsina, Zaria, Daura, and Sokoto
- Subdivision: Chadic
- Online resource: UCLA Language Material Project
Introduction
Hausa is one of the major languages of both Nigeria and Africa. It is spoken by over 18.5 million people in Northern Nigeria. Within Nigeria, a number of resident Hausa communities exist in Ibadan, Lagos, Jos, and Abuja. An additional 5.5 million people speak Hausa in Niger (especially in Niamey), central western Chad, northern Cameroon, northeastern Benin, Togo, northern Ghana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo, Central African Republic, the Blue area of Sudan, Eritrea, and Germany. A total of 15 million people speak Hausa as a second language.
Language sample
Click play below to hear a greeting in Hausa