HAUSA ,THE MOST WIDELY SPOKEN LANGUAGE IN AFRICA
Africa is the second largest continent (after Asia with about four billion people) with a population of close to a billion people (about 888,500,000 approx. as at 2009). The land of Africa covers about 30,065,000 square kilometers with a total of fifty three countries.Third world as Africa is popularly called is endowed with various human and natural resources including diverse cultures and languages. Nigeria alone has well over three hundred dialects, two hundred and fifty ethnic groups and around two hundred and fifty languages.
In Africa, the two most spoken languages are English and French while the most widely spoken indigenous language is Hausa. Hausa is spoken by many people in countries like Nigeria, Sudan, Mali, Senegal, e.t.c. with well over One hundred and fifty million people altogether (Hausa speaking people)
Although, there are other popular languages in Africa such as Swahili, berber Igbo, Yoruba, Amharic, Nyanja, Bantu, Ewe, Mina, Wolof, Pulaar, JolaFulani, Ijaw, Tsongo, Ibiobio, Nupe, Tiv Bambara, and Creole. Hausa is the most widely spoken indigenous language.
Please do note that, Hausa is a language as well as a tribe found majorly in West Africa. (This is not to say they are not found elsewhere on African soil and beyond)
A BRIEF HISTORY OF HAUSA SPEAKING PEOPLE IN NIGERIA
It’s very difficult to narrate the history of Hausa speaking people comprehensively in a short chapter of this nature. The Hausa speaking people are mostly found in the Northern state of Nigeria with concentration in Kano, Kaduna and Sokoto states. It must however be noted that it is difficult t trace the true origin of the Hausa people even though many attempts were made by Historians to explain through traditions, their origin. . Whatever the case, it’s certain that at the present Kano City existed the Capital of n Hausa City bearing the same name. Be that as it may, most traditions and historians have ascribed the origin of the Hausas to the marriage of an old legendary hero, a certain Bayajidda Prince of Baghdad, to a certain pre-historic Queen of Daura and their offspring are said to have founded the authentic Hausa States in northern Nigeria. (Hausa Bakwai).
Going by various traditions, especially of the legend (founder of the seven Hausa states) All Hausa states were founded by desendants of Bayajidda. Biram, the son on Babayiddaby a certain princess of Borno, is said to have resulted into fathering the founders of the remaining dynasties. Historians were limited in their contributions as history can only talk on five of the seven original cities. Namely- Zauzau or Zaria, Daura, Gobin, Katsina and Kano.
It is interesting to note that beside the legend pertaining to the origin of the original authentic Hausa Bakwai, there is another traditionthat tries to explain the origin of the so called unauthentic Seven Hausa states, namely; Zamfara, Kebbi, Nup[e, Gwari, , Yawuri, Yoruba and Koprocofa.
It is by all means believed that despite these rationalized traditions, the Hausa People seem to have been the result of the arrival and gradual integration of waves of immigrants into indigenous communities which later developed into walled cities of northern Nigeria. As earlier said, Hausa language extends beyond the shores of Africa. There is Hausa service of British Broadcasting corporation (BBC), There is also Hausa News delivered on some Broadcasting service in Asia including Korea.
Hausa language is one of the most widely spoken indigenous languages in Africa.
This piece serves to introduce non Hausa living in Africa and people from other continents of the World (Oceania, Asia, South America, North America, and Europe) to the basics of elementary Hausa Language. However, This Article will be tutored from the Nigerian Hausa background. “The World has now become a global village, lets explore this language called Hausa”
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