Professional Application of Hausa Language in Court Interpretation: Training Needs Assessment in Kano State

The professional application of Hausa language in judicial interpretation is a specialized domain requiring mastery of legal terminology, interpretation ethics, and cross-cultural communication skills that are rarely addressed in standard Hausa language education programmes. This study conducts a training needs assessment for court interpreters working between Hausa and English in Kano State's judicial system. A professional needs assessment design was employed, combining structured competency assessments of 45 currently serving court interpreters in Kano State High Court and magistrate courts with focus group discussions and individual interviews with judges, prosecutors, and defence counsel on interpretation quality gaps observed in practice. A gap analysis compared current interpreter competency profiles against a professional court interpretation competency framework adapted from international standards. Findings identify critical competency gaps in legal Hausa terminology, consecutive interpretation techniques, note-taking skills, and professional ethics knowledge among sampled interpreters. The majority of serving interpreters received no formal interpretation training and rely on general Hausa language fluency and on-the-job learning. The study recommends design of a structured court interpreter training programme of not less than three months' duration in partnership between Bayero University Kano and Kano State Judiciary, development of a Hausa legal glossary as a training support resource, and establishment of a formal court interpreter certification examination. Keywords: Court interpretation, Hausa language, Training needs, Kano State, Legal terminology.