Bantu languages

Short description: Large language family spoken in Sub-Saharan Africa

Bantu

Ethnicity| Bantu peoples
Geographic
distribution| Central Africa, Southeast Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, Southern Somalia
Linguistic classification| Niger–Congo

* Atlantic–Congo
* Volta–Congo
* Benue–Congo
* Bantoid
* Southern Bantoid
* Bantu

Proto-language| Proto-Bantu
Subdivisions|

* Zones A–S (geographic)
* Mbam–Bube
* Manenguba
* Sawabantu
* Basaa
* Bafia
* Beti
* Makaa–Njem
* Kele–Tsogo
* Teke–Mbede
* Mboshi–Buja
* Bangi–Tetela
* Mbole–Enya
* Lega–Binja
* Boan
* Lebonya
* Nyanga–Buyi
* Northeast Bantu
* Tongwe-Bende
* Mbugwe–Rangi
* Kilombero
* Kongo–Yaka
* Sira
* Kimbundu
* Chokwe–Luchazi
* Luyana
* Mbukushu
* Pende
* Luban
* Lunda
* Rukwa
* Sabi–Botatwe
* Nyaturu-Nilamba-Isanzu
* Nyasa
* Rufiji–Ruvuma
* Umbundu
* Kavango–Southwest Bantu
* Yeyi
* Shona
* Southern Bantu

ISO 639-2 / 5| bnt
Glottolog| narr1281[1]

Bantu languages shown within the Niger–Congo language family. Non-Bantu, but Niger-Congo, languages are greyscale.

The Bantu languages (English: Template:IPA-cen, Template:IPA-cen Proto-Bantu: *bantʊ̀)[2][3] are a language family of about 600 languages that are spoken by the Bantu peoples of Central, Southern, Eastern and Southeast Africa. They form the largest branch of the Southern Bantoid languages.

The total number of Bantu languages is estimated at between 440 and 680 distinct languages, depending on the definition of "language" versus "dialect".[4] Many Bantu languages borrow words from each other, and some are mutually intelligible.[5] Some of the languages are spoken by a very small number of people, for example the Kabwa language was estimated in 2007 to be spoken by only 8,500 people but was assessed to be a distinct language.[6]

The total number of Bantu speakers is estimated to be around 350 million in 2015 (roughly 30% of the population of Africa or 5% of the world population).[7] Bantu languages are largely spoken southeast of Cameroon, and throughout Central, Southern, Eastern, and Southeast Africa. About one-sixth of Bantu speakers, and one-third of Bantu languages, are found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The most widely spoken Bantu language by number of speakers is Swahili, with 16 million native speakers and 80 million L2 speakers (2015).[8] Most native speakers of Swahili live in Tanzania, where it is a national language, while as a second language, it is taught as a mandatory subject in many schools in East Africa, and is a lingua franca of the East African Community.

Other major Bantu languages include Lingala with more than 20 million speakers (Congo, DRC), followed by Zulu with 13.56 million speakers (South Africa), Xhosa, with 8.2 million speakers (South Africa and Zimbabwe), and Shona with less than 10 million speakers (if Manyika and Ndau are included), while Sotho-Tswana languages (Sotho, Tswana and Pedi) have more than 15 million speakers (across Botswana, Lesotho, South Africa, and Zambia). Zimbabwe has Kalanga, Matebele, Nambya, and Xhosa speakers.[9][10] Ethnologue separates the largely mutually intelligible Kinyarwanda and Kirundi, which together have 20 million speakers.[11]

## Contents

* 1 Name
* 2 Origin
* 3 Classification
* 3.1 Computational phylogenetic classifications
* 3.2 Glottolog classification
* 4 Language structure
* 4.1 Reduplication
* 4.2 Noun class
* 4.3 Syntax
* 5 By country
* 5.1 Lingua franca
* 5.2 Angola
* 5.3 Botswana
* 5.4 Burundi
* 5.5 Cameroon
* 5.6 Central African Republic
* 5.7 Comoros
* 5.8 Democratic Republic of the Congo
* 5.9 Equatorial Guinea
* 5.10 Eswatini
* 5.11 Gabon
* 5.12 India
* 5.13 Kenya
* 5.14 Lesotho
* 5.15 Madagascar
* 5.16 Malawi
* 5.17 Mayotte
* 5.18 Mozambique
* 5.19 Namibia
* 5.20 Nigeria
* 5.21 Pakistan
* 5.22 Republic of the Congo
* 5.23 Rwanda
* 5.24 Somalia
* 5.25 South Africa
* 5.26 Tanzania
* 5.27 Uganda
* 5.28 Yemen
* 5.29 Zambia
* 5.30 Zimbabwe
* 6 Geographic areas
* 7 Bantu words popularised in western cultures
* 8 Writing systems
* 9 See also
* 10 References
* 11 Bibliography
* 12 External links

## Name

The similarity among dispersed Bantu languages had been observed as early as the 17th century.[12] The term Bantu as a name for the group was not coined but "noticed" or "identified" (as Bâ-ntu) by Wilhelm Bleek as the first European in 1857 or 1858, and popularized in his Comparative Grammar of 1862.[13] He noticed the term to represent the word for "people" in loosely reconstructed Proto-Bantu, from the plural noun class prefix *ba- categorizing "people", and the root *ntʊ̀- "some (entity), any" (e.g. Xhosa umntu "person", abantu "people"; Zulu umuntu "person", abantu "people").

There is no native term for the people who speak Bantu languages because they are not an ethnic group. People speaking Bantu languages refer to their languages by ethnic endonyms, which did not have an indigenous concept prior to European contact for the larger ethnolinguistic phylum named by 19th-century European linguists. Bleek's identification was inspired by the anthropological observation of groups frequently self-identifying as "people" or "the true people" (as is the case, for example, with the term Khoikhoi, but this is a kare "praise address" and not an ethnic name).[14]

The term narrow Bantu, excluding those languages classified as Bantoid by Malcolm Guthrie (1948), was introduced in the 1960s.[15]

The prefix ba- specifically refers to people. Endonymically, the term for cultural objects, including language, is formed with the ki- noun class (Nguni ísi-), as in KiSwahili (Swahili language and culture), IsiZulu (Zulu language and culture) and KiGanda (Ganda religion and culture).

In the 1980s, South African linguists suggested referring to these languages as KiNtu. The word kintu exists in some places, but it means "thing", with no relation to the concept of "language".[16] In addition, delegates at the African Languages Association of Southern Africa conference in 1984 reported that, in some places, the term Kintu has a derogatory significance.[17] This is because kintu refers to "things" and is used as a dehumanizing term for people who have lost their dignity.[18]

In addition, Kintu is a figure in some mythologies.[19]

In the 1990s, the term Kintu was still occasionally used by South African linguists.[20] But in contemporary decolonial South African linguistics, the term Ntu languages is used.[20]

Within the fierce debate among linguists about the word "Bantu", Seidensticker (2024) indicates that there has been a "profound conceptual trend in which a "purely technical [term] without any non-linguistic connotations was transformed into a designation referring indiscriminately to language, culture, society, and race"."[21]

## Origin

The Bantu languages descend from a common Proto-Bantu language, which is believed to have been spoken in what is now Cameroon in Central Africa.[22] An estimated 2,500–3,000 years ago (1000 BC to 500 BC), speakers of the Proto-Bantu language began a series of migrations eastward and southward, carrying agriculture with them. This Bantu expansion came to dominate Sub-Saharan Africa east of Cameroon, an area where Bantu peoples now constitute nearly the entire population.[22][23] Some other sources estimate the Bantu Expansion started closer to 3000 BC.[24]

The technical term Bantu, meaning "human beings" or simply "people", was first used by Wilhelm Bleek (1827–1875), as the concept is reflected in many of the languages of this group. A common characteristic of Bantu languages is that they use words such as muntu or mutu for "human being" or in simplistic terms "person", and the plural prefix for human nouns starting with mu- (class 1) in most languages is ba- (class 2), thus giving bantu for "people". Bleek, and later Carl Meinhof, pursued extensive studies comparing the grammatical structures of Bantu languages.

