Investigating the Use of Hausa in Social Media Communication Among University Students in Kano

The rise of social media platforms has created new domains for language use, challenging traditional boundaries of formal and informal communication and creating opportunities for vernacular languages to gain digital presence. This study investigates the use of Hausa language in social media communication among university students in Kano, focusing on WhatsApp, Twitter, and Facebook. A descriptive survey design was employed, with data collected from 250 students at Bayero University Kano and Kano State University through online questionnaires. A sample of 500 social media posts in Hausa was also collected from public student group chats and pages for content and linguistic analysis. Analysis examined language choice patterns, code-mixing with English, orthographic conventions, and the emergence of digital Hausa neologisms and abbreviations. Findings indicate that Hausa is widely used in social media by sampled students, particularly in WhatsApp group chats for academic and social purposes, but is frequently mixed with English especially for technical and academic content. Digital Hausa usage shows considerable phonological spelling innovation reflecting spoken Hausa varieties rather than standard orthography. New vocabulary created to describe digital technologies and social media phenomena is actively circulating in student social media communities. The study recommends further research on digital Hausa language development and engagement of Hausa linguistics scholars with technology companies in the development of Hausa-language digital tools and spell-check resources. Keywords: Hausa, Social media, Code-mixing, University students, Kano.