Hausa

Hausa (/ˈhaʊsə/;^[5] Yaren Hausa or Harshen Hausa) is the Chadic language (a branch of the Afroasiatic language family) with the largest number of speakers, spoken as a first language by some 44 million people, and as a second language by another 20 million. The total number of Hausa speakers is estimated at 63 million, according to Ethnologue. The ancestral language of the Hausa people, one of the largest ethnic groups in Central Africa, Hausa is mostly spoken throughout southern Niger and northern Nigeria. It is also a recognized minority language in the United States. It has developed into a lingua franca across much of Western Africa for purposes of trade.

Common difficulties

The Foreign Service Institute has classified Hausa as a "Hard" language. It is estimated that learning Hausa to a Professional Working Proficiency in the language (a score of Speaking-3/Reading-3 on the Interagency Language Roundtable scale) will take an average of 44 weeks (1100 class hours).