## Classification

The approximate locations of the sixteen Guthrie Bantu zones, including the addition of a zone J around the Great Lakes. The Jarawan languages are spoken in Nigeria.

The most widely used classification is an alphanumeric coding system developed by Malcolm Guthrie in his 1948 classification of the Bantu languages. It is mainly geographic. The term "narrow Bantu" was coined by the Benue–Congo Working Group to distinguish Bantu as recognized by Guthrie, from the Bantoid languages not recognized as Bantu by Guthrie.[25]

In recent times,[when?] the distinctiveness of Narrow Bantu as opposed to the other Southern Bantoid languages has been called into doubt,[26] but the term is still widely used.

There is no true genealogical classification of the (Narrow) Bantu languages. Until recently[when?] most attempted classifications only considered languages that happen to fall within traditional Narrow Bantu, but there seems to be a continuum with the related languages of South Bantoid.[27]

At a broader level, the family is commonly split in two depending on the reflexes of proto-Bantu tone patterns: many Bantuists group together parts of zones A through D (the extent depending on the author) as Northwest Bantu or Forest Bantu, and the remainder as Central Bantu or Savanna Bantu. The two groups have been described as having mirror-image tone systems: where Northwest Bantu has a high tone in a cognate, Central Bantu languages generally have a low tone, and vice versa.

Northwest Bantu is more divergent internally than Central Bantu, and perhaps less conservative due to contact with non-Bantu Niger–Congo languages; Central Bantu is likely the innovative line cladistically. Northwest Bantu is not a coherent family, but even for Central Bantu the evidence is lexical, with little evidence that it is a historically valid group.

Another attempt at a detailed genetic classification to replace the Guthrie system is the 1999 "Tervuren" proposal of Bastin, Coupez, and Mann.[28] However, it relies on lexicostatistics, which, because of its reliance on overall similarity rather than shared innovations, may predict spurious groups of conservative languages that are not closely related. Meanwhile, Ethnologue has added languages to the Guthrie classification which Guthrie overlooked, while removing the Mbam languages (much of zone A), and shifting some languages between groups (much of zones D and E to a new zone J, for example, and part of zone L to K, and part of M to F) in an apparent effort at a semi-genetic, or at least semi-areal, classification. This has been criticized for sowing confusion in one of the few unambiguous ways to distinguish Bantu languages. Nurse & Philippson (2006) evaluate many proposals for low-level groups of Bantu languages, but the result is not a complete portrayal of the family.[25][13] Glottolog has incorporated many of these into their classification.[29]

The languages that share Dahl's law may also form a valid group, Northeast Bantu. The infobox at right lists these together with various low-level groups that are fairly uncontroversial, though they continue to be revised. The development of a rigorous genealogical classification of many branches of Niger–Congo, not just Bantu, is hampered by insufficient data.[30][15]

### Computational phylogenetic classifications

Simplified phylogeny of northwestern branches of Bantu by Grollemund (2012):[31]

Bantu  |  | Northwest  |  | Northwest 1  |  | Northwest 1a  |  |  |

A40-50-60-70: Basaa languages, Bafia languages, Mbam languages, Beti language

|

A10-20-30: Sawabantu languages, Manenguba languages

Northwest 1b  |  |  |

A80-90: Makaa–Njem languages

|

B20: Kele languages

Northwest 2  |  |  |

B10: Myene language

|

B30: Tsogo languages

Central  |  | Central 1  |  | Central 1a  |  |  |

C10-20-30: Ngondi–Ngiri languages, Mboshi languages, Bangi–Ntomba languages

|

C40-D20-D32: Bati–Angba languages, Lega–Binja languages, Bira language

Central 1b  |  |  |

B80-C60-70-80: Boma–Dzing languages, Soko languages, Tetela languages, Bushoong languages

|

B40-H10-30-B50-60-70: Sira languages, Kongo languages, Yaka languages, Nzebi languages, Mbete languages, Teke languages

L10-H40: Pende languages, Hungana language

Central 2  |  |  |

C50-D10: Soko languages, Lengola language

|

D10-20-30-40-JD50: Mbole–Enya languages, Komo–Bira languages, Shi–Havu languages

Other computational phylogenetic analyses of Bantu include Currie et al. (2013),[32] Grollemund et al. (2015),[33] Rexova et al. 2006,[34] Holden et al., 2016,[35] and Whiteley et al. 2018.[36]

### Glottolog classification

Glottolog (2021) does not consider the older geographic classification by Guthrie relevant for its ongoing classification based on more recent linguistic studies, and divides Bantu into four main branches: Bantu A-B10-B20-B30, Central-Western Bantu, East Bantu and Mbam-Bube-Jarawan.[37]

## Language structure

Guthrie reconstructed both the phonemic inventory and the vocabulary of Proto-Bantu.[4]

The most prominent grammatical characteristic of Bantu languages is the extensive use of affixes (see Sotho grammar and Ganda noun classes for detailed discussions of these affixes). Each noun belongs to a class, and each language may have several numbered classes, somewhat like grammatical gender in European languages. The class is indicated by a prefix that is part of the noun, as well as agreement markers on verb and qualificative roots connected with the noun. Plurality is indicated by a change of class, with a resulting change of prefix.[20][15] All Bantu languages are agglutinative.

The verb has a number of prefixes, though in the western languages these are often treated as independent words.[38] In Swahili, for example, Kitoto kidogo kimekisoma (for comparison, Kamwana kadoko karikuverenga in Shona language) means 'The small child has read it [a book]'. kitoto 'child' governs the adjective prefix ki- (representing the diminutive form of the word) and the verb subject prefix a-. Then comes perfect tense -me- and an object marker -ki- agreeing with implicit kitabu 'book' (from Arabic kitab). Pluralizing to 'children' gives Vitoto vidogo vimekisoma (Vana vadoko varikuverenga in Shona), and pluralizing to 'books' (vitabu) gives vitoto vidogo vimevisoma.[24]

Bantu words are typically made up of open syllables of the type CV (consonant-vowel) with most languages having syllables exclusively of this type. The Bushong language recorded by Vansina, however, has final consonants,[39] while slurring of the final syllable (though written) is reported as common among the Tonga of Malawi.[40] The morphological shape of Bantu words is typically CV, VCV, CVCV, VCVCV, etc.; that is, any combination of CV (with possibly a V- syllable at the start). In other words, a strong claim for this language family is that almost all words end in a vowel, precisely because closed syllables (CVC) are not permissible in most of the documented languages, as far as is understood.[41][27]

This tendency to avoid consonant clusters in some positions is important when words are imported from English or other non-Bantu languages. An example from Chewa: the word "school", borrowed from English, and then transformed to fit the sound patterns of this language, is sukulu. That is, sk- has been broken up by inserting an epenthetic -u-; -u has also been added at the end of the word. Another example is buledi for "bread". Similar effects are seen in loanwords for other non-African CV languages like Japanese. However, a clustering of sounds at the beginning of a syllable can be readily observed in such languages as Shona,[42] and the Makua languages.[43]

With few exceptions, such as Kiswahili and Rutooro, Bantu languages are tonal and have two to four register tones.

### Reduplication

Reduplication is a common morphological phenomenon in Bantu languages and is usually used to indicate frequency or intensity of the action signalled by the (unreduplicated) verb stem.[41]

* Example: in Swahili, piga means "strike", pigapiga means "strike repeatedly".

