The Structure of Bantoid
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Western Beboid and African Language Classification
Western Beboid and African language classification Linguistic Society of America Annual Meeting, Chicago, 6 January 2008 Western Beboid and African language classification 2 Western Beboid background Scott Farrar Jeff Good [8] The Niger-Congo language family (Williamson and Blench 2000:12) University of Washington University at Buffalo [email protected] [email protected] 1 Introduction1 [1] Greenberg’s (1966) proposals classifying African languages into four major fam- ilies have become relatively widely accepted. [2] However, the extent to which they should be understood as a genetic classification as opposed to a reference classification remains unclear. [3] . it is sometimes suggested that Niger-Congo is merely a typological and not a genetic unity. This view is not held by any specialists in the phylum. (Williamson and Blench 2000:11) [4] This would definitely seem to overstate the case, most strikingly with respect to the classification of Mande languages (see, e.g., Mukarovsky (1977:4–6)). [5] As more and more descriptive data become available on more and more African languages, there is increasing need for some objective inter-linguistic framework within which these data may be classified and compared. Unfortunately, no such ideal classification has been available for the languages of Africa as a whole, and in recent years descriptive linguists have tended to use Greenberg’s “genetic” classification as a frame of reference within which to locate the languages they are describing. Although most of these linguists have not con- cerned themselves with testing the validity or otherwise of Greenberg’s classification, their unqualified acceptance of it in print has lent a certain “respectability” to his classificational units. -
Linking Bantu to Benue-Congo: a View from the Northern Fringe
Linking Bantu to Benue-Congo: A view from the northern fringe of the Grassfields Berlin, 21–22 February 2010 Figure 1: Lower Fungom (based on Hombert (1980:84), with updates) Linking Bantu to Benue-Congo: LEDE&M ∗ ',281#=>*0216* A view from the northern fringe of the Grassfields 933@C,@8 Jeff Good B1>*0 University at Buffalo '3@30,/7*#03,6 [email protected] B1)-#B3,6 1 Introduction &*,0/G#>177,-* [1] As more and more descriptive data become available on more and more African languages, <(/61>1213)#A,C1@,7 there is increasing need for some objective inter-linguistic framework within which these ',281 data may be classified and compared. Unfortunately, no such ideal classification has been $'()'*+#,'-"./ '(5( '()6,/71 available for the languages of Africa as a whole, and in recent years descriptive linguists 9*)#A7(2@*0#H%1IJ#* '1223)- '()$*) have tended to use Greenberg’s “genetic” classification as a frame of reference within which K1#A7(2@*0#H/3*J +,! to locate the languages they are describing. Although most of these linguists have not con- 43281)#H$16J &-() <%,77#'*$,5 :( 43281) cerned themselves with testing the validity or otherwise of Greenberg’s classification, their 9,)-#H5,$J ./,0 '/(!"H%(AJ 4()- unqualified acceptance of it in print has lent a certain “respectability” to his classificational '*$,5 9,)- units. This acceptance is potentially misleading to non-linguists, especially historians, and 01()'*+#,'-"./ has helped obscure the fact many of these classificational units have never been scientifi- &,$1#H%55J +83, '/(! cally established. (Dalby 1971:17) 2'+)*13#4.+5 4()-#H$57J# [2] . -
1 Towards the Reconstruction of the Tense-Aspect-Mood
Towards the reconstruction of the tense-aspect-mood (TAM) system in early Bantoid, with particular attention to the category “tense” John R. Watters, SIL International September 2012 Proto-Niger-Congo Congress, Paris 1.0 Definition of the question The general purpose of this study is to contribute to our understanding of the tense-aspect- mood (TAM) categories and systems in proto or early Bantoid. Within that broad purpose, this study will give particular attention to the status of tense in Proto-Bantoid or early Bantoid. All Bantoid languages today systematically mark aspectual categories (e.g. imperfective) and modal categories (e.g. subjunctive). However, only some Bantoid languages mark tense as a grammatical category such as the Grassfields Bantu and Narrow Bantu languages. In other Bantoid languages, tense is absent such as in the Ekoid Bantu languages. This variation in the distribution of tense raises the question whether proto or early Bantoid was a tense-aspect language in which tense was lost in some subgroups over time, or was an aspect-prominent language in which certain subgroups innovated tense. If the latter case holds, I would want to ask additional questions: Where and when did the marking of tense as a verbal category emerge? What would it mean for our understanding of the early years of Bantoid, its subgroupings, and its internal migrations? Did the development of tense originate within one sub-set of languages from which it spread to others, or did various subgroups innovate tense independently of the others? I would also want to compare the distribution of tense in Bantoid languages with the results of lexicostatistical studies. -
