Niger–Congo languages

1592:(2016) has indicated that the continuing reassessment of Niger–Congo's "internal structure is due largely to the preliminary nature of Greenberg's classification, explicitly based as it was on a methodology that doesn't produce proofs for genetic affiliations between languages but rather aims at identifying "likely candidates."...The ongoing descriptive and documentary work on individual languages and their varieties, greatly expanding our knowledge on formerly little-known linguistic regions, is helping to identify clusters and units that allow for the application of the historical-comparative method. Only the reconstruction of lower-level units, instead of "big picture" contributions based on mass comparison, can help to verify (or disprove) our present concept of Niger–Congo as a genetic grouping consisting of Benue–Congo plus Volta–Niger, Kwa, Adamawa plus Gur, Kru, the so-called Kordofanian languages, and probably the language groups traditionally classified as Atlantic." 2717:. "No comprehensive reconstruction has yet been done for the phylum as a whole, and it is sometimes suggested (e.g. by Dixon 1997) that Niger-Congo is merely a typological and not a genetic unity. This view is not held by any specialists in the phylum, and reasons for thinking Niger-Congo is a true genetic unity will be given in this chapter. It is, however, true that the subclassification of the phylum has been continuously modified in recent years and cannot be presented as an agreed scheme. The factors which have delayed reconstruction are the large number of languages, the inaccessibility of much of the data, and the paucity of able researchers committed to this field. Emphasis will be placed on three characteristics of Niger-Congo; noun-class systems, verbal extensions, and basic lexicon." See also: Bendor-Samuel, J. ed. 1989. 406:, which is not contiguous with the remainder of the Niger–Congo-language-speaking region and is at the northeasternmost extent of the current Niger–Congo linguistic region. The current prevailing linguistic view is that Kordofanian languages are part of the Niger–Congo language family and that these may be the first of the many languages still spoken in that region to have been spoken in the region. The evidence is insufficient to determine if this outlier group of Niger–Congo language speakers represents a prehistoric range of a Niger–Congo linguistic region that has since contracted as other languages have intruded, or if instead, this represents a group of Niger–Congo language speakers who migrated to the area at some point in prehistory where they were an isolated linguistic community from the beginning. 1915:. However, this is the rarer inventory as oftentimes there are one or more vowels that are not part of a harmonic pair. This has resulted in seven- and nine-vowel systems being the more popular systems. The majority of languages with controlled vowel harmony have either seven or nine vowel phonemes, with the most common non-participatory vowel being /a/. It has been asserted that this is because vowel quality differences in the mid-central region where /ə/, the counterpart of /a/, is found, are difficult to perceive. Another possible reason for the non-participatory status of /a/ is that there is articulatory difficulty in advancing the tongue root when the tongue body is low in order to produce a low vowel. Therefore, the vowel inventory for nine-vowel languages is generally: 1551:, which is in current use among linguists. Many classifications continue to place Kordofanian as the most distant branch, but mainly due to negative evidence (fewer lexical correspondences), rather than positive evidence that the other languages form a valid genealogical group. Likewise, Mande is often assumed to be the second-most distant branch based on its lack of the noun-class system prototypical of the Niger–Congo family. Other branches lacking any trace of the noun-class system are Dogon and Ijaw, whereas the Talodi branch of Kordofanian does have cognate noun classes, suggesting that Kordofanian is also not a unitary group. 2966:, 2 vols. (1976–1977). Blench (2004): "Almost simultaneously , Mukarovsky (1976–7) published his analysis of 'Western Nigritic'. Mukarovsky's basic theme was the relationship between the reconstructions of Bantu of Guthrie and other writers and the languages of West Africa. Mukarovsky excluded Kordofanian, Mande, Ijo, Dogon, Adamawa-Ubangian and most Bantoid languages for unknown reasons, thus reconstructing an idiosyncratic grouping. Nonetheless, he buttressed his argument with an extremely valuable compilation of data, establishing the case for Bantu/Niger-Congo genetic link beyond reasonable doubt." 175: 1414: 1426: 1616:, Crevels, and Muysken (2020) stated: "Greenberg's hypothesis of Niger–Congo phylum has sometimes been taken as an established fact rather than a hypothesis awaiting further proof, but there have also been attempts to look at his argumentation in more detail. Much of the discussion concerning Niger–Congo after Greenberg's seminal contribution in fact centered around the inclusion or exclusion of specific languages or language groups." 1402: 1903:

vowel that is in the whole word, then the rest of the vowels harmonize with that feature. However, if there is no vowel that is , the vowels appear in their underlying form. This form of vowel harmony control is best exhibited in West African languages. For example, in Nawuri, the diminutive suffix /-bi/ will cause the underlying vowels in a word to become phonetically .

4043: 382:(2004), all specialists in Niger–Congo languages believe the languages to have a common origin, rather than merely constituting a typological classification, for reasons including their shared noun-class system, shared verbal extensions and shared basic lexicon. Similar classifications to Niger–Congo have been made ever since 2066:

between oral and nasal consonants before oral and nasal vowels. Subsequent loss of the nasal/oral contrast in vowels may result in nasal consonants becoming part of the phoneme inventory. In all cases reported to date, the bilabial /m/ is the first nasal consonant to be phonologized. Niger–Congo thus

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Babaev (2013) stated: "The truth here is that almost no attempts in fact have been made to verify Greenberg's Niger–Congo hypothesis. This might seem strange but the path laid by Joseph Greenberg to Proto–Niger–Congo was not followed by much research. Most scholars have focused on individual families

1521:

took Westermann's work as a starting-point for his own classification. In a series of articles published between 1949 and 1954, he argued that Westermann's 'West Sudanic' and Bantu formed a single genetic family, which he named Niger–Congo; that Bantu constituted a subgroup of the Benue–Congo branch;

1902:

Unlike in the root-controlled harmony system, where the two values behave symmetrically, a large number of Niger–Congo languages exhibit a pattern where the value is more active or dominant than the value. This results in the second vowel harmony controller being the value. If there is even one

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in other languages, but there are often a fairly large number of classes (often 10 or more), and the classes may be male human/female human/animate/inanimate, or even completely gender-unrelated categories such as places, plants, abstracts, and groups of objects. For example, in Bantu, the Swahili

1487:

In this period a relation between Bantu and languages with Bantu-like (but less complete) noun class systems began to emerge. Some authors saw the latter as languages which had not yet completely evolved to full Bantu status, whereas others regarded them as languages which had partly lost original

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continued that tradition, making it the starting point for modern linguistic classification in Africa, with some of his most notable publications going to press starting in the 1960s. However, there has been active debate for many decades over the appropriate subclassifications of the languages in

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There are two types of vowels which affect the harmony process. These are known as neutral or opaque vowels. Neutral vowels do not harmonize to the value of the word, and instead maintain their own value. The vowels that follow them, however, will receive the value of the root. Opaque vowels

1623:. The term, as presently used, however, is not without its difficulties. On the one hand, it is employed as a referential label for a group of over 1,500 languages, putting it among the largest commonly cited language groups in the world. On the other hand, the term is also intended to embody a 1565:

between a form in Bantu and in Atlantic languages, or between Bantu and Mande, we have all grounds to trace this form back to Niger–Congo. If we establish such a relationship between Mel and Kru or between Mande and Dogon, we don't have enough reason to claim it Niger–Congo. In other words, all

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The term , as presently used, however, is not without its difficulties. On the one hand, it is employed as a referential label for a group of over 1,500 languages, putting it among the largest commonly cited language groups in the world. On the other hand, the term is also intended to embody a

2044:

The fact that ten vowels have been reconstructed for proto-Ijoid has led to the hypothesis that the original vowel inventory of Niger–Congo was a full ten-vowel system. On the other hand, Stewart, in recent comparative work, reconstructs a seven-vowel system for his proto-Potou-Akanic-Bantu.

1910:

The vowel inventory listed above is a ten-vowel language. This is a language in which all of the vowels of the language participate in the harmony system, producing five harmonic pairs. Vowel inventories of this type are still found in some branches of Niger–Congo, for example in the

1657:, which has consequently had a disproportionate influence on conceptions of what Proto–Niger–Congo may have been like. The only stage higher than Proto-Bantu that has been reconstructed is a pilot project by Stewart, who since the 1970s has reconstructed the common ancestor of the 1515:. In a 1911 work he established a basic division between 'East' and 'West'. A historical reconstruction of West Sudanic was published in 1927, and in his 1935 'Charakter und Einteilung der Sudansprachen' he conclusively established the relationship between Bantu and West Sudanic. 2102:

is thought to have been a tone language with two contrastive levels. Synchronic and comparative-historical studies of tone systems show that such a basic system can easily develop more tonal contrasts under the influence of depressor consonants or through the introduction of a

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all coming after the noun. The major exceptions are found in the western areas where verb-final word order predominates and genitives precede nouns, though other modifiers still come afterwards. Degree words almost always follow adjectives, and except in verb-final languages

1557:(2012) stated: "The hypothesis of kinship between Niger–Congo languages didn't appear as a result of discovery of numerous related forms, for example, in Mande and Adamawa. It appeared as a result of comparison between the Bantu languages, for which the classical 1798:) feature. In this type of vowel harmony, the position of the root of the tongue in regards to backness is the phonetic basis for the distinction between two harmonizing sets of vowels. In its fullest form, this type involves two classes, each of five vowels. 2061:

have originated under the influence of nasal vowels; this hypothesis is supported by the fact that there are several Niger–Congo languages that have been analysed as lacking nasal consonants altogether. Languages like this have nasal vowels accompanied with

1844:

There are two types of vowel harmony controllers in Niger–Congo. The first controller is the root. When a root contains a or vowel, then that value is applied to the rest of the word, which involves crossing morpheme boundaries. For example, suffixes in

2094:. A typical Niger–Congo tone system involves two or three contrastive level tones. Four-level systems are less widespread, and five-level systems are rare. Only a few Niger–Congo languages are non-tonal; Swahili is perhaps the best known, but within the 1586:

or groups, and classifications as well as reconstructions were made on lower levels. Compared with the volume of literature on Atlantic or Mande languages, the list of papers considering the aspects of Niger–Congo reconstruction per se is quite scarce."

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The verb-final languages of the Mende region have two quite unusual word order characteristics. Although verbs follow their direct objects, oblique adpositional phrases (like "in the house", "with timber") typically come after the verb, creating a

479:

The following is an overview of the language groups usually included in Niger–Congo. The genetic relationship of some branches is not universally accepted, and the cladistic connection between those who are accepted as related may also be unclear.

2450:. However, the structure SC-OC-VbStem (Subject concord, Object concord, Verb stem) found in the "verbal complex" of the SVO Bantu languages suggests an earlier SOV pattern (where the subject and object were at least represented by pronouns). 3877: 1460:

attempted a careful classification, the groupings of which in quite a number of cases correspond to modern groupings. An early sketch of the extent of Niger–Congo as one language family can be found in Koelle's observation, echoed in

1582:, apart from the recent inclusion of some of the Kordofanian groups, but not Niger–Congo as a whole. They list the following as separate families: Atlantic–Congo, Mande, Dogon, Ijoid, Lafofa, Katla-Tima, Heiban, Talodi, and Rashad. 1898:

Furthermore, the directionality of assimilation in root-controlled vowel harmony need not be specified. The root features and spread left and/or right as needed, so that no vowel would lack a specification and be ill-formed.

