Bantoid languages

The bantoiden languages ​​( or shortly Bantoid ) form a sub- unit of the East- Benue - Congo, Benue - Congo, a branch of languages ​​, which in turn belong to the Niger -Congo language family.

The approximately 650 bantoiden languages ​​are spoken by about 220 million people in northeast Nigeria, Western Cameroon and throughout Central and South Africa.

Overview

The bantoiden languages ​​form the Bantoid cross- languages ​​together with the Cross River languages. Within the Niger -Congo language family, this results in the following lineage:

• Niger - Congo > Volta - Congo > Benue - Congo > East Benue - Congo > Bantoid - Cross> Bantoid

Overall, the Bantoid comprises some 650 languages ​​with a total of 217 million speakers, of whom about 500 Languages ​​actual Bantu languages ​​that make up the vast majority of its 210 million speakers. The group of 160 Bantoidsprachen that do not belong to the Bantu is therefore measured by its number of speakers ( 6.5 million ) is relatively small and very diversified: Your average number of speakers is roughly $ 40,000.

Among the most important Bantu languages ​​Swahili, Shona, Zulu, Chichewa, Lingala, Kinyarwanda, Xhosa, Luba - Kasai and Kikuyu include (all over 5 million speakers). Of the non - Bantu languages ​​of the language group exceeds bantoiden only spoken in Nigeria in Benue State Tiv with 2.2 million speakers, the one million mark. Another ten languages ​​have at least 100,000 speakers (see classification).

Demarcation Bantoid - Bantu

The term " Bantoid " 1895 was marked by Gottlob Krause for the languages ​​that have lexical similarities with the Bantu languages ​​, Malcolm Guthrie (1948 ) designated Bantoid the westsudanischen languages ​​with Bantu -like noun class system, but have no regular sound correspondences with the Bantu languages.

The group of bantoiden languages ​​includes both the actual Bantu languages ​​, as well as those languages ​​which, although genetically more closely related to Bantu languages ​​within the Niger - Congo, but have not all features of the Bantu languages. Such languages ​​were also called Semi- Bantu languages. The boundary between the actual Bantu languages ​​( Narrow Bantu ) and the Bantu languages ​​in a wider sense ( Bantoid but not Bantu ) is difficult to draw and depends on the definition on what " real Bantu " exactly makes up ( about the researchers are not completely agree ). All bantoiden languages ​​that do not belong to the actual Bantu, spoken in eastern Southeast Nigeria and Cameroon, their distribution is - in contrast to that of the Bantu Languages ​​- very limited. It is this area ( Southeast Nigeria and West Cameroon ) seems to be the original homeland of the Bantu languages ​​actual, of the have spread them out to the east and south of the continent ( see Article Bantu languages).

Internal classification

The finding of bantoiden languages ​​as a genetic unit and the basic concepts of its present internal classification go back to Greenberg (1950, 1963). However, the internal structure of the bantoiden languages ​​has since been revised several times. Important was the realization of a north - south border within the group. For northern Bantoid - whether it forms a genetic unit is controversial - include individual smaller groups such as Dakoid, Mambiloid and Tikaroid. The South Bantoid forms a separate genetic group, in addition to the Jarawoid and Tivoid who spoke rich grassland group ( around 70 languages ​​with 2.5 million speakers, spoken in Western Cameroon ), and as of equal branch, the actual Bantu (500 languages ​​, 210 million. speaker ) includes.

The following table shows the current classification of languages ​​according to bantoiden Williamson Blench ( in Heine Nurse 2000). There are only listed the more significant individual languages ​​. The web link below provides a complete classification of all bantoiden languages.

Classification of bantoiden languages

• Bantoid ( 642 languages ​​, 216 million speakers) North Bantoid (genetic unit not shown ) Dakoid: Samba Daka (110 thousand), Dong, Gaa ( Tiba )
• Mambiloid: Mambila (130 thousand), Kwanja (20 thousand), Ndoola ( Ndoro ) (50 thousand), Suga (10 thousand), Bute (20 thousand)
• Tikaroid: Tikar (25 thousand), Bandobo (5 thousand), Ndemli (6 thousand)
• Fam: Fam (1 thousand)

• Jarawoid: Jarawa (150 thousand), Bile (30 thousand), Duguri (20 thousand), Kantana (20 thousand), Kulung (15 thousand), Mbula - Bwazza (40 thousand)
• Tivoid: Tiv ( 2.2 million ), Bitare (50 thousand), Batu (25 thousand), Esimbi (20 thousand)
• Beboid: Noni (35 thousand), Bebe, Naki
• Mbe: Mbe (15 thousand)
• Ekoid: Ejagham ( Ekoi ) (120 thousand), Ekajuk (30 thousand), Nkem - Nkum (35 thousand), Nde Nsele - Nta (35 thousand)
• Nyang ( Mamfe ): Kenyang ( Nyang ) (65 thousand), Danya (12 thousand)
• Mbam: Tuki (25 thousand), Tune (35 thousand), Nugunu (35 thousand); Leti ( ritual speech)
• Grassland: Bamun (215 thousand), Bafut (105 thousand)
• Bantu (487 languages ​​with 210 million speakers )

The classification of the Bantu and the classification of the Bantu languages ​​in Guthrie zones is comprehensively presented in the article Bantu languages. An overview of the individual branches of the Bantoid (number of languages ​​, number of speakers, dissemination ) provides the following table.

Bantoid and its subgroups

Whether the Northern bantoiden languages ​​form a genetic unit is to date not been finally resolved.

Linguistic characteristics

The linguistic characteristics are very similar to those of the Bantu languages ​​(see the corresponding section of the article Bantu languages). The noun class system is fully developed in the Bantu - it is his essential characteristic - in the non- Bantu languages ​​in a different reduced form. Verbal derivations are occupied in all bantoiden languages. Pronouns are formed at the usual rates ( independent personal pronouns; dependent subject, object and Possessivmarker ) prevails in the third person concordance with the noun classes. The word order is SVO, it will be used throughout prepositions. In the noun phrase the particular noun stands in front, followed by the modifier ( genitive attribute, attribute adjective, possessive, numeral, demonstrative ); prevails in the Bantu languages ​​within the noun phrase, and between subject and predicate class full concordance, in the other languages ​​bantoiden the concordance is restricted or partially not ( any more).