Information about the Hausa Language & An Excerpt From A 1992 pdf entitled "Arabic Loan Words In Hausa"

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post presents information from two online articles about the Hausa language.

This post also showcases an excerpt of a 1992 pdf entitled "Arabic Loan Words In Hausa" by Lawan Danladi Yalwa. This pdf is a chapter in the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)'s Journal of African Studies (Ufahamu). 

The content of this post is presented for historical, linguistic, educational and other cultural purposes.*   All copyrights remain with their owners,

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Special thanks to Lawan Danladi Yalwa for sharing this information with the world.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE HAUSA LANGUAGE
Excerpt #1
From https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hausa-language
written by H. Ekkehard Wolff, University Professor Emeritus, chairman of African Studies, Institute of African Studies, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany…

“Hausa language, the most important indigenous lingua franca in West and Central Africa, spoken as a first or second language by about 40–50 million people. It belongs to the Western branch of the Chadic language superfamily within the Afro-Asiatic language phylum.

The home territories of the Hausa people lie on both sides of the border between Niger, where about one-half of the population speaks Hausa as a first language, and Nigeria, where about one-fifth of the population speaks it as a first language. The Hausa are predominantly Muslim. Their tradition of long-distance commerce and pilgrimages to the Holy Cities of Islam has carried their language to almost all major cities in West, North, Central, and Northeast Africa.”...

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Excerpt #2
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hausa_people
"The Hausa (endonym: Hausawa; also Ausa, Francophonic spelling Haoussa) are a Chadic ethnic group based primarily in the Sahel and sparse savanna areas of southern Niger and northern Nigeria. With a total population of some 30 million (2019 estimate), they qualify as the single most numerous African ethnic group.

[...]

Language

The Hausa language, a member of Afroasiatic family of languages, has more first-language speakers than any other African language. It has an estimated 67 million first-language speakers, and close to 50 million second-language speakers.[61] The main Hausa-speaking area is northern Nigeria and Niger. Hausa is also widely spoken in northern Ghana, Cameroon, Chad, Sudanese Hausa in Sudan and the Ivory Coast as well as among Fulani, Tuareg, Kanuri, Gur, Shuwa Arab, and other Afro-Asiatic speaking groups. There are also large Hausa communities in every major African city in neighbourhoods called zangos or zongos, meaning "caravan camp" in Hausa (denoting the trading post origins of these communities). Most Hausa speakers, regardless of ethnic affiliation, are Muslims; Hausa often serves as a lingua franca among Muslims in non-Hausa areas.

[…]

Hausa is considered one of the world's major languages, and it has widespread use in a number of countries of Africa. Hausa's rich poetry, prose, and musical literature, is increasingly available in print and in audio and video recordings. The study of Hausa provides an informative entry into the culture of Islamic Africa. Throughout Africa, there is a strong connection between Hausa and Islam.

The influence of the Hausa language on the languages of many non-Hausa Muslim peoples in Africa is readily apparent. Likewise, many Hausa cultural practices, including such overt features as dress and food, are shared by other Muslim communities. Because of the dominant position which the Hausa language and culture have long held, the study of Hausa provides crucial background for other areas such as African history, politics (particularly in Nigeria and Niger), gender studies, commerce, and the arts."...

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JOURNAL EXCERPT: "ARABIC LOAN WORDS IN HAUSA"
from https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3jm5n6pw

Ufahamu: A Journal of African Studies

title: Arabic Loan Words in Hausa

ISSN

0041-5715

Author

Yalwa, Lawan Danladi

Publication Date

1992

[page 101]

"Introduction

[…]

The history of Hausa shows that the language has been exposed to a lot of external influences which have affected and still affect both the language and the people. Such external influences include Azben, the earliest language to affect Hausa, and Arabic (see Ibrahim 1978 and Liman 1978). It has now reached a stage where most native speakers of
Hausa can hardly differentiate between the native vocabulary of their language and that borrowed from other languages. Arabic influence now has a permanent effect on Hausa in all areas of life, as evidenced in the Hausa language itself as spoken orally and as used in written literature. It is, however, very difficult to explain the moment of the flrst contact between the two languages, since we lack written materials that would show us the trend of such contact. The speakers of Hausa can only guess or speculate by making reference to historical documentation transmitted orally from one generation to another before the massive use of the AJAMI (Hau..sa written in Arabic script) in the post-jihad period of Sheik Usman Ian Fodio (see Bivar er al. 1962; Hiskett 1965, 1969, 1975; Liman 1978; and Ibrahim 1982).

