| AtlanticâCongo | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution | Africa |
| Linguistic classification |
NigerâCongo?
|
| Subdivisions |
|
| ISO 639-5 | alv |
| Glottolog | atla1278 |
 The AtlanticâCongo languages shown within the NigerâCongo language family. Non-AtlanticâCongo languages are greyscale. | |
The AtlanticâCongo languages are the largest demonstrated family of languages in Africa. They have characteristic noun class systems and form the core of the NigerâCongo family hypothesis. They comprise all of NigerâCongo apart from Mande, Dogon, Ijoid, Siamou, Kru, the Katla and Rashad languages (previously classified as Kordofanian), and perhaps some or all of the Ubangian languages. Hans GĂŒnther Mukarovsky's "Western Nigritic" corresponded roughly to modern AtlanticâCongo. [1]
In the infobox, the languages which appear to be the most divergent are placed at the top. [2] The Atlantic branch is defined in the narrow sense, while the former Atlantic branches Mel and the isolates Sua, Gola and Limba, are split out as primary branches; they are mentioned next to each other because there is no published evidence to move them; VoltaâCongo is intact apart from Senufo and Kru.
In addition, GĂŒldemann (2018) lists Nalu and Rio Nunez as unclassified languages within Niger-Congo. [3]
There are a few poorly attested languages, such as Bayot and Bung, which may prove to be additional branches.[ citation needed]
Comparative vocabulary
Sample basic vocabulary for reconstructed proto-languages of different Atlantic-Congo branches:
| Branch | Language | eye | ear | nose | tooth | tongue | mouth | blood | bone | tree | water | eat | name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Western Nigritic" (roughly AtlanticâCongo) |
Proto-"Western Nigritic" [1] | *-nĂn-, *-nĂnu | *-thĂși, *-thĂș- | *-mĂl-, *-mĂla | *-nĂn- (*-nĂghin-) | *-lĂma (*-lĂami); *-lĂ©lum- (*-lĂșm-) | *-nĂana; *-nĂuna (*-nĂșa) | *-ghĂŹĂĄ; *-kĂ l- | *-khwĂșpĂ | *-tĂ | *-lingi | *di- | *-ghĂnĂ |
| Benue-Congo | Proto- Benue-Congo [4] | *-lito | *-tuĆi | *-zua | *-nini, *-nino; *-sana; *-gaĆgo | *-lemi; *-lake | *-zi; *-luĆ | *-kupe | *-titi; *-kwon | *-izi; *-ni | *-zina | ||
| Bantu | Proto- Bantu [5] | *i=jĂco | *kÊ=tÊÌi | *i=jÊÌlÊ | *i=jĂno; *i=gego | *lÊ=lÉȘÌmi | *ka=nÊa; *mÊ=lomo | *ma=gilĂĄ; *=gil-a; *ma=gadĂ; *=gadĂ; *mÊ=lopa; *ma=ÉČĂnga | *i=kĂșpa | *mÊ=tÉȘÌ | *ma=jĂjÉȘ; *i=diba (HH?) | *=lÉȘÌ -a | *i=jĂna |
| Yoruboid | Proto-Yoruboid language [6] | *Ă©-jĂș | *Ă©-tĂ | *Ămáč”Ì | *Ă©ĆážÌ | Yor. ahĂĄÌ° | *ÉÌláč” ? | *ÉÌ-gyÉÌ | *Ă©gbáč”Ìgbáč”Ì | Yor. igi | *Ăł-máž | *jÉáč” | *ĂłrĂș- ? |
| Gbe | Proto- Gbe [7] | *-tĂł | *aÉĂș | *-ÉÉÌ | *-ÉĆ©; *-ÉĆ©kpĂĄ | *-ÊÊ·Ć© | *-ÏÊ·Ăș | *-tÄ©Ì | *-tsÄ© | *Éu | *yÄ©ÌkÉÌ | ||
| Gur | Proto- Central Gur [8] | *me (Oti-Volta, Gurunsi) | *ye (Gurunsi, Kurumfe) | *ñam, *ñim (Oti-Volta, Kurumfe) | *Êob, *Êo | *tÉȘ (Oti-Volta, Gurunsi) | *ni, *ne; *nĂŁ (Oti-Volta, Gurunsi) | *di | *yÉȘÉ, *yÉȘd (Oti-Volta, Gurunsi) | ||||
| Gbaya | Proto- Gbaya [9] | *gbĂ .lÌ„Ă/lÌ„Ă | *zÉÌrĂ | *zÉÌ°Ìp | *ÉČĂn | *lĂ©ÉĂ© ~ lĂ©mbĂš | *nĂș | *tÉÌk | *gbĂ Ì°lĂ Ì° | *lÌ„ĂŹ | *tĂš | *ÉČÉĆ/lÌ„i | *lÌ„Ăn ~ lÌ„ĂĆ |
References
- ^ a b Mukarovsky, Hans. A study of Western Nigritic. Wien: Institut fĂŒr Ăgyptologie und Afrikanistik, UniversitĂ€t Wien. OCLC 21527702.
