Paul Newman, *A history of the Hausa language: Reconstruction and pathways to the present*

Joseph McIntyre

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DOI: 10.4000/lla.4959

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Joseph McIntyre, "Paul Newman, *A history of the Hausa language: Reconstruction and pathways to the present*, Linguistique et langues africaines [Online], 9(1) | 2023, Online since 30 June 2023, connection on 03 November 2023. URL: http://journals.openedition.org/lla/4959; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/lla.4959

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Paul Newman, *A history of the Hausa language: Reconstruction and pathways to the present*, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2022, xv + 234 p.

By Joseph McIntyre

Universität Hamburg

As the title tells us, the present book offers a history of the Hausa language. The author wishes to “offer fresh and insightful observations, interpretations and hypotheses, ideally in a readable and accessible fashion” (p. ix), and has largely achieved what he set out to do. This is an important book for all who have an interest in the Hausa language and in related Chadic languages as well as for historical linguists.

Following the List of Tables, the Preface, Transcriptions and Symbols, and the List of Abbreviations, Chapter 1 offers an overview of The Hausa Language, followed by Phonology (Chapter 2), Morphology (Chapter 3), Syntax–Grammar (Chapter 4), Loanwords (Chapter 5), and Lexicon and Etymologies (Chapter 6); the Conclusion (Chapter 7) is followed by References and an Index.

The volume covers many themes and many details: in Chapters 2-6 there are 29 sections and 78 sub-sections, some of which are further subdivided. Thus, the focus of this review is on specific details rather than on all possible themes.

In the Preface the author reminds us of just how long Hausa has been studied — the first studies were written by Schön (1843; 1862) — and that, although “more than 1,800 books and articles on Hausa linguistics” have been published, “[we] still lack systematic and in-depth investigations into the language’s past” (p. ix). Thus, the aim in writing this monograph is “to create a picture of what Hausa must have looked like at an earlier period, and the changes it subsequently underwent, by drawing on comparative evidence from related languages and teasing out what one can by means of internal reconstruction and dialect variation”. Given the fact that there are few written sources for Old Hausa, any investigation into its history must look at such evidence and will necessarily involve speculation and asking questions which may remain unanswered. Throughout the book Newman is clear about the strengths or weaknesses of his suppositions, clearly indicating when he is sure — or not — of his hypotheses.

The marking of Hausa consonants, vowel length and tones as well as the symbols designating reconstructions, ungrammatical forms, etc. are explained in Transcription and Symbols (p. xi-xiii). This review uses the same abbreviations as in the book itself; they are given in brackets following the first use of the word they abbreviate. In addition, the review follows the same system of representing the so-called hooked letters (glottalized consonants) of Hausa: the implosives *b* and *d*, and the ejectives *k* and *ts*; the two Rs are written: *r* (flapped) and *r̥* (trilled). Again, both high (H) tone and low (L) tone are marked here (e.g., *bóokòo* and *ájàmíí*, see below) as are the examples in the book under review.

Chapter 1 gives an overview of the areas in which Hausa is spoken and an estimate of the number of speakers. The origins and uses of the two writing systems — *bóokòo* and *ájàmíí* (the European and Arabic alphabets respectively) — are then briefly described. More pertinent to the history of the language is its membership of and place in the Chadic family, a theme which is central to the book. Here, Newman takes the position he has long defended, viz., that, “examined carefully, Hausa is really no more atypical than any other Chadic language chosen at random” (p. 3). Where Hausa differs from other Chadic languages is the “richness of its vocabulary” (due largely to loanwords) and the fact that, for such a large language, “dialect variation is relatively modest” (p. 3). The chapter concludes with a brief overview of the history of the study of Hausa.

Chapter 2 describes the phonology of Hausa and opens with both a current and a historical inventory of consonants. Following this, Klingenheben’s Law is described (§2.1.3) — “the systematic lenition of syllable-final consonants” first described by Klingenheben (1927-1928) and revised by Newman (2004) who accepted much of what Klingenheben had originally proposed, but also identified a separate case of reduplicated words in which “syllable-final velar and labial obstruents become geminates”. He calls the new law the “Law of Codas in Reduplication” (§2.1.4).
The status of palatals is described in §2.1.5: in Old Hausa (OH) they were “distinct, contrastive phonemes”, whereas in modern, Standard Hausa (SH) they are both allophones and phonemes. In §2.1.6 the glides /w/ and /y/ are discussed; here, the “presumably [...] old inherited feature” (i.e., /w/ does not occur before the front vowels /i/ or /e/) is still found in SH where it is a “regular, synchronically active palatalization rule /w/ → /y/ [front vowel]”.

