Hausa

Hausa is a Chadic language of the Afroasiatic language family, belonging to the West Chadic branch. It is spoken by the Hausa people in the Sahelian region of West Africa, especially in northern Nigeria and across Niger, with smaller communities in Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, and Chad. As a lingua franca, it is widely used in trade, education, media, and daily communication across much of West Africa.

Dialects include Northern, Central, and Western varieties, with mutual intelligibility generally high in formal contexts. Regional differences influence pronunciation and vocabulary, but standard Hausa is understood across dialects through education and media.

Hausa is primarily written in a Latin-based alphabet for everyday use, taught in schools and used in media. An older Ajami Arabic-script tradition remains in religious and historical texts.

Hausa has a rich oral and written tradition, with a vibrant media landscape in radio and television. The Hausa-language film industry, known as Kannywood, is based in Kano and has regional influence.

Overall, Hausa is one of the most widely spoken languages in Africa and serves as a key regional lingua franca for millions of people.