2445:

Whereas Claudi (1993) argues for SVO on the basis of existing SVO > SOV grammaticalization paths, Gensler (1997) points out that the notion of 'basic word order' is problematic as it excludes structures with, for example,

330:. The connection of the Mande languages especially has never been demonstrated, and without them, the validity of Niger–Congo family as a whole (as opposed to Atlantic–Congo or a similar subfamily) has not been established. 2354:

In the Bantu languages, where noun classification is particularly elaborate, it typically appears as prefixes, with verbs and adjectives marked according to the class of the noun they refer to. For example, in Swahili,

1777:

Several branches of Niger–Congo have a regular phonological contrast between two classes of consonants. Pending more clarity as to the precise nature of this contrast, it is commonly characterized as a contrast between

1522:

that Adamawa-Eastern, previously not considered to be related, was another member of this family; and that Fula belonged to the West Atlantic languages. Just before these articles were collected in final book form (

213:

system), and possibly several smaller groups of languages that are difficult to classify. If valid, Niger–Congo would be the world's largest in terms of member languages, the third-largest in terms of speakers, and

1907:

maintain their own value as well, but they affect the harmony process behind them. All of the vowels following an opaque vowel will harmonize with the value of the opaque vowel instead of the vowel of the root.

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change. Verbs are composed of a root followed by one or more extensional suffixes. Nouns consist of a root originally preceded by a noun class prefix of (C)V- shape which is often eroded by phonological change.

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of languages of uncertain genetic unity, spoken along the Ivory Coast, across southern Ghana and in central Togo, with a total of some 40 million speakers (2010s). The largest language in this group is

1764:(though it has not been reconstructed) is thought to have been CVCV, a structure still attested in, for example, Bantu, Mande and Ijoid – in many other branches this structure has been reduced through 1425: 1353:

region. These are minor languages, spoken by a total of about 100,000 people according to 1980s estimates. Katla and Rashad languages show isoglosses with Benue–Congo that the other families lack.

2323:, traces of which can be found in every branch of the family but Mande, Ijoid, Dogon, and the Katla and Rashad branches of Kordofanian. These noun-classification systems are somewhat analogous to 398:

An important unresolved issue in determining the time and place where the Niger–Congo languages originated and their range prior to recorded history is this language family's relationship to the

448:, as part of the Niger–Congo language family is disputed. Ubangian was grouped with Niger–Congo by Greenberg (1963), and later authorities concurred, but it was questioned by Dimmendaal (2008). 3896: 433:. These estimates of the place of origin of the Benue–Congo language family do not fix a date for the start of that expansion, other than that it must have been sufficiently prior to the 1488:

features still found in Bantu. The Bantuist Meinhof made a major distinction between Bantu and a 'Semi-Bantu' group which according to him was originally of the unrelated Sudanic stock.

1450:, one of the principal criteria used to distinguish different groupings was the languages' use of prefixes to classify nouns, or the lack thereof. A major advance came with the work of 1561:

was possible to be applied and which were reliably reconstructed, with other African languages. Niger–Congo does not exist without Bantu. We need to say clearly that if we establish a

2067:

invalidates two common assumptions about nasals: that all languages have at least one primary nasal consonant, and that if a language has only one primary nasal consonant it is /n/.

1841:

The roots are then divided into and categories. This feature is lexically assigned to the roots because there is no determiner within a normal root that causes the value.

239:

alone account for 350 million people (2015), or half the total Niger–Congo speaking population. The most widely spoken Niger–Congo languages by number of native speakers are

6231: 1465:(1856), that the Atlantic languages used prefixes just like many Southern African languages. Subsequent work of Bleek, and some decades later the comparative work of 648:

have been demonstrated to be Atlantic–Congo languages. It otherwise accepts the family but not its inclusion within a broader Niger–Congo. Glottolog also considers

6096: 827:: about 70 languages spoken in the Sahel and Savanna regions of West Africa, accounting for some 20 million speakers (2010). The largest language of this group is 1547:(1989). Kordofanian was presented as one of several primary branches rather than being coordinate to the family as a whole, prompting re-introduction of the term 3597:

le Saout (1973) for an early overview, Stewart (1976) for a diachronic, Volta–Congo wide analysis, Capo (1981) for a synchronic analysis of nasality in Gbe (see

3115: 3355: 235:

The proposed family would be the third-largest in the world by number of native speakers, with around 700 million people as of 2015. Within Niger–Congo, the

4198: 4060: 1691:' (now classified as Niger–Congo) were united. Gregersen (1972) proposed that Niger–Congo and Nilo-Saharan be united into a larger phylum, which he termed 3754: 1413: 1484:

considered Bantu to be of African origin, and many 'Mixed Negro languages' as products of an encounter between Bantu and intruding Asiatic languages.

1184: 6224: 3909:

The Bill Question: Contributions to the Study of Linguistics and Languages in Honor of Bill J. Darden on the Occasion of His Sixty-sixth Birthday

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The core phylum of the Niger–Congo group are the Atlantic–Congo languages. The non-Atlantic–Congo languages within Niger–Congo are grouped as

7342: 3916: 3890: 3624: 3259: 3213: 3170: 3141: 3099: 3015: 1607: 5721: 3695: 5611: 5192: 3733: 1599:

methods. The East/West Volta–Congo division, West/East Benue–Congo division, and North/South Bantoid division are not supported, whereas a

3079: 2995: 3601:), and Bole-Richard (1984, 1985) as cited in Williamson (1989) for similar reports on several Mande, Gur, Kru, Kwa, and Ubangi languages. 1619:

Good (2020) stated: "First proposed by Greenberg (1949), Niger–Congo (NC) has for decades been treated as one of the four major phyla of

7337: 2758: 2714: 1653:

of Proto–Niger–Congo in 2018. The most extensive reconstructions of lower-order Niger–Congo branches include several reconstructions of

1543:

Bennet and Sterk (1977) presented an internal reclassification based on lexicostatistics that laid the foundation for the regrouping in

7332: 4693: 2690: 2782:(the published results from a major project of the Institute of African and Asian Studies: the Language Survey of the Nuba Mountains.) 1562: 622:

Although the Kordofanian branch is generally included in the Niger–Congo languages, some researchers do not agree with its inclusion.

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assimilate to the value of the root to which they attach. The following examples of these suffixes alternate depending on the root.

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Stewart, John M. (2002). "The potential of Proto-Potou-Akanic-Bantu as a pilot Proto-Niger-Congo, and the reconstructions updated".

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Stewart, John M. (2002). "The potential of Proto-Potou-Akanic-Bantu as a pilot Proto-Niger-Congo, and the reconstructions updated".

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as well as time at which it started to expand is known with great specificity. Blench (2004), relying particularly on prior work by

5854: 1661:

and Bantu languages, without so far considering the hundreds of other languages which presumably descend from that same ancestor.

1603:

group consisting of Ekoid, Bendi, Dakoid, Jukunoid, Tivoid, Mambiloid, Beboid, Mamfe, Tikar, Grassfields, and Bantu is supported.

5093: 5012: 4948: 4191: 4047: 7301: 5625: 5376: 4867: 1636: 1540:. Greenberg's work on African languages, though initially greeted with scepticism, became the prevailing view among scholars. 392: 68: 3711:

Blench, Roger (January 1995). "Is Niger-Congo simply a branch of Nilo-Saharan?". In Nicolaï, Robert; Rottland, Franz (eds.).

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As noted by Williamson (1989:24). The assumptions are from Ferguson's (1963) 'Assumptions about nasals' in Greenberg (ed.)

6091: 4698: 4484: 4478: 4402: 1912: 6249: 5785: 5073: 1732: 1579: 814: 782: 520: 206: 123: 7068: 6101: 6086: 5086: 4844: 4805: 2423: 2419: 1703:(1995), who puts forward phonological, morphological and lexical evidence for uniting Niger–Congo and Nilo-Saharan in a 7161: 5860: 4718: 6572: 6558: 6081: 6075: 5133: 5051: 5024: 4728: 1508: 867:. Senufo has been placed traditionally within Gur but is now usually considered an early offshoot from Atlantic–Congo. 7112: 7061: 5647: 5105: 4763: 4723: 4713: 1446:

Niger–Congo as it is known today was only gradually recognized as a linguistic unit. In early classifications of the

4069: 6615: 6583: 5308: 4903: 4733: 4419: 4184: 4086: 3714:

Actes du Cinquième Colloque de Linguistique Nilo-Saharienne: 24 - 29 août 1992, Université de Nice Sophia-Antipolis

3370: 2063: 1596: 1094: 1058: 585: 310:) is widely accepted, the internal cladistic structure is not well established. Other primary branches may include 6674: 6501: 6492: 5866: 5842: 5817: 5790: 5773: 4681: 1040: 903: 569: 565: 534: 7275: 6302: 6059: 4783: 4738: 4708: 4207: 1708: 1688: 1684: 1480:, in his ambitious classification (1876–88), separated the 'Negro' and Bantu languages. Likewise, the Africanist 6695: 6283: 5538: 5370: 4425: 4241: 3038: 1658: 1031: 6962: 6106: 5913: 5550: 4432: 2107:. Languages which have more tonal levels tend to use tone more for lexical and less for grammatical contrasts. 1451: 810: 445: 174: 6352: 6276: 264: 3907:

Olson, Kenneth S. (2006). "On Niger-Congo Classification". In Darden, Bill J.; Aronson, Howard Isaac (eds.).

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hypothesis of genealogical relationship between the referential NC languages that has not been proven (p.139)

2041:

Note that in the nine-vowel language, the missing vowel is, in fact, , 's counterpart, as would be expected.

7311: 6942: 6920: 6762: 6551: 6395: 5111: 5036: 4439: 4389: 4116: 1524: 1292:, estimated at 1.6 million as of 2013. May have a noun-class system related to the Atlantic–Congo languages. 1140: 537:. It comprises more than 80% of the Niger–Congo speaking population, or close to 600 million people (2015). 7075: 6125: 5973: 5768: 5763: 5544: 5497: 5127: 5044: 4703: 4687: 4495: 4396: 4259: 4235: 4156: 1676: 1670: 391:

this language family, which is a key tool used in localising a language's place of origin. No definitive "

363:

The language family most likely originated in or near the area where these languages were spoken prior to

219: 4461: 3500:

Williamson, Kay (2000). "Towards reconstructing Proto-Niger-Congo". In Wolff, H. E.; Gensler, O. (eds.).

2074:, a language with a ten-vowel system employing ATR vowel harmony, has seven nasalized vowels. Similarly, 1642: 948:": a large group of languages centred on Nigeria, accounting for about 100 million speakers (late 2010s) 7252: 7131: 6933: 6814: 6652: 6542: 6171: 6069: 5758: 5561: 5351: 5340: 5302: 4909: 4883: 4788: 4778: 4377: 4228: 3186: 2465: 1646: 1554: 1496: 1431:

Table of demographic estimates in the same color code as the maps (est. 400 million speakers as of 2007)

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systems of its languages. Atlantic–Congo largely corresponds to Mukarovsky's "Western Nigritic" phylum.

629: 399: 104: 5872: 5597: 2924: 3292: 2489:

word order. Also noteworthy in these languages is the prevalence of internally headed and correlative

7306: 6146: 6031: 5903: 5711: 5684: 5667: 5635: 5533: 5247: 5172: 5099: 4878: 4855: 4827: 4758: 4669: 4450: 2655: 2384: 2191: 1795: 1481: 573: 524: 372: 1711:. However, fifteen years later his views had changed, with Blench (2011) proposing instead that the 6807: 6599: 5923: 5827: 5727: 5716: 5678: 5657: 5555: 5514: 5289: 5271: 5265: 5240: 5233: 5226: 5139: 5122: 4861: 4527: 4514: 4408: 4358: 4215: 3885:. Documents on Social Sciences and Humanities. Tervuren, Belgium: Royal Museum for Central Africa. 1595:

The coherence of Niger–Congo as a language phylum is supported by Grollemund, et al. (2016), using

1456: 1447: 1401: 1082: 437:

to allow for the diversification of the languages within this language family that includes Bantu.

