Code-Mixing, Borrowing, and Language Shift among Hausa–English Bilingual Youth in Urban Kano: Sociolinguistic Evidence and Implications for Hausa Language Maintenance

Abstract

This study investigated code-mixing, lexical borrowing, and language shift among Hausa–English bilingual youth in urban Kano, Nigeria, and examined the implications for Hausa language maintenance. A mixed-methods design integrated questionnaires (n = 120 youth), semi-structured interviews (n = 40), participant observation (48 sessions; 1,248 episodes coded), audio recordings of natural speech (64 hours), and social media content analysis (1,840 items). Participants were drawn from five urban LGAs: Kano Municipal, Nassarawa, Gwale, Tarauni, and Fagge. Quantitative data were analysed in SPSS; qualitative data through reflexive thematic analysis. Findings reveal that 84% of youth participants engage in frequent or very frequent code-mixing. Insertion is the most common type (65% of 1,248 episodes); social media (78%) and peer group settings (73%) are the most mixing-saturated domains, whilst religious settings retain the highest Hausa use (88%). A corpus of 386 English borrowings was documented, dominated by technology and digital vocabulary (86 items; 22%). Intergenerational analysis reveals a 48 percentage point decline in overall Hausa-dominant use from elders and parents (84%) to teachers (62%) to youth (36%). Language attitude analysis shows youth rating English prestige (mean = 4.52) and necessity (4.56) higher than teachers (4.12 and 4.08), whilst teachers rate Hausa maintenance importance significantly higher (4.62 vs. 4.12). No group holds negative attitudes toward Hausa. The study proposes a Hausa Language Vitality and Maintenance Framework (HLVMF) comprising code-mixing, borrowing, and language shift diagnostics linked to four maintenance strategy pillars: educational, media and digital, community and family, and policy and institutional. The findings establish a measurable shift trajectory requiring coordinated intervention whilst confirming that community attitudes toward Hausa remain positive across all generations.