Bantu languages

(noun)

A traditional branch of the Niger-Congo languages. It is not known how many of them exist today, but Ethnologue counts 535 languages. They are spoken mostly east and south of present-day Cameroon, that is, in the regions commonly known as Central Africa, Southeast Africa, and Southern Africa.

Related Terms

Examples of Bantu languages in the following topics:

  • The Bantu Migration

    • The Bantu expansion is the name for a postulated millennia-long series of migrations of speakers of the original proto-Bantu language group.
    • The linguistic core of the Bantu family of languages, a branch of the Niger-Congo language family, was located in the adjoining region of Cameroon and Nigeria.
    • Currently, 300-600 ethnic groups in Africa speak Bantu languages and are categorized as Bantu peoples.
    • It is not known how many Bantu language exist today, but Ethnologue counts 535.
    • Parts of the Bantu area include languages from other language families.

  • The Swahili Culture

    • Swahili culture originated on the Swahili Coast from the mixture of Perso-Arab and Bantu cultures that is credited for creating Swahili as a distinctive East African culture and language.
    • As with the Swahili language, Swahili culture has a Bantu core and has also borrowed from foreign influences.
    • Around 3,000 years ago, speakers of the proto-Bantu language group began a millennia-long series of migrations eastward from their homeland between West Africa and Central Africa, at the border of eastern Nigeria and Cameroon. 
    • The Swahili people are mainly united under the mother tongue of Kiswahili, a Bantu language. 
    • It is the mixture of Perso-Arab and Bantu cultures in Kilwa that is credited for creating Swahili as a distinctive East African culture and language.

  • Fang and Kota

    • The Fang and Bakota (or Kota) are Bantu ethnic groups from the region of Gabon.
    • The Bakota (or Kota) are a Bantu ethnic group from the northeastern region of Gabon.
    • The language they speak is called iKota, but is sometimes referred to as Bakota, ikuta, or Kota.
    • The language has several dialects, which include: Ndambomo, Mahongwe, Ikota-la-hua, Sake, Menzambi, Bougom.
    • Nationally, 32% of the Gabonese people speak the Fang language as a mother tongue.

  • The Kingdoms of Madagascar

    • Over the past 2,000 years, Madagascar has received waves of settlers of diverse origins, including Austronesian, Bantu, Arab, South Asian, Chinese, and European populations.
    • Centuries of intermarriages created the Malagasy people, who primarily speak Malagasy, an Austronesian language with Bantu, Malay, Arabic, French, and English influences.
    • Most of the genetic makeup of the average Malagasy, however, reflects an almost equal blend of Austronesian and Bantu influences, especially in coastal regions. 

  • Namibia

    • Both the San and the Nama were Khoisan peoples, and spoke languages from the Khoisan language group.
    • The Damara do not relate to the other Khoisan peoples, although they share a similar language.
    • It is believed that they separated themselves early on from their Bantu brothers of Southern and Central Africa and moved to Southwest Africa.
    • Both groups belonged to the Bantu nation.
    • Known as Oorlams, these Khoisans adopted Boer customs and spoke a language similar to Afrikaans.

  • Cloth Production in Bamum

    • The Bamum people are a Bantu ethnic group of Cameroon with around 215,000 members.
    • The Mbum, a part-Bantu ethnic group from northeast Cameroon, founded the kingdom at the end of the 14th century; its capital was the ancient walled city of Fumban.
    • Originally, the language of state in the Bamum kingdom was that of the Tikar.
    • This apparently did not last long, and the language of the conquered, Mben, was adopted.

  • Kongo

    • The Bakongo, or the Kongo people (Kongo: "hunters"), also referred to as the Congolese, are a Bantu ethnic group who live along the Atlantic coast of Africa from Pointe-Noire (Congo Brazzaville) to Luanda, Angola.
    • They are primarily defined by the speaking of Kikongo, a common language.

  • Fon

    • The Fon language is the main language spoken in Southern Benin, and is a member of the Gbe language group.
    • Together with other cultural groups from the Fon homeland region such as the Yoruba and Bantu, Fon culture merged with French, Portuguese or Spanish to produce distinct religions (Voodoo, Mami Wata, Candomblé and Santería), dance and musical styles (Arará, Yan Valu).

  • Social Cognition

    • For example, one study interviewed a Scottish settler and a Bantu herdsman from Swaziland and compared their schemas about cattle.
    • Because cattle are essential to the lifestyle of the Bantu people, the Bantu herdsman's schemas for cattle were far more extensive than the schemas of the Scottish settler.
    • The Bantu herdsmen was able to distinguish his cattle from dozens of others, while the Scottish settler was not.

  • Symbols and Nature

    • A single language is any specific example of such a system.
    • Written language is the representation of a language by means of a writing system.
    • Written language exists only as a complement to a specific spoken language.
    • A sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveying sound patterns, uses manual communication and body language to convey meaning.
    • Sign languages, like spoken languages, organize elementary units into meaningful semantic units.