Hausa has two main orthographic systems:
- Boko (Latin-based) — the modern official writing system in Nigeria and Niger.
- Ajami (Arabic-based) — still used in religious, cultural, and historical contexts.
We’ll focus on Boko for the base alphabet system, then note the Ajami equivalences.
Boko Alphabet (Latin-based)
Hausa Boko has 23 core letters plus 4 special consonants with hooks.
| Glyph | Latin Chain | Phoneme (IPA) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | a | /a/ | |
| B | b | /b/ | |
| Ɓ | b + hook | /ɓ/ | voiced bilabial implosive |
| C | c | /t͡ʃ/ | “ch” sound |
| D | d | /d/ | |
| Ɗ | d + hook | /ɗ/ | voiced alveolar implosive |
| E | e | /e/ | close-mid front vowel |
| F | f | /f/ | |
| G | g | /g/ | |
| H | h | /h/ | |
| I | i | /i/ | |
| J | j | /d͡ʒ/ | |
| K | k | /k/ | |
| Ƙ | k + hook | /k’/ | ejective velar stop |
| L | l | /l/ | |
| M | m | /m/ | |
| N | n | /n/ | |
| O | o | /o/ | close-mid back vowel |
| R | r | /r/ | trill or tap |
| S | s | /s/ | |
| Sh | s + h | /ʃ/ | digraph, single phoneme |
| T | t | /t/ | |
| U | u | /u/ | |
| W | w | /w/ | |
| Y | y | /j/ | palatal approximant |
| Z | z | /z/ |
Multi-letter graphemes (phoneme units)
- Sh → /ʃ/
- Ts → /t͡s/
- Kw → /kw/ (labialized velar)
- Gw → /gw/ (labialized velar)
- Ky → /c/ (palatalized k)
- Gy → /ɟ/ (palatalized g)
We treat these as single phoneme clusters with phoneme_unit=true in LGM.
Ajami (Arabic-based) Note
In Ajami, Hausa uses standard Arabic letters plus extra dots to represent Hausa sounds not in Arabic:
- implosives (ɓ, ɗ) get modified ba/dal shapes
- ejective ƙ gets modified qaf
- /t͡ʃ/ uses modified jim
For our lattice, these are mapped 1:1 to their Boko equivalents.
Why Hausa is critical for the lattice
- Shows how non-English Latin adaptations handle implosives, ejectives, and complex consonants.
- Gives a bridge between Latin and Arabic scripts in African languages.
- Prepares the framework for any click consonant systems (e.g., Zulu) or tone systems (e.g., Yoruba).