Documentation of Hausa Environmental Vocabulary in the Context of Climate Change Communication in Yobe State

Effective climate change communication in rural communities across the Sahel requires engagement with indigenous environmental vocabulary that communities already use to describe ecological changes, seasonal patterns, and natural hazards. This study documents Hausa environmental vocabulary as used by farming and pastoral communities in Yobe State and examines its potential for integration into climate change communication materials. A descriptive ethnolinguistic design was employed, with data collected through guided elicitation sessions with 100 farmers and herders across three local government areas in Yobe. Environmental vocabulary was collected in domains including weather phenomena, soil conditions, water bodies, vegetation types, seasonal indicators, and animal behaviour as ecological signals. Collected terminology was organised into a thematic glossary and evaluated by a panel of three environmental scientists and two Hausa language specialists to assess accuracy and communicative potential. Findings document over 280 locally grounded environmental terms, several of which encode nuanced ecological distinctions not captured in standard Hausa or English environmental terminology. Many terms for rainfall variability, drought indicators, and wind patterns are particularly rich and reflect long experiential observation of Sahelian climate dynamics. The study argues that these terms provide invaluable communication bridges for climate adaptation messaging in rural Yobe communities. Recommendations include production of a bilingual Hausa-English Sahelian environment vocabulary guide and incorporation of this vocabulary into extension materials for climate-vulnerable communities. Keywords: Hausa vocabulary, Environmental communication, Climate change, Yobe State, Ethnolinguistics.