Comparative Analysis of English and Hausa Consonants

Prepared by the researche
- Abdel hafeez Ali,Mohammed, Magzoub Alsaid Ahmed Mohammad
- Mujahid Elyas Siddideg – University of kordofann, Faculty of Arts, – Department of English Language and literature. Sudan
Democratic Arabic Center
Journal of Afro-Asian Studies : Twenty-fourth Issue – February 2025
A Periodical International Journal published by the “Democratic Arab Center” Germany – Berlin
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Abstract
The study is conducted in University of kordofan Faculty of Arts during (2019). The main aim of the study is to find out the similarities and differences between English and Hausa consonants. The study investigates the area of the subject in both languages. The study has followed analytical, prescriptive and comparative method. Data have been collected from references and analyzed by using contain analysis. The study reached the following results. English language has (6) plosives / p b t d k g / Hausa language has 10: / b t d k g kw gw kj gj ʔ /. Hausa uses implosives /ɓ/ and /ɗ/ and the ejectives/s’/, /k’/, /k’w/ and /k’y/, English language does not have any implosive or ejective. The plosive /p/and fricative /v/ are not found in Hausa. The two languages share the nasal sounds /m n ŋ /. Both languages use lateral /l/. Short vowels/ ǝ/ / ʌ/ are not found in Hausa. The study concludes that, there are similarities and differences between the two languages at the level of consonants. The study recommended, more studies in comparative studies should be held to enrich comparative linguistics.
1-Introduction
Languages of the world are governed by specific rules, and phonological systems. They share some features and design structures of speech and follow some universal rules .Human beings have abilities to produce and utters different sounds and to use these sounds systematically in order to convey meaning .Thus human express their felling and emotion by using sounds as a combination systematic process. Some languages share sets of sounds and other phonological features. The present study is an attempt to compares and contrasts English and Hausa consonants.
English language is the language that spoken by about one hundred and half billion of population and considers as global language (www.thehistoryofenglish.com-today-html. Hausa language on the other hand is a branch of NILO Saharan family spoken by not less than 26 million people. But as regards the numbers of people whose mother tongue is Hausa, it takes pride place among the languages of Africa. Hausa is the dominant language in Nigeria, Eastern Niger, Chad, Central Africa, Mali, Cameron, and some parts of Sudan and Libya. Though there are several dialects in Hausa language but neither phonetic differences nor morphological discrepancies however prevent the speakers of various Hausa dialects from understanding each other. Hausa is considered as spoken language from the early beginning. Before the coming of the Europeans to Hausa land, Hausa used the system of writing based on Arabic scrip called ajami. By 1931 Hausa began to use International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). H.B (2014:52).
Sounds usually made when the stream of air come from the lungs passes between the two vocal cords in the larynx and proceeds upwards. The air flow can pass through the nasal cavity and come out the nose or through the oral cavity and controlled by the soft palate due to the nature of the sound. So, all sounds are referred to as phonemes which are the smallest meaningless unit of language. Both English and Hausa languages are spoken by million people around the world especially in Africa. So the study paper wants to identify the phonological aspects of both languages, and to show the similarities and differences between them at the level of consonants sounds. Teachers, students and those whom interested in both languages will benefit a lot from this study.
2-Statement of the problem:
Both English and Hausa languages are spoken by million people around the world especially in Africa. So the researcher wants to identify English and Hausa consonant sounds, and to show to what extent they are similar or different and solve the difficulties that face English and Hausa learners at the level of phonological aspects of both languages.
3-Objective of the study:
To show the similarities and differences between English and Hausa languages at the level of consonants sounds.
4-Methodology of the study:
The present study will follow prescriptive analytical and comparative methods. The data collection will be based on secondary resources.