- ^ Blench, Roger. "Niger-Congo: an alternative view" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2023-04-05.
- ^ GĂŒldemann, Tom (2018). "Historical linguistics and genealogical language classification in Africa". In GĂŒldemann, Tom (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of Africa. The World of Linguistics series. Vol. 11. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 58â444. doi: 10.1515/9783110421668-002. ISBN 978-3-11-042606-9. S2CID 133888593.
- ^ Wolf, Paul de (1971). The Noun-Class System of Proto-Benue-Congo. doi: 10.1515/9783110905311. ISBN 9783110905311.
- ^ Schadeberg, Thilo C. (2003). "Historical linguistics". In Nurse, Derek; Philippson, GĂ©rard (eds.). The Bantu Languages. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-700-71134-5.
- ^ Aubry, N.; Friedman, H.; Pozdniakov, K. (2004). "Proto-Yoruba-Igala Swadesh list" (PDF). Langage, Langues et Cultures dâAfrique (LLACAN), Centre National de la RĂ©cherche SciĂ©ntifique (CNRS). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-01-05.
- ^ Capo, Hounkpati B.C. (1991). A Comparative Phonology of Gbe. doi: 10.1515/9783110870534. ISBN 978-3-11-013392-9.
- ^ Manessy, Gabriel (1979). Contribution à la classification généalogique des langues voltaïques. Peeters Publishers. ISBN 2852970635.
- ^ Moñino, Yves (1988). Lexique comparatif des langues oubanguiennes. Laboratoire de langues et civilisations à tradition orale, Dép. "Langues et parole en Afrique centrale". ISBN 9782705303532.
| AtlanticâCongo | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution | Africa |
| Linguistic classification |
NigerâCongo?
|
| Subdivisions |
|
| ISO 639-5 | alv |
| Glottolog | atla1278 |
|
The AtlanticâCongo languages shown within the NigerâCongo language family. Non-AtlanticâCongo languages are greyscale. | |
The AtlanticâCongo languages are the largest demonstrated family of languages in Africa. They have characteristic noun class systems and form the core of the NigerâCongo family hypothesis. They comprise all of NigerâCongo apart from Mande, Dogon, Ijoid, Siamou, Kru, the Katla and Rashad languages (previously classified as Kordofanian), and perhaps some or all of the Ubangian languages. Hans GĂŒnther Mukarovsky's "Western Nigritic" corresponded roughly to modern AtlanticâCongo. [1]
In the infobox, the languages which appear to be the most divergent are placed at the top. [2] The Atlantic branch is defined in the narrow sense, while the former Atlantic branches Mel and the isolates Sua, Gola and Limba, are split out as primary branches; they are mentioned next to each other because there is no published evidence to move them; VoltaâCongo is intact apart from Senufo and Kru.