383: 367:(i.e. West Africa or Central Africa). Its expansion may have been associated with the expansion of 346: 296: 215: 768: 592:, which account for 350 million people (2015), or half the total Niger–Congo speaking population. 307: 6747: 6517: 6428: 6258: 5837: 5832: 5822: 5805: 5800: 5795: 5779: 5748: 5743: 5696: 5690: 5641: 5586: 5509: 5393: 5357: 5318: 5260: 5067: 5062: 4773: 4532: 4501: 4467: 4455: 4414: 4289: 3830:

Dimmendaal, Gerrit (2008). "Language Ecology and Linguistic Diversity on the African Continent".

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The putative Niger–Congo languages outside of the Atlantic–Congo family are centred in the upper

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The strict genetic unity of any of these subgroups may themselves be under dispute. For example,

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Can Sino-Tibetan and Austroasiatic help us understand the evolution of Niger-Congo noun classes?

1476:

In many cases, wider classifications employed a blend of typological and racial criteria. Thus,

3677:

The Niger-Congo Languages: A Classification and Description of Africa's Largest Language Family

2591: 333:

One of the most distinctive characteristics common to Atlantic–Congo languages is the use of a

7140: 7047: 6716: 6531: 6385: 6359: 6339: 6267: 5939: 5928: 5908: 5848: 5753: 5733: 5672: 5652: 5363: 5324: 5295: 5283: 5220: 5166: 5144: 5117: 5057: 5030: 4849: 4810: 4800: 4768: 4641: 4567: 4549: 4543: 4445: 4363: 4277: 4246: 4094: 4077: 4024: 4014: 3995: 3939: 3931: 3912: 3886: 3718: 3680: 3655: 3531: 3505: 3425: 3313: 3255: 3209: 3166: 3158: 3137: 3129: 3095: 3011: 2895: 2874: 2597: 2570: 2523: 2515: 2270: 2233: 2175: 2099: 1761: 1736: 1696: 1680: 1620: 1613: 1600: 1512: 1203: 1169: 828: 789: 660:

to be independent language phyla that have not been demonstrated to be related to each other.

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of genealogical relationship between the referential NC languages that has not been proven."

1115:

Tivoid-Beboid: a large range of languages of southwestern Cameroon and southeastern Nigeria:

7208: 7154: 7147: 7105: 7054: 6870: 6730: 6723: 6659: 6631: 6592: 6524: 6464: 6458: 6402: 6333: 6320: 6156: 6016: 6006: 6001: 5996: 5955: 5949: 5944: 5918: 5811: 5706: 5630: 5568: 5520: 5455: 5448: 5441: 5434: 5427: 5416: 5400: 5335: 5330: 5313: 5254: 5148: 5080: 4991: 4958: 4936: 4926: 4822: 4794: 4743: 4664: 4648: 4634: 4616: 4609: 4595: 4555: 4537: 4521: 4507: 4329: 4312: 3978: 3851: 3839: 3810: 3789: 3580: 3552: 3481: 3454: 3400: 3199: 3087: 3003: 2687: 2663: 2380: 2292: 2241: 2199: 2161: 2149: 2137: 2133: 1779: 1518: 1372: 1367: 1362: 1357: 1323: 1317: 1270: 1199: 1144: 1116: 1064: 864: 839: 641: 637: 633: 508: 387: 327: 292: 272: 252: 98: 3091: 3007: 2057:

in Niger–Congo. In his reconstruction of proto-Volta–Congo, Steward (1976) postulates that

741: 410: 7191: 7184: 7178: 7099: 6952: 6948: 6904: 6890: 6777: 6702: 6645: 6638: 6624: 6565: 6477: 6444: 6437: 6151: 6026: 6011: 5980: 5701: 5662: 5527: 5473: 5345: 5207: 4973: 4968: 4833: 4748: 4629: 4622: 4602: 4584: 4489: 4472: 4271: 4160: 4144: 4133: 4126: 4120: 4090: 4073: 3625:"Niger-Congo languages – Widespread characteristics of Niger-Congo languages | Britannica" 2860:

Williamson, Kay; Blench, Roger (2000). "Niger-Congo". In Bernd Heine; Derek Nurse (eds.).

2694: 2490: 2435: 2431: 2427: 2255: 2195: 2187: 2183: 2171: 2145: 2075: 1712: 1567: 1470: 1377: 1329: 1313: 1307: 1295: 1281: 1258: 1250: 1246: 1179: 1159: 1150: 1120: 1102: 1098: 1089: 955: 860: 798: 794: 772: 683:

Atlantic group accounts for about 35 million speakers as of 2016, mostly accounted for by

657: 653: 649: 616: 589: 577: 504: 500: 496: 488: 484: 456: 452: 434: 414: 364: 358: 323: 315: 311: 240: 236: 202: 194: 180: 117: 92: 86: 80: 55: 3962:

Towards Volta-Congo reconstruction: a comparative study of some languages of Black-Africa

1532:

as a branch co-ordinate with Niger–Congo as a whole; consequently, he renamed the family

911:

of West African languages, accounting for roughly 110–120 million speakers (late 2010s).

2659: 7267: 7260: 7222: 7214: 7040: 6996: 6928: 6845: 6789: 6741: 6688: 6682: 6605: 6470: 6418: 6413: 6408: 6345: 6326: 6161: 6021: 5990: 5961: 5592: 5478: 5461: 5411: 5406: 5277: 5214: 4984: 4978: 4898: 4893: 4839: 4816: 4561: 4383: 4340: 4323: 4317: 4295: 4283: 3118:. Towards Proto-Niger-Congo: comparison and reconstruction (2nd International Congress) 2447: 2337: 2278: 2237: 2203: 2179: 2153: 2141: 2129: 2079: 2071: 1846: 1716: 1650: 1392: 1346: 1299: 1262: 1213: 1209: 1173: 1136: 1132: 1076: 1023: 971: 728: 699: 688: 492: 418: 319: 276: 268: 2300:

Abbreviations used: T top, H high, M mid, L low, B bottom, PA/S pitch-accent or stress

7326: 7283: 7229: 7094: 7006: 7001: 6992: 6987: 6983: 6978: 6937: 6883: 6877: 6863: 6856: 6801: 6795: 6784: 6771: 6709: 6451: 6390: 6379: 6370: 6315: 6309: 6290: 6045: 5985: 5967: 5483: 5467: 5421: 5178: 4998: 4963: 4953: 4931: 4888: 4753: 4334: 4266: 4009:

Williamson, Kay; Blench, Roger. "Niger-Congo". In Heine, Bernd; Nurse, Derek (eds.).

3843: 3598: 3458: 3060: 2808:, edited by E. J. Alagoa, F. N. Anozie and N. Nzewunwa. Hamburg: Helmut Buske Verlag. 2469: 2274: 2229: 2225: 2215: 2207: 2157: 1791: 1757: 1740: 1462: 1388: 1384: 1234: 1217: 980: 914: 888: 878: 844: 823: 776: 755: 733: 723: 717: 707: 684: 645: 608: 581: 561: 557: 553: 421:

and P. De Wolf, argued that Benue–Congo probably originated at the confluence of the

413:, the largest subfamily of the group. Within Benue–Congo, the place of origin of the 284: 280: 248: 244: 111: 4054: 2668: 2643: 1699:, morphological resemblances, and lexical similarities. A more recent proponent was 7010: 6974: 6970: 6850: 6820: 6736: 6296: 4942: 3246: 2345: 2245: 2211: 1700: 1511:, a pupil of Meinhof, set out to establish the internal classification of the then 1466: 1285: 1269:

families). They account for a total population of about 100 million (2015), mostly

1154: 1070: 1010: 965: 934: 680: 596: 379: 260: 256: 4166: 4100: 3472:

Doneux, Jean L. (1975). "Hypothèses pour la comparative des langues atlantiques".

2804:

Williamson, K. 1988. "Linguistic evidence for the prehistory of the Niger Delta".

2593:

Sociolinguistics: An International Handbook of the Science of Language and Society

831:, with over 12 million speakers. Gur and Adamawa-Ubangi have also been grouped as 17: 4137: 6836: 2453: 2054: 1720: 1675:

Over the years, several linguists have suggested a link between Niger–Congo and

1654: 1529: 1303: 1274: 1254: 1238: 848: 764: 426: 422: 3780:

Casali, Roderic F. (1995). "On the Reduction of Vowel Systems in Volta-Congo".

3543:

Casali, Roderic F. (1995). "On the Reduction of Vowel Systems in Volta-Congo".

3114:

Rebecca Grollemund, Simon Branford, Jean-Marie Hombert & Mark Pagel. 2016.

3046:

Towards Proto-Niger-Congo: Comparison and Reconstruction International Congress

1645:(or Proto-Atlantic–Congo) has not been comprehensively reconstructed, although 4589: 3793: 3556: 3405: 3388: 2843:

Blench, R. M. 1989. "A proposed new classification of Benue–Congo languages".

2478: 2439: 2320: 2058: 1728: 1624: 1014: 760: 664: 334: 228: 210: 3943: 3935: 3767:

Capo, Hounkpati B.C. (1981). "Nasality in Gbe: A Synchronic Interpretation".

3650:

Haspelmath, Martin; Dryer, Matthew S.; Gil, David and Comrie, Bernard (eds.)

2877:(2008) "Language Ecology and Linguistic Diversity on the African Continent", 2379:

The same Atlantic–Congo languages which have noun classes also have a set of

179:

Map showing the distribution of major Niger–Congo languages. Pink-red is the

4176: 4028: 3321:(PhD dissertation). Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. p. ii. 3190: 2629: 2461: 2404: 1765: 1724: 1695:. His evidence was mainly based on the uncertainty in the classification of 1574: 624: 395:" lexicon or grammar has been developed for the language family as a whole. 161: 145: 141: 3485: 3204: 2892:

Disorders of Hemoglobin: Genetics, Pathophysiology, and Clinical Management

1349:. "Kordofanian" is a geographic grouping, not a genetic one, named for the 4042: 3992:

African Voices: An Introduction to the Languages and Linguistics of Africa

3982: 3814: 3801:

Der-Houssikian, Haig (1972). "The Evidence for a Niger-Congo Hypothesis".

3584: 3502:

Proceedings of the 2nd World Congress of African Linguistics, Leipzig 1997

152: 4066: 3230:

Historical linguistics and genealogical language classification in Africa

2945: 2473: 2104: 2078:

has seven oral vowels and only five nasal ones. However, the language of

1350: 1242: 951: 797:, spoken by an estimated total of 1.6 million as of 1996; the largest is 222:

has almost as many member languages, although this is complicated by the

4171: 4083: 2422:

word order is quite widespread among today's Niger–Congo languages, but

6209: 3822: 2684:

The African Frontier: The Reproduction of Traditional African Societies

2282: 1019: 930: 703: 468: 464: 459:, leading to the assimilation and extinction of many of the indigenous 430: 354: 223: 3424:. Current Studies in Linguistics. Vol. 25. Cambridge: MIT Press. 3192:

The numeral system of Proto-Niger-Congo: A step-by-step reconstruction

2070:

Niger–Congo languages commonly show fewer nasalized than oral vowels.

7245: 6166: 6064: 3332:

Clements, G. N. (1981). "Akan vowel harmony: A non-linear analysis".

997: 976: 48: 2745:

Historical inferences from linguistic research in sub-Saharan Africa

337:

system, which is essentially a gender system with multiple genders.