Well-known words and names that have reduplication include:

* Bafana Bafana, a football team
* Chipolopolo, a football team
* Eric Djemba-Djemba, a footballer
* Lomana LuaLua, a footballer

Repetition emphasizes the repeated word in the context that it is used. For instance, "Mwenda pole hajikwai," means "He who goes slowly doesn't trip," while, "Pole pole ndio mwendo," means "A slow but steady pace wins the race." The latter repeats "pole" to emphasize the consistency of slowness of the pace.

As another example, "Haraka haraka" would mean "hurrying just for the sake of hurrying" (reckless hurry), as in "Njoo! Haraka haraka" [come here! Hurry, hurry].

In contrast, there are some words in some of the languages in which reduplication has the opposite meaning. It usually denotes short durations, or lower intensity of the action, and also means a few repetitions or a little bit more.

* Example 1: In (Xi)Tsonga and (Chi)Shona, famba means "walk" while famba-famba means "walk around".
* Example 2: in isiZulu and (si)Swati hamba means "go", hambahamba means "go a little bit, but not much".
* Example 3: in both of the above languages shaya means "strike", shayashaya means "strike a few more times lightly, but not heavy strikes and not too many times".
* Example 4: In Shona kwenya means "scratch", Kwenyakwenya means "scratch excessively or a lot".
* Example 5: In Luhya cheenda means "walk", cheendacheenda means "take a walk but not far off", as in buying time before something is ready or a situation or time is right.

### Noun class

The following is a list of nominal classes in Bantu languages:[44]

Singular classes  | Plural classes  | Typical meaning(s)

|
|

Number | Prefix  | Number | Prefix
1 | *mʊ- | 2 | *ba- | Humans, animate
3 | *mu- | 4 | *mi- | Plants, inanimate
5 | *dɪ- | 6 | *ma- | Various; class 6 for liquids (mass nouns)
7 | *ki- | 8 | *bɪ- | Various, diminutives, manner/way/language
9 | *n- | 10 | *n- | Animals, inanimate
11 | *du- |  | Abstract nouns
12 | *ka- | 13 | *tu- | Diminutives
14 | *bu- |  | Abstract nouns
15 | *ku- | Infinitives
16 | *pa- | Locatives (proximal, exact)
17 | *ku- | Locatives (distal, approximate)
18 | *mu- | Locatives (interior)
19 | *pɪ- | Diminutives

### Syntax

Virtually all Bantu languages have a subject–verb–object word order, with some exceptions, such as the Nen language, which has a subject–object–verb word order.[45]

## By country

Following is an incomplete list of the principal Bantu languages of each country.[46] Included are those languages that constitute at least 1% of the population and have at least 10% the number of speakers of the largest Bantu language in the country.

Most languages are referred to in English without the class prefix (Swahili, Tswana, Ndebele), but are sometimes seen with the (language-specific) prefix (Kiswahili, Setswana, Sindebele). In a few cases prefixes are used to distinguish languages with the same root in their name, such as Tshilubà and Kiluba (both Luba), Umbundu and Kimbundu (both Mbundu). The prefixless form typically does not occur in the language itself, but is the basis for other words based on the ethnicity. So, in the country of Botswana the people are the Batswana, one person is a Motswana, and the language is Setswana; and in Uganda, centred on the kingdom of Buganda, the dominant ethnicity are the Baganda (singular Muganda), whose language is Luganda.

### Lingua franca

* Swahili (Kiswahili) (350,000; tens of millions as L2)

### Angola

* South Mbundu (Umbundu) (4 million)
* Central North Mbundu (Kimbundu) (3 million)
* North Bakongo (Kikongo) (576,800)
* Ovambo (Ambo) (Oshiwambo) (500,000)
* Luvale (Chiluvale) (500,000)
* Chokwe (Chichokwe) (500,000)

### Botswana

* Tswana (Setswana) (1.6 million)
* Kalanga (Ikalanga) (150,000)

### Burundi

Swahili is a recognized national language

* Kirundi (8.5 – 10.5 million)

### Cameroon

* Beti (1.7 million: 900,000 Bulu, 600,000 Ewondo, 120,000 Fang, 60,000 Eton, 30,000 Bebele)
* Basaa (230,000)
* Duala (350,000)
* Manenguba languages (230,000)

### Central African Republic

* Mbati (60,000)
* Aka (30,000)
* Pande (8,870)
* Ngando (5,000)
* Ukhwejo
* Kako
* Mpiemo
* Bodo
* Kari

### Comoros

* Shingazija
* Shindzuani
* Shimwali

### Democratic Republic of the Congo

Swahili is a recognized national language

* Kiswahili(Swahili) (60% of the Congolese people)
* Lingala (Ngala) (2 million; 7 million with L2 speakers)
* Luba-Kasai (Tshiluba) (6.5 million)
* Kituba (4.5 million), a Bantu creole
* Kongo (Kikongo) (3.5 million)
* Shi (Mashi, aMashi) (2+ million)
* Luba-Katanga (Kiluba) (1.5+ million)
* Songe (Lusonge) (1+ million)
* Nande (Orundandi) (1 million)
* Tetela (Otetela) (800,000)
* Yaka (Iyaka) (700,000+)
* Yombe (Kiyombe) (670,000)
* Lele (Bashilele) (26,000)

### Equatorial Guinea

* Beti (Fang) (300,000)
* Bube (40,000)

### Eswatini

* Swazi (Siswati) (1 million)

### Gabon

* Baka
* Barama
* Bekwel
* Benga
* Bubi
* Bwisi
* Duma
* Fang (500,000)
* Kendell
* Kanin
* Sake
* Sangu
* Seki
* Sighu
* Simba
* Sira
* Northern Teke
* Western Teke
* Tsaangi
* Tsogo
* Vili (3,600)
* Vumbu
* Wandji
* Wumbvu
* Yangho
* Yasa

### India

* Sidi

### Kenya

Swahili is the national language. English and Swahili are official languages.[47]

* Gikuyu (8 million)
* Luhya (6.8 million)
* Kamba (4 million)
* Meru (Kimeru) (2.7 million)
* Gusii (2 million)
* Mijikenda (Giryama, Kambe, Ribe, Rabai, Kauma, Chonyi, Jibana, Digo and Duruma)
* Taita
* Embu
* Mbeere
* Pokomo
* Kuria
* Suba
* Swahili

### Lesotho

* Sesotho (1.8 million)
* Zulu (Isizulu) (300,000)
* Xhosa (Isixhosa)

### Madagascar

* Shimaore
* Shindzuani

### Malawi

* Chewa (Nyanja) (Chichewa) (7 million)
* Tumbuka (1 million)
* Yao (1 million)

### Mayotte

* Shimaore

### Mozambique

Swahili is a recognized national language

* Makhuwa (4 million; 7.4 million all Makua)
* Tsonga (Xitsonga) (3.1 million)
* Shona (Ndau) (1.6 million)
* Lomwe (1.5 million)
* Sena (1.3 million)
* Tswa (1.2 million)
* Chuwabu (1.0 million)
* Chopi (800,000)
* Ronga (700,000)
* Chewa (Nyanja) (Chichewa) (600,000)
* Yao (Chiyao) (500,000)
* Nyungwe (Cinyungwe/Nhungue)(400,000)
* Tonga (400,000)
* Makonde (400,000)
* Nathembo (25,000)

### Namibia

* Ovambo (Ambo, Oshiwambo) (1,500,000)
* Herero (200,000)
* Kavango (100,000)
* Lozi (Silozi)