Multilingual Cameroon
GOTHENBURG AFRICANA INFORMAL SERIES – NO 7 ______________________________________________________ Multilingual Cameroon Policy, Practice, Problems and Solutions by Tove Rosendal DEPARTMENT OF ORIENTAL AND AFRICAN LANGUAGES 2008 2 Contents List of tables ..................................................................................................................... 4 List of figures ................................................................................................................... 4 Abbreviations ................................................................................................................... 5 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................. 9 2. Focus, methodology and earlier studies ................................................................. 11 3. Language policy in Cameroon – historical overview............................................. 13 3.1 Pre-independence period ................................................................................ 13 3.2 Post-independence period............................................................................... 13 4. The languages of Cameroon................................................................................... 14 4.1 The national languages of Cameroon - an overview ...................................... 14 4.1.1 The language families of Cameroon....................................................... 16 4.1.2 Languages of wider distribution............................................................ -
Bantu Expansion Shows That Habitat Alters the Route and Pace of Human Dispersals
Bantu expansion shows that habitat alters the route and pace of human dispersals Rebecca Grollemunda,1, Simon Branforda, Koen Bostoenb, Andrew Meadea, Chris Vendittia, and Mark Pagela,c,1 aEvolutionary Biology Group, School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6BX, England; bKongoKing Research Group, Department of Languages and Cultures, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium; and cThe Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501 Edited by Peter S. Bellwood, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia, and accepted by the Editorial Board August 10, 2015 (receivedfor review February 25, 2015) Unlike most other biological species, humans can use cultural inno- at ∼2,500 B.P. affected amongst others the western part of the vations to occupy a range of environments, raising the intriguing Congo Basin, creating patches of more or less open forests and question of whether human migrations move relatively indepen- wooded or grassland savannahs (14, 15). These areas eventually dently of habitat or show preferences for familiar ones. The Bantu merged into a corridor known as the “Sangha River Interval” that expansion that swept out of West Central Africa beginning ∼5,000 y repeatedly facilitated the north–southspreadofcertaintypical ago is one of the most influential cultural events of its kind, even- savannah plant and animal species (17, 20–22). tually spreading over a vast geographical area a new way of life in The Sangha River Interval may also have been a crucial pas- which farming played an increasingly important role. We use a new sageway for the initial north–south migration of Bantu speech dated phylogeny of ∼400 Bantu languages to show that migrating communities across the Equator. -
Central Africa, 2021 Region of Africa
Quickworld Entity Report Central Africa, 2021 Region of Africa Quickworld Factoid Name : Central Africa Status : Region of Africa Land Area : 7,215,000 sq km - 2,786,000 sq mi Political Entities Sovereign Countries (19) Angola Burundi Cameroon Central African Republic Chad Congo (DR) Congo (Republic) Equatorial Guinea Gabon Libya Malawi Niger Nigeria Rwanda South Sudan Sudan Tanzania Uganda Zambia International Organizations Worldwide Organizations (3) Commonwealth of Nations La Francophonie United Nations Organization Continental Organizations (1) African Union Conflicts and Disputes Internal Conflicts and Secessions (1) Lybian Civil War Territorial Disputes (1) Sudan-South Sudan Border Disputes Languages Language Families (9) Bihari languages Central Sudanic languages Chadic languages English-based creoles and pidgins French-based creoles and pidgins Manobo languages Portuguese-based creoles and pidgins Prakrit languages Songhai languages © 2019 Quickworld Inc. Page 1 of 7 Quickworld Inc assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions in the content of this document. The information contained in this document is provided on an "as is" basis with no guarantees of completeness, accuracy, usefulness or timeliness. Quickworld Entity Report Central Africa, 2021 Region of Africa Languages (485) Abar Acoli Adhola Aghem Ajumbu Aka Aka Akoose Akum Akwa Alur Amba language Ambele Amdang Áncá Assangori Atong language Awing Baali Babango Babanki Bada Bafaw-Balong Bafia Bakaka Bakoko Bakole Bala Balo Baloi Bambili-Bambui Bamukumbit -
Metrical Prominence Assymetries in Medumba