3712: 3198:. Niger-Congo Comparative Studies. Berlin: Language Science Press. 2644:"The demographic response to Holocene climate change in the Sahara" 6831: 3065:

Journal of the Association for the Study of Language in Prehistory

1495: 961: 926: 918: 892: 856: 711: 691:

speakers. Atlantic is not considered to constitute a valid group.

460: 403: 368: 4113: 1743:

of Niger–Congo, and the lexical similarities being due to loans.

3291:(2–3). Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics. Archived from 2438:. As a result, there has been quite some debate as to the basic 1760:

of the type CV (Consonant Vowel). The typical word structure of

1289: 943: 922: 852: 6213: 6185:

Families with question marks (?) are disputed or controversial.

4180: 4153: 3445:

Casali, Roderic F. (2008). "ATR Harmony in African Languages".

2715:"The Benue-Congo languages: a proposed internal classification" 1727:

number system, triggered the development or elaboration of the

1679:, probably starting with Westermann's comparative work on the " 3128:

Dimmendaal, Gerrit J.; Crevels, Mily; Muysken, Pieter (2020).

2545: 2543: 1715:

system of Central Sudanic, commonly reflected in a tripartite

896: 572:(or "East Benue–Congo"). Volta–Niger includes the two largest 2053:

Several scholars have documented a contrast between oral and

455:, beginning around 1000 BC, swept across much of Central and 440:

The classification of the relatively divergent family of the

2090:

The large majority of present-day Niger–Congo languages are

1504:

laid much of the basis for the understanding of Niger–Congo.

291:. The most widely spoken by the total number of speakers is 4149: 2821:. J. Bendor-Samuel ed. Lanham: University Press of America. 1326:, spoken in Dogon country but seemingly unrelated to Dogon. 937:(7 million speakers in 2017) is the largest and best known. 813:. May be an independent family or grouped with Adamawa as " 793:: close to 100 languages and dialects scattered across the 371:

agriculture in the African Neolithic period, following the

295:, which is used as a lingua franca in parts of eastern and 2082:

has a nasal equivalent for each of its seven oral vowels.

1261:), and far to the east in south-central Sudan, around the 907:(also known as "West Benue–Congo" or "East Kwa"): a large 3952: 3926:

le Saout, J. (1973). "Languages sans consonnes nasales".

2791:

Williamson, K. 1971. "The Benue–Congo languages and Ijo"

2620:, Twenty-first edition. Dallas, Texas: SIL International. 895:, with about 22 million speakers as of 2014, followed by 409:

There is more agreement regarding the place of origin of

3078:

Storch, Anne; Dimmendaal, Gerrit J. (11 February 2016).

2112:

Contrastive levels of tone in some Niger–Congo languages

4084:

Swadesh lists of African proto-language reconstructions

3480:. Tervuren: Musée Royal de l'Afrique Centrale: 41–129. 3061:"Joseph Greenberg and the Current State of Niger-Congo" 1958:

And seven-vowel languages have one of two inventories:

1610:(ASJP) also groups many Niger–Congo branches together. 556:. Outside of the Savannas group, Volta–Congo comprises 3675:

Bendor-Samuel, John; Hartell, Rhonda L., eds. (1989).

2747:. Boston University Papers in African History, 1:1–15. 1707:

phylum, with special affinity between Niger–Congo and

226:; the number of named Niger–Congo languages listed by 3654:; pp 346–385. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. 3130:"Patterns of dispersal and diversification in Africa" 2456:

in most Niger–Congo languages are characteristically

1578:(2013) accepts the core with noun-class systems, the 1187:, for a total of between 250 and 550 named languages. 801:, accounting for about a quarter of Adamawa speakers. 3369:(1). Summer Institute of Linguistics. Archived from 3240: 3238: 2616:

Simons, Gary F. and Charles D. Fennig (eds.). 2018.

2319:

Niger–Congo languages are known for their system of

224:

ambiguity about what constitutes a distinct language

7294: 7238: 7201: 7171: 7130: 7085: 7030: 7023: 6961: 6919: 6912: 6903: 6829: 6761: 6673: 6614: 6582: 6541: 6509: 6500: 6491: 6427: 6369: 6266: 6257: 6248: 6139: 6116: 6044: 5888: 5610: 5578: 5496: 5385: 5191: 5158: 5011: 4919: 4663: 4577: 4354: 4305: 4214: 3039:"From Atlantic to Niger-Congo: three, two, one ..." 1528:) in 1963, he amended his classification by adding 1022:: group of languages of central Nigeria, including 160: 140: 135: 74: 64: 54: 42: 32: 4101:Phonologies and orthographies of African languages 3307: 3305: 3275: 3273: 3271: 3254:. Cascadilla Proceedings Project. pp. 70–71. 3159:"Niger-Congo, With A Special Focus On Benue Congo" 2994:Dimmendaal, Gerrit J.; Storch, Anne (2016-02-11). 2709: 2707: 2518:. In Vossen, Rainer; Gerrit J. Dimmendaal (eds.). 2516:"Niger-Congo, with a special focus on Benue-Congo" 1756:Niger–Congo languages have a clear preference for 1735:, with tripartite number marking surviving in the 1502:Die Sudansprachen: Eine sprachvergleichende Studie 3349: 3347: 2855: 2853: 2497:the relative clause rather than the main clause. 1208:other languages unclassified within Benue–Congo: 847:(about 3 million speakers as of 2010), spoken in 663:The Atlantic–Congo group is characterised by the 3876:Nurse, Derek; Rose, Sarah; Hewson, John (2016). 3420:Archangeli, Diana; Pulleyblank, Douglas (1994). 3134:Language Dispersal, Diversification, and Contact 3037:Pozdniakov, Konstantin (September 18–21, 2012). 3717:. Nilo-Saharan. Vol. 10. pp. 83–130. 3696:"South Central Niger-Congo: A reclassification" 3356:"Nawuri ATR Harmony in Typological Perspective" 2817:Williamson, K. 1989. "Benue–Congo Overview" in 3528:Towards Volta-Congo Reconstruction : Rede 2795:, 7. ed. T. Sebeok 245–306. The Hague: Mouton. 1345:are spoken in south-central Sudan, around the 6225: 4192: 3863:Gregersen, Edgar A. (1972). "Kongo-Saharan". 3646: 3644: 2976: 2974: 2972: 2864:. Cambridge University Press. pp. 11–12. 2522:. Oxford University Press. pp. 139–160. 1395:languages are often assigned to Niger–Congo. 568:(also "East Kwa" or "West Benue–Congo"), and 8: 6195:Families with more than 30 languages are in 4172:Journal of African Languages and Linguistics 3971:Journal of African Languages and Linguistics 3573:Journal of African Languages and Linguistics 4063:, Derek Nurse, Sarah Rose & John Hewson 4055:An Evaluation of Niger–Congo Classification 3694:Bennett, Patrick R.; Sterk, Jan P. (1977). 2780:The Nuba Mountains: Who Spoke What in 1976? 1419:Overview map of Benin, Nigeria and Cameroon 809:: a group of minor languages spoken in the 27:Large language family of Sub-Saharan Africa 7027: 6916: 6909: 6506: 6497: 6263: 6254: 6232: 6218: 6210: 6052: 5618: 5502: 5199: 5017: 4674: 4369: 4220: 4199: 4185: 4177: 3614:, pp 50–60 as cited in Williamson art.cit. 2925:"Roger Blench: Niger-Congo reconstruction" 2832:The noun class system of Proto-Benue–Congo 2569:. Cambridge University Press. p. 11. 1306:(3 million as of 2011), plus the moribund 3404: 3203: 2667: 2563:Heine, Bernd; Nurse, Derek (2000-08-03). 2383:and other verbal extensions, such as the 1671:Nilo-Saharan languages § Blench 2006 954:: 50 million speakers (2010s), including 351:Sub-Saharan Africa § Genetic history 3911:. Slavica Publishers. pp. 153–190. 3289:Occasional Papers in Applied Linguistics 3165:. Oxford University Press. p. 139. 3163:The Oxford Handbook of African Languages 3136:. Oxford University Press. p. 201. 2642:Manning, Katie; Timpson, Adrian (2014). 2520:The Oxford Handbook of African Languages 2109: 2000: 1960: 1917: 1851: 1800: 1687:' (now classified as Nilo-Saharan) and ' 1101:spread across Sub-Saharan Africa in the 373:desiccation of the Sahara in c. 3500 BCE 3504:. Köln: Rüdiger Köppe. pp. 49–70. 3116:Genetic unity of the Niger-Congo family 2996:"Niger-Congo: A brief state of the art" 2506: 2399:'to love each other'; also applicative 1397: 4067:Preliminary Niger–Congo classification 3652:The World Atlas of Language Structures 2721:. Lanham: University Press of America. 1013:: a minor dialect continuum spoken in 402:, now spoken in the Nuba mountains of 347:Linguistic homeland § Niger–Congo 29: 3930:. Série H, Linguistique (in French). 3530:. Leiden: Universitaire Pers Leiden. 3084:Oxford Handbook Topics in Linguistics 2688:Igbo Language Roots and (Pre)-History 2426:is found in branches as divergent as 1608:Automated Similarity Judgment Program 1566:Niger–Congo languages are equal, but 73: 7: 3104:– via www.oxfordhandbooks.com. 3092:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199935345.013.3 3008:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199935345.013.3 2894:, Cambridge University Press, 2001, 2806:The early history of the Niger Delta 1320:, estimated at 70 million as of 2016 1026:with 1 to 2 million speakers (2010s) 720:, sometimes grouped with Senegambian 628:3.4 (2019) does not accept that the 533:, which do not form one branch, and 3248:Harmony in an Eleven Vowel Language 2632:, "The Language Gulper", March 2015 2596:. Walter de Gruyter. p. 2036. 2553:, "aboutworldlanguages", March 2015 2493:, in both of which the head occurs 1570:are "more equal" than the others." 306:of the core of Niger–Congo (called 4114:Linguistique et Langues Africaines 4011:African Languages: An Introduction 2909:"Niger-Congo: an alternative view" 2862:African Languages: An Introduction 2618:Ethnologue: Languages of the World 2566:African Languages: An Introduction 25: 4167:Journal of West African languages 4150:Nordic Journal of African Studies 3928:Annales de l'Université d'Abidjan 3741:. CALL 41. Leiden. Archived from 3363:Journal of West African Languages 1492:Westermann, Greenberg, and others 855:, with a geographical outlier in 588:group, which is dominated by the 4041: 3844:10.1111/j.1749-818X.2008.00085.x 3832:Language and Linguistics Compass 3762:. Nuba Hills Conference. Leiden. 3459:10.1111/j.1749-818X.2008.00064.x 3447:Language and Linguistics Compass 2982:Niger-Congo: an alternative view 2879:Language and Linguistics Compass 1424: 1412: 1400: 1241:river basins, south and west of 173: 4061:Tense and Aspect in Niger–Congo 3879:Tense and Aspect in Niger-Congo 3756:Should Kordofanian be split up? 3679:. University Press of America. 2669:10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.07.003 2302:Adapted from Williamson 1989:27 644:) or the difficult-to-classify 218:in terms of geographical area. 3782:African Languages and Cultures 3769:Studies in African Linguistics 3700:Studies in African Linguistics 3545:African Languages and Cultures 3393:Studies in African Linguistics 3389:"ATR vowel harmony in Akposso" 3315:Harmony, Dominance and Control 2098:branch some others are found. 209:(which share a characteristic 1: 7106:Samogo (partial: Duun–Sembla) 2793:Current Trends in Linguistics 2551:"Niger-Congo Language Family" 2332:while the Swahili people are 1913:Ghana Togo Mountain languages 1106: 1001: 7343:Niger-Congo-speaking peoples 3964:(Speech). Leiden University. 3865:Journal of African Languages 3334:Harvard Studies in Phonology 1790:Many Niger–Congo languages' 1665:Niger–Congo and Nilo-Saharan 1194:Central Nigerian (Platoid): 529:Atlantic–Congo combines the 197:spoken over the majority of 7062:Soso–Jalonke (Susu–Yalunka) 3994:. Oxford University Press. 3953:"RefLex: Reference Lexicon" 3858:. Indiana University Press. 3803:Cahiers d'Études Africaines 3354:Casali, Roderic F. (2002). 3157:Good, Jeff (Mar 19, 2020). 2964:A Study of Western Nigritic 2845:Afrikanische Arbeitspapiere 2759:"Unpublished Working Draft" 2336:Likewise, in Ubangian, the 584:. Benue–Congo includes the 7359: 7338:Proposed language families 2734:. Berlin: Dietrich Reimer. 2686:(1989), 9–10 (cited after 2648:Quaternary Science Reviews 2064:complementary distribution 1668: 1637:Proto-Niger–Congo language 1634: 1597:computational phylogenetic 1383:The endangered or extinct 518: 344: 69:Proto-Niger–Congo language 6180: 6055: 5621: 5505: 5202: 5020: 4677: 4372: 4223: 4208:Primary language families 3960:Stewart, John M. (1976). 3794:10.1080/09544169508717790 3557:10.1080/09544169508717790 3526:Stewart, John M. (1976). 3406:10.32473/sal.v28i2.107372 2819:The Niger–Congo Languages 2719:The Niger–Congo Languages 2298: 1332:, once classified as Kru. 1097:: includes the far-flung 619:are not coherent groups. 172: 56:Linguistic classification 37: 5025:Arnhem/Macro-Gunwinyguan 3951:Segerer, G; Flavier, S. 3387:Anderson, C. G. (1999). 3282:"Vowel Harmony in Wolof" 3245:Morton, Deborah (2012). 1733:Atlantic–Congo languages 1580:Atlantic–Congo languages 1452:Sigismund Wilhelm Koelle 811:Central African Republic 521:Atlantic–Congo languages 446:Central African Republic 207:Atlantic–Congo languages 60:Proposed language family 6192:have no living members. 3856:The Languages of Africa 3599:Gbe languages: nasality 3561:(Re: proto-Volta-Conga) 3059:Babaev, Kirill (2013). 3000:Oxford Handbooks Online 2743:Greenberg, J. H. 1964. 2630:"Niger-Congo Languages" 1590:Oxford Handbooks Online 1525:The Languages of Africa 1302:, the languages of the 6172:Unclassified languages 6126:list of sign languages 5094:Northeastern Tasmanian 3753:Blench, Roger (2011). 3732:Blench, Roger (2011). 3612:Universals of Language 3486:10.3406/aflin.1975.892 3312:Bakovic, Eric (2000). 