Hausa Grammatical Gender in Theoretical Perspective: Acquisition, Processing, and Typological Implications

Grammatical gender in Hausa presents a theoretically interesting case for gender theory because the two-gender system (masculine/feminine) operates with a high degree of semantic transparency in noun classification while showing complex interaction with other nominal features in agreement morphology and pronominalization. This doctoral study investigates Hausa grammatical gender from three theoretical perspectives: its acquisition by first and second language learners, its online processing by native speakers, and its typological implications within and beyond Chadic languages. Drawing on generative linguistics, usage-based acquisition theory, and experimental psycholinguistics, the research employs a coordinated programme of acquisition, processing, and typological studies. The acquisition study follows 60 Hausa first-language-acquiring children longitudinally from ages two to five, tracking gender assignment and agreement acquisition milestones. The second language acquisition component examines gender system learning by 80 adult Yoruba and Igbo learners of Hausa. Processing studies using response time and event-related potential measures examine agreement processing in 50 native adult speakers. Typological analysis situates the Hausa gender system within cross-linguistic patterns of gender system type and complexity. Original findings from the acquisition studies reveal an unexpectedly early and accurate gender assignment system in Hausa first language acquisition, suggesting high semantic transparency, but document prolonged agreement morphology consolidation beyond age four. Processing data reveal gender agreement violation detection patterns consistent with syntactic rather than semantic processing primacy. Theoretical contributions include a Hausa Gender Theory and implications for parametric variation in Chadic gender systems. Keywords: Hausa grammatical gender, Acquisition, Psycholinguistics, Typology, Gender theory.