METRICAL PROMINENCE ASYMMETRIES IN MEDɄMBA, A GRASSFIELDS BANTU LANGUAGE KATHRYN FRANICH University of Delaware There has been considerable debate as to whether word-level metrical prominence asymmetries are a universal feature of languages. African tone languages have been at the heart of this debate, as many of these languages do not show clear phonetic evidence of lexical stress. This article ex- plores metrical prominence asymmetries in Medʉmba, a Grassfields Bantu language, by examin- ing such asymmetries through the lens of speech timing. Forged within a dynamical model of metrical structure, a metronome-based phrase-repetition task known as speech cycling is used to investigate the relative timing of syllables hypothesized to be metrically prominent and metrically weak. Previous research using the task has shown that metrically prominent syllables are attracted to certain relative positions within a repetition cycle. Results of two experiments show that foot heads in Medʉmba also show this behavior, supporting their status as metrically prominent. These results suggest that true metrical prominence asymmetries exist in a broader range of languages than previously thought, and that relative timing serves as an important unifying property of met- rical structure crosslinguistically.* Keywords: metrical structure, prominence, accent, speech timing, Grassfields Bantu, Medʉmba 1. Introduction. An ongoing debate in phonology concerns whether word-level metrical prominence asymmetries—also sometimes referred to as metrical ‘accent’— are a universal feature of human language. One position, expressed by Goedemans and van der Hulst (2009), holds that all languages likely contain such asymmetries, and sim- ply vary in how they are phonetically marked: while some languages utilize stress or pitch accent to convey metrical prominence, other languages use different sets of cues, or perhaps none at all. -
Classification of the Languages of Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea on the Basis of Lexicostatistics and Mutual Intelligibility
African Study Monographs, 28(4): 181-204, December 2007 181 CLASSIFICATION OF THE LANGUAGES OF CAMEROON AND EQUATORIAL GUINEA ON THE BASIS OF LEXICOSTATISTICS AND MUTUAL INTELLIGIBILITY S. Beban Chumbow University of Yaounde I Gratien G. Atindogbe University of Buea Engelbert Domche University of Dschang Dieudonne Martin Luther Bot University of Douala ABSTRACT This work clusters genetically related speech forms in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, and determines to which speech forms within these clusters are sufficiently and mutually intelligible to be grouped together in order to ease harmonization and standardization. The analysis of the linguistic situation in the two countries revealed that while clustering the speech forms on the basis of genetic relations via lexicostatistics has been quite fruitful, clustering on the basis of mutual intelligibility of at least 85% does not seem to significantly reduce the number of speech forms. Intelligibility surveys and testing have not been carried out in many of the clusters. However, it is important to continue the exercise in order to ascertain the exact situation. Key Words: Cameroon; Equatorial Guinea; Classification; Lexicostatistics; Genetic relation; mutual intelligibility. INTRODUCTION This work is carried out within the context of the project on “Harmonization and Standardization of African Languages” initiated by the Centre for Advanced Studies of African Society (CASAS), Cape Town, South Africa. The overall objective of the CASAS research project is “to cluster African speech forms into sets which display an 85% level of intercomprehension” as a first step to the development, based on the economics of scale, of large literate communi- ties. More specifically, CASAS is of the view that given evidence of a high level of mutual intelligibility between several speech forms, it should be possi- ble to harmonize the standardization of those languages, i.e. -
The Membership and Internal Structure of Bantoid and the Border with Bantu
TheThe membershipmembership andand internalinternal structurestructure ofof BantoidBantoid andand thethe borderborder withwith BantuBantu 7-9th April, 2011 Roger Blench Kay Williamson Educational Foundation This PowerPoint can be found on my website http://www.rogerblench.info/Language%20data/Niger- Congo/Bantoid/Bantoid%20page.htm Individual papers covering branches of Bantoid are also posted as well as considerable amounts of raw data Among the prodigious mass of narratives, from which has been formed the general history of Voyages and Travels, and an infinity of others published every day, no mention is made of the languages which are spoken in the different countries, the manners and usages of which are described to us; and if the authors did not from time to time put into the mouths of the inhabitants of those distant regions, some words of which they know the meaning, we should be tempted to believe that only dumb people had travelled among those nations. All will agree at least that whatever relates to the language, its genius, its relation to other known languages, even its mechanism and flow, are not traits which would look misplaced in the historical picture of a nation. L’Abbé Proyart History of Loango.. (1776)I The Bantoid languages are some 150 languages positioned geographically between Nigeria and Cameroun and ‘between’ Benue-Congo and Bantu in terms of their position within Niger- Congo. Often referred to as Bantu, for example in the term ‘Ekoid Bantu’, their classificatory position remains uncertain. Their noun morphology is not that of classic Bantu, although their prefixes are often ascribed its class numbers in a misleading way. -
