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This is a sample of the Hausa Bible, published in 1932 by the Bible Society of Nigeria. The passage is from the Gospel of John:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it." (John 1:1-5)
"No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known. Now this was John's testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, "I am not the Christ." They asked him, "Then who are you? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No." (John 1:18-21)1
Here is a word-by-word translation of the first four verses:
| A chikin | farko | akwai | Kalma, | Kalman | kwa | tare | da | Alla | ne, | Kalman |
| In | beginning | there was | [the] Word, | the Word | also | together | with | God | was, | [the] Word |
| kwa | Allah | ne. | Wannan | a chikin | farko | tare | da | Allah | ya ke. |
| also | God | was. | That one | in | beginning | together | with | God | was. |
| Ta | wurin-sa | aka yi | dukan | abu; | ba | a yi | komi | ba | chikin | abin |
| Through | {belonging to} him | was made | every | thing; | {begin not} | was made | anything | {end not} | among | the things |
| da | an yi | sai | ta | wurin-sa. | A chikin-sa | akwai | rai; | rai |
| which | were made | except | through | {belonging-to}him. | In him | there was | life; | life |
| kwa | hasken | mutane | ne. |
| also | the light of | people | was. |
This translation is rather old, and in fact a newer version is needed (and in progress). Some of the vocabulary in this translation is obsolete, awkward, or unknown to most speakers of Hausa. For the majority of these speakers, Hausa is not the first language. They speak one of the many other languages of Nigeria, but use Hausa when communicating beyond the bounds of their own tribe.
More about Hausa ...
 | UCLA Hausa Home Page |
| Spoken examples from UCLA: Greetings; asking about things and people |
| Hear the current news in Hausa (Voice of America) |
More about the languages of Nigeria, some 480 of them cataloged for your interest! (SIL Ethnologue)
1(Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.)
