A Study of the Influence of Hausa Language on Igbo Traders in Onitsha, Anambra State

The historical and commercial presence of Hausa traders in Onitsha, Anambra State, one of Nigeria's largest trading cities, has created conditions for sustained Hausa-Igbo language contact, resulting in vocabulary borrowing and bilingual communicative strategies among market participants. This study investigates the influence of Hausa language on Igbo traders who interact regularly with Hausa merchants in Onitsha Main Market. A sociolinguistic survey design was adopted, collecting data from 140 Igbo traders through structured questionnaires and recorded speech samples during market transactions. A focused vocabulary elicitation exercise identified Hausa words incorporated into Igbo traders' commercial speech. Twelve Hausa traders provided complementary data on their language adaptation strategies in the Onitsha context. The study examines borrowing patterns by semantic domain, degree of phonological adaptation, and frequency of use. Findings reveal that Hausa commercial vocabulary has been adopted by Igbo traders primarily in domains of commodity descriptions, measurement units, pricing, and common greetings, reflecting the pragmatic communication demands of market transactions. Longer-established traders show deeper Hausa vocabulary integration than newer entrants. The study situates these findings within the broader literature on Hausa as a sub-regional lingua franca in West Africa and its role in facilitating inter-ethnic commercial communication in Nigerian market cities. Recommendations include further documentation of contact phenomena in Onitsha's multilingual commercial environment and use of findings to inform inter-ethnic communication research at Nnamdi Azikiwe University. Keywords: Hausa, Igbo, Language contact, Onitsha, Commercial vocabulary.