Key words: (consonants) of English and Hausa languages
5-English consonants
English language is like any other languages of the world uses consonant sound. Albusairi(2006:18-20) discusses that, English consonants are sound that produces by the contact of the vocal organs. thus their characteristics from the blocking of air passes whether complete or partial and may be produced with or without the vocal cords vibration .when the vocal cord is vibrated the sound that produced are called voiced such as {g}and {b}. when the vocal cords are not vibrated the sound that produced are called voiceless for example {t}and{ p}.When air flows through the nose produce sounds such {n} and {m} as voiced nasal consonants . Hus English consonants are describes according to the nature and the point of articulation. Sound patterns are classified under the field of phonetics which the study of human sound in general. All human can produce sound; the production of these sounds are controlled by speech organs which are the tongue, the velum, soft palate, hard palate ,pharynx, larynx, jaws, teeth and vocal cords. Some of these organs are moving and the most important is the lungs where the air comes from
Alkhuli (1996:27) adds that, consonants are segmental phonemes and differ from a language to another. English has different types of consonants that classified into; six stops / p/ , / b/ , /t/, /d/ ,/k/ ,/g/ ; two affricates /č/, / Ĵ /; nine fricatives /f/ ,/v /,/ ɵ/,/ ð/,/s/,/z/,/ ʃ/, /Ʒ/,/h/;one lateral /l/. Three nasals /m/, /n/,/ɳ/; and three semivowels /w/, /r/, /y/. Concerning of articulation, English has four bilabials; /p/,/b/, /m/, /w/);two labiodentals /f/,and/,/v/; two inter dentals /ɵ/, /ð/ ; seven alveolar /t/,/ d/ ,/s/ /z/ ,/ n/ ,/r/; five alveolar palatals /č/ ,/ Ĵ/, /ʃ/, /Ʒ/ y/ ; three velars /k/ ,/g/ ,/ ɳ/ . Concerning voice, English has nine voice less consonants they are / p/ ,/t/ ,/k/ , /č /, /f /,/ ɵ/ ,/s/ , /ʃ/ ,/h/ and fifteen voiced consonants /b/ ,/d/ ,/ g/,/ Ĵ/ ,/v/ ,/ ð/, /z/, /Ʒ/,/ m/ ,/n/, /ɳ/, /l/ ,/ w/ ,/ r/ y/.
Some English consonants when join together give another sounds as in:
6- English compound consonants
Gh- /k/.
Gu- /k/ guest
Ch- /ʧ/ church
Ph- /f/ elephant
Th- /ð/ this
Th- /θ/ oath
Sh- /ʃ/ ship
Ng / ɳ/ going
7-Description of English consonants
/b/ voiced bilabial plosive
/t/ voiceless bilabial plosive
/d/ voiced alveolar plosive
/m/ voiced bilabial nasal
/n/ voiced alveolar nasal
/ŋ/ voiced velar nasal
/p/ voiceless bilabial plosive
/k/ voiceless velar plosive
/g/ voiced valor plosive
/s/ voiceless alveolar fricative
/z/ voiced alveolar fricative
/ɵ/ voiceless Plato- alveolar fricative
/ ð/ voiced Plato alveolar fricative
/ ʃ/ voiceless palatal fricative
/ʒ / voiced palatal fricative
/f/ voiceless labiodentals fricative
/v/ voiced labiodentals fricative
/h/ voiceless glottal fricative
/ dʒ / Voiced Plato alveolar affricate
/t ʃ / Voiceless Plato alveolar affricate
/l/ voiced alveolar lateral
/w/ bilabial frictionless semivowel
/j/ palatal frictionless semivowel
/r/ post alveolar frictionless
8-Hausa consonants
http://aboutworldlanguages.com/hausa
Argues that, Hausa language has about ( 31) consonants sounds appears and classified as follow :
/t/. /k/ ,/ki/, /kʷ/, /?/, /?i/ are voiceless stops.
/ b/, /d/, /g/ ,/gi/, /gʷ/, are voiced stops.
/ ɗ/, / ɓ/, are implosive stops.
/ ɸ/, /s/, / ʃ/, /and /h/ are voiceless fricatives.
/z/ is voiced fricative.
/t ʃ / is voiceless affricate.
