Languages of Africa at SOAS: Hausa
Hausa is an Afroasiatic language related to Arabic, Hebrew, Berber, Amharic, and Somali amongst others. It is one of the principal languages of Nigeria and southern Niger. An estimated 30+ million people speak Hausa as their first language (more than any other sub-Saharan African language and more than many European languages). It is also spoken by diaspora communities of traders, Muslim scholars and immigrants in urban areas of West Africa, as well as the Blue Nile Province of the Sudan. Hausa is the most extensively researched of all sub-Saharan languages, and has a long tradition of song and poetry within a cosmopolitan Islamic culture. It is the most important and widespread West African language and is expanding as a lingua franca. Hausa is broadcast on the BBC World Service, Voice of America, Deutsche Welle, and Radio Peking. Like many sub-Saharan languages, Hausa is tonal.
If you would like to learn Hausa contact Professor Philip J. Jaggar (pj@soas.ac.uk) in the Department of the Languages and Cultures of Africa.
Degree Programmes
- BA African Language and Culture
- BA African Studies
- BA African Studies and ...
- BA Hausa and ...
- MA African Studies
- Degree Programmes with Language Options
Degree Course Options
- Hausa 1
- Hausa 2(a) Intermediate
- Hausa 2(b) Survey of Hausa Literature
- Hausa 3(a) Advanced
- Hausa 3(b) Selected Texts
- Hausa 3(e) Advanced Hausa: Translation Skills
- Hausa 3(f) Advanced Hausa: Comprehension and Composition (Kano Course)
- Hausa 3(g) Advanced Hausa: Speaking and Listening Skills (Kano Course)
- Hausa Studies
- Hausa 2 (Postgraduate)
Other Resources
Please Note: Not all courses and programmes are available every year
