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With some 94 million speakers, Hausa is the most widely spoken trading language of West and Central Africa. The core area of the language, known as 'Hausaland', extends over North-Nigeria and the south of Niger and is approximately as large as France and the UK. But Hausa goes far beyond these limits. Significant language communities can be found in Ghana, Cameroon, Chad, Sudan and Ivory Coast.

Unlike many West African languages, Hausa is not part of the Niger-Kongo family, but is the most important representative of the Thai branch within the Afro-Asian language family and therefore distantly related to Arabic.

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Where the Hausa originates, it is not clear. A common theory suspects that their ancestors between 500 and 700 AD from Nubis, today's North Sudan, migrated west towards the Chad Sea Basin. As a trigger is the progressive drying out of the Sahara, which pushed indigenous groups southward into the fertile Sahel.

The cultural identity of Hausa is close to Bayajidda legend linked. Accordingly, a prince named Bayajidda fled from today's Iraq and reached the mighty Kanem-Bornu empire on Chad Sea to Daura in northern Nigeria. There he killed a holy serpent, which denied residents access to the only well. Thanks, he married Queen Magajiya Daurama. Her descendants founded Hausa Bakwai, the seven city states: Daura, Kano, Zaria, Katsina, Gobir, Rano and Biram.

As young as the legend sounds, as old is the language behind it. The Proto-Chadian, from which Hausa originated, probably developed 10,000 years ago. Over the centuries, Hausa spread so strongly through trade and cultural influence that it has displaced related languages and became Lingua Franca West Africa.

While many African languages end at national borders, Hausa continues to spread. In Niger completed 2025 a historical break: The land explained Hausa on the sole official language and thus replaced the French. In Nigeria, Hausa dominates the entire north and is one of the three major national languages alongside Yoruba and Igbo.

Economic importance is enormous. The Märkten West Africa wants to act, is hardly coming past Hausa. From N'Djamena to Abidjan traders use the language as a common basis. Activists therefore demand that the ECOWAS Hausa economic community officially recognise trade and regional cooperation.

The history of Hausa's writing reflects colonial and religious influences. Since the 17th century Hausa written in Ajami, an adapted Arabic font, which is mainly used for religious texts and poetry.

With the British colonial period came Boko, the Latin script. The name reveals a lot: 'Boko' comes from a Hausa word for 'true' or 'deception' and reflects the initial rejection of Western education. Today Boko the dominant font in everyday lifewhile Ajami continues to live in religious contexts.

By the way: The name of the Terrorist organisation Boko Haram derives from this designation. 'Boko Haram' means 'western education is prohibited" and is directly opposed to the rich literary and educational tradition of Hausa culture.

Hausa belongs to the African-Asian language family such as Arabic, Hebrew and Amharisch, but there is a decisive difference: Hausa is a sound languagehis semitic relatives are not. How Lingala, Ewe or Ga the pitch decides on the meaning of a word. Hausa distinguishes three tones: high, deep and falling. The word 'baba' means 'father' with high tones, with deep tones 'mother' and with falling tones 'Indigo'.

Uninhabited for European ears so-called implosive consonants diagnose and ɗ. In normal consonants such as 'b' or 'd', we blow air out of our mouth when talking. In the case of implosives, the opposite is happening: the air is pulled inwards, creating a dull, almost "sucking" sound. There is no European language.