The Great Lakes Bantu languages, also known as Lacustrine Bantu and Bantu zone J, are a group of
Bantu languages
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 ...
of East Africa. They were recognized as a group by the ''Tervuren'' team, who posited them as an additional zone (zone J) to
Guthrie's largely geographic classification of Bantu.
History
By 500BC, proto-Great Lakes Bantu speakers initially settled between Lakes Kivu and Rweru in Rwanda, before rapidly spreading as far east as Kenya.
Languages
The languages are, according to Bastin, Coupez, & Mann (1999), with Sumbwa added per Nurse (2003):
*''
Gungu
Gungu is a town in Kwilu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It is the capital of Gungu Territory as well as Gungu Sector. The town lies west of the Kwilu River and is situated between the streams Lukunia in the south-east and Kitem ...
'' (E10)
*''
Bwari
Bwari is a local government area in the Federal Capital Territory in Nigeria. The original inhabitants of the town are the Gbagyi speaking people. The paramount ruler is the Esu who is otherwise known as Sa-bwaya. However, with the establishment of ...
(Kabwari)'' (D50)
*Konzo (D40):
Konjo,
Nande, ?
Kobo
Kobo may refer to:
Places
* Kobo (woreda), a district in Ethiopia
** Kobo, Ethiopia, a town
* Kōbo Dam, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan
* Mount Kōbō, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
People First name
* Kōbō Abe (1924–1993), pseudonym of Japanese w ...
*
Shi–Havu (D50):
Hunde
Hunde (''Kihunde''; also ''Luhunde'', ''Kobi'', ''Rukobi'') is a Great Lakes Bantu language spoken by the Hunde people or Bahunde in Nord-Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is primarily spoken in the territories of Masisi ...
,
Havu,
Shi
Shi or SHI may refer to:
Language
* ''Shi'', a Japanese titles#Shi, Japanese title commonly used as a pronoun
* ''Shi'', proposed gender-neutral pronoun
* Shi (kana), a kana in Japanese syllabaries
* Shi language
* ''Shī'', transliteration of ...
,
Tembo,
Nyindu,
Fuliiro
*
Rwanda-Rundi
Rwanda-Rundi is a group of Bantu languages, specifically a dialect continuum, spoken in Central Africa. Two dialects, Kirundi and Kinyarwanda, have been standardized as national languages of Burundi and Rwanda respectively. These neighbouring d ...
(D60):
Kinyarwanda
Kinyarwanda, Rwandan or Rwanda, officially known as Ikinyarwanda, is a Bantu language and a dialect of the Rwanda-Rundi language that is spoken in Rwanda and adjacent parts of Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda (where there ...
,
Kirundi
Kirundi, also known as Rundi, is a Bantu language spoken by some 9 million people in Burundi and adjacent parts of Rwanda, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, as well as in Kenya. It is the official language of Burundi. Kiru ...
,
Shubi,
Hangaza The Hangaza are a Bantu ethnolinguistic group based in Kagera Region in northwestern Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African ...
,
Ha,
Vinza
*Nyoro–Ganda (E10):
Ganda
Ganda may refer to:
Places
* Ganda, Angola
* Ganda, Tibet, China
* Ganda, the ancient Latin name of Ghent, a city in Belgium
Other uses
* Baganda or Ganda, a people of Uganda
** Luganda or Ganda language, a language of Uganda
* ''Ganda'' and "Ga ...
,
Nyankore,
Nyoro,
Tooro,
Hema Hema may refer to:
* Hemā (mythology), a figure from Polynesian mythology
* HEMA (store), a Dutch chain of stores
* Hema (supermarket) (盒马), a supermarket chain in China
* Hema maps, an Australian map publisher
* Hema people, an ethnic group ...
,
Chiga,
Soga,
Gwere,
West Nyala,
Ruli
::(See also
Rutara languages
The Rutara or Runyakitara languages (endonym: ''Orutara'', ''Orunyakitara'') are a group of closely related Bantu languages spoken in the African Great Lakes region. They include languages such as Runyoro, Runyankore and Ruhaya. The language grou ...
,
Runyakitara language
Runyakitara is a standardized language based on four closely related languages of western Uganda:
* Nyoro or ''Runyoro''
* Kiga (Chiga) or ''Rukiga''
* Nkore or ''Runyankole''
* Tooro or ''Rutooro''
Jouni Filip Maho's 2009 New Updated Guthrie ...
