Cross-Linguistic Influence from Hausa on German Nominal Morphology: A Comparative Study of University Students in Northern Nigeria

This study examines the cross-linguistic influence exerted by Hausa on the acquisition of German nominal morphology among university students in northern Nigeria, focusing on learners at Bayero University Kano, North West Nigeria, and the University of Maiduguri, North East Nigeria. German nominal morphology, encompassing case inflection, gender assignment, and plural formation, is widely regarded as one of the most structurally demanding aspects of the language for all learners, but the specific patterns of interference from Hausa, which has no grammatical gender and limited case marking, have not been systematically investigated. The study collects written and oral production data from 120 intermediate-level German language students and applies a contrastive and error analysis framework to identify morphological errors attributable to Hausa influence. Findings reveal distinctive error profiles for Hausa-dominant speakers compared to Yoruba-dominant and Igbo-dominant peers, with Hausa influence particularly evident in gender assignment errors and plural formation strategies. The study builds on current third language acquisition theory to propose an interference typology specific to Hausa-German contact. Pedagogical recommendations include the design of contrastive instructional materials that explicitly address Hausa-German morphological divergences and the training of German language teachers to recognise and respond to Hausa-specific error patterns. Keywords: cross-linguistic influence, Hausa, German nominal morphology, northern Nigeria, third language acquisition.