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Bantoid is a putative major division of the Benue–Congo branch of the Niger–Congo language family. It consists of the Mambiloid languages, the Dakoid languages and the Tikar language, all in Nigeria and Cameroon, and the Southern Bantoid languages, a major division which also includes the Bantu languages spoken across most of Sub-Saharan Africa.
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 ; individual languages were assigned unit numbers, and dialects further subdivided. 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 has been set up as another possible genealogical group bordering the Great Lakes.
The Mbam languages are a group of erstwhile zone-A Bantu languages which some lexicostatistical studies suggest are not actually Bantu, but related Southern Bantoid languages. Janssens (1992–93) posits that they are all of Guthrie's zone A.60 languages, half of his A.40 languages, and perhaps Bube (A.31). Blench (2011) includes Jarawan in A.60, and keeps both in Bantu.
The Northeast Coast Bantu languages are the Bantu languages spoken along the coast of Tanzania and Kenya, and including inland Tanzania as far as Dodoma. In Guthrie's geographic classification, they fall within Bantu zones G and E.
The Northeast Bantu languages are a group of Bantu languages spoken in East Africa. 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. Some of these languages 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 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 to Guthrie's largely geographic classification of Bantu.
Komo is a Bantu language spoken by half a million people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including an area around the major upriver port of Kisangani.
Bali is a Bantu language spoken in the Bafwasende Territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It has been included in Boan and seems to be most closely related to Lika.
Bwa is a Bantu language spoken in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Yaka languages are a clade of Bantu languages coded Zone H.30 in Guthrie's classification. According to Nurse & Philippson (2003), with a couple additions the languages form a valid node. They are:
The Lega–Binja languages are part of the Bantu languages coded Zone D.20 in Guthrie's classification, specifically D.24–26, which according to Nurse & Philippson (2003) form a valid clade. According to Ethnologue, Bembe, which Nurse & Philippson were not sure belonged in its traditional group of D.50, is the closest language to Lega-Mwenga; Glottolog has it closest to Songoora. The resulting languages are:
The Komo–Bira languages are part of the Bantu languages coded Zone D.20–30 in Guthrie's classification, specifically D.21, D.22, D.23, D.31, D.32. According to Nurse & Philippson (2003), they form a valid node; the rest of D.20 include the Lega–Holoholo languages, while the rest of the D.30 languages are not related to each other, apart from a close Budu–Ndaka group.
Ngelima, or Angba (Leangba), is a Bantu language spoken in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The four dialects are quite distinct, and may be separate languages.
The Bati–Angba or Bwa languages are a clade of Bantu languages, about half of Zone C.40 in Guthrie's classification. According to Nurse & Philippson (2003), these languages form a valid node. They are:
The Nyali languages are a clade of Bantu languages coded Zone D.33 in Guthrie's classification. They are:
Holoholo is a Bantu language of DR Congo and formerly in Tanzania spoken by the Holoholo people on either side of Lake Tanganyika. Classification is uncertain, but it may belong with the Takama group.
Lika (Liko) is a poorly documented Congolese Bantu language of uncertain affiliation, though it has been included in Boan.
Homa is an extinct South Sudanese Bantu language of uncertain affiliation. It has been included in the Boan languages.
Beeke is a Bantu language of uncertain affiliation. Guthrie assigned to the Nyali cluster. However, Ethnologue suggests that it may be a divergent form of Bali. It is 65% cognate with Bali, but 38% with the Nyali language Ndaka.
Bango, is a Bantu language spoken in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Ethnologue suggests it may be a dialect of Budza, but Nurse & Philippson (2003) list it as one of the Bwa languages.
References
- ↑ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Ababuan". Glottolog 3.0 . Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
- ↑ McMaster, Mary Allen. 1988. Patterns of Interaction: A comparative ethnolinguistic perspective on the Uele region of Zaïre ca. 500 A.D. to 1900 A.D. Los Angeles: University of California. 346.
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