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Guthrie's Classification
The 250 or so "Narrow Bantu languages" are conventionally divided up into geographic zones first proposed by Malcolm Guthrie (1967–1971). These were assigned letters A–S and divided into decades (groups A10, A20, etc.); individual languages were assigned unit numbers (A11, A12, etc.), and dialects further subdivided (A11a, A11b, etc.). This coding system has become the standard for identifying Bantu languages; it was the only practical way to distinguish many ambiguously named languages before the introduction of ISO 639-3 coding, and it continues to be widely used. Only Guthrie's Zone S is (sometimes) considered to be a genealogical group. Since Guthrie's time a Zone J (made of languages formerly classified in groups D and E) has been set up as another possible genealogical group bordering the Great Lakes. The list is first summarized, with links to articles on accepted groups of Bantu languages (bold decade headings). Following that is the complete 1948 list, as updated b ...
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Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area and 20% of its land area.Sayre, April Pulley (1999), ''Africa'', Twenty-First Century Books. . With billion people as of , it accounts for about of the world's human population. Africa's population is the youngest amongst all the continents; the median age in 2012 was 19.7, when the worldwide median age was 30.4. Despite a wide range of natural resources, Africa is the least wealthy continent per capita and second-least wealthy by total wealth, behind Oceania. Scholars have attributed this to different factors including geography, climate, tribalism, colonialism, the Cold War, neocolonialism, lack of democracy, and corruption. Despite this low concentration of wealth, recent economic expansion and the large and young population make Afr ...
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Sawabantu Languages
Sawabantu languages are a group of Bantu languages comprising most of zones A.20 and A.30 of Guthrie's classification, and most likely also part of zone A.10. According to Nurse & Philippson (2003), the A.20 and A.30 languages apart from Bubi form a valid node. The most important of these languages is Duala, which is a vehicular language. Etymology The name ''Sawabantu'' is made up of two words: ''sawa'', which means "coast" in Duala, and ''Bantu''. The name was proposed in 1989 by the Cameroonian linguist Carl Ebobissé. Languages Besides the A.20 and A.30 languages, the Oroko dialect cluster of A.10 seems to be clearly connected to the Sawabantu group: : (A.10) Oroko; (A.20) Kpwe (Mokpwe, Bakweri)– Mboko (Bomboko, Wumboko)–Kole (Bakole), Duala (incl. Mungo dialect), Su (Isuwu), Limba (Malimba); (A.30) Tanga (Batanga), Yasa–Kombe, Benga The A.20 languages are spoken around the Wouri estuary and in the anglophone region around Mount Cameroon. The A.30 language ...
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Kele Languages
The Kele or Sheke languages are a clade of Bantu language The Bantu languages (English: , Proto-Bantu: *bantʊ̀) are a large family of languages spoken by the Bantu people of Central, Southern, Eastern africa and Southeast Africa. They form the largest branch of the Southern Bantoid languages. The t ...s coded Zone B.20 in Guthrie's classification. According to Nurse & Philippson (2003), apart possibly from Seki (Sheke) (B.21) itself, the languages form a valid node. They are: : Lengue, Ndasa, Sigu (Sighu), Kele (Dikele), Ngom, Mbangwe, Wumbvu, Kota, Shake (Sake), Mahongwe, ? Seki (Sheke) Maho (2009) adds B203 Sama, B204 Ndambomo, B205 Metombola. Footnotes References * {{Bantu-lang-stub ...
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Roger Blench
Roger Marsh Blench (born August 1, 1953) is a British linguist, ethnomusicologist and development anthropologist. He has an M.A. and a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge and is based in Cambridge, England. He researches, publishes, and works as a consultant. Career Blench is known for his wide-ranging interests and has made important contributions to African linguistics, Southeast Asian linguistics, anthropology, ethnomusicology, ethnobotany, and various other related fields. He has done significant research on the Niger–Congo, Nilo-Saharan, and Afroasiatic families, as well as the Arunachal languages. Additionally, Blench has published extensively on the relationship between linguistics and archaeology. Blench is currently engaged in a long-term project to document the languages of central Nigeria. He has also carried out extensive research on the herder–farmer conflicts in Nigeria. Blench collaborated with the late Professor Kay Williamson, who died in January 2005, ...
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Makaa–Njem Languages
The Makaa–Njem languages are a group of Bantu languages spoken in Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Republic of the Congo. They are coded Zone A.80 in Guthrie's classification The 250 or so "Narrow Bantu languages" are conventionally divided up into geographic zones first proposed by Malcolm Guthrie (1967–1971). These were assigned letters A–S and divided into decades (groups A10, A20, etc.); individual languages .... According to Nurse & Philippson (2003), adding the Kako languages (Guthrie's A.90) forms a valid node, called Pomo–Bomwali (Kairn Klieman 1997). Languages Kako The Guthrie Kako (A.90) languages are: * Kwakum * Pol * Pomo-Kweso (Pomo, Kweso) * Kako. Makaa–Njem The Guthrie Makaa–Njem (A.80) languages are: Maho (2009) adds Shiwe (Oshieba) of central Gabon. '' Glottolog'' classifies the languages as follows: * Makaa–Kako (A.80-90) languages: ** Kako (or Mkako, Nkoxo, Dikaka, Yaka) ** Kwaku ...