3280:Unseth, Carla (2009). 3228:Tom Gueldemann (2018) 3205:10.5281/zenodo.1311704 3187:Pozdniakov, Konstantin 2730:Westermann, D. 1922a. 2590:Ammon, Ulrich (2006). 1505: 1473:as a linguistic unit. 1469:, solidly established 1437:Classification history 7333:Niger–Congo languages 6147:Constructed languages 4050:at Wikimedia Commons 4048:Niger-Congo languages 3983:10.1515/jall.2002.012 3815:10.3406/cea.1972.2768 3585:10.1515/jall.2002.012 3298:on September 3, 2013. 2980:Blench, Roger. 2012. 2890:Martin H. Steinberg, 2732:Die Sprache der Guang 2271:Mandinka (Senegambia) 1647:Konstantin Pozdniakov 1499: 1442:Early classifications 1343:Kordofanian languages 1034:(moribund or extinct) 696:Senegambian languages 519:Further information: 471:) populations there. 400:Kordofanian languages 345:Further information: 4694:Binanderean–Goilalan 3852:Greenberg, Joseph H. 3490:(Re: proto-Atlantic) 3474:Africana Linguistica 2962:Hans G. Mukarovsky, 2834:. The Hague: Mouton. 2766:www.rogerblench.info 2357:watu wazuri wataenda 1796:advanced tongue root 1563:genetic relationship 1482:Karl Richard Lepsius 958:(c. 40 million 2017) 899:(9 million in 2015). 710:, spoken across the 574:languages of Nigeria 525:Languages of Nigeria 6459:Ngbaka (Mundu–Baka) 5976:(Maku-Auari/Jukude) 5879:Tequiraca–Canichana 5722:Harákmbut–Katukinan 4485:Northwest Caucasian 4479:Northeast Caucasian 4403:Chukotko-Kamchatkan 2847:, Köln, 17:115–147. 2778:Herman Bell. 1995. 2660:2014QSRv..101...28M 2514:Good, Jeff (2020). 2481:are prepositional. 2420:subject-verb-object 2328:language is called 2321:noun classification 2315:Noun classification 2114: 1683:" family in which ' 1457:Polyglotta Africana 1448:languages of Africa 1316:: languages of the 1284:: languages of the 1047:(East Benue–Congo) 843:: languages of the 759:: languages of the 599:(2012) argued that 384:Diedrich Westermann 302:While the ultimate 297:southeastern Africa 7069:Southwestern Mande 5598:Tarascan/Purépecha 5087:Northern Tasmanian 4845:South Bougainville 4806:North Bougainville 4159:2020-07-11 at the 4143:2021-01-27 at the 4132:2011-01-04 at the 4119:2021-01-13 at the 4089:2021-08-08 at the 4072:2021-05-09 at the 4013:. pp. 11–42. 3990:Webb, Vic (2001). 3629:www.britannica.com 3422:Grounded Phonology 3376:on March 30, 2014. 2927:. Rogerblench.info 2914:. Rogerblench.info 2830:De Wolf, P. 1971. 2693:2019-07-17 at the 2403:'to love for' and 2325:grammatical gender 2110: 1794:is based on the ( 1649:reconstructed the 1559:comparative method 1506: 1500:Westermann's 1911 1454:, who in his 1854 968:(24 million 2010s) 833:Savannas languages 531:Atlantic languages 442:Ubangian languages 199:sub-Saharan Africa 193:is a hypothetical 18:Niger–Congo family 7320: 7319: 7302:Proto-Niger–Congo 7126: 7125: 7122: 7121: 7019: 7018: 6899: 6898: 6757: 6756: 6669: 6668: 6573:Upper Cross River 6559:Lower Cross River 6487: 6486: 6327:Mbum (Kebi–Benue) 6207: 6206: 6157:Language isolates 6135: 6134: 6040: 6039: 5606: 5605: 5492: 5491: 5187: 5186: 5134:Western Tasmanian 5052:Eastern Tasmanian 5007: 5006: 4729:East Geelvink Bay 4659: 4658: 4350: 4349: 4127:Journal Mandenkan 4095:Guillaume Segerer 4078:Guillaume Segerer 4046:Media related to 3918:978-0-89357-330-0 3892:978-9-4922-4429-1 3516:(Re: proto-Ijoid) 3261:978-1-57473-453-9 3215:978-3-96110-098-9 3172:978-0-19-960989-5 3143:978-0-19-872381-3 3101:978-0-19-993534-5 3017:978-0-19-993534-5 2946:"Glottolog 3.4 -" 2875:Gerrit Dimmendaal 2381:verb applicatives 2375:Verbal extensions 2307: 2306: 2303: 2113: 2100:Proto–Niger–Congo 2039: 2038: 1999: 1998: 1956: 1955: 1896: 1895: 1839: 1838: 1762:Proto–Niger–Congo 1643:Proto–Niger–Congo 1621:African languages 1538:Niger–Kordofanian 1534:Congo-Kordofanian 1513:Sudanic languages 1185:Guthrie zones A–S 983:(24 million 2011) 564:(or "West Kwa"), 444:, centred in the 393:Proto-Niger–Congo 188: 187: 129: 108: 16:(Redirected from 7350: 7276:Serengeti-Dorobo 7088:(Samogo–Soninke) 7033:(Manding–Kpelle) 7028: 6917: 6910: 6616:Southern Bantoid 6584:Northern Bantoid 6507: 6498: 6264: 6255: 6234: 6227: 6220: 6211: 6053: 6007:Huaorani/Waorani 5891:(extant in 2000) 5855:Esmeralda–Yaruro 5626:Andoque–Urequena 5619: 5503: 5309:Plateau Penutian 5200: 5175:(Northern Daly?) 5018: 4904:Northwest Papuan 4868:Trans–New Guinea 4734:East New Britain 4709:Central Solomons 4675: 4420:Great Andamanese 4370: 4221: 4201: 4194: 4187: 4178: 4045: 4032: 4005: 3986: 3965: 3956: 3947: 3922: 3903: 3901: 3895:. Archived from 3884: 3872: 3859: 3847: 3826: 3797: 3776: 3763: 3761: 3749: 3747: 3740: 3728: 3707: 3690: 3662: 3648: 3639: 3638: 3636: 3635: 3621: 3615: 3608: 3602: 3595: 3589: 3588: 3568: 3562: 3560: 3541: 3523: 3517: 3515: 3497: 3491: 3489: 3469: 3463: 3462: 3442: 3436: 3435: 3417: 3411: 3410: 3408: 3384: 3378: 3377: 3375: 3360: 3351: 3342: 3341: 3329: 3323: 3322: 3320: 3309: 3300: 3299: 3297: 3286: 3277: 3266: 3265: 3253: 3242: 3233: 3226: 3220: 3219: 3207: 3197: 3183: 3177: 3176: 3154: 3148: 3147: 3125: 3119: 3112: 3106: 3105: 3075: 3069: 3068: 3056: 3050: 3049: 3043: 3034: 3028: 3027: 3025: 3024: 2991: 2985: 2978: 2967: 2960: 2954: 2953: 2942: 2936: 2935: 2933: 2932: 2922: 2920: 2919: 2913: 2905: 2899: 2888: 2882: 2872: 2866: 2865: 2857: 2848: 2841: 2835: 2828: 2822: 2815: 2809: 2802: 2796: 2789: 2783: 2776: 2770: 2769: 2763: 2754: 2748: 2741: 2735: 2728: 2722: 2711: 2702: 2680: 2674: 2673: 2671: 2639: 2633: 2627: 2621: 2614: 2608: 2607: 2587: 2581: 2580: 2560: 2554: 2549:Irene Thompson, 2547: 2538: 2537: 2511: 2491:relative clauses 2442:of Niger–Congo. 2299: 2115: 2111: 2059:nasal consonants 2001: 1961: 1918: 1852: 1801: 1780:fortis and lenis 1519:Joseph Greenberg 1478:Friedrich Müller 1428: 1416: 1404: 1373:Rashad languages 1368:Lafofa languages 1363:Heiban languages 1358:Talodi languages 1111: 1108: 1095:Southern Bantoid 1059:Northern Bantoid 1006: 1003: 1000:: c. 3 million ( 993: 992: 947: 946: 586:Southern Bantoid 495:(sometimes with 388:Joseph Greenberg 216:Africa's largest 201:. It unites the 177: 156: 155: 127: 102: 30: 21: 7358: 7357: 7353: 7352: 7351: 7349: 7348: 7347: 7323: 7322: 7321: 7316: 7295:Proto-languages 7290: 7234: 7197: 7167: 7118: 7087: 7081: 7032: 7015: 6957: 6895: 6834: 6825: 6753: 6665: 6610: 6578: 6537: 6483: 6423: 6365: 6244: 6238: 6208: 6203: 6202: 6176: 6162:Mixed languages 6131: 6112: 6047: 6036: 5890: 5884: 5739:Katembri–Taruma 5613: 5602: 5574: 5488: 5381: 5194: 5183: 5154: 5003: 4915: 4874:Turama–Kikorian 4784:Lower Mamberamo 4739:East Strickland 4667: 4655: 4573: 4361: 4356: 4346: 4301: 4210: 4205: 4161:Wayback Machine 4145:Wayback Machine 4134:Wayback Machine 4121:Wayback Machine 4091:Wayback Machine 4074:Wayback Machine 4057:, Kenneth Olson 4039: 4021: 4008: 4002: 3989: 3968: 3959: 3950: 3925: 3919: 3906: 3899: 3893: 3882: 3875: 3862: 3850: 3829: 3800: 3779: 3766: 3759: 3752: 3745: 3738: 3731: 3725: 3710: 3693: 3687: 3674: 3671: 3669:Further reading 3666: 3665: 3649: 3642: 3633: 3631: 3623: 3622: 3618: 3609: 3605: 3596: 3592: 3570: 3569: 3565: 3542: 3538: 3525: 3524: 3520: 3512: 3499: 3498: 3494: 3471: 3470: 3466: 3444: 3443: 3439: 3432: 3419: 3418: 3414: 3386: 3385: 3381: 3373: 3358: 3353: 3352: 3345: 3331: 3330: 3326: 3318: 3311: 3310: 3303: 3295: 3284: 3279: 3278: 3269: 3262: 3251: 3244: 3243: 3236: 3227: 3223: 3216: 3195: 3185: 3184: 3180: 3173: 3156: 3155: 3151: 3144: 3127: 3126: 3122: 3113: 3109: 3102: 3077: 3076: 3072: 3058: 3057: 3053: 3041: 3036: 3035: 3031: 3022: 3020: 3018: 2993: 2992: 2988: 2979: 2970: 2961: 2957: 2944: 2943: 2939: 2930: 2928: 2923: 2917: 2915: 2911: 2907: 2906: 2902: 2889: 2885: 2873: 2869: 2859: 2858: 2851: 2842: 2838: 2829: 2825: 2816: 2812: 2803: 2799: 2790: 2786: 2777: 2773: 2761: 2757:Blench, Roger. 2756: 2755: 2751: 2742: 2738: 2729: 2725: 2713:Blench, Roger, 2712: 2705: 2695:Wayback Machine 2682:Igor Kopytoff, 2681: 2677: 2641: 2640: 2636: 2628: 2624: 2615: 2611: 2604: 2589: 2588: 2584: 2577: 2562: 2561: 2557: 2548: 2541: 2530: 2513: 2512: 2508: 2503: 2416: 2377: 2317: 2312: 2301: 2258:(Benue–Congo), 2088: 2051: 1881:'nominalizing' 1788: 1775: 1754: 1749: 1747:Common features 1713:noun-classifier 1709:Central Sudanic 1689:Western Sudanic 1685:Eastern Sudanic 1673: 1667: 1641:The lexicon of 1639: 1633: 1568:Bantu languages 1494: 1444: 1439: 1432: 1429: 1420: 1417: 1408: 1405: 1378:Katla languages 1339: 1308:Defaka language 1231: 1183:: divided into 1110: 1000 BCE 1109: 1103:Bantu expansion 1099:Bantu languages 1050:Bantoid-Cross: 1004: 990: 989: 942: 941: 795:Adamawa Plateau 590:Bantu languages 527: 517: 477: 457:Southern Africa 453:Bantu expansion 435:Bantu expansion 415:Bantu languages 365:Bantu expansion 361: 359:Bantu expansion 343: 237:Bantu languages 203:Mande languages 195:language family 184: 151: 150: 44: 28: 23: 22: 15: 12: 11: 5: 7356: 7354: 7346: 7345: 7340: 7335: 7325: 7324: 7318: 7317: 7315: 7314: 7312:Proto-Yoruboid 7309: 7304: 7298: 7296: 7292: 7291: 7289: 7288: 7280: 7271: 7265: 7257: 7249: 7242: 7240: 7236: 7235: 7233: 7232: 7227: 7219: 7211: 7205: 7203: 7199: 7198: 7196: 7195: 7188: 7181: 7175: 7173: 7169: 7168: 7166: 7165: 7158: 7151: 7144: 7136: 7134: 7128: 7127: 7124: 7123: 7120: 7119: 7117: 7116: 7109: 7102: 7097: 7091: 7089: 7083: 7082: 7080: 7079: 7072: 7065: 7058: 7051: 7044: 7036: 7034: 7025: 7021: 7020: 7017: 7016: 7014: 7013: 7004: 6999: 6990: 6981: 6967: 6965: 6959: 6958: 