In §2.1.7 the glottal stop (/’) and /h/ are shown not to have been “part of the OH phonemic inventory” (p. 30). These two consonants — widely found in SH — take on a certain significance in §2.1.7.2 where body parts are discussed, many of which begin with /ha-/. Here, Newman suggests a “working hypothesis” for the possible existence of “what looked like a *ha-* prefix” (p 33): in OH the body part prefix was *a-*, not *ha-* and not ’*a-*.

The hypothesis rests on the idea that SH *ha-* emerged after vowel-initial words — widely found in OH — began to add an initial glottal stop. Since a good number of body part terms included a glottalized consonant, this innovation clashed with the rule disallowing “two different glottalized consonants [...] in the same word” (p. 11). Thus, the OH *a-* prefix was replaced by *ha-* not ’*a-*.

As he does on several occasions in the book, Newman acknowledges the hypothetical nature of this suggestion.

In §2.1.8 the history of the two Rs — the independent development of the /r/ ‘flap’ and the /r̥/ ‘trill’ — is described. The former is still found extensively, although non-initial *r* was lost in OH, changing to /y/ or /i/. In SH the trilled *r̥* is widely found, often in Arabic and English loan words, but also in other contexts. The relationship between the two Rs is complex and depends on the position of the R in the word, intervocalic or preceding certain vowels. Newman concludes that “the co-existence of two Rs [...] is a feature of considerable time depth ... [and that there is] an interesting historical story hidden here: the problem is that at the moment we do not know what it is” (p. 40). The section on consonants ends with a discussion of Nasals, Metathesis, Geminates and the Morphologization of Gemination (§2.1.9 to 2.1.12).

The description of vowels (§2.2) begins with the OH vowel system describing how OH *i* and *u* were contrastive, a contrast which is being lost (§2.2.2). The discussion of the development of medial mid-vowels /ee/ and /oo/ (from /ii/ and /uu/) precedes a description of “non-systematic modifications”, for instance, the internal vowel shortening found in some adverbs, e.g., *bákà* ‘in the mouth’ (< *bàakïi* ‘mouth’). Word-Initial Vowels in OH and the use of /’/ or /h/ in word initial position in SH are discussed in §2.2.5 (see the comment on §2.1.7.2 above). Word-Final Vowel Length and the Lowering of Word-Final *uu* to /oo/ are treated in §2.2.6 and 2.2.7.

Diphthongs are described in §2.2.8. The diphthongs /ai/ and /au/ originated in OH as “a vowel plus glide sequence ... /ay/ and /aw/” (p. 64) and “by absorption of the coda glide into the nucleus”, they became the diphthongs still found in SH (p. 65) where they are treated as long vowels. A further historical source of the SH diphthong /ay/ is the OH “*r > y Rule” which gives words such as *áikïi* < *arki*. This is followed by a well-argued case for the existence of two additional “formerly existing” diphthongs (p. 67, emphasis in the original) — *iu* and *ui* — both of which have undergone monophthongisation. Prior to the monophthongisation of *iu* (> *uu*) “palatal consonants only occurred preceding front vowels and *a(a)*” (p. 68); subsequently palatal consonants also preceded back vowels, e.g., *cúuràa* ‘knead’ and *shúukàa* ‘sow, plant’. The monophthongisation of *iu* > *uu* can be seen in the formation of the words *kîîwáa/kyûuyáa* ‘indolence’ (p. 46). Both words result from glide metathesis (*y.w* = *w.y*): *kîîwáa* < //kîywáa// and *kyûuyáa* < //kîwyáa//. In the latter the /w/ automatically became /u/ in syllable final position (//kyîuyáa//) and the *iu* diphthong undergoes monophthongisation.

