Hausa language

High school (ages 12+)
People & Society

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/hausa-language

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the estimated total speakers?Approximately 70 million, including native and second-language speakers
2. What is the language family?Chadic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family
3. Why does Hausa use two different writing systems?Hausa can be written with the Arabic script called Ajami and with the Latin alphabet called Boko. Using both helps people read and write in different traditions.
4. How do people know the meaning of Hausa words when the language has tones?Hausa is a tonal language, meaning the pitch of a word can change its meaning. Learners listen to the tone to understand the word correctly.

Afro-Asiatic Language Family: A major language family comprising languages spoken across North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and Southwest Asia.
Chadic Languages: A subgroup of Afro-Asiatic languages spoken primarily in Chad and Nigeria.
Lingua Franca: A language systematically used to make communication possible between groups of people who do not share a native language.
Phonology: The study of the sound system of a language.