Hausa is one of the most widely spoken languages in West Africa, particularly in Nigeria, Ghana and parts of Niger. It plays a crucial role in trade, culture and media across the region.
Hausa
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Classification
Afro-Asiatic > Chadic
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Speakers
55.8 million
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Script
Roman, Arabic
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Text direction
Left-to-right (right-to-left in Arabic script)
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Also spoken
Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Ghana
Hausa
Hausa is a Chadic language spoken in Niger, Nigeria and surrounding countries and spoken by an estimated 30 million speakers as a second language. This makes it one of Africa’s most spoken languages and indeed it serves as a lingua franca in West Africa. In total, there are thought to be over quarter of a billion speakers around the world.
It used to be written with an Arabic script (Ajami) but for the last 100 years or so has been written with a Latin script called Boko.
Arabic, English and French have tended to be the main influences on the language due to religious and colonial history.
At Geo Language Services, we provide translations that respect the language’s unique structure and cultural context, ensuring effective communication with Haitian Creole speakers.
Services offered for this language
Translation / Transcreation / Subtitling / Localization / Adaptation / Copywriting / Authoring / Proofreading / Revision / Editing / Translation quality assurance / Terminology / Linguistic validation / Glossary creation / Dubbing / Voice-overs / Transcription / Typesetting / Simultaneous interpreting / Consecutive interpreting / Conference interpreting / Telephone interpreting / Public service interpreting / Interpreting equipment hire / Foreign language consulting
Interesting fact
In Hausa, spoken in Nigeria, some words have multiple (and very different!) meanings, such as mesa (a python or a water hose), saje (sideburns or sergeant) and jak (donkey or wheelbarrow).
