How is Hausa related to the Afro-Asiatic language family?

Hausa is a member of the Afro-Asiatic language phylum, specifically belonging to the Western branch of the Chadic language superfamily.12

As part of this phylum, Hausa shares fundamental linguistic characteristics with other Afro-Asiatic languages, most notably the root and pattern system. In this system, consonantal roots provide the core lexical meaning, while vowel patterns are interlaced with these roots to convey grammatical information or modify the root's meaning. Additionally, like many other languages in the family, Hausa utilizes grammatical gender for nouns and employs complex morphological processes for verb derivation and inflection.12