In addition, GĂŒldemann (2018) lists Nalu and Rio Nunez as unclassified languages within Niger-Congo. [3]
There are a few poorly attested languages, such as Bayot and Bung, which may prove to be additional branches.[ citation needed]
Comparative vocabulary
Sample basic vocabulary for reconstructed proto-languages of different Atlantic-Congo branches:
| Branch | Language | eye | ear | nose | tooth | tongue | mouth | blood | bone | tree | water | eat | name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Western Nigritic" (roughly AtlanticâCongo) |
Proto-"Western Nigritic" [1] | *-nĂn-, *-nĂnu | *-thĂși, *-thĂș- | *-mĂl-, *-mĂla | *-nĂn- (*-nĂghin-) | *-lĂma (*-lĂami); *-lĂ©lum- (*-lĂșm-) | *-nĂana; *-nĂuna (*-nĂșa) | *-ghĂŹĂĄ; *-kĂ l- | *-khwĂșpĂ | *-tĂ | *-lingi | *di- | *-ghĂnĂ |
| Benue-Congo | Proto- Benue-Congo [4] | *-lito | *-tuĆi | *-zua | *-nini, *-nino; *-sana; *-gaĆgo | *-lemi; *-lake | *-zi; *-luĆ | *-kupe | *-titi; *-kwon | *-izi; *-ni | *-zina | ||
| Bantu | Proto- Bantu [5] | *i=jĂco | *kÊ=tÊÌi | *i=jÊÌlÊ | *i=jĂno; *i=gego | *lÊ=lÉȘÌmi | *ka=nÊa; *mÊ=lomo | *ma=gilĂĄ; *=gil-a; *ma=gadĂ; *=gadĂ; *mÊ=lopa; *ma=ÉČĂnga | *i=kĂșpa | *mÊ=tÉȘÌ | *ma=jĂjÉȘ; *i=diba (HH?) | *=lÉȘÌ -a | *i=jĂna |
| Yoruboid | Proto-Yoruboid language [6] | *Ă©-jĂș | *Ă©-tĂ | *Ămáč”Ì | *Ă©ĆážÌ | Yor. ahĂĄÌ° | *ÉÌláč” ? | *ÉÌ-gyÉÌ | *Ă©gbáč”Ìgbáč”Ì | Yor. igi | *Ăł-máž | *jÉáč” | *ĂłrĂș- ? |
| Gbe | Proto- Gbe [7] | *-tĂł | *aÉĂș | *-ÉÉÌ | *-ÉĆ©; *-ÉĆ©kpĂĄ | *-ÊÊ·Ć© | *-ÏÊ·Ăș | *-tÄ©Ì | *-tsÄ© | *Éu | *yÄ©ÌkÉÌ | ||
| Gur | Proto- Central Gur [8] | *me (Oti-Volta, Gurunsi) | *ye (Gurunsi, Kurumfe) | *ñam, *ñim (Oti-Volta, Kurumfe) | *Êob, *Êo | *tÉȘ (Oti-Volta, Gurunsi) | *ni, *ne; *nĂŁ (Oti-Volta, Gurunsi) | *di | *yÉȘÉ, *yÉȘd (Oti-Volta, Gurunsi) | ||||
| Gbaya | Proto- Gbaya [9] | *gbĂ .lÌ„Ă/lÌ„Ă | *zÉÌrĂ | *zÉÌ°Ìp | *ÉČĂn | *lĂ©ÉĂ© ~ lĂ©mbĂš | *nĂș | *tÉÌk | *gbĂ Ì°lĂ Ì° | *lÌ„ĂŹ | *tĂš | *ÉČÉĆ/lÌ„i | *lÌ„Ăn ~ lÌ„ĂĆ |
References
- ^ a b Mukarovsky, Hans. A study of Western Nigritic. Wien: Institut fĂŒr Ăgyptologie und Afrikanistik, UniversitĂ€t Wien. OCLC 21527702.
- ^ Blench, Roger. "Niger-Congo: an alternative view" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2023-04-05.
- ^ GĂŒldemann, Tom (2018). "Historical linguistics and genealogical language classification in Africa". In GĂŒldemann, Tom (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of Africa. The World of Linguistics series. Vol. 11. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 58â444. doi: 10.1515/9783110421668-002. ISBN 978-3-11-042606-9. S2CID 133888593.
- ^ Wolf, Paul de (1971). The Noun-Class System of Proto-Benue-Congo. doi: 10.1515/9783110905311. ISBN 9783110905311.
- ^ Schadeberg, Thilo C. (2003). "Historical linguistics". In Nurse, Derek; Philippson, GĂ©rard (eds.). The Bantu Languages. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-700-71134-5.
- ^ Aubry, N.; Friedman, H.; Pozdniakov, K. (2004). "Proto-Yoruba-Igala Swadesh list" (PDF). Langage, Langues et Cultures dâAfrique (LLACAN), Centre National de la RĂ©cherche SciĂ©ntifique (CNRS). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-01-05.
- ^ Capo, Hounkpati B.C. (1991). A Comparative Phonology of Gbe. doi: 10.1515/9783110870534. ISBN 978-3-11-013392-9.
- ^ Manessy, Gabriel (1979). Contribution à la classification généalogique des langues voltaïques. Peeters Publishers. ISBN 2852970635.
- ^ Moñino, Yves (1988). Lexique comparatif des langues oubanguiennes. Laboratoire de langues et civilisations à tradition orale, Dép. "Langues et parole en Afrique centrale". ISBN 9782705303532.