Multilingualism and Language Choice in the Kano Central Market: An Ethnolinguistic Study

Markets are among the most linguistically diverse public spaces in Nigerian cities, where traders and customers from multiple ethnolinguistic backgrounds negotiate commercial transactions through flexible language repertoires. This study examines multilingualism and language choice patterns in the Kano Central Market, focusing on the communicative strategies deployed by traders when engaging customers of different linguistic backgrounds. Data were collected through ethnographic observation over six weeks, supplemented by informal interviews with forty traders and thirty customers drawn from diverse ethnolinguistic groups including Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, and Kanuri communities. Language choice was recorded across thirty transactional interactions for each language pair, noting initiating language, switching triggers, and negotiation strategies. Results show that Hausa functions as the dominant market lingua franca, used in over eighty percent of observed inter-ethnic transactions as the initial and most sustained code. Nigerian Pidgin serves as an alternative bridging code in approximately twelve percent of interactions, predominantly where one party identifies as a southerner unfamiliar with Hausa. Intra-ethnic encounters show rapid shift to shared mother tongues, particularly Igbo among southern traders. Traders report deliberate accommodation to perceived customer language preference as a commercial strategy, describing language flexibility as essential to market success. The study contributes to the ethnolinguistics of Nigerian urban markets and supports recognition of Hausa's de facto national lingua franca role in public commercial spaces. Keywords: multilingualism, language choice, Kano Central Market, market linguistics, lingua franca.