6956: 6955: 6946: 6943:Samo (Burkina) 6940: 6931: 6925: 6923: 6914: 6907: 6901: 6900: 6897: 6896: 6894: 6893: 6888: 6880: 6875: 6867: 6860: 6853: 6848: 6842: 6840: 6827: 6826: 6824: 6823: 6818: 6811: 6804: 6799: 6792: 6787: 6782: 6781: 6780: 6767: 6765: 6759: 6758: 6755: 6754: 6752: 6751: 6744: 6739: 6734: 6727: 6720: 6713: 6706: 6699: 6692: 6685: 6679: 6677: 6671: 6670: 6667: 6666: 6664: 6663: 6656: 6649: 6642: 6635: 6628: 6620: 6618: 6612: 6611: 6609: 6608: 6603: 6596: 6588: 6586: 6580: 6579: 6577: 6576: 6569: 6562: 6555: 6547: 6545: 6539: 6538: 6536: 6535: 6528: 6521: 6513: 6511: 6504: 6495: 6489: 6488: 6485: 6484: 6482: 6481: 6474: 6467: 6462: 6455: 6448: 6441: 6433: 6431: 6425: 6424: 6422: 6421: 6416: 6411: 6406: 6399: 6396:Samo (Burkina) 6393: 6388: 6383: 6375: 6373: 6367: 6366: 6364: 6363: 6360:Yendang (Maya) 6356: 6349: 6342: 6340:Nyingwom (Kam) 6337: 6330: 6323: 6318: 6313: 6306: 6299: 6294: 6287: 6280: 6272: 6270: 6261: 6252: 6250:Atlantic–Congo 6246: 6245: 6239: 6237: 6236: 6229: 6222: 6214: 6205: 6204: 6201: 6200: 6193: 6186: 6182: 6181: 6178: 6177: 6175: 6174: 6169: 6164: 6159: 6154: 6149: 6143: 6141: 6137: 6136: 6133: 6132: 6130: 6129: 6120: 6118: 6114: 6113: 6111: 6110: 6104: 6099: 6094: 6089: 6087:Indo-Pakistani 6084: 6079: 6072: 6067: 6062: 6056: 6050: 6042: 6041: 6038: 6037: 6035: 6034: 6029: 6024: 6019: 6014: 6009: 6004: 5999: 5994: 5988: 5983: 5978: 5970: 5965: 5958: 5953: 5947: 5942: 5937: 5932: 5926: 5921: 5916: 5911: 5906: 5901: 5894: 5892: 5886: 5885: 5883: 5882: 5876: 5870: 5864: 5858: 5852: 5846: 5840: 5835: 5830: 5825: 5820: 5815: 5808: 5803: 5798: 5793: 5788: 5786:Piaroa–Saliban 5783: 5776: 5771: 5766: 5761: 5756: 5751: 5746: 5741: 5736: 5731: 5724: 5719: 5714: 5709: 5704: 5699: 5694: 5687: 5682: 5675: 5670: 5665: 5660: 5655: 5650: 5645: 5638: 5633: 5628: 5622: 5616: 5608: 5607: 5604: 5603: 5601: 5600: 5595: 5590: 5582: 5580: 5576: 5575: 5573: 5572: 5565: 5558: 5553: 5551:Tequistlatecan 5548: 5541: 5536: 5531: 5524: 5517: 5512: 5506: 5500: 5494: 5493: 5490: 5489: 5487: 5486: 5481: 5476: 5471: 5464: 5459: 5452: 5445: 5438: 5431: 5424: 5419: 5414: 5409: 5404: 5397: 5389: 5387: 5383: 5382: 5380: 5379: 5374: 5367: 5360: 5355: 5348: 5343: 5338: 5333: 5328: 5321: 5316: 5311: 5306: 5299: 5292: 5287: 5280: 5275: 5268: 5263: 5258: 5251: 5244: 5237: 5230: 5223: 5218: 5211: 5203: 5197: 5189: 5188: 5185: 5184: 5182: 5181: 5176: 5170: 5162: 5160: 5156: 5155: 5153: 5152: 5142: 5137: 5130: 5125: 5120: 5115: 5109: 5102: 5097: 5090: 5083: 5078: 5074:Marrku–Wurrugu 5070: 5065: 5060: 5055: 5048: 5041: 5033: 5028: 5021: 5015: 5009: 5008: 5005: 5004: 5002: 5001: 4996: 4988: 4982: 4976: 4971: 4966: 4961: 4956: 4951: 4946: 4940: 4934: 4929: 4923: 4921: 4917: 4916: 4914: 4913: 4907: 4901: 4896: 4891: 4886: 4881: 4876: 4871: 4864: 4859: 4852: 4847: 4842: 4837: 4830: 4825: 4820: 4813: 4808: 4803: 4798: 4791: 4786: 4781: 4776: 4771: 4766: 4761: 4756: 4751: 4746: 4741: 4736: 4731: 4726: 4721: 4716: 4711: 4706: 4701: 4696: 4691: 4684: 4678: 4672: 4661: 4660: 4657: 4656: 4654: 4653: 4645: 4638: 4632: 4627: 4619: 4614: 4606: 4599: 4592: 4587: 4581: 4579: 4575: 4574: 4572: 4571: 4565: 4559: 4553: 4547: 4541: 4535: 4530: 4525: 4518: 4511: 4504: 4499: 4492: 4487: 4482: 4475: 4470: 4465: 4458: 4453: 4448: 4443: 4436: 4433:Hurro-Urartian 4429: 4422: 4417: 4412: 4405: 4400: 4393: 4386: 4381: 4373: 4367: 4352: 4351: 4348: 4347: 4345: 4344: 4338: 4332: 4327: 4320: 4315: 4309: 4307: 4303: 4302: 4300: 4299: 4293: 4287: 4281: 4275: 4269: 4264: 4256: 4249: 4244: 4239: 4232: 4224: 4218: 4212: 4211: 4206: 4204: 4203: 4196: 4189: 4181: 4175: 4174: 4169: 4164: 4147: 4124: 4110: 4109: 4105: 4104: 4098: 4081: 4064: 4058: 4038: 4037:External links 4035: 4034: 4033: 4019: 4006: 4000: 3987: 3966: 3957: 3948: 3923: 3917: 3904: 3902:on 2023-05-22. 3891: 3873: 3860: 3848: 3838:(5): 840–858. 3827: 3809:(46): 316–22. 3798: 3788:(2): 109–121. 3777: 3764: 3750: 3748:on 2019-04-23. 3729: 3723: 3708: 3691: 3685: 3670: 3667: 3664: 3663: 3640: 3616: 3603: 3590: 3579:(2): 197–224. 3563: 3551:(2): 109–121. 3536: 3518: 3510: 3492: 3464: 3453:(3): 496–549. 3437: 3430: 3412: 3399:(2): 185–214. 3379: 3343: 3324: 3301: 3267: 3260: 3234: 3221: 3214: 3178: 3171: 3149: 3142: 3120: 3107: 3100: 3070: 3051: 3029: 3016: 2986: 2968: 2955: 2937: 2900: 2883: 2867: 2849: 2836: 2823: 2810: 2797: 2784: 2771: 2749: 2736: 2723: 2703: 2675: 2634: 2622: 2609: 2602: 2582: 2575: 2555: 2539: 2528: 2505: 2504: 2502: 2499: 2470:demonstratives 2415: 2412: 2410:'to please'). 2376: 2373: 2338:Zande language 2316: 2313: 2311: 2308: 2305: 2304: 2296: 2295: 2290: 2286: 2285: 2268: 2264: 2263: 2253: 2249: 2248: 2223: 2219: 2218: 2169: 2165: 2164: 2127: 2123: 2122: 2119: 2087: 2084: 2050: 2047: 2037: 2036: 2034: 2031: 2030: 2028: 2025: 2024: 2022: 2019: 2018: 2016: 2013: 2012: 2010: 2007: 2006: 2004: 1997: 1996: 1994: 1991: 1990: 1988: 1985: 1984: 1982: 1979: 1978: 1976: 1973: 1972: 1970: 1967: 1966: 1964: 1954: 1953: 1951: 1948: 1947: 1945: 1942: 1941: 1939: 1936: 1935: 1933: 1930: 1929: 1927: 1924: 1923: 1921: 1894: 1893: 1892:'benefactive' 1890: 1887: 1883: 1882: 1879: 1876: 1872: 1871: 1870:'participant' 1868: 1865: 1861: 1860: 1857: 1855: 1837: 1836: 1834: 1831: 1830: 1828: 1825: 1824: 1822: 1819: 1818: 1816: 1813: 1812: 1810: 1807: 1806: 1804: 1787: 1784: 1774: 1771: 1758:open syllables 1753: 1750: 1748: 1745: 1731:system of the 1666: 1663: 1651:numeral system 1635:Main article: 1632: 1631:Reconstruction 1629: 1493: 1490: 1443: 1440: 1438: 1435: 1434: 1433: 1430: 1423: 1421: 1418: 1411: 1409: 1406: 1399: 1381: 1380: 1375: 1370: 1365: 1360: 1347:Nuba Mountains 1338: 1335: 1334: 1333: 1327: 1321: 1311: 1293: 1263:Nuba Mountains 1230: 1227: 1226: 1225: 1224: 1223: 1222: 1221: 1214:Fali of Baissa 1206: 1192: 1191: 1190: 1189: 1188: 1176: 1167: 1162: 1157: 1148: 1092: 1087: 1086: 1085: 1080: 1074: 1068: 1056: 1037: 1036: 1035: 1029: 1028: 1027: 1017: 1008: 986: 985: 984: 974: 969: 959: 938: 900: 882:: a divergent 870: 869: 868: 836: 820: 819: 818: 815:Adamawa-Ubangi 802: 783:Adamawa-Ubangi 780: 746: 745: 737: 736: 731: 729:Limba language 726: 721: 715: 677: 676: 542:Savannas group 516: 515:Atlantic–Congo 513: 476: 475:Major branches 473: 419:Kay Williamson 342: 339: 308:Atlantic–Congo 186: 185: 178: 170: 169: 164: 158: 157: 148: 138: 137: 136:Language codes 133: 132: 131: 130: 128:(noun classes) 124:Atlantic–Congo 121: 115: 109: 96: 90: 84: 76: 72: 71: 66: 65:Proto-language 62: 61: 58: 52: 51: 46: 40: 39: 38:(hypothetical) 35: 34: 26: 24: 14: 13: 10: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 7355: 7344: 7341: 7339: 7336: 7334: 7331: 7330: 7328: 7313: 7310: 7308: 7305: 7303: 7300: 7299: 7297: 7293: 7286: 7285: 7281: 7278: 7277: 7272: 7269: 7266: 7263: 7262: 7258: 7255: 7254: 7250: 7247: 7244: 7243: 7241: 7237: 7231: 7228: 7225: 7224: 7220: 7217: 7216: 7212: 7210: 7207: 7206: 7204: 7200: 7194: 7193: 7189: 7187: 7186: 7182: 7180: 7177: 7176: 7174: 7170: 7164: 7163: 7162:Talodi–Heiban 7159: 7157: 7156: 7152: 7150: 7149: 7145: 7143: 7142: 7138: 7137: 7135: 7133: 7129: 7115: 7114: 7110: 7108: 7107: 7103: 7101: 7098: 7096: 7093: 7092: 7090: 7084: 7078: 7077: 7073: 7071: 7070: 7066: 7064: 7063: 7059: 7057: 7056: 7052: 7050: 7049: 7045: 7043: 7042: 7038: 7037: 7035: 7029: 7026: 7022: 7012: 7008: 7005: 7003: 7000: 6998: 6994: 6991: 6989: 6985: 6982: 6980: 6976: 6972: 6969: 6968: 6966: 6964: 6960: 6954: 6950: 6947: 6944: 6941: 6939: 6935: 6932: 6930: 6927: 6926: 6924: 6922: 6918: 6915: 6911: 6908: 6906: 6902: 6892: 6889: 6886: 6885: 6881: 6879: 6876: 6873: 6872: 6868: 6866: 6865: 6861: 6859: 6858: 6854: 6852: 6849: 6847: 6844: 6843: 6841: 6838: 6833: 6828: 6822: 6819: 6817: 6816: 6812: 6810: 6809: 6805: 6803: 6800: 6798: 6797: 6793: 6791: 6788: 6786: 6783: 6779: 6776: 6775: 6774: 6773: 6769: 6768: 6766: 6764: 6763:West Atlantic 6760: 6750: 6749: 6745: 6743: 6740: 6738: 6735: 6733: 6732: 6728: 6726: 6725: 6721: 6719: 6718: 6714: 6712: 6711: 6707: 6705: 6704: 6700: 6698: 6697: 6693: 6691: 6690: 6686: 6684: 6681: 6680: 6678: 6676: 6672: 6662: 6661: 6657: 6655: 6654: 6650: 6648: 6647: 6643: 6641: 6640: 6636: 6634: 6633: 6629: 6627: 6626: 6622: 6621: 6619: 6617: 6613: 6607: 6604: 6602: 6601: 6597: 6595: 6594: 6590: 6589: 6587: 6585: 6581: 6575: 6574: 6570: 6568: 6567: 6563: 6561: 6560: 6556: 6554: 6553: 6552:Central Delta 6549: 6548: 6546: 6544: 6540: 6534: 6533: 6529: 6527: 6526: 6522: 6520: 6519: 6515: 6514: 6512: 6508: 6505: 6503: 6499: 6496: 6494: 6490: 6480: 6479: 6475: 6473: 6472: 6468: 6466: 6463: 6461: 6460: 6456: 6454: 6453: 6449: 6447: 6446: 6442: 6440: 6439: 6435: 6434: 6432: 6430: 6426: 6420: 6417: 6415: 6412: 6410: 6407: 6405: 6404: 6400: 6397: 6394: 6392: 6389: 6387: 6384: 6382: 6381: 6377: 6376: 6374: 6372: 6368: 6362: 6361: 6357: 6355: 6354: 6350: 6348: 6347: 6343: 6341: 6338: 6336: 6335: 6331: 6329: 6328: 6324: 6322: 6319: 6317: 6314: 6312: 6311: 6307: 6305: 6304: 6300: 6298: 6295: 6293: 6292: 6288: 6286: 6285: 6281: 6279: 6278: 6274: 6273: 6271: 6269: 6265: 6262: 6260: 6256: 6253: 6251: 6247: 6242: 6235: 6230: 6228: 6223: 6221: 6216: 6215: 6212: 6198: 6194: 6191: 6187: 6184: 6183: 6179: 6173: 6170: 6168: 6165: 6163: 6160: 6158: 6155: 6153: 6150: 6148: 6145: 6144: 6142: 6138: 6128: 6127: 6122: 6121: 6119: 6115: 6108: 6105: 6103: 6100: 6098: 6097:Original Thai 6095: 6093: 6090: 6088: 6085: 6083: 