,
Nkore-Kiga
Nkore-Kiga is a language spoken by around 5,800,000 people living in the
extreme southwest of Uganda. It is often defined as two separate languages: Nkore and Kiga.
It is closely related to Runyoro-Rutooro.
History
Archibald Norman Tucker wa ...
)
*Haya–Jita (E20):
Haya–Rashi,
Talinga-Bwisi,
Zinza,
Kerebe (Kerewe),
Jita–
Kara
Kara or KARA may refer to:
Geography Localities
* Kara, Chad, a sub-prefecture
* Kára, Hungary, a village
* Kara, Uttar Pradesh, India, a township
* Kara, Iran, a village in Lorestan Province
* Kara, Republic of Dagestan, a rural locality in Da ...
–
Kwaya–Ruri,
Nyambo,
Subi
*Masaba–Luhya (E30):
Masaba (incl. Bukusu),
Luhya Luhya or Abaluyia may refer to:
* Luhya people
* Luhya language
Luhya (; also Luyia, Luhia or Luhiya) is a Bantu language of western Kenya.
Dialects
The various Luhya tribes speak several related languages and dialects, though some of them are ...
proper,
Nyore (or Nyole in Kenya),
Nyole (or Olunyole in Uganda),
Samia–Songa,
Marachi
The Marachi are one of sixteen tribes of the Luhya people of Kenya.
Nestled between the Samia, Khayo and Wanga, the Marachi occupy a land area comparatively smaller than the other Luhya tribes in Busia District. In their native Luhya language, ...
,
Khayo
The Khayo is a sub tribe of the Luhya people of Kenya. They reside in Busia County, by the Kenya-Uganda border. Their Luhya neighbors are the Samia, Marachi, Wanga and Bukusu. The Bakhayo border the Bukusu on the East, the Republic of Uganda and ...
*Logooli–Kuria (E40):
Logooli (Luhya),
Ngurimi,
Ikizu–Sizaki/Shashi,
Suba
Suba may refer to:
Groups of people
*Suba people (Kenya), a people of Kenya
**Suba language
*Suba people (Tanzania), a people of Tanzania
* Subha (writers), alternatively spelt Suba, Indian writer duo
Individual people
*Suba (musician), Serbian- ...
,
Suba-Simbiti,
Kabwa,
Singa,
Idaxo-Isuxa-Tiriki (Luhya),
Gusii (Kisii),
Kuria (Simbiti, Hacha, Surwa, Sweta),
Zanaki,
Ikoma, ?
Ware
Ware may refer to:
People
* Ware (surname)
* William of Ware (), English Franciscan theologian
Places Canada
*Fort Ware, British Columbia
United Kingdom
*Ware, Devon
*Ware, Hertfordshire
*Ware, Kent
United States
* Ware, Elmore County, Al ...
*''
Sumbwa'' (F20)
The codes in parentheses are Guthrie's original geographic classification.
Maho (2009) adds
Yaka.
Kobo
Kobo may refer to:
Places
* Kobo (woreda), a district in Ethiopia
** Kobo, Ethiopia, a town
* Kōbo Dam, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan
* Mount Kōbō, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
People First name
* Kōbō Abe (1924–1993), pseudonym of Japanese w ...
was recognized later. It's said to be about equidistant between Nande and Hunde, so it's not clear where it should be in the tree above.
Glottolog (2022) separates
Nyole in Uganda (and its dialects: ''Hadyo'' or ''Luhadyo'', ''Menya'', ''Sabi'' or ''Lusabi'', and ''Wesa'' or ''Luwesa'') from the E30 group (Masaba-Luhya) into an unclassified subgroup within a "Greater Luyia" group containing the Logoo-Kuria (E40) group. Beside this, it does not consider this older geographic classification relevant for its ongoing classification based on more recent linguistic studies, and uses four different subgroups (Greater Luhya,
West Nyanza, East Nyanza, and Western Lakes Bantu), keeping
Gungu
Gungu is a town in Kwilu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It is the capital of Gungu Territory as well as Gungu Sector. The town lies west of the Kwilu River and is situated between the streams Lukunia in the south-east and Kitem ...
(E10) separate from them.
Notes
{{Bantu-lang-stub