/ts/ is ejective voiceless affricate.
/m/ and /n/ are nasals.
/r/ is trill.
/ɽ/is flap.
/l/ is latral.
//m/ as in the word (mutafi) /mut әfi/ let us go.
w/ and /j /are approximants. The same view added that, ki/,/ kʷ/,/gi/,and /gʷ/
/,/?i/ ,/ ɸ/,/ ɗ/,/ ɓ/ don’t have counterparts in English.
view from https://en.wikipedia/hausalanguage stats that, Hausa has between 23-25 consonants phonemes .They are:
/n / as in (naki) /n ә k I / yours for female.
/ ɗ/ as in (ɗaki) / ɗ ai k I / room.
/b/ as in (bara) /b ә r ә / last year.
/d/ as in (daa) / d ai / in the past.
/ dʒ/ as in (miji) / mi dʒ i) husband.
/Ɉ/ as in( jarimi) / Ɉ ә r i m i/ brave man.
/g / as in (guna) /g u n ai / farm.
/gʷ/ as in(gʷalo) /g әlo / to make your tongue out
/ts/ as in (matse) /mә tʃe/ woman.
/c/ as in( macari) /m ә k ә r i/ protector.
/k/ as in (ku turu) /k u t u r u/ lame man.
/k ʷ / as in (kʷ anu) /kʷ ә n Ɔ:/ plate.
/ts̛ / as in( ts̛ ale) / ts̛ ә le/ jumping.
/k̛ / as in( k̛ ara) / k̛ ә rә / add more.
/ ɸ/ is in( farau farau) / ɸ ә r әu ɸ ә r әu/ Kind of juice.
/s/ as in( safija) /s ә f I j ә / morning.
/ ʃ / as in( ʃago ) / ʃ ә g Ɔ/ shop.
/h/ as in( hali)/ h ә lI:/ condition.
/ l/ as in (lafiya) / l ә f I j ә / health.
/j / as in( yatafi) /j ә t ә f i/ he is went.
/ w/ as in (wada) / w ә d ә / short man.
/r /as in (rami) / r ә m I / hole
/ý/ as in the word (ýnmata) / ýmat ә/ girl Table
Adamu, M. (1978 :67) argued that, The phonemic inventory of Hausa consists of consonants , vowels, and diphthongs.
In the inventory, some consonants are not found in English. Most common of these are the hooked letters, ɓ, ɗ, ƙ and the semi vowel `y, which are entirely different from the corresponding plain letters b, d, k and y.
/b/ barìi To leave/To stop
/ɓ/ ɓarìi Shivering
/d/ daidai Correct/Exact
/ɗ/ ɗaiɗai One by one
/k/ bàakii Mouth
/ƙ/ bàaƙii Guests
/y/ yaayaa? How?
/`y/ `yaa`yaa Children/Sons/Daughters/Fruits
Koelle (1875:1-14) wrote that, Hausa has consonants as English consonants. The orthography of its letter consisted of consonants and vowels. The sounds of the letters are equivalence in the (IPA). The Hausa consonantal features occurrence of denasalized consonants like many African languages. The letters below can stand as the (boko)of Hausa: Aa, Bb, ɓ, Cc, Dd, ᵔD ɗ, Ee, Gg, Gʷ gʷ,
Ff, Hh, Ii, Jj, Kk, Ll, Mm, Nn, Oo, Rr, Ss, Tt, Uu, Ww, Yy, Zz. Ҡʷ ,? And ý .
- The letter B pronounced as the pronunciation of the English /b/.
- The letter F is pronounced as the English F.
- The letter G is pronounced as the English G.
- The letter H is similar to the English H in the pronunciation.
- The letter K is common in Hausa, it pronounced like English K.
- The letter L is pronounced like the English letter with the tongue pressing the upper teeth.
- The letter M is pronounced as the English M.
- The letter N is pronounced as the English one.
- The letter R is pronounced in two ways one similar to the English one,
- The letter S is pronounced in different way as found in English.