[.35 **Natural Language Processing Class Here Computational Linguistics See Manual at 006.35 Vs
006 006 006 DeweyiDecimaliClassification006 006 [.35 **Natural language processing Class here computational linguistics See Manual at 006.35 vs. 410.285 *Use notation 019 from Table 1 as modified at 004.019 400 DeweyiDecimaliClassification 400 400 DeweyiDecimali400Classification Language 400 [400 [400 *‡Language Class here interdisciplinary works on language and literature For literature, see 800; for rhetoric, see 808. For the language of a specific discipline or subject, see the discipline or subject, plus notation 014 from Table 1, e.g., language of science 501.4 (Option A: To give local emphasis or a shorter number to a specific language, class in 410, where full instructions appear (Option B: To give local emphasis or a shorter number to a specific language, place before 420 through use of a letter or other symbol. Full instructions appear under 420–490) 400 DeweyiDecimali400Classification Language 400 SUMMARY [401–409 Standard subdivisions and bilingualism [410 Linguistics [420 English and Old English (Anglo-Saxon) [430 German and related languages [440 French and related Romance languages [450 Italian, Dalmatian, Romanian, Rhaetian, Sardinian, Corsican [460 Spanish, Portuguese, Galician [470 Latin and related Italic languages [480 Classical Greek and related Hellenic languages [490 Other languages 401 DeweyiDecimali401Classification Language 401 [401 *‡Philosophy and theory See Manual at 401 vs. 121.68, 149.94, 410.1 401 DeweyiDecimali401Classification Language 401 [.3 *‡International languages Class here universal languages; general -
Reconstructing Benue-Congo Person Marking II
Kirill Babaev Russian State University for the Humanities Reconstructing Benue-Congo person marking II This paper is the second and last part of a comparative analysis of person marking systems in Benue-Congo (BC) languages, started in (Babaev 2008, available online for reference). The first part of the paper containing sections 1–2 gave an overview of the linguistic studies on the issue to date and presented a tentative reconstruction of person marking in the Proto- Bantoid language. In the second part of the paper, this work is continued by collecting data from all the other branches of BC and making the first step towards a reconstruction of the Proto-BC system of person marking. Keywords: Niger-Congo, Benue-Congo, personal pronouns, comparative research, recon- struction, person marking. The comparative outlook of person marking systems in the language families lying to the west of the Bantoid-speaking area is a challenge. These language stocks (the East BC families of Cross River, Plateau, Kainji and Jukunoid, and the West BC including Edoid, Nupoid, Defoid, Idomoid, Igboid and a few genetically isolated languages of Nigeria) are still far from being sufficiently studied or even described, and the amount of linguistic data for many of them re- mains quite scarce. In comparison with the Bantu family which has enjoyed much attention from comparative linguists within the last decades, there are very few papers researching the other subfamilies of BC from a comparative standpoint. This is especially true for studies in morphology, including person marking. The aim here is therefore to make the very first step towards the comparative analysis and reconstruction of person markers in BC. -
Historical Linguistics and the Comparative Study of African Languages
Historical Linguistics and the Comparative Study of African Languages UNCORRECTED PROOFS © JOHN BENJAMINS PUBLISHING COMPANY 1st proofs UNCORRECTED PROOFS © JOHN BENJAMINS PUBLISHING COMPANY 1st proofs Historical Linguistics and the Comparative Study of African Languages Gerrit J. Dimmendaal University of Cologne John Benjamins Publishing Company Amsterdam / Philadelphia UNCORRECTED PROOFS © JOHN BENJAMINS PUBLISHING COMPANY 1st proofs TM The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American 8 National Standard for Information Sciences — Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Dimmendaal, Gerrit Jan. Historical linguistics and the comparative study of African languages / Gerrit J. Dimmendaal. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. African languages--Grammar, Comparative. 2. Historical linguistics. I. Title. PL8008.D56 2011 496--dc22 2011002759 isbn 978 90 272 1178 1 (Hb; alk. paper) isbn 978 90 272 1179 8 (Pb; alk. paper) isbn 978 90 272 8722 9 (Eb) © 2011 – John Benjamins B.V. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm, or any other means, without written permission from the publisher. John Benjamins Publishing Company • P.O. Box 36224 • 1020 me Amsterdam • The Netherlands John Benjamins North America • P.O. Box 27519 • Philadelphia PA 19118-0519 • USA UNCORRECTED PROOFS © JOHN BENJAMINS PUBLISHING COMPANY 1st proofs Table of contents Preface ix Figures xiii Maps xv Tables