Full Description
First published in 1988, this book is a landmark in the study of one of the major African languages: Hausa. Hausa is spoken by 40-50 million people, mostly in northern Nigeria, but also in communities stretching from Senegal to the Red Sea. It is a language taught on an international basis at major universities in Nigeria, the USA, Western and Eastern Europe, the Middle and Far East, and is probably the best studied African language, boasting an impressive list of research publications. As Nigeria grows in importance, so Hausa becomes a language of international standing.
The volume brings together contributions from the major contemporary figures in Hausa language studies from around the world. It contains work on the linguistic description of Hausa, various aspects of Hausa literature, both oral and written, and on the description of the relationship of Hausa to other Chadic languages.
Contents
Preface; Introduction; F. W. Parsons- A Biographical Sketch and List of Publications; Contributors; A Note on Transcription; Eaminees, Examiners and Examinations: The Hausa Language Requirements of the Northern Nigerian Government, 1901-62 A. H. M. Kirk-Greene Part I: Language and Linguistics 1. The Vowels of Hausa J. Carnochan 2. Fonction de la diathèse dans le verb haoussa Claude Gouffé 3. Discourse-deployability and Indefinite NP-marking in Hausa: a Demonstration of the Universal 'Categoriality Hypothesis' Philip P. Jaggar 4. Hausa and Chadie- A Reappraisal Herrmann Jungraithmayr 5. A Nag-giong question in Hausa: Remarks on the Syntax and Semantics of the Plural Noun of Agent J. A. McIntyre 6. O Shush! An Exclamatory Construction in Hausa Paul Newman 7. Augmentative Adjectives in Hausa Roxana Ma Newman 8. On the Distribution of Consonants and Vowels in the Initial Syllable of Disyllabic Grade 2 Verbs in Hausa Nina Pilszczikowa-Chodak 9. Resumptive Strategies in Hausa Laurice Tuller Part II: Language and Literature 9. Aƙilu Aliyu, Wordsmith: some Aspects of the Language of his Poetry D. W. Arnott 10. The Use of Linguistic Devices in Hausa Poetry Dauda Muhammad Bagari 11. The Language of Praise and Vilification: Two Poems by Muhammadu Audi of Gwandu about Abubakae, Emir of Nupe Graham Furniss 12. New Vocabulary and Idioms in Modern Hausa Literature Stanislaw Pilaszewicz 13. Préalable to a Theory of Hausa Poetic Meter Russell G. Schuh 14. Lexical Incompatibility as a Mark of 'Karin Magana' Neil Skinner 15. The Language of Hausa Riddles Ibrahim Yaro Yahaya 16. A Hausa Language and Linguistics Bibliography 1976-86, (including supplementary material for other years) Nicholas Awde; Index