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Beti Language
Beti is a group of Bantu languages, spoken by the Beti-Pahuin peoples who inhabit the rain forest regions of Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and São Tomé and Príncipe. The varieties, which are largely mutually intelligible and variously considered dialects or closely related languages, are: : Ewondo (Yaunde) :Fang : Bulu :Eton : Bebele : Bebil : Mengisa Beti had an ISO 639-3 code, but it was retired in 2010 because the varieties of Beti already had their own codes. There is a Beti-based pidgin called Ewondo Populaire Ewondo Populaire, also known as Pidgin A70, is a Beti-based pidgin of Cameroon, spoken in the area of the capital Yaoundé Yaoundé (; , ) is the capital of Cameroon and, with a population of more than 2.8 million, the second-largest city i .... References Languages of Cameroon Languages of Equatorial Guinea Languages of Gabon {{Bantu-lang-stub ...
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Jarawan Languages
Jarawan is a group of languages spoken mostly in Bauchi State, Nigeria, with some also scattered in Plateau State, Taraba State, and Adamawa State in the same country. Two related languages formerly spoken in Cameroon are now extinct but are believed to have belonged to the group. This connection between Nigerian and Cameroonian Jarawan is attributed to Thomas (1925). Whether Jarawan languages are best classified alongside other Bantu languages or among non-Bantu Bantoid languages is a matter of ongoing debate. A number of descriptions and classifications in the early 20th century suggest that they be may historically related to Bantu languages but not necessarily Bantu themselves. Other perspectives based on lexicostatistic modeling and other phylogenetic techniques for language comparison argue instead that Jarawan languages are properly classified alongside Zone A Bantu languages (A31-A40-A60). For classifications based on these more recent studies, see for example Blench (2006) ...
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Mbam Languages
The Mbam languages are a group of Bantu languages spoken in Cameroon *Sanaga (A60): Tuki (Bacenga), Leti/ Mengisa, Mbwasa *West Mbam (A40): Bati (A60), Nomaande (Mandi)– Tunen (Aling'a, Banen)– Tuotomb– Yambeta, Nyokon *Yambasa (A60): Nubaca, Mbule, Nugunu, Elip– Mmaala–Yangben Central Yambasa or Nuasua (Nuaswa) is a Southern Bantoid language of Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Afr ... References Southern Bantoid languages {{SBantoid-lang-stub ...
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Bafia Languages
The Bafia languages are a clade of Bantu languages coded Zone A.50 in Guthrie's classification. According to Nurse & Philippson (2003), the languages form a valid node. They are: : Fa’ (Lefa), Kaalong (Dimbong), Kpa KPA may refer to: * Keele Postgraduate Association, Keele University, UK, formerly Keele Research Association (KRA) * Kensington (Olympia) station, London, England, National Rail station code * Kenya Ports Authority * ''Kiln phosphoric acid'', a ... (Bafia), Ngayaba (Tibea) Hijuk was listed as unclassified A.50 in Guthrie, but according to ''Ethnologue'' it is quite similar to Basaa. Footnotes References * {{Bantu-lang-stub ...
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Basaa Languages
The Basaa languages are a clade of Bantu languages coded Zone A.40 in Guthrie's classification. According to Nurse & Philippson (2003), the languages remaining from the formation of the Mbam group form a valid node. They are: : Basaa– Kogo (Bakoko), Rombi–Bankon Bankon is a town and sub-prefecture in the Siguiri Prefecture in the Kankan Region of northern Guinea near the border with Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄 .... Hijuk was listed as unclassified A.50 in Guthrie, but according to ''Ethnologue'' it is quite similar to Basaa. Footnotes References * {{Bantu-lang-stub ...
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Bube Language
Bube, Bohobé or Bube–Benga (Bobe, Bubi), is a Bantu language spoken by the Bubi, a Bantu people native to, and once the primary inhabitants of, Bioko Island in Equatorial Guinea. The language was brought to Bioko from continental Africa more than three thousand years ago when the Bubi began arriving on the island. It has around 50,000 speakers, with three variants: North, South and Central-East. It is noted for its tonal character and the divergence of words by gender. The language is also spoken by Bubi native to Gabon and Cameroon. The Bube language is divided into six different dialects that vary in the northern and southern regions of Bioko Island. For example, in the North, people speak ''Rebola'' and its variations: ''Basile'', ''Banapa'' and ''Basupa''. However, in the North-East, ''Bakake'' is spoken. Bube is also spoken in a small area on the mainland closest to the island, where speakers are shifting to Wumboko. This has been reported as "Bube", "Bubia" or "Wove ...
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Manenguba Language
The Manenguba languages, also known as the Mbo cluster, are a group of closely related Bantu languages spoken on and around the Manenguba mountain range in south-western Cameroon. The people speaking the various Manenguba languages belong to the following tribes or nations: Mienge, Mbo, Basossi, Bakossi, Elung, Nninong, Mousmenam, Manengouba, Bareko, Manehas, Bakaka, Balondo, Babong and Bafun. The population speaking the Manenguba languages was estimated in 1984 to be about 230,000 people. According to Hedinger (1984a), there are at least 23 different Manenguba languages and dialects. The best known of these, and the first to have a grammar written for it, is Akoose, spoken in a wide area to the west of the mountain. Name of the languages The name "Manenguba languages" was first used by Harry Johnston in his work ''A Comparative Study of the Bantu and Semi-Bantu Languages'' (1919). Johnston divided the languages into three groups: (a) Balung-Bafo (including Melong); (b) Bakosi ...
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