The simple two-tone system of Hausa — (H)igh and (L)ow — is described in §2.3 along with the fact that SH has (F)alling tones; the latter result either from a disyllabic H-L sequence in which a vowel is lost or after the addition of a suffix with a floating L tone to a word with a final H tone. Newman proposes a third possibility: “Tone bending”. This was found in OH beginning as an intonational change and affecting H tone single syllable nouns with a heavy syllable; this became “phonologized” (p. 74) and these nouns changed from H to F tone. This “preference for pronouncing monosyllabic nouns with Falling tone” is still found — in single syllable English loans with a H tone and a heavy syllable, e.g., *bâs* ‘bus’, *tïi* ‘tea’ (p. 75). In contrast, disyllabic L-H sequences are reduced to a single
H tone syllable, e.g., *dòomín* > *dón* ‘in order to’. In §2.3.4 tone polarity of the stabilizer (which marks identificational and equational sentences) is described with some guesswork about their origin. Direct object pronouns are also mentioned — formerly assumed to be polar in tone, but this has been disproved. In §2.3.5 floating tones are described; one example — on a type of Verbal Noun — is mentioned below. The section ends with a discussion of Low Tone Raising (§2.3.6), a function which changed OH L-L nouns to L-H. The final section (§2.3.7) describes Tone Integrating Suffixes, found in plurals, imperatives, deverbal adjectives, verbal grades and some verbal nouns.

The chapter ends with a description of syllables and syllable weight in Hausa (§2.4): SH has only three syllable types: CV, CVV and CVC, whereby the first is light and the other two are heavy. Newman argues that these three types existed in OH with the possibility that, in word-initial position, a syllable might start without the C onset. Syllable weight is important in both grammar (e.g., pronouns) and word formation (e.g., suffixes) and the section concludes with the assumption that “syllable weight functioned in OH more or less as it does today” (p. 87).

One very positive feature of Chapter 2 — indeed, of the book as a whole — is the way in which known facts are highlighted. For instance, in the introduction to palatals (§2.1.1.1), the reader is informed that, in Hausa, “palatals *are* separate phonemes and *not* separate phonemes” (emphasis in the original, p. 7). Such comments bring buoyancy to a text which might otherwise be quite dry. The seeming contradiction is explained in §2.1.5.

In Chapter 3 (Morphology), nouns, adjectives, and pronouns are discussed (§3.1. to 3.3). Here, I focus on ethnonyms (§3.1.6) and compounds (§3.1.7), and on the description of the verbal system (§3.4).

In the description of ethnonyms (§3.1.6) Newman argues that the formation of Hausa ethnonyms might be traced back to the designation ‘(our) language’ in other Chadic languages; he gives three examples: Kanakuru, Kwame and Tangale. In these languages the word ‘mouth’ (*bok*, *pogi/pok*, *pòk* respectively) loses “the ending -k(V)” and the reduced form precedes the name of the ethnic group (*bo Dera*, *po Kwaami*, *po Tayle* respectively) to name their language. The argument is that Hausa *bàakíi* ‘mouth’ was originally used in typical Chadic fashion to designate language; gradually, *bàakíi* lost the “the ending -k(V)” to become a prefix *bà-*, but, with time, the suffix -ánciì was used to designate languages (e.g., *túuřánciì* ‘English’ ← *Túuřái* ‘Europe’) leaving the prefix *bà-* to designate ethnic groups (e.g., *bàtúuřèe* ‘European’ ← *Túuřái* ‘Europe’). At the end of this description the author indicates the hypothetical nature of the argument, saying that “there are innumerable details to be worked out”. If the argument is hypothetical the logic — that Hausa uses the same strategy as other Chadic languages — is convincing.

In the first part of §3.1.7 (Compounds), verbal compounds formed with *bán* plus noun are analysed. Various authors have suggested that *bán* is a reduction of *bàa ní* ‘give me’ but here Newman makes a convincing case that -n (in *bán*) is a reduced form of the OH third person *ni* ‘him/it’ (common in Chadic) and not of the SH first person *ni* ‘me’. He points out that the SH demonstratives *wátá* and *wású* (the feminine singular and plural forms of the masculine singular *wání*) contain the third person feminine and plural pronouns *tá* and *sú* and concludes that the -ni in *wání* is the third person singular and not the first person.

The focus of §3.4 (Verbs) is the Grade System (§3.4.1) in which the histories of the individual grades — seven regular verb “classes” — are considered. Newman explains here that an analysis of “the system and [of] the individual grades in depth [...] would require a full monograph” and that he focusses “on essential issues where a historical perspective can throw light on the current situation” (p. 140). In the overview the syntactic forms of Hausa verbs are described: the A-form is the form used when no object is expressed immediately after the transitive verb; it is also the basic form of intransitive verbs and the citation form in dictionaries. The B-form is used when “personal pronoun direct objects” immediately follow the verb; the C-form is used “before direct objects other than personal pronouns” (p 139).