### Nigeria

* Jarawa (250,000)
* Mbula-Bwazza (100,000)
* Kulung (40,000)
* Bile (38,000)
* Lame (10,000)
* Mama (2,000–3,000)
* Shiki (1,200)
* Gwa
* Labir
* Dulbu

### Pakistan

* Sidi

### Republic of the Congo

* Kituba (1.2+ million) [a Bantu creole]
* Kongo (Kikongo) (1.0 million)
* Teke languages (500,000)
* Yombe (350,000)
* Suundi (120,000)
* Mbosi (110,000)
* Lingala (100,000; ? L2 speakers)

### Rwanda

Swahili, Kinyarwanda, English, and French are official languages

* Kinyarwanda (Kinyarwanda) (10 – 12 million)

### Somalia

* Swahili (Mwini dialect)
* Chimwini
* Mushungulu

### South Africa

* Zulu (Isizulu) (11,587,374[48])
* Xhosa (Isixhosa) (8,154,258[48])
* Sepedi (4,618,576[48])
* Tswana (Setswana) (4,067,248[48])
* Sotho (Sesotho) (3,849,563[48])
* Tsonga (Xitsonga) (2,277,148[48])
* Swazi (Siswati) (1,297,046[48])
* Venda (Tshivenda) (1,209,388[48])
* Southern Ndebele (Transvaal Ndebele) (1,090,223[48])
* Total Nguni: 22,406,049 (61.98%)
* Total Sotho-Tswana: 13,744,775 (38.02%)
* Total official indigenous language speakers: 36,150,824 (69.83%[48])

### Tanzania

Swahili is the national language

* Sukuma (5.5 million)
* Gogo (1.5 million)
* Haya (Kihaya) (1.3 million)
* Chaga (Kichaga) (1.2+ million : 600,000 Mochi, 300,000+ Machame, 300,000+ Vunjo)
* Nyamwezi (1.0 million)
* Makonde (1.0 million)
* Ha (1.0 million)
* Nyakyusa (800,000)
* Hehe (800,000)
* Luguru (700,000)
* Bena (600,000)
* Shambala (650,000)
* Nyaturu (700,000)

### Uganda

Swahili and English are official languages

* Luganda (9,295,300)
* Runyankore (4,436,000)
* Lusoga (3,904,600)
* Rukiga (3,129,000)
* Masaba (Lumasaba) (2.7 million)
* Runyoro (1,273,000)
* Konjo (1,118,000)
* Rutooro (1,111,000)
* Lugwere (816,000)
* Kinyarwanda (750,000)
* Samia (684,000)
* Ruuli (250,000)
* Talinga Bwisi (133,000)
* Gungu (110,000)
* Amba (56,000)
* Singa

### Yemen

* Socotra Swahili

### Zambia

* Aushi (Unknown)
* Bemba (3.3 million)
* Tonga (1.0 million)
* Chewa (Nyanja) (Chichewa) (800,000)
* Kaonde (240,000)
* Lozi (Silozi) (600,000)
* Lala-Bisa (600,000)
* Nsenga (550,000)
* Tumbuka (Chitumbuka) (500,000)
* Lunda (450,000)
* Nyiha (400,000+)
* Mambwe-Lungu (400,000)

### Zimbabwe

* Shona languages (15 million incl. Karanga, Zezuru, Korekore, Ndau, Manyika)
* Northern Ndebele (IsiNdebele) (estimated 2 million)
* Tonga
* Chewa/ Nyanja (Chichewa/ChiNyanja)
* Venda
* Kalanga
* Xhosa

## Geographic areas

Localization of the Niger–Congo languages

## Bantu words popularised in western cultures

A case has been made out for borrowings of many place-names and even misremembered rhymes – chiefly from one of the Luba varieties – in the USA.[49]

Some words from various Bantu languages have been borrowed into western languages. These include:

* Boma
* Bomba
* Bongos
* Bwana
* Candombe
* Chimpanzee
* Gumbo
* "Hakuna matata"
* Impala
* Indaba
* Jenga
* Jilo
* Jumbo
* Kalimba
* Kwanzaa
* Mamba
* Mambo
* Mbira
* Marimba
* Rumba
* Safari
* Samba
* Simba
* Ubuntu

## Writing systems

Along with the Latin script and Arabic script orthographies, there are also some modern indigenous writing systems used for Bantu languages:

* The Mwangwego alphabet is an abugida created in 1979 that is sometimes used to write the Chewa language and other languages of Malawi.
* The Mandombe script is an abugida that is used to write the Bantu languages of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, mainly by the Kimbanguist movement.
* The Isibheqe Sohlamvu or Ditema tsa Dinoko script is a featural syllabary used to write the Sintu or Southern Bantu languages.