- The letter T is pronounced with the tongue contact against the upper teeth, which is similar to English one.
- The letter W it is common in Hausa and its sound as the English W.
- The letter Y is pronounced as the English.
- The letter Z is pronounced as the English Z.
9-Hausa compound consonants
Gadarmari (2014:157) stats that, Hausa language has compound consonants such as / TS/ as in (tsamia)/ tsәmiЈә/ kind of tree , /Gʷ/as in( Gʷ na) /gƆnә/ farm,/Kʷ/ asin( kʷwa ) /kƆw ә/ everyone .
/Gʸ/ as in(Gʸ suwa)/ / g ai suwә/ greeting /Kʸ/ asin (kʸ ) /k j/ you, and/KY / as in (KYfi) /k ai fi/ you are the better.
10-Data analysis and discussion
The data were collected through references and analyzed by using contain analysis To show the similarities and differences between English and Hausa languages at the level of segmental phonemes.
11-Similarities and differences between (E) and (H) bilabials consonants.
English bilabials | Hausa bilabials |
/p/ / b/ /m/ | /ɓ/ /b/ /m/ |
Table shows that bilabials consonants /b/ and /m/ are found in both English and Hausa languages. While /p/ is found in English and not found in Hausa and /ɓ/ is not found in English.
12-The similarities and differences between E and H Labiodentals consonants.
English labiodentals | Hausa labiodentals |
/f/, /v/ | /f/ /-/ |
Table states that, English uses labiodentals fricatives /f/and /v/and Hausa use only/f/
13- The similarities, and differences between E and H Dentals consonants.
English dentals | Hausa dentals |
/ θ / /ð /
|
——– ———– |
Table explains that, English uses dentals fricatives /θ/and/ð/ and both of them are not found in Hausa
14-The similarities and differences between E and Hausa alveolar consonants.
English alveolar | Hausa alveolar |
/r/ t / /d / / n/ / s / / z/ / l/ | / t / /d / / n/ / s / / z/ / l / /ɗ/ /r/ /ts/ |
Table explains that the alveolar consonants / t / /d / / n/ / s /, / z/ / l/ are found in both English and Hausa languages while / ɗ/ /ts/ are found in Hausa language and not found in English.
15- The similarities and differences between E and H ‘Post-alveolar
English post alveolar | Hausa post alveolar |
/r/ | /Tʃ / / ʃ / |
Table lustrates that, English and Hausa languages are different in the use of post-alveolar consonants. English uses post- alveolar /r/ while in Hausa is not found and Hausa uses / Tʃ/and / ʃ / as post-alveolar consonants.
16-The similarities and differences between E and H Plato-alveolar consonants.
English Plato- alveolar | Hausa Plato-alveolar |
/ ʃ/ / tʃ/ /d3/ |
————- ——- ———- |
Table shows that, English uses /ʃ/, /tʃ/and /d3/as Plato-alveolar consonants and Hausa do not use Plato-alveolar consonants.
17- Similarities and differences between E and H Retroflex consonants.
English retroflex | Hausa retroflex |
American English /r/ | /j/,/c /,/c′/ /r/ |
Table explains that, English uses the American English /r/ as retroflex consonants and Hausa uses /j/,/c /,/c′/ /r/ as retroflex consonants.
18- Similarities and differences between E and H Velar consonants.
English velars | Hausa velars |
/ k/ / g / /ɳ / | /k′/ / g / /ɳ / / kw/ /gw / |
Table shows that, English and Hausa languages use / k/ / g / /ɳ / as velar consonants in addition to Hausa uses /k′/, / kw/and /gw / which are not found in English.
19- Similarities and differences between E and H labial Velar consonants.
English labial velar | Hausa labial velar |
/w/ | /kw/ /gw/ |
Table illustrates that, English language uses labial velar consonants /w/ which is not found in Hausa, and Hausa uses /kw/ /gw/ which are not found in English.
20- Similarities and differences between E and H Glottal consonants.