Much of the present description of the seven grades can be found in the historical notes of the author’s *Encyclopedic Reference Grammar* (Newman 2000: Chapter 74). In the present work, the focus on history is central, and any new evidence is offered. Parsons’ distinction (1960) between primary and secondary grades (Grades 1-3 and 4-7 respectively) is retained.
member', while the *dà* found with the short form is "an extensional suffix [...] that creates a distinct grade separate from (and should be numbered differently from) gr[ade] 5 as represented by the long form containing the extension -as." (p. 152).

Semantically, these verbs are Efferential (indicating "action directed away from the speaker"), not — as they were traditionally known — causative. Newman claims that "causative" is "an unfortunate misnomer for which the label Efferential was proposed some years ago" Neither here (§3.4.1.7) nor in §4.1.2 ("Causative") is there any discussion of Jaggar (2017) who makes a good case for accepting that many Grade 5 verbs are causative.

The discussion of Grade 6 (e.g., *sáyóo*, A, B and C forms, 'buy and come') is short and uncomplicated. Many verbs add the Ventive extension — HH tone and the suffix -oo ("originally possibly *-(a) woo", p. 153) to indicate action towards the speaker or for the benefit of the speaker. Grade 7 also receives only a brief description. These verbs with LH tone pattern and the final vowel -u (e.g., *sáyú* 'bought out') are all intransitive and have been labelled "sustentative" or "resultative". Newman says that Grade 7 "is the grade about which we have the least understanding when it comes to etymology and history"; however, he offers the possibility that this extension "does not reflect a traditional Chadic extension per se, but rather derives from a marker of perfectivity, perhaps related to *ko (a particle still found with that function in Bole)" (p. 153).

The section on the grades is well written, focussing on the history of the verbal grades and offering new information and/or interpretations. In the eyes of this reviewer, the one flaw is the lack of any discussion of the Grade 5 extension (efferential or causative); this is underscored by the fact that, while the phonology and syntax of the Grade 5 extension is given much space, no parallels are drawn with the verbal semantics of any other Chadic language; this contrasts strongly with, e.g., Grade 6 where we are told that "[v]erbal extensions with this function are widespread in Chadic" (p. 152).

Section 3.4 ends with discussions of transitivity (§3.4.2), frozen suffixes (§3.4.3) and pluractionals (§3.4.4). The history of these themes is prominent in all three sections. The chapter ends with short discussions of adverbs (§3.5) and ideophones (§3.6).

Chapter 4 (Syntax–Grammar) treats Gender, Demonstratives, and Adjectives (§4.1-4.3). The themes Tense–Aspect–Mood (§4.4) and Negation (§4.5) are handled well; however, two important themes receive only minimal attention; this is commented on below. The chapter then covers Questions and Focus, Conditionals, Prepositional Phrases, Numerals, Reflexives and Reciprocals, Indirect Objects and Causative (§4.6-4.12). The history of these themes is highlighted throughout.

Chapter 5 offers an overview of loanwords and their sources — Arabic, Kanuri, Tuareg Fulani, Yoruba and other Southern Nigerian Languages (§5.1-5.3 respectively) and English (§5.4). In §5.5 the influence loanwords have had on Hausa phonology is discussed.

The final chapter (6: Lexicon and Etymologies) opens with an account of Chadic Lexical Retentions in Hausa (§6.1), a further historical theme. In §6.2 (Individual Etymologies) individual words and their various origins are described. Perhaps the most interesting is the etymology of the Hausa word *bóokòo* (as in *boko haram*, the radical Muslim organisation known since ca. 2008). Here, Newman points out that *bóokòo* is a "native Hausa word indicating deceit, trickery, underhandedness, etc." and is not derived from English *book*, a false interpretation endorsed by scholars for many years. Phonologically, the English pronunciation of *book* would not give *bóokòo*: the Hausa words *kúukùu* and *úulùu* are borrowed from English *cook* and *wool* respectively; the English word *book* would have been pronounced */búukùu/. Thus, the term *mákařántář bóokòo* 'western (as opposed to Koricic) school' has no connection with *book*, rather, *bóokòo* was used "as a subtle means of disparaging British colonial policies and Western culture in general" (p. 215).