## See also

* Meeussen's rule
* Nguni languages
* Proto-Bantu Swadesh list

## References

1. ↑ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds (2017). "Narrow Bantu". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. http://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/narr1281.
2. ↑ Wells, John C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.). Longman. ISBN 978-1-4058-8118-0.
3. ↑ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary (18th ed.), Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-15255-6
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Guthrie (1967–71) names some 440 Bantu 'varieties', Grimes (2000) has 501 (minus a few 'extinct' or 'almost extinct'), Bastin et al. (1999) have 542, Maho (this volume) has some 660, and Mann et al. (1987) have c. 680." Derek Nurse, 2006, "Bantu Languages", in the Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics, p. 2. :Ethnologue report for Southern Bantoid" lists a total of 535 languages. The count includes 13 Mbam languages, which are not always included under "Narrow Bantu".
5. ↑ McWhorter, J. 2001. The Power of Babel (pp. 81–82). New York: Freeman-Times-Henry Holt.
6. ↑ Overton, Rebekah; Walker, John B.; Robinson, Holly (2017a) (in en). Kabwa orthography statement. https://www.sil.org/resources/archives/73084. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
7. ↑ Total population cannot be established with any accuracy due to the unavailability of precise census data from Sub-Saharan Africa. A number just above 200 million was cited in the early 2000s (see Niger-Congo languages: subgroups and numbers of speakers for a 2007 compilation of data from SIL Ethnologue, citing 210 million). Population estimates for the region of West-Central Africa were recognized as significantly too low by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs in 2015 ("World Population Prospects: The 2016 Revision – Key Findings and Advance Tables". United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. July 2016. https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/Publications/Files/WPP2017_KeyFindings.pdf. ). Population growth in Central-West Africa as of 2015 is estimated at between 2.5% and 2.8% p.a., for an annual increase of the Bantu population by about 8 to 10 million.
8. ↑ "Swahili" , Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015): "47,000,000 in Tanzania, all users. L1 users: 15,000,000 (2012), increasing. L2 users: 32,000,000 (2015 D. Nurse). Total users in all countries: 98,310,110 (as L1: 16,010,110; as L2: 82,300,000)."
9. ↑ Zimbabwe, AmaXhosa (2021). AmaXhosa. https://gal-dem.com/xhosa-people-of-zimbabwe-indigenous-south-africans-displaced-by-colonialism/. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
10. ↑ "Ethnologue: Shona". https://www.ethnologue.com/language/sna.
11. ↑ "Statistical Summaries". Ethnologue. http://www.ethnologue.com/ethno_docs/distribution.asp?by=size.
12. ↑ R. Blench, Archaeology, Language, and the African Past (2006), p. 119. .
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Silverstein, Raymond O. (January 1968). "A note on the term 'Bantu' as first used by W. H. I. Bleek". African Studies 27 (4): 211–212. doi:10.1080/00020186808707298.
14. ↑ R. K. Herbert and R. Bailey in Rajend Mesthrie (ed.), Language in South Africa (2002), p. 50. .
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Studies in African Linguistics: Supplement, Issues 3–4, Department of Linguistics and the African Studies Center, University of California, Los Angeles (1969), p. 7.
16. ↑ Joshua Wantate Sempebwa, The Ontological and Normative Structure in the Social Reality of a Bantu Society: A Systematic Study of Ganda Ontology and Ethics, 1978, p. 71.
17. ↑ "Addendum". South African Journal of African Languages 4 (Suppl 1): 120. 1 January 1984. doi:10.1080/02572117.1984.10587452.
18. ↑ Molefi Kete Asante, Ama Mazama, Encyclopedia of African Religion (2009), p. 173. .
19. ↑ David William Cohen, The Historical Tradition of Busoga, Mukama and Kintu (1972). Joseph B. R. Gaie, Sana Mmolai, The Concept of Botho and HIV/AIDS in Botswana (2007), p. 2. .
20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 as in Noverino N. Canonici, A Manual of Comparative Kintu Studies, Zulu Language and Literature, University of Natal (1994).
21. ↑ Seidensticker, Dirk (28 March 2024). "Pikunda-Munda and Batalimo-Maluba Archaeological Investigations of the Iron Age Settlement History of the Western and Northern Congo Basin". African Archaeological Review 41 (2): 5–6. doi:10.1007/s10437-024-09576-7. ISSN 0263-0338. OCLC 10194943180. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10437-024-09576-7.
22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Philip J. Adler, Randall L. Pouwels, World Civilizations: To 1700 Volume 1 of World Civilizations, (Cengage Learning: 2007), p.169.
23. ↑ Toyin Falola, Aribidesi Adisa Usman, Movements, borders, and identities in Africa, (University Rochester Press: 2009), p.4.
24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Gemma Berniell-Lee et al, "Genetic and Demographic Implications of the Bantu Expansion: Insights from Human Paternal Lineages" , Oxford Journals
25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Bostoen, Koen (2004). Linguistics for the use of African history and the comparative study of Bantu pottery vocabulary. OCLC 803473571.
26. ↑ (cf. Piron 1995, Williamson & Blench 2000, Blench 2011)
27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Dalby, David (January 1976). "The Prehistorical Implications of Guthrie's Comparative Bantu. Part II: Interpretation of Cultural Vocabulary". The Journal of African History 17 (1): 1–27. doi:10.1017/s0021853700014742. ISSN 0021-8537.
28. ↑ The Guthrie, Tervuren, and SIL lists are compared side by side in Maho 2002.
29. ↑ "Narrow Bantu". Glottolog 4.3. 2020. https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/narr1281.
30. ↑ Bryan, M.A.(compiled by), The Bantu Languages of Africa. Published for the International African Institute, Oxford University Press, 1959.
31. ↑ Grollemund, Rebecca. 2012. Nouvelles approches en classification : Application aux langues bantu du Nord-Ouest . Ph.D Dissertation, Université Lumière Lyon 2, Lyon, 550 pp.
32. ↑ Currie, Thomas E., Andrew Meade, Myrtille Guillon, Ruth Mace (2013). "Cultural phylogeography of the Bantu Languages of sub-Saharan Africa". . Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2013, Volume 280, issue 1762 doi:10.1098/rspb.2013.0695
33. ↑ Grollemund, Rebecca Simon Branford, Koen Bostoen, Andrew Meade, Chris Venditti, and Mark Pagel (2015). "Bantu expansion shows that habitat alters the route and pace of human dispersals". . PNAS October 27, 2015. 112 (43), 13296–13301. doi:10.1073/pnas.1503793112
34. ↑ Rexová, K., Bastin, Y., Frynta, D. 2006. "Cladistic analysis of Bantu languages: a new tree based on combined lexical and grammatical data". Naturwissenschaften 93, 189–194.
35. ↑ Holden, C., Meade, A., Pagel, M. 2016. "Comparison of MP and Bayesian Bantu Trees" (Chp. 4). In: The Evolution of Cultural Diversity: a Phylogenetic Approach, Ruth Mace, Clare Holden, Stephen Shennan (eds.)(Amazon Look Inside)(in Britain 1st published by UCL Press, 2005).
36. ↑ Whiteley, P.M., Ming Xue, Wheeler, W.C. 2018. Revising the Bantu tree. Cladistics, 1–20 (amnh.org).
37. ↑ "Glottolog 4.5 – Narrow Bantu". https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/narr1281.
38. ↑ Derek Nurse, 2008. Tense and aspect in Bantu, p 70 (fn). In many of the Zone A, including Mbam, the verbs are clearly analytic.
39. ↑ Vansina, J. Esquisse de Grammaire Bushong. Commission de Linguistique Africaine, Tervuren, Belgique, 1959.
40. ↑ Turner, Rev. Wm. Y., Tumbuka–Tonga$1–$2 $3ictionEnglish Dictionary Hetherwick Press, Blantyre, Malawi 1952. pages i–ii.
41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 Abdulaziz Lodhi, "Verbal extensions in Bantu (the case of Swahili and Nyamwezi)". Africa & Asia, 2002, 2:4–26, Göteborg University
42. ↑ Doke, Clement M., A Comparative Study in Shona Phonetics University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 1931.
43. ↑ Relatório do I Seminário sobre a Padronização da Ortografia de Línguas Moçambicanas NELIMO, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane. 1989.
44. ↑ "Les classes nominales en bantu". http://www.bantu-languages.com/fr/classes.html.
45. ↑ Nurse, Derek (3 July 2008). Tense and Aspect in Bantu. OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-923929-0. https://books.google.com/books?id=lqIUDAAAQBAJ&dq=bantu+language+SOV+word+order&pg=PA70.
46. ↑ "According to Ethnologue". Ethnologue.org. http://www.ethnologue.org.
47. ↑ "Article 7. National, Official and Other Languages | The Constitution of Kenya 2010" (in en). https://blog.afro.co.ke/constitution/chapter-2/article-7/national-official-and-other-languages/.
48. ↑ 48.00 48.01 48.02 48.03 48.04 48.05 48.06 48.07 48.08 48.09 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `SAC`
49. ↑ Vass, Winifred Kellersberger (1979). The Bantu Speaking Heritage of the United States. Center for Afro-American Studies, University of California. p. 73. ISBN 9780934934015. https://books.google.com/books?id=Sbp1AAAAMAAJ&q=Here+we. Retrieved 7 September 2014. ""Here we go looby-loo; here we go looby-la (or looby-light) / Here we go looby-loo; all on a Saturday night!" Both of these Luba words, lubilu (quickly, in a hurry), and lubila (a shout) are words still in common usage in the Republic of Zaïre."

## Bibliography

* Biddulph, Joseph (2001). Bantu Byways: Some Explorations among the Languages of Central and Southern Africa. Pontypridd. ISBN 978-1-897999-30-1.
* Finck, Franz Nikolaus (1908). Die Verwandtschaftsverhältnisse der Bantusprachen. Göttingen: Vandenhoek und Ruprecht. https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Ph1WGXroFWoC. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
* Guthrie, Malcolm (1948). The classification of the Bantu languages. London: Oxford University Press for the International African Institute. doi:10.4324/9781315105536. ISBN 9781315105536.
* Guthrie, Malcolm (1971). Comparative Bantu. 2. Farnborough: Gregg International.
* Heine, Bernd (1973). "Zur genetische Gliederung der Bantu-Sprachen" (in German). Afrika und Übersee: Sprachen, Kulturen 56 (3): 164–185. .
* Maho, Jouni F. (2001). "The Bantu area: (towards clearing up) a mess". Africa & Asia (1): 40–49. http://www.african.gu.se/aa/pdfs/aa01040.pdf.
* Maho, Jouni Filip (2002). "Bantu lineup: comparative overview of three Bantu classifications". http://www.african.gu.se/maho/downloads/bantulineup.pdf.
* Nurse, Derek; Philippson, Gérard (2006). The Bantu Languages. London: Routledge. ISBN 9780415412650.
* Piron, Pascale (1995). "Identification lexicostatistique des groupes Bantoïdes stables". Journal of West African Languages 25 (2): 3–39. http://www.journalofwestafricanlanguages.org/Volume25.aspx.
* "Kiswahili". 2013. http://swahililanguage.stanford.edu/.
* De Blois, K.F. (1970). "The augment in the Bantu languages". Africana Linguistica 4: 85–165. doi:10.3406/aflin.1970.879.
* Knappert, Jan (1987). "The Bantu Languages: An Appraisal". European Journal of Sociology 28 (2): 177–191. doi:10.1017/S0003975600005464.

