Download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader.The PDF and Audio files on this page introduce the Hausa sound system, with a focus on the aspects of Hausa pronunciation that pose special problems for English speakers.
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All the files on this page were posted September 2, 2006.
M000_Hausa_pronunciation.pdf: This file describes the basic features of Hausa pronunciation: consonants, vowels, and tone. The sound files that illustrate pronunciation can be downloaded from the links below. Also available are online descriptions of the consonant system and the vowel system. Also online is a discussion of Hausa writing, including use of Arabic orthography to write Hausa.
001_Hausa_consonants: Words illustrating all the consonants of Hausa.
Hausa_r_sounds: Hausa has two distinct "r" sounds. This sound file illustrates both sounds in similar words and shows how the two sounds differ when doubled.
002_Hausa_vowels: Words illustrating the vowels of Hausa, including distinctions in vowel length and pronunciation of vowels in differing contexts.
003_Hausa_pronunciation (audio file) M003_pronunciation practice.pdf (transcript)
These files give fifty "mini-tongue-twisters" in Hausa for practice of aspects of Hausa pronunciation that are most problematic for English speakers, including the "hooked" consonants, long vs. short consonants, long vs. short vowels, and tones. Use the "transcript" file as a guide to the "audio" file.