Every one who tries to write in an African language, especially if he is translating from a European language or compiling a textbook, very soon has to decide what he is going to do about foreign words. In Northern Nigeria, as in most parts of Africa, the difficulty arises largely from the fact that most of the literature has up till now been produced not by the people whose language it is, but by the foreigners who are introducing the new ideas for which terms are required. Indeed, if it were possible for the people to write their own books, the problem would solve itself, for the idea would first be conceived, and then a suitable equivalent in the vernacular found to express it, or a foreign term incorporated, as the necessity arose.