## External links

* Arte da lingua de Angola: oeferecida [sic] a virgem Senhora N. do Rosario, mãy, Senhora dos mesmos pretos The art of the language of Angola, by Father Pedro Dias, 1697, Lisbon, artedalinguadean
* Comparative Bantu Online Dictionary linguistics.berkeley.edu, includes comprehensive bibliography.
* Maho, Jouni Filip NUGL Online. The online version of the New Updated Guthrie List, a referential classification of the Bantu languages goto.glocalnet.net, 4 June 2009, 120pp. Guthrie 1948 in detail, with subsequent corrections and corresponding ISO codes.
* Bantu online resources bantu-languages.com, Jacky Maniacky, 7 July 2007, including
* List of Bantu noun classes with reconstructed Proto-Bantu prefixes bantu-languages.com (in French)
* Ehret's compilation of classifications by Klieman, Bastin, himself, and others pp 204–09, ucla.edu, 24 June 2012
* Contini-Morava, Ellen. Noun Classification in Swahili . 1994, Virginia.edu
* List of Bantu language names with synonyms ordered by Guthrie number.linguistics.berkeley.edu 529 names
* Introduction to the languages of South Africa salanguages.com
* Narrow Bantu Journal of West African Languages
* Uganda Bantu Languages ugandatravelguide.com

* v
* t
* e

Narrow Bantu languages (by Guthrie classification)

Zones A - B

| Zone A|

| A10|

* A11[101] Londo
* A12[101] Barue
* A13 Balong
* A14 Bonkeng
* A15 Mbo
* [A141 Bafo
* A151 Nkongho]

|

A20|

* A21 Bomboko
* A22 Baakpe
* A23 Su
* A24 Duala
* A25 Oli
* A26 Pongo
* A27 Mulimba
* [A221 Bubia
* A231 Kole]

A30|

* A31a North Bobe
* A31b Southwest Bobe
* A31c Southeast Bobe
* A32a Banoo
* A32b Bapoko
* A33a Yasa
* A33b Kombe
* A34 Benga

A40|

* A41 Lombi
* A42 Bankon
* A43a Mbene
* A43b North Kogo
* A43c South Kogo
* A44 Banen
* A45 Nyokon
* A46 Mandi
* [A441 Aling'a
* A461 Bonek
* A462 Yambeta

A50|

* A51 Fa’
* A52 Kaalong
* A53 Kpa
* A54 Ngayaba
* [A501 Hijuk]

A60|

* A61[601] Ngoro
* A62 Yambasa
* A63 Mangisa
* A64[601] Bacenga
* A65 Bati
* [A621 Baca
* A622 Gunu
* A623 Mbule]

A70|

* A71 Eton
* A72a Ewondo
* A72b Mvele
* A72c Bakja
* A72d Yangafek
* A73a Bëbëlë
* A73b Gbïgbïl
* A74 Bulu
* A75 Fang
* [A751 South-West Fang]

A80|

* A81 Mvumbo
* A82 So
* A83 Makaa
* A84 Njem
* A85a Konabem
* A85b Bekwil
* A86a Medjime
* A86b Mpompo
* A86c Mpiemo
* A87 Bomwali
* [A801 Gyele
* A802 Ukwedjo
* A803 Shiwe
* A831 Byep
* A832 Bekol
* A841 Bajue
* A842 Koonzime]

A90|

* A91 Kwakum
* A92a Pol
* A92b Pomo
* A93 Kako

Zone B|

| B10|

* B11a Mpongwe
* B11b Rongo
* B11c Galwa
* B11d Dyumba
* B11e Nkomi

|

B20|

* B21 Sekiyani
* B22a West Kele
* B22b Ngom
* B22c Bubi
* B23 Mbangwe
* B24 Wumbvu
* B25 Kota
* [B201 Ndasa
* B202 Sighu
* B203 Sama
* B204 Ndambomo
* B205 Metombola
* B221 Molengue
* B251 Shake
* B252 Mahongwe]

B30|

* B31 Tsogo
* B32 Kande
* [B301 Viya
* B302 Himbaka
* B303 Bongwe
* B304 Pinzi
* B305 Vove]

B40|

* B41 Sira
* B42 Sangu
* B43 Punu
* B44 Lumbu
* [B401 Bwisi
* B402 Varama
* B403 Vungu
* B404 Ngubi
* B411 Bwali]

B50|

* B51 Duma
* B52 Nzebi
* B53 Tsaangi
* [B501 Wanzi
* B502 Mwele
* B503 Vili]

B60|

* B61 Mbete
* B62 Mbaama
* B63 Nduumo
* [B602 Kaning'i
* B603 Yangho]

B70|

* B71a Tege-Kali
* B71b Njiningi
* B72a Ngungwele
* B72b Mpumpu
* B73a Tsaayi
* B73b Laali
* B73c Yaa
* B73d Kwe
* B74a Ndzindziu
* B74b Boma
* B75 Bali
* B76a Musieno
* B76b Ngee
* B77a Kukwa
* B77b Fumu
* B78 Wuumu
* [B701 Tsitsege]

B80|

* B81 Tiene
* B82 Boma
* B83 Mfinu
* B84a[84] Mpuon
* B84b[84] Mpuun
* B85a Mbiem
* B85b East Yans
* B85c Yeei
* B85d Ntsuo
* B85e Mpur
* B86 Di
* B87[84] Mbuun
* [B821 Mpe
* * B822 Nunu
* B861 Ngul (Ngwi)
* B862 Lwel
* B863 Mpiin
* B864 West Ngongo
* B865 Nzadi]

Zones C - D

| Zone C|

| C10|

* C11 Ngondi
* C12a Pande
* C12b Bogongo
* C13 Mbati
* C14 Mbomotaba
* C15 Bongili
* C16 Lobala
* [C101 Dibole
* C102 Ngando
* C103 Kota
* C104 Yaka
* C105 Mbenga
* C141 Enyele
* C142 Bondongo
* C143 Mbonzo
* C161 Bomboli
* C162 Bozaba]

|

C20|

* C21 Mboko
* C22 Akwa
* C23[21] Ngare
* C24 Koyo
* C25 Mbosi
* C26 Kwala
* C27 Kuba
* [C201 Bwenyi]

C30|

* C31a Loi
* C31b Ngiri
* C31c Nunu
* C32 Bobangi
* C33 Sengele
* C34 Sakata
* C35a Ntomba
* C35b Bolia
* C36a Poto
* C36b Mpesa
* C36c Mbudza
* C36d Mangala
* C36e Boloki
* C36f Kangana
* C36g Ndolo
* C37 Buja
* [C301 Doko
* C302 Bolondo
* C311 Mabaale
* C312 Ndoobo
* C313 Litoka
* C314 Balobo
* C315 Enga
* C321 Binza
* C322 Dzamba
* C323 Mpama
* C371 Tembo
* C372 Kunda
* C373 Gbuta
* C374 Babale]

