The Northeast Bantu languages 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.
T ...
spoken in
East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa:
Due to the histori ...
. In
Guthrie's geographic classification, they fall within Bantu zones E50 plus E46 (Sonjo), E60 plus E74a (Taita), F21–22, J, G60, plus
Northeast Coast Bantu (of zones E & G).
[Derek Nurse, 2003, ''The Bantu Languages''] Some of these languages (F21, most of E50, and some of J) share a phonological innovation called
Dahl's law that is unlikely to be borrowed as a productive process, though individual words reflecting Dahl's law have been borrowed into neighboring languages.
The languages, or clusters, are:
*Kikuyu–Kamba Thagiicu (primarily E50):
**
Sonjo (E40)
**
Cuka
**
Meru (incl. Tharaka, Mwimbi-Muthambi)
**South
***
Kamba,
Daisu
***
Gikuyu,
Embu
Embu may refer to:
Places
; in Brazil
* Embu das Artes
* Embu-Guaçu
; in Kenya
* Embu, Kenya
* Embu County
Other
* Embu people of Kenya
*Embu language
Embu, also known as Kîembu, is a Bantu language of Kenya. It is spoken by the Embu peopl ...
*Chaga–Taita
**
Taita (Dawida; E70) –
Sagalla
Taita is a Bantu language spoken in the Taita Hills of Kenya. It is closely related to the Chaga languages of Kenya and Tanzania. The Saghala (Northern Sagala, Sagalla) variety is distinct enough to be considered a language separate from the Da ...
**
Chaga languages (E60)
*
Northeast Coast Bantu (G10-G40):
Swahili
Swahili may refer to:
* Swahili language, a Bantu language official in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and widely spoken in the African Great Lakes
* Swahili people, an ethnic group in East Africa
* Swahili culture
Swahili culture is the culture of ...
(E70), ''etc.''
*Takama:
Sukuma–
Nyamwezi (+
Konongo–Ruwila),
Kimbu (F20),
Iramba
Iramba is one of the six districts of the Singida Region of central Tanzania. It is bordered to the Northwest by the Shinyanga Region, to the North by Simiyu Region, to the east by the Mkalama District, to the South by Ikungi District and to the ...
–
Isanzu,
Nyaturu (Rimi) (F30), ?
Holoholo Holoholo may refer to:
* Holoholo people, an ethnic group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
* Holoholo language
Holoholo is a Bantu language of DR Congo and formerly in Tanzania spoken by the Holoholo people on either side of Lake Tanganyik ...
–Tumbwe–Lumbwe (D20)
*
Great Lakes Bantu
The Great Lakes Bantu languages, also known as Lacustrine Bantu and Bantu zone J, are a group of Bantu languages of East Africa. They were recognized as a group by the ''Tervuren'' team, who posited them as an additional zone (zone J) to Guthrie' ...
(zone J):
Rwanda-Rundi,
Ganda, ''etc.''
*Bena–Kinga (G60):
Sangu
Sangu may refer to:
* Sangu language (Gabon)
* Sangu language (Tanzania)
* Sanghu, Taplejung, Nepal
* Sangu River, Bangladesh
* Sangu (armour)
''Sangu'' is the term for the three armour components that protected the extremities of the samurai cl ...
,
Hehe,
Bena,
Pangwa,
Kinga–
Magoma,
Wanji,
Kisi, ?
Manda (N10)
Notes
{{Bantu-lang-stub