The descriptions and discussions of the various themes in the present volume are first rate. Nevertheless, two important themes — verbal nouns and the continuative aspect — are not discussed. Verbal nouns — and their history — is an important theme in any discussion of the history of the Hausa verbal system, but they are not considered either in §3.1 (Nouns) or §3.4 (Verbs). However, references to the various kinds of verbal noun (VN) are found, e.g., to VNs which add a -'waa suffix, traditionally referred to as "weak" VNs. Newman refers to this suffix either as "the 'ing' marker" (p. 73), "the '-ing' suffix -'waa" (p. 79) or "the present participial '-ing' formative" (p. 85).
The so-called “strong verbal nouns”, and their histories, are found in §2.2.3.6 (“ablauted verbal nouns”), in §3.1.9 or §3.1.10 (VNs taking either a *-koo* or *-makoo* suffix or a *-naa* suffix). Other historical details of VNs are mentioned in §3.4.1 concerning VNs in Grades 2 and 3; in §3.4.3.1 we find a list of old “strong” VNs from which verbs in various grades have been formed by the addition of suffixes. Indeed, here, a possible definition of VN is offered: “‘Verbal noun’ refers to verb-derived nominals comparable to English gerunds and present participles” (p. 160).

The absence of information on VNs conflates with the absence of a discussion of the affirmative and the so-called “relative continuative” TAMs. I use the term “conflates” because VNs are typically used with continuative aspects. And, as with the VNs, continuative aspects have not been entirely overlooked. In Chapters 3 and 4, examples — with VNs, verbal phrases, and adverbial statives — are given with the Continuative (§3.4). Examples with the Relative Continuative are given following question words and in focus sentences (§4.6). Furthermore, the Negative Continuative and its history is briefly described in §4.5 (Negation) and descriptions of other aspects are satisfactory: the Completive, the Future, Completive and Preterite TAMs are discussed along with the Subjunctive, the Aorist, and the Negative Continuative in §4.4 (Tense-Aspect-Mood); the Completive again in §3.3 (Morphology).

In the past, Newman has treated the history of both VNs and the continuative aspects. In his Reference Grammar (2000) he devotes a chapter to “Verbal Nouns” (Chapter 77), and several historical notes are included. The Continuative — affirmative, Negative and Relative — is also treated and commented on in historical notes (Chapter 70); furthermore, together with Russell Schuh, Newman (1974) published a historical review of Hausa TAMs.

The histories and functions of VNs and of the Continuative and Relative Continuative TAMs surely deserve a discussion in the present volume. Perhaps a clue as to what deterred a thorough discussion is found in the introduction to the verbal grades (§3.1.4) where Newman says, “[r]ather than analyse the system and the individual grades in depth, which would require a full monograph, we shall focus on essential issues where a historical perspective can throw light on the current situation” (p. 140, emphasis added). May I ask a propitious question? Are these themes the subject of a further monograph?

A “full monograph” on these themes would be more than welcome. They are probably more controversial than many other themes; certainly, various authors — including myself — have suggested that the semantics of the verbal grades relate to their initial tone. In the present volume, however, Newman (p. 142) adduces a good argument against an oversimple analysis: the fact that Frozen Cà suffixes (*-kà*, *-nà* and *-yà*) determine the grade in which the verb appears (Grades 1, 2 or 3) means that the initial tone of these verbs is determined by phonology and has no semantic implications.

It is the sad duty of the reviewer to mention typos. There are quite a few typos in this volume, both in the text and in the marking and alphabetical listing of examples. However, they hardly detract from the content: the history of the Hausa language. The volume is well thought out and well written; the focus — the history of the Hausa language — is retained throughout, and, excepting the lacunae mentioned above, the author has achieved the aims he outlined in the introduction.

## REFERENCES

- Jaggar, Philip J. 2001. *Hausa*. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

- Jaggar, Philip J. 2017. *The morphological-to-analytic causative continuum in Hausa: New insights and analyses in a typological perspective*. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.

- Klingenheben, August. 1927. Die Silbenauslautgesetze des Hausa. *Zeitschrift für Eingeborenen Sprachen* 18. 272-297.

- Newman, Paul. 1973. Grades, vowel tone classes and extensions in the Hausa verbal system. *Studies in African Linguistics* 4. 297-346.

- Newman, Paul. 2000. *The Hausa language: An encyclopedic reference grammar*. New Haven: Yale University Press.

- Newman, Paul. 2004. *Klingenheben’s Law in Hausa*. Cologne: Rüdiger Köppe.

- Newman, Paul & Russell G. Schuh. 1974. The Hausa aspect system. *Afroasiatic Linguistics* 1(1). 1-39.
Schön, James Frederick. 1843. *Vocabulary of the Haussa language: Phrases, and specimens of translations, to which are prefixed, the grammatical elements of the Haussa language*. London: Church Missionary House.

Schön, James Frederick. 1862. *Grammar of the Haussa language*. London: Church Missionary House.
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