Bantu is a large branch of around five hundred languages within the Southern Bantoid group of the Benue-Congo branch of Niger-Congo, spoken across most of Central, Eastern and Southern Africa. Swahili, Zulu, Shona and Kikongo are among its best known members.
Facts
RegionCentral, Eastern and Southern Africa 2 Speaker CountTotal across the Bantu languages, roughly half of all Niger-Congo speakers; mid-2010s estimate. Proto-Language StatusProto-Bantu is reconstructed via the comparative method and is one of the better supported proto-languages within Niger-Congo, reflecting the closer genealogical unity of Bantu relative to Niger-Congo as a whole. 3 Browse and compare
Classification Confidence Reconstructed Ancestor Connections
Ancestor Of
Botatwe is a group of Bantu languages (Guthrie zone M) spoken mainly in Zambia, including Tonga and Ila; linked to the live language-family entity Bantu, matching this atlas's own existing Bantu descends-from Niger-Congo row.
Descends From
Bantu is classified within the Southern Bantoid group of Benue-Congo, itself a major branch of the Volta-Congo classification inside Niger-Congo.
Source Glottolog
Includes
Source Bemba language (Wikipedia)
Source Chewa language (Wikipedia)
Source Encyclopedia.com: Kikuyu
Source Wikipedia: Kinyarwanda Language
Source Kirundi, Wikipedia
Source Wikipedia: Shona Language
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
In the Other Atlases
Includes
Also in Divinity Atlas: included in this subject.
Also in Divinity Atlas: included in this subject.
Also in Divinity Atlas: included in this subject.
Also in Divinity Atlas: included in this subject.
Also in Divinity Atlas: included in this subject.
Also in Divinity Atlas: included in this subject.
Found In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Bantu Languages
Wikimedia FoundationLead paragraph
The Bantu languages (UK: , US: Proto-Bantu: *bantʊ̀) are a language family, or a branch of the proposed Niger-Congo language family, containing about 600 languages that are spoken by the Bantu peoples of Central, Southern, Eastern and Southeast Africa.
Infobox: protoname
Proto-Bantu
View the Source 2. Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Region: Central, Eastern and Southern Africa
- Speaker Count: 350,000,000
View the Source3. Glottolog
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology- Proto-Language Status: Proto-Bantu is reconstructed via the comparative method and is one of the better supported proto-languages within Niger-Congo, reflecting the closer genealogical unity of Bantu relative to Niger-Congo as a whole.
View the Source Wikidata: Bantu
Wikipedia: Shona Language
Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Shona, Infobox, Language familyQuote, Includes: Shona, Infobox, Language family
Top family: Niger-Congo; immediate branch: Bantu (Southern Bantu, Shona languages S.10 grouping).
Bemba language (Wikipedia)
Includes: Bemba language, Lead, familyQuote, Includes: Bemba language, Lead, family
is a Bantu language spoken primarily in north-eastern Zambia by the Bemba people
Wikipedia: Kinyarwanda Language
Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Kinyarwanda, Infobox, Language familyQuote, Includes: Kinyarwanda, Infobox, Language family
Bantu
Kirundi, Wikipedia
Includes: Kirundi, Infobox, Language familyQuote, Includes: Kirundi, Infobox, Language family
Bantu
Chewa language (Wikipedia)
Includes: Chichewa, Infobox, Language familyQuote, Includes: Chichewa, Infobox, Language family
Bantu
Encyclopedia.com: Kikuyu
Includes: Kikuyu language, Language sectionQuote, Includes: Kikuyu language, Language section
The Kikuyu language, which has three predominant dialects, is linguistically related to other Bantu-speaking groups in central Kenya, including the Kamba, Embu, Mbere, Tharaka, and Meru.
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