[page 102 UFAHAMU]

Lexical borrowing:

A lot has been written on lexical borrowing from Arabic into Hausa. However, not much has been said about the causes of this borrowing. Apan from Hiskett (1965; 1975) and Zarruk ( 197R), most other works give only partial analyses of this issue. One such imponant work is that of Greenberg (1947). In this paper he claims that the influence of Arabic on Hausa was not directly from classical Arabic, but rather through colloquial Arabic spoken in Nonh Africa, Egypt and some pans of Sudan. He goes on to say that the loans are divided into two phonologically distinct groups. The first group, which he identifies as earlier loans, came through colloquial Arabic. These words consist of terms of everyday life, trade, technology, and elementary aspects of the Islamic religion which mark the period when the Hausa community staned to embrace Islam. As for group two, he claims that they came through classical Arabic and include words denoting personal names of Qur'anic origin and technical terms of pseudo-sciences mos!ly used by Hausa Islamic teachers. His claim is mainly based on the phonological evidence observed from the borrowed words by referring to the original
Arabic words. He claims that the definite article a/- was borrowed from North African dialects as this is a common feature in those dialects. Likewise the changing of 0 > t, El > d, g > d, ~ > s, aw > o: or u:, a > e; palatalization of alveolar consonants before front vowels; and the
dropping of the anicle a/- ("the") were borrowed from Nonh African dialects. These are all features observed in Egyptian, North African and Sudanic dialects. These phonological changes came to Hausa through colloquial dialects and, therefore, must be of words in group I (see ibid. 1947). As for the second group, the words are constantly borrowed with the ankle a/-, denoting the spread of Islam at a later period. He also includes words on horsemanship in this group. Hiskett ( 1965) on the other hand gives a slightly different view concerning determining the history of adopting Arabic words into Hausa and the relative history of their coming, whether from classical or colloquial varieties. He mentions that we should not classify Arabic loans into Hausa only by phonological processes observed, but rather we should also consider the history of the language as well. The question one has to ask is: can one-sided generalizations with respect to group I loanwords be made? That is, can we rely on phonological processes alone as observed in the loans without referring to the history of the people as done by Greenberg? I would certainly say no. We have to refer to the history of the people and their literary background as well. 

Furthermore, I would not totally accept the view that all the words in group I (i.e. earlier loans) came through colloquial Arabic. There were some that really came through classical Ardbic, notably from the Qur'an 

[YALWA page103]
and Hadith (i.e. Prophet Muhammad's [SAW] Traditions as observed by his companions).

At the historical level, observing some Arabic sources from the Kano Chronicle (see footnote 2) and the writings of the Arab geographers, we see that Islam was in existence in Hausaland earlier than what Greenberg assens (cf. Greenberg 1946; 1947). It existed even before the massive arrival of Arabs into Hausaland (Hiskett 1965 and the introduction of his 197 5 book). Arabs started to come to Hausaland in the 12th century A.D. during the reign of King Nagaji
cfan OariRu (1194-1247 A.D.) where they found a number of people practicing the Islam. Probably, as the history shows, the Mandingoes (or Wangarawa) were the people who first brought the religion to the Hausa people through trade and missionary activities. A great number of them were in Kano during the reign of Yaji Oantsamiya (1349-1385 A.D.), and were then followed by Fulanis of pre-jihad period (Hiskett 1965, Zarruk 1978, and Liman 1978). The Fulanis found the Hausa with the Qur'an and Hadith. This indicates that Islam was there earlier than many historians claim. It was after the Fulanis of the pre-Jihad period that the Arabs started to come to Hausaland in great numbers.