C40|

* C41 Ngombe
* C42 Bwela
* C43 Bati
* C44 Boa
* C45 Angba
* [C401 Pagibete
* C403 Kango
* C411 Bomboma
* C412 Bamwe
* C413 Dzando
* C414 Ligendza
* C415 Likula
* C441 Bango]

C50|

* C51 Mbesa
* C52 So
* C53 Poke
* C54 Lombo
* C55 Kele
* C56 Foma
* [C501 Likile
* C502 Linga]

C60|

* C61a Northeast Mongo
* C61b Northwest Mongo
* C62 Lalia
* [C63 Ngando
* C611 Bafoto]

C70|

* C71 Tetela
* C72 Kusu
* C73 Nkutu
* C74 Yela
* C75 Kela
* C76 Ombo
* [C701 Langa]

C80|

* C81 Dengese
* C82 Songomeno
* C83 Busoong
* C84 Lele
* C85 Wongo

Zone D|

| D10|

* D11 Mbole
* D12 Lengola
* D13 Metoko
* D14 Enya
* [D141 Zura]

|

D20|

* D21 Bali
* D22 Amba
* D23 Komo
* D24 Songola
* D25 Lega
* D26 Zimba
* D27 Bangubangu
* D28a West Holoholo
* D28b East Holoholo
* [D201 Liko
* D211 Kango
* D251 Lega-Malinga
* D281 Tumbwe
* D282 Lumbwe]

D30|

* D31 Peri
* D32 Bira
* D33 Nyali
* [D301 Kari
* D302 Guru
* D303 Ngbinda
* D304 Homa
* D305 Nyanga-li
* D306 Gbati-ri
* D307 Mayeka
* D308 Bodo
* D311 Bila
* D312 Kaiku
* D313 Ibutu
* D331 Bvanuma
* D332 Budu
* D333 Ndaaka
* D334 Mbo
* D335 Beeke
* D336 Ngbee]

[J]D40|

* [J]D41 Konzo
* [J]D42 Ndandi
* [J]D43 Nyanga

[J]D50|

* [J]D51 Hunde
* [J]D52 Haavu
* [J]D53 Nyabungu
* [J]D54 Bembe
* [J]D55 Buyi
* [J]D56 Kabwari
* [JD501 Nyindu
* [J]JD502 Yaka
* [J]JD531 Tembo]

[J]D60|

* [J]D61 Ruanda
* [J]D62 Rundi
* [J]D63 Fuliiro
* [J]D64 Shubi
* [J]D65 Hangaza
* [J]D66 Ha
* [J]D67 Vinza
* [JD631 Vira]

Zones E - H

| Zone E|

| [J]E10|

* [J]E11 Nyoro
* [J]E12 Tooro
* [J]E13 Nyankore
* [J]E14 Ciga
* [J]E15 Ganda
* [J]E16 Soga
* [J]E17 Gwere
* [J]E18 Nyala
* [JE101 Gungu
* JE102 Talinga-Bwisi
* JE103 Ruli
* JE121 Hema]

|

[J]E20|

* [J]E21 Nyambo
* [J]E22 Ziba
* [J]E23 Dzindza
* [J]E24 Kerebe
* [J]E25 Jita
* [JE221 Rashi
* JE251 Kwaya
* JE252 Kara
* JE253 Ruri]

[J]E30|

* [J]E31a Gisu
* [J]E31b Kisu
* [J]E31c Bukusu
* [J]E32a Hanga
* [J]E32b Tsotso
* [J]E33 Nyore
* [J]E34 Saamia
* [J]E35 Nyuli
* [JE341 Xaayo
* JE342 Marachi
* JE343 Songa]

[J]E40|

* [J]E41 Logooli
* [J]E42 Gusii
* [J]E43 Koria
* [J]E44 Zanaki
* [J]E45 Nata
* E46 Sonjo
* [JE401 Nguruimi
* JE402 Ikizu
* JE403 Suba/Suba-Simbiti
* JE404 Shashi
* JE405 Kabwa
* JE406 Singa
* JE407 Ware
* JE411 Idaxo
* JE412 Isuxa
* JE413 Tiriki
* JE431 Simbiti
* JE432 Hacha
* JE433 Surwa
* JE434 Sweta]

E50|

* E51 Kikuyu
* E52 Embu
* E53 Meru
* E54 Saraka
* E55 Kamba
* E56 Daiso
* [E531 Mwimbi-Muthambi
* E541 Cuka]

E60|

* E61[621a] Rwo
* E62a[621b,622a] Hai
* E62b[622c] Wunjo
* E62c[623] Rombo
* E63 Rusa
* E64 Kahe
* E65 Gweno

E70|

* E71 Pokomo
* E72a Gyriama
* E72b Kauma
* E72c Conyi
* E72d Duruma
* E72e Rabai
* E73 Digo
* E74a Dabida
* E74b[741] Sagala
* [E701 Elwana
* E731 Segeju
* E732 Degere
* E74 Taita]

Zone F|

| F10|

* F11 Tongwe
* F12 Bende

|

[J]F20|

* [J]F21 Sukuma
* [J]F22 Nyamwezi
* [J]F23 Sumbwa
* [J]F24 Kimbu
* [J]F25 Bungu

F30|

* F31 Nilamba
* F32 Remi
* F33 Langi
* F34 Mbugwe

Zone G|

| G10|

* G11 Gogo
* G12 Kaguru

|

G20|

* G21 Tubeta
* G22 Asu
* G23 Shambala
* G24 Bondei
* [G221 Mbugu]

G30|

* G31 Zigula
* G32 Ngwele
* G33 Zaramo
* G34 Ngulu
* G35 Ruguru
* G36 Kami
* G37 Kutu
* G38 Vidunda
* G39 Sagala
* [G301 Doe
* G311 Mushungulu]

G40|

* G41 Tikuu
* G42a Amu
* G42b Mvita
* G42c Mrima
* G42d Unguja
* G43a Phemba
* G43b Tumbatu
* G43c Hadimu
* G44a Ngazija
* G44b Njuani
* [G402 Makwe
* G403 Mwani
* G404 Sidi
* G411 Socotra Swahili
* G412 Mwiini]

G50|

* G51 Pogolo
* G52 Ndamba

G60|

* G61 Sango
* G62 Hehe
* G63 Bena
* G64 Pangwa
* G65 Kinga
* G66 Wanji
* G67 Kisi
* [G651 Magoma]

Zone H|

| H10|

* H11 Beembe
* H12 Vili
* H13 Kunyi
* H14 Ndingi
* H15 Mboka
* H16a South Kongo
* H16b Central Kongo
* H16c Yombe
* H16d Fiote
* H16e Bwende
* H16f Laadi
* H16g East Kongo
* H16h Southeast Kongo
* [H111 Hangala
* H112 Kamba-Doondo
* H131 Suundi]

|

H20|

* H21a Kimbundu
* H21b Mbamba
* H22 Sama
* H23 Bolo
* H24 Songo

H30|

* H31 Yaka
* H32 Suku
* H33 [L12b] Hungu
* H34 Mbangala
* H35 Sinji
* [H321 Soonde]

H40|

* H41 Mbala
* H42 Hunganna

Zones J - M

| Zone J*|

| [J]D40|

* [J]D41 Konzo
* [J]D42 Ndandi
* [J]D43 Nyanga

|

[J]D50|

* [J]D51 Hunde
* [J]D52 Haavu
* [J]D53 Nyabungu
* [J]D54 Bembe
* [J]D55 Buyi
* [J]D56 Kabwari
* [JD501 Nyindu
* [J]JD502 Yaka
* [J]JD531 Tembo]

[J]D60|

* [J]D61 Ruanda
* [J]D62 Rundi
* [J]D63 Fuliiro
* [J]D64 Subi
* [J]D65 Hangaza
* [J]D66 Ha
* [J]D67 Vinza
* [JD631 Vira]