English glottal | Hausa glottal |
/h/ / ?/ | / Ý′/ h/ /w/ /?/ |
Table explains that, English and Hausa languages are similar in the use of glottal /h/ /? / And differ in the use of / Ý ′/w/ which are found in Hausa and not found in English.
21- Similarities and differences between E and H Pharyngeal consonants.
English pharyngeal | Hausa pharyngeal |
Arabic ‘ayn [ʕ] | ————- |
Table states that, English is differ from Hausa in the use of pharyngeal consonants, English uses [ʕ]as pharyngeal consonants, while in Hausa is not found.
22- Similarities and differences between E and Hausa palatal Consonants.
English palatals | Hausa palatals |
/j/ | /Ɉ/ |
Table shows that, English and Hausa languages are similar in the use of palatals consonants.
20- Summary
The main aim of the study is to find out the similarities and differences between English and Hausa consonants. Accordingly the study investigates the area of the subject in the both languages. The English language has total 24 consonants. On the other hand, Hausa language has 34 c0sonants in number. The consonants of the two languages are classified according to their nature and then compared and contrasted. Both Hausa and English have two affricates only: /tʃ dʒ/. The sound/ tʃ/ occurs in English as‘t’, ‘ch’ or tch’ as in lecture, chew, and watch but in Hausa it is always occurs as ‘c’ as in cuta (disease) and (caca) (gambling). English language has a total of 6 plosives (the glottal stop /ʔ / being an allophone): / p b t d k g /, Hausa language has 10: / b t d k g kw gw kj gj ʔ /. However, the Hausa implosives /ɓ/ and /ɗ/ and the ejectives/s’/, /k’/, /k’w/ /k’y/ and, / Ý′/ which are glottal sounds, can also be described as im- plosive consonants. English language does not have any implosive or ejective. The plosive /p/ is missing in the Hausa inventory and English also lacks / kw gw/ These are some of the Hausa consonants with two levels of articulation. The two languages share the plosives / b t d k g/. English has 3 nasal sounds /m n ŋ /, Hausa language also has 3: /m n ŋ /. Lateral sound in both English and Hausa is /l/. This sound occurs in English as either ‘l’ or‘ll’ but in Hausa always has it as ‘l’. The Hausa language does not use consonant clusters and the /l/ in Hausa is fully voiced in all positions while the English /l/ is sometimes silent as in should and calf . English language has three approximants but Hausa has only two. The English approximants include: /r j w/, while the Hausa approximants are /j w /.
23- Results
1-English uses labiodentals fricatives /f/and /v/and Hausa use only/f/
2-English uses dentals fricatives /θ/and/ð/ and both of them are not found in Hausa
3- The alveolar consonants / t / /d / / n/ / s /, / z/ / l/ are found in both English and Hausa languages while / ɗ/ /ts/ are found in Hausa language and not found in English.
4- English and Hausa languages are different in the use of post-alveolar consonants. English uses post- alveolar /r/ while in Hausa is not found and Hausa uses / Tʃ/and / ʃ / as post-alveolar consonants.
5- English uses /ʃ/, /tʃ/and /d3/as Plato-alveolar consonants and Hausa do not use Plato-alveolar consonants.
6- English uses the American English /r/ as retroflex consonants and Hausa uses /j/,/c /,/c′/ /r/ as retroflex consonants.
7- English and Hausa languages use / k/ / g / /ɳ / as velar consonants in addition to Hausa uses /k′/, / kw/and /gw / which are not found in English.
8- English and Hausa languages are similar in the use of glottal /h/ /? / And differ in the use of / Ý ′/ which are found in Hausa and not found in English.
9- English is differ from Hausa in the use of pharyngeal consonants, English uses [ʕ]as pharyngeal consonants, while in Hausa is not found.
24- Conclusion and recommendation
The study conclude that, there are similarities and differences between English and Hausa consonant sounds and recommend for more studies in comparative linguistics must be held to enrich the study of linguistics.
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