Grapheme Data for Hausa written with Latin script
The modern Latin orthography for Hausa is called “boko”, made official during the 1930s by the British colonial administration.
QUESTION: Does ts represent /ts/, /ts’/ or ‘s’/ (or all these allophones)?
Sources:
- Hartell, Rhonda, ed., Alphabets of Africa. Dakar: UNESCO, 1993.
- Handbook of the International Phonetic Association. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1999.
- Wikipedia, Hausa language
. - On-line Bargery Hausa-English Dictionary
- Andy Warren-Rothlin, Matthew Harley, and Linda Horlings
| Grapheme | USV | Phoneme | Status | Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <a> | 0061 | /a/ | expected | fari ‘white’ | |
| <a> | 0061 | /aː/ | expected | tare ‘together’ | |
| <b> | 0062 | /b/ | expected | baki ‘mouth’ | |
| <c'> | 0063 0027 | /tʃ'/ | rare | c’ada ‘expensiveness’ | Western Hausa - /tʃ'/ is constrastive with /s'/ before /a/. |
| <c> | 0063 | /tʃ/ | expected | cika ‘full’ | |
| <d> | 0064 | /d/ | expected | doya ‘yam’ | |
| <e> | 0065 | /e/ | expected | kunne ‘ear’ | |
| <e> | 0065 | /eː/ | expected | keke ‘machine’ | |
| <f> | 0066 | /ɸ/ | uncommon | fyaɗe ‘rape’ | Often merges with /f/ |
| <gw> | 0067 0077 | /gʷ/ | expected | gwadawa ‘to show’ | |
| <gy> | 0067 0079 | /gʲ/ | expected | gyaɗa ‘groundnut’ | |
| <g> | 0067 | /g/ | expected | gona ‘field’ | |
| <h> | 0068 | /h/ | expected | haske ‘light’ | |
| <i> | 0069 | /i/ | expected | cika ‘to fill’ | |
| <i> | 0069 | /iː/ | expected | kishi ‘jealousy’ | |
| <j> | 006A | /dʒ/ | expected | jiki ‘body’ | |
| <kw> | 006B 0077 | /kʷ/ | expected | kwara ‘pour out much’ | |
| <ky> | 006B 0079 | /kʲ/ | expected | kyauta ‘gift’ | |
| <k> | 006B | /k/ | expected | kasuwa ‘market’ | |
| <l> | 006C | /l/ | expected | likita ‘doctor’ | |
| <m> | 006D | /m/ | expected | makaho ‘blind’ | |
| <n> | 006E | /n/ | expected | nono ‘buttermilk’ | |
| <o> | 006F | /o/ | expected | yaro ‘boy’ | |
| <o> | 006F | /oː/ | expected | zobe ‘ring’ | |
| <r> | 0072 | /ɾ/ | expected | rubutu ‘writing’ | Distinction between /ɾ/ and /ɽ/ does not exist for all speakers. |
| <r> | 0072 | /ɽ/ | expected | riba, ‘profit’ | |
| <s'> | 0073 0027 | /z'/ | expected | s’aka ‘gecko’ | |
| <sh> | 0073 0068 | /ʃ/ | expected | shuni ‘indigo dye’ | |
| <s> | 0073 | /s/ | expected | sata ‘to steal’ | |
| <ts> | 0074 0073 | /ts/ | expected | tsarki ‘holiness’ | May be realized as [ts], [ts'], or [s']. |
| <t> | 0074 | /t̪/ | expected | talauci ‘poverty’ | |
| <u> | 0075 | /u/ | expected | wuƙa ‘knife’ | |
| <u> | 0075 | /uː/ | expected | ƙura, ‘dust’ | |
| <w> | 0077 | /w/ | expected | wuƙa ‘knife’ | |
| <y> | 0079 | /j/ | expected | yak ‘exactly’ | |
| <zh> | 007A 0068 | /ʒ/ | rare | Niger dialect only | |
| <z> | 007A | /z/ | expected | zobe ‘ring’ | |
| <ā> | 0101 | /aː/ | uncommon | fāri ‘first’, gādo ‘inheritance’ | Macron is written only when meaning is not obvious. |
| <ū> | 016B | /uː/ | uncommon | dūka ‘to beat’, musū ‘denial’ | Macron is written only when meaning is not obvious. |
| <ƙw> | 0199 0077 | /kʷ'/ | expected | ƙwai ‘egg’ | |
| <ƙy> | 0199 0079 | /kʲ'/ | expected | ƙyale ‘to ignore’ | |
| <ƙ> | 0199 | /k'/ | expected | ƙato ‘lively’ | |
| <ƴ> | 01B4 | /ˀj/ | uncommon | ƴaƴa ‘offspring’ | Niger only |
| <ɍ> | 024D | /ɽ/ | uncommon | ɍuwa ‘water’ | Niger only; distinction between /ɾ/ and /ɽ/ does not exist for all speakers. |
| <ɓ> | 0253 | /ɓ/ | expected | ɓarawo ‘thief’ | |
| <ɗ> | 0257 | /ɗ/ | expected | ɗaki ‘house’ | |
| <ʼy> | 02BC 0079 | /ˀj/ | expected | ʼyaʼya ‘offspring’ | |
| <ʼ> | 02BC | /ʔ/ | expected | alʼada ‘custom’ |