This was during the reign of Muhammad Rumfa (1463-1499 A.D.). Muhammad b. Abdulkarim Al-Maghili (d. 1504; see Gwarzo 1972) is said to have written a treatise on Islamic law for Muhammad Rumfa. Another Arab called Sheik Tunis was also among the advisers of Muhammadu Kisoki (1509-1565 A.D.). A Maghribite, Sheik Abubakar was also an advisor to Muhammadu Zaki (1582-1618 A.D.).2 All of this information indicates that the coming of Islam really pre-dated the coming of the Arabs into Hausaland by at least 100 years.

Therefore, we can say that the small number of the Muslim Hausa community (mostly the Malams or 'Muslim scholars') had the Qur'an before the massive coming of the Arabs. Another fact is also the order given by Yaji ( 1349-1385 A. D.) for the observance of the five daily prayers in Kano. This could not have been possible without a knowledge of the Qur'an and Hadith (see also Liman 1978 for such a view). Can we then establish the fact that not all words of group 1 came from colloquial Arabic? The answer is yes. if we only accept the fact
that the Muslim Hausa community had these two great books before the massive coming of the Arabs into Hausaland. With this, we can straight away dismiss the argument that they borrowed all the Arabic loans from colloquial dialect(s), i.e. a kind of classical Arabic corrupted by the Nonh Africans and Sudanic Arabs (cf. Goener et al. 1966; Muhammad 1968).3 I therefore hold the view that all words in the Qur'an denoting the basic teachings of Islam were transmitted to the Hausa in their classical forms. These include terms of trade, cavalry, and
horsemanship which are found in the Qur'an. They were borrowed into 

[page 104 UFAHAMU]

Hausa in their Qur'anic and not in colloquial Arabic forms. If their forms changed, it was due to either direct or indirect innovation by the Hausa themselves in trying to pronounce the words by imitation of the existing patterns either consciously or unconsciously. This might have influenced the adaptation by which the Hausa speakers replaced Arabic sounds by Hausa phonemes that are phonetically closer to the borrowed ones (cf. Salim 1977 for similar adaptation processes with English loanwords and Sani 1986). In this process of earlier borrowings the innovation cannot be a one man's work but rather many people were involved. It is possible that what one person heard cannot be the same as what others might have heard due to physiological differences found among the hearers. This might have caused the differences found in the loans.

Although there are some loan words in group I which got into Hausa through colloquial Arabic, generalizations made by Greenberg on group I loans do not totally hold true.

Sources of Arabic Loans

There are five basic sources from which Hausa borrowed Arabic words:

Islam and Trade

It is to this source that most of the older words can be traced back, since the earlier people who had contact with the Hausa were both missionaries and traders (i.e. Wangarawa Islamic Missionaries; cf. footnote 2). Therefore all words denoting the fundamentals of Islam (including the concept of Belief) and some basic words on trade found in the Qur'an and Hadith were the first to be borrowed. These were immediately followed by words denoting items used for horse-riding and war because of the condition of Hausaland (insecurity for the kings) at that time. The Hausa borrowed these terms from the foreigners who imroduced new techniques of warfare to them. 

Literature and Grammar

The second source is literature and grammar of (a) the pre-Jihad period as in the works of Sufis like Wali oan Masani and Wali oan Marina (see Ibrahim 1982; Sa'id 1977) and, (b) the Jihad period ~here most Arabic words were borrowed and used in poetry written in Ajami
writing system (cf. Hiskett 1975; Zarruk 1978). Most of the words borrowed were those denoting praise to Allah (SWT) and Prophet Muhammad (SAW), Islamic theology, warnings/admonitions to 

[page YALWA 105]

Muslims about what they do and what the consequences for their activities will be , and words on Islamic law (cf. Bivar et al. 1962 and Zarruk 1978). Some of the borrowed words include the following:

(1) adabii literature darasii lesson

akasii opposite !haalli condition

baitli stanza/ jam'li plural

line of verse

balaagb eloquence 1cal.m.aa word

diiwaanli register lamiiru pronoun

fa.saahaa skill Aiaamaa indication/sign

ilia defect baabli chapter/category

~ sentence balagaa puberty

poem faa'Uii doer of action

aja.Iii fate/deadline hlkaayaa story

ba'aa joke/mockery jinsli gender

d'abii'aa behavior/ kaamll complete

custom

Islamic School System

The third source is the establishment of Qur'anic Schools (i.e. slate-schools) established all over Hausaland. In these schools, malams (teachers) introduced many innovations including the teaching of Arabic consonants. Some of these innovations included the teaching of the
Arabic consonants some of which were given Hausa names as diu = Arabic /a/if/; amlxlaldn woofii = Arabic l'aynl; haakurii (borrowed from Kanuri) = the Arabic rounded /h/, etc. Some of the words borrowed through Islamic schools include:

(2)

Ar: Allah >H: AllAh "God", Ar: Muslim >H: Musulmii "Muslim", Ar: ai-Murnin >H: Muumlnii "Believer," Ar: al-ima:m >H: llimaamli/Hman "Muslim leader," Ar: al- na:'ib >H: naa'lbii "deputy leader," Ar: al-Nabiy >H: Annabli "Prophet," Ar: al- Hadith >H: Hadiisli "Prophetic tradition," Ar: Hajj >H: Hajji "Pilgrimage (to Mecca)," Ar: hala:l > H: halil "lawful", Ar: hara:m >H: haram "unlawful", Ar: Sala:t >H: Sallaa "prayer," ~r: siya:m >H: azumii "Fasting," Ar: al-Qur'an > H:
Alkur'aanli "Quran," Ar: al-zaka:t >H: zakkaa "Alms or religious tithe paid in the form of farm produce, livestock, jewelery, or money." etc.

[page 106 UFAHAMU]

Administration, Law, and Politics

Hausa terms used in administration, law, and politics also constitute a great number of Arabic words borrowed especially during the post-Jihad period. That was the time when the Fulani established an Islamic system of government and reforms over the Hausaland under the leadership of Sheik Usman ibn Fodio. This new system was channeled through sermons and writings using the Ajarni in Hausa, Fulani or Arabic. This is directly connected to the sources of Arabic loan words discussed in the next section. The following are a few of the loanwords on administration, law, and politics:

(3)

Ar: al-'adab >H: ladabii "punishment," Ar: bai'ah >H: bai'aa/mubaaya'aa "pay homage," Ar: baitu al-ma:l >H: baitulmaall "treasury," Ar: daulah >H: daulaa "kingdom," Ar: diyyah > H: diyyaa "ransom/compensation," Ar: ha:kim > H : haakimii "district head," Ar: huku:mah >H: hukuumaa "government," Ar: jamhu:riyyah: >H: jamhuuriyaa "republic," Ar: khara:j > H: haraajii "tax," Ar: majalis >H: majalisaa "council," Ar: mulk > H: mulldi "administration," etc.

Modem Writings:

Modem writings which include both poetry and prose have been used to correct the traditional behavior of a great number of Hausa Muslims (including most of the Hausa kings) of mixing Islamic practices and other traditional religious practices which were in use before the introduction of Islam to Hausaland. Most of the words borrowed through the methods outlined in this section and the one before were adopted somewhat in a fixed form, in the sense that the loans were used just as they were in the source language without radical changes in their phonology or morphology. It seems to me that this was possible due to the fact that the people were aware of the foreign language, hence a correct version of Arabic was used. At the present time some of the older forms (of the pre-Jihad period) are used side by side with the ones corrected by the learned Hausa speakers. Also some of the older forms are being replaced by other loans from English, while some survive only in religious activities. For instance, the word dubuu (one thousand) is sometimes replaced by the Arabic: a/fin counting
years, while in general counting of things like money, the Hausa Zamhar d'a'rii (million) is totally replaced by mj[iyan (million). We also do not find people using the word goomiyaa + number as in goomiyaa

[YALWA  page107]

biyu (twenty), but rather they use the loanword ashlFin. There are also instances where the loanwords acquired new meartings that differ from their meanings in the original language with a semantic shift (see Rufa'i 1979). For example, Arabic: maqbaJ (accepted) has two meanings in Hausa. The first mearting is as in the source language, while the second one is "master or observer of people involved in their activities." These examples indicate that language change is gradual and unpredictable. The history of Arabic loan words in Hausa shows that such words got into Hausa at different times. However, we do not know what the form of these words was at the time of their borrowing. An examination of the history of Hausa phonology and morphology will help us to understand how the loan words adapted to Hausa linguistic changes and in that way attempt to reconstruct their original form."...

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