[J]E10|

* [J]E11 Nyoro
* [J]E12 Tooro
* [J]E13 Nyankore
* [J]E14 Ciga
* [J]E15 Ganda
* [J]E16 Soga
* [J]E17 Gwere
* [J]E18 Nyala
* [JE101 Gungu
* JE102 Talinga-Bwisi
* JE103 Ruli
* JE121 Hema]

[J]E20|

* [J]E21 Nyambo
* [J]E22 Ziba
* [J]E23 Dzindza
* [J]E24 Kerebe
* [J]E25 Jita
* [JE221 Rashi
* JE251 Kwaya
* JE252 Kara
* JE253 Ruri]

[J]E30|

* [J]E31a Gisu
* [J]E31b Kisu
* [J]E31c Bukusu
* [J]E32a Hanga
* [J]E32b Tsotso
* [J]E33 Nyore
* [J]E34 Saamia
* [J]E35 Nyuli
* [JE341 Xaayo
* JE342 Marachi
* JE343 Songa]

[J]E40|

* [J]E41 Logooli
* [J]E42 Gusii
* [J]E43 Koria
* [J]E44 Zanaki
* [J]E45 Nata
* E46 Sonjo
* [JE401 Nguruimi
* JE402 Ikizu
* JE403 Suba/Suba-Simbiti
* JE404 Shashi
* JE405 Kabwa
* JE406 Singa
* JE407 Ware
* JE411 Idaxo
* JE412 Isuxa
* JE413 Tiriki
* JE431 Simbiti
* JE432 Hacha
* JE433 Surwa
* JE434 Sweta]

[J]F20|

* [J]F21 Sukuma
* [J]F22 Nyamwezi
* [J]F23 Sumbwa
* [J]F24 Kimbu
* [J]F25 Bungu

Zone K|

| K10|

* K11 Chokwe
* K12a Luimbi
* K12b Nyemba
* K13 Lucazi
* K14 Lwena
* K15 Mbunda
* K16 Nyengo
* K17 Mbwela
* K18 Nkangala

|

K20|

* K21 Lozi

K30|

* K31 Luyana
* K32 Mbowe
* K33 Kwangali
* K34 Mashi
* K35 Simaa
* K36 Sanjo
* K37 Kwangwa
* [K321 Mbume
* K322 Liyuwa
* K332 Manyo
* K333 Mbukushu
* K334 Mbogedu
* K351 Mulonga
* K352 Mwenyi
* K353 Koma
* K354 Imilangu
* K371 Kwandi]

K40|

* K41 Totela
* K42 Subiya
* [K402 Fwe
* K411 Totela of Namibia]

Zone L|

| L10|

* L11 Pende
* L12 Samba & Holu
* L13 Kwese
* [L101 Sonde]

|

L20|

* L21 Kete
* L22 Binji (Mbagani)
* L23 Songe
* L24 Luna
* [L201 Budya
* L202 Yazi
* L221 Lwalwa
* L231 Binji]

L30|

* L31a Luba-Kasai
* L31b Lulua
* L32 Kanyoka
* L33 Luba-Katanga
* L34 Hemba
* L35 Sanga
* [L301 Kebwe
* L331 Zeela]

L40|

* L41 Kaonde

L50|

* L51 Salampasu
* L52 Lunda
* L53 Ruund
* [L511 Luntu]

L60|

* L61 Mbwera
* L62 Nkoya
* [L601 Kolwe
* L602 Lushangi
* L603 Shasha]

Zone M|

| M10|

* M11 Pimbwe
* M12 Rungwa
* M13 Fipa
* M14 Rungu
* M15 Mambwe
* [M131 Kuulwe]

|

M20|

* M21 Wanda
* M22 Mwanga
* M23 Nyiha
* M24 Malila
* M25 Safwa
* M26 Iwa
* M27 Tambo
* [M201 Lambya
* M202 Sukwa]

M30|

* M31 Nyakyusa
* [M301 Ndali
* M302 Penja]

M40|

* M41 Taabwa
* M42 Bemba
* [M401 Bwile
* M402 Aushi]

M50|

* M51 Biisa
* M52 Lala
* M53 Swaka
* M54 Lamba
* M55 Seba
* [M521 Ambo
* M522 Luano
* M541 Lima
* M542 Temba]

M60|

* M61 Lenje
* M62 Soli
* M63 Ila
* M64 Tonga
* [M611 Lukanga Twa
* M631 Sala
* M632 Lundwe
* M633 Kafue Twa]

Zones N - S

| Zone N|

| N10|

* N11 Manda
* N12 Ngoni
* N13 Matengo
* N14 Mpoto
* N15 Tonga
* [N101 Ndendeule
* N102 Nindi
* N121 Ngoni of Malawi]

|

N20|

* N21 Tumbuka
* [N201 Mwera of Mbamba Bay]

N30|

* N31a Nyanja
* N31b Cewa
* N31c Manganja

N40|

* N41 Nsenga
* N42 Kunda
* N43 Nyungwe
* N44 Sena
* N45[44] Rue
* N46[44] Podzo
* [N441 Sena-Malawi]

Zone P|

| P10|

* P11 Ndengereko
* P12 Ruihi
* P13 Matumbi
* P14 Ngindo
* P15 Mbunga

|

P20|

* P21 Yao
* P22 Mwera
* P23 Makonde
* P24 Ndonde
* P25 Mabiha

P30|

* P31 Makua
* P32 Lomwe
* P33 Ngulu
* P34 Cuabo
* [P311 Koti
* P312 Sakati
* P331 Lomwe of Malawi
* P341 Moniga]

Zone R|

| R10|

* R11 Umbundu
* R12 Ndombe
* R13 Nyaneka
* R14 Khumbi
* [R101 Kuvale
* R102 Kwisi
* R103 Mbali]

|

R20|

* R21 Kwanyama
* R22 Ndonga
* R23 Kwambi
* R24 Ngandyera
* [R211 Kafima
* R212 Evale
* R213 Mbandja
* R214 Mbalanhu
* R215 Ndongwena
* R216 Kwankwa
* R217 Dombondola
* R218 Esinga
* R241 Kwaluudhi
* R242 Kolonkadhi-Eunda]

R30|

* R31 Herero
* [R311 North-West Herero
* R312 Botswana Herero]

R40|

* R41 Yei

Zone S|

| S10|

* S11 Korekore
* S12 Zezuru
* S13a Manyika
* S13b Tebe
* S14 Karanga
* S15 Ndau
* S16 Kalanga

|

S20|

* S21 Venda

S30|

* S31a Tswana
* S31b Kgatla
* S31c Ngwatu
* S31d[311] Khalaxadi
* S32a Pedi
* S32b Lobedu
* S33 Sotho
* [S301 Phalaborwa
* S302 Kutswe
* S303 Pai
* S304 Pulana]

S40|

* S41 Xhosa
* S42 Zulu
* S43 Swati
* S44 (Northern) Ndebele
* [S401 Old Mfengu
* S402 Bhaca
* S403 Hlubi
* S404 Phuthi
* S405 Nhlangwini
* S406 Lala
* S407 South Ndebele
* S408 Sumayela Ndebele]

S50|

* S51 Tswa
* S52[53] Gwamba
* S53 Tsonga
* S54 Ronga
* [S511 Hlengwe]

S60|

* S61 Copi
* S62 Tonga
* [S611 Lenge]

Note: The Guthrie classification is geographic and its groupings do not imply a relationship between the languages within them.

Template:Bantu Template:Niger-Congo branches

0.00

(0 votes)

Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bantu languages. Read more

|

Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Social:Bantu_languages&oldid=4236259"
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template