6080: 6078: 6077: 6073: 6071: 6068: 6066: 6063: 6061: 6058: 6057: 6054: 6051: 6049: 6043: 6033: 6030: 6028: 6025: 6023: 6020: 6018: 6015: 6013: 6010: 6008: 6005: 6003: 6000: 5998: 5995: 5992: 5989: 5987: 5984: 5982: 5979: 5977: 5975: 5971: 5969: 5966: 5964: 5963: 5959: 5957: 5954: 5951: 5948: 5946: 5943: 5941: 5938: 5936: 5933: 5930: 5927: 5925: 5922: 5920: 5917: 5915: 5912: 5910: 5907: 5905: 5902: 5899: 5896: 5895: 5893: 5887: 5880: 5877: 5874: 5871: 5868: 5865: 5862: 5861:Hibito–Cholón 5859: 5856: 5853: 5850: 5847: 5844: 5841: 5839: 5836: 5834: 5831: 5829: 5826: 5824: 5821: 5819: 5816: 5814: 5813: 5809: 5807: 5804: 5802: 5799: 5797: 5794: 5792: 5789: 5787: 5784: 5782: 5781: 5777: 5775: 5772: 5770: 5767: 5765: 5762: 5760: 5757: 5755: 5752: 5750: 5747: 5745: 5742: 5740: 5737: 5735: 5732: 5730: 5729: 5725: 5723: 5720: 5718: 5715: 5713: 5710: 5708: 5705: 5703: 5700: 5698: 5695: 5693: 5692: 5688: 5686: 5683: 5681: 5680: 5676: 5674: 5671: 5669: 5666: 5664: 5661: 5659: 5656: 5654: 5651: 5649: 5646: 5644: 5643: 5639: 5637: 5634: 5632: 5629: 5627: 5624: 5623: 5620: 5617: 5615: 5609: 5599: 5596: 5594: 5591: 5589: 5588: 5584: 5583: 5581: 5577: 5571: 5570: 5566: 5564: 5563: 5559: 5557: 5554: 5552: 5549: 5547: 5546: 5542: 5540: 5537: 5535: 5532: 5530: 5529: 5525: 5523: 5522: 5518: 5516: 5513: 5511: 5508: 5507: 5504: 5501: 5499: 5495: 5485: 5482: 5480: 5477: 5475: 5472: 5470: 5469: 5465: 5463: 5460: 5458: 5457: 5453: 5451: 5450: 5446: 5444: 5443: 5439: 5437: 5436: 5432: 5430: 5429: 5425: 5423: 5420: 5418: 5415: 5413: 5410: 5408: 5405: 5403: 5402: 5398: 5396: 5395: 5391: 5390: 5388: 5384: 5378: 5377:Yuman–Cochimí 5375: 5373: 5372: 5368: 5366: 5365: 5361: 5359: 5356: 5354: 5353: 5349: 5347: 5344: 5342: 5339: 5337: 5334: 5332: 5329: 5327: 5326: 5322: 5320: 5317: 5315: 5312: 5310: 5307: 5305: 5304: 5300: 5298: 5297: 5293: 5291: 5288: 5286: 5285: 5281: 5279: 5276: 5274: 5273: 5269: 5267: 5264: 5262: 5259: 5257: 5256: 5252: 5250: 5249: 5245: 5243: 5242: 5238: 5236: 5235: 5231: 5229: 5228: 5224: 5222: 5219: 5217: 5216: 5212: 5210: 5209: 5205: 5204: 5201: 5198: 5196: 5190: 5180: 5177: 5174: 5171: 5169: 5168: 5164: 5163: 5161: 5157: 5150: 5146: 5143: 5141: 5138: 5136: 5135: 5131: 5129: 5126: 5124: 5121: 5119: 5116: 5113: 5112:Southern Daly 5110: 5108: 5107: 5103: 5101: 5098: 5096: 5095: 5091: 5089: 5088: 5084: 5082: 5079: 5076: 5075: 5071: 5069: 5066: 5064: 5061: 5059: 5056: 5054: 5053: 5049: 5047: 5046: 5042: 5039: 5038: 5037:Darwin Region 5034: 5032: 5029: 5026: 5023: 5022: 5019: 5016: 5014: 5010: 5000: 4997: 4995: 4993: 4989: 4986: 4983: 4980: 4977: 4975: 4972: 4970: 4967: 4965: 4962: 4960: 4957: 4955: 4952: 4950: 4947: 4944: 4941: 4938: 4935: 4933: 4930: 4928: 4925: 4924: 4922: 4918: 4911: 4908: 4905: 4902: 4900: 4897: 4895: 4892: 4890: 4887: 4885: 4882: 4880: 4877: 4875: 4872: 4870: 4869: 4865: 4863: 4860: 4858: 4857: 4853: 4851: 4848: 4846: 4843: 4841: 4838: 4836: 4835: 4831: 4829: 4826: 4824: 4821: 4819: 4818: 4814: 4812: 4809: 4807: 4804: 4802: 4799: 4797: 4796: 4792: 4790: 4787: 4785: 4782: 4780: 4777: 4775: 4772: 4770: 4767: 4765: 4762: 4760: 4757: 4755: 4752: 4750: 4747: 4745: 4742: 4740: 4737: 4735: 4732: 4730: 4727: 4725: 4722: 4720: 4719:Demta–Sentani 4717: 4715: 4712: 4710: 4707: 4705: 4702: 4700: 4697: 4695: 4692: 4690: 4689: 4685: 4683: 4680: 4679: 4676: 4673: 4671: 4666: 4662: 4652: 4650: 4646: 4644: 4643: 4639: 4636: 4633: 4631: 4628: 4626: 4624: 4620: 4618: 4615: 4613: 4611: 4607: 4605: 4604: 4600: 4598: 4597: 4593: 4591: 4588: 4586: 4583: 4582: 4580: 4576: 4569: 4566: 4563: 4560: 4557: 4554: 4551: 4548: 4545: 4542: 4539: 4536: 4534: 4531: 4529: 4526: 4524: 4523: 4519: 4517: 4516: 4512: 4510: 4509: 4505: 4503: 4500: 4498: 4497: 4493: 4491: 4488: 4486: 4483: 4481: 4480: 4476: 4474: 4471: 4469: 4466: 4464: 4463: 4459: 4457: 4454: 4452: 4449: 4447: 4444: 4442: 4441: 4440:Indo-European 4437: 4435: 4434: 4430: 4428: 4427: 4423: 4421: 4418: 4416: 4413: 4411: 4410: 4406: 4404: 4401: 4399: 4398: 4394: 4392: 4391: 4390:Austroasiatic 4387: 4385: 4382: 4380: 4379: 4375: 4374: 4371: 4368: 4365: 4360: 4353: 4342: 4339: 4336: 4333: 4331: 4328: 4326: 4325: 4321: 4319: 4316: 4314: 4311: 4310: 4308: 4304: 4297: 4294: 4291: 4288: 4285: 4282: 4279: 4276: 4273: 4270: 4268: 4265: 4262: 4261: 4257: 4255: 4254: 4250: 4248: 4245: 4243: 4240: 4238: 4237: 4233: 4231: 4230: 4226: 4225: 4222: 4219: 4217: 4213: 4209: 4202: 4197: 4195: 4190: 4188: 4183: 4182: 4179: 4173: 4170: 4168: 4165: 4162: 4158: 4155: 4151: 4148: 4146: 4142: 4139: 4138:introduction) 4135: 4131: 4128: 4125: 4122: 4118: 4115: 4112: 4111: 4107: 4106: 4102: 4099: 4097:2005, LLACAN) 4096: 4092: 4088: 4085: 4082: 4080:2005, LLACAN) 4079: 4075: 4071: 4068: 4065: 4062: 4059: 4056: 4053: 4052: 4051: 4049: 4044: 4036: 4030: 4026: 4022: 4020:9780521661782 4016: 4012: 4007: 4003: 4001:9780195716818 3997: 3993: 3988: 3984: 3980: 3976: 3972: 3967: 3963: 3958: 3954: 3949: 3945: 3941: 3937: 3933: 3929: 3924: 3920: 3914: 3910: 3905: 3898: 3894: 3888: 3881: 3880: 3874: 3870: 3866: 3861: 3857: 3853: 3849: 3845: 3841: 3837: 3833: 3828: 3824: 3820: 3816: 3812: 3808: 3804: 3799: 3795: 3791: 3787: 3783: 3778: 3774: 3770: 3765: 3758: 3757: 3751: 3744: 3737: 3736: 3730: 3726: 3724:3-927620-72-6 3720: 3716: 3715: 3709: 3706:(3): 241–273. 3705: 3701: 3697: 3692: 3688: 3686:9780819173751 3682: 3678: 3673: 3672: 3668: 3661: 3660:0-19-925591-1 3657: 3653: 3647: 3645: 3641: 3630: 3626: 3620: 3617: 3613: 3607: 3604: 3600: 3594: 3591: 3586: 3582: 3578: 3574: 3567: 3564: 3558: 3554: 3550: 3546: 3539: 3537:90-6021-307-6 3533: 3529: 3522: 3519: 3513: 3511:3-89645-124-3 3507: 3503: 3496: 3493: 3487: 3483: 3479: 3475: 3468: 3465: 3460: 3456: 3452: 3448: 3441: 3438: 3433: 3431:0-262-01137-9 3427: 3423: 3416: 3413: 3407: 3402: 3398: 3394: 3390: 3383: 3380: 3372: 3368: 3364: 3357: 3350: 3348: 3344: 3339: 3335: 3328: 3325: 3317: 3316: 3308: 3306: 3302: 3294: 3290: 3283: 3276: 3274: 3272: 3268: 3263: 3257: 3250: 3249: 3241: 3239: 3235: 3231: 3225: 3222: 3217: 3211: 3206: 3201: 3194: 3193: 3188: 3182: 3179: 3174: 3168: 3164: 3160: 3153: 3150: 3145: 3139: 3135: 3131: 3124: 3121: 3117: 3111: 3108: 3103: 3097: 3093: 3089: 3085: 3081: 3080:"Niger-Congo" 3074: 3071: 3066: 3062: 3055: 3052: 3047: 3040: 3033: 3030: 3019: 3013: 3009: 3005: 3001: 2997: 2990: 2987: 2983: 2977: 2975: 2973: 2969: 2965: 2959: 2956: 2951: 2950:glottolog.org 2947: 2941: 2938: 2926: 2910: 2904: 2901: 2897: 2893: 2887: 2884: 2880: 2876: 2871: 2868: 2863: 2856: 2854: 2850: 2846: 2840: 2837: 2833: 2827: 2824: 2820: 2814: 2811: 2807: 2801: 2798: 2794: 2788: 2785: 2781: 2775: 2772: 2767: 2760: 2753: 2750: 2746: 2740: 2737: 2733: 2727: 2724: 2720: 2716: 2710: 2708: 2704: 2700: 2699:A Mighty Tree 2696: 2692: 2689: 2685: 2679: 2676: 2670: 2665: 2661: 2657: 2653: 2649: 2645: 2638: 2635: 2631: 2626: 2623: 2619: 2613: 2610: 2605: 2603:9783110184181 2599: 2595: 2594: 2586: 2583: 2578: 2576:9780521666299 2572: 2568: 2567: 2559: 2556: 2552: 2546: 2544: 2540: 2536: 2531: 2529:9780191007378 2525: 2521: 2517: 2510: 2507: 2500: 2498: 2496: 2492: 2488: 2482: 2480: 2475: 2471: 2467: 2463: 2459: 2455: 2451: 2449: 2443: 2441: 2437: 2433: 2429: 2425: 2421: 2413: 2411: 2409: 2406: 2402: 2398: 2394: 2390: 2386: 2382: 2374: 2372: 2370: 2366: 2362: 2358: 2352: 2351: 2347: 2343: 2339: 2335: 2331: 2326: 2322: 2314: 2309: 2297: 2294: 2291: 2288: 2287: 2284: 2280: 2276: 2272: 2269: 2266: 2265: 2261: 2257: 2254: 2252:T, H, M, L, B 2251: 2250: 2247: 2243: 2239: 2235: 2231: 2227: 2224: 2221: 2220: 2217: 2213: 2209: 2205: 2201: 2197: 2193: 2189: 2185: 2181: 2177: 2173: 2170: 2167: 2166: 2163: 2159: 2155: 2151: 2147: 2143: 2139: 2135: 2131: 2128: 2125: 2124: 2120: 2117: 2116: 2108: 2106: 2101: 2097: 2093: 2085: 2083: 2081: 2077: 2073: 2068: 2065: 2060: 2056: 2048: 2046: 2042: 2035: 2033: 2032: 2029: 2027: 2026: 2023: 2021: 2020: 2017: 2015: 2014: 2011: 2009: 2008: 2005: 2003: 2002: 1995: 1993: 1992: 1989: 1987: 1986: 1983: 1981: 1980: 1977: 1975: 1974: 1971: 1969: 1968: 1965: 1963: 1962: 1959: 1952: 1950: 1949: 1946: 1944: 1943: 1940: 1938: 1937: 1934: 1932: 1931: 1928: 1926: 1925: 1922: 1920: 1919: 1916: 1914: 1908: 1904: 1900: 1891: 1888: 1885: 1884: 1880: 1877: 1874: 1873: 1869: 1866: 1863: 1862: 1858: 1856: 1854: 1853: 1850: 1848: 1842: 1835: 1833: 1832: 1829: 1827: 1826: 1823: 1821: 1820: 1817: 1815: 1814: 1811: 1809: 1808: 1805: 1803: 1802: 1799: 1797: 1793: 1792:vowel harmony 1785: 1783: 1781: 1772: 1770: 1767: 1763: 1759: 1751: 1746: 1744: 1742: 1741:Gur languages 1738: 1734: 1730: 1726: 1722: 1718: 1714: 1710: 1706: 1705:Niger–Saharan 1702: 1698: 1694: 1693:Kongo-Saharan 1690: 1686: 1682: 1678: 1672: 1664: 1662: 1660: 1656: 1652: 1648: 1644: 1638: 1630: 1628: 1626: 1622: 1617: 1615: 1611: 1609: 1604: 1602: 1598: 1593: 1591: 1587: 1583: 1581: 1577: 1576: 1571: 1569: 1564: 1560: 1556: 1552: 1550: 1546: 1545:Bendor-Samuel 1541: 1539: 1535: 1531: 1527: 1526: 1520: 1516: 1514: 1510: 1503: 1498: 1491: 1489: 1485: 1483: 1479: 1474: 1472: 1468: 1464: 1459: 1458: 1453: 1449: 1441: 1436: 1427: 1422: 1415: 1410: 1403: 1398: 1396: 1394: 1390: 1386: 1379: 1376: 1374: 1371: 1369: 1366: 1364: 1361: 1359: 1356: 1355: 1354: 1352: 1348: 1344: 1337:"Kordofanian" 1336: 1331: 1328: 1325: 1322: 1319: 1318:Mandé peoples 1315: 1312: 1309: 1305: 1301: 1297: 1294: 1291: 1287: 1283: 1280: 1279: 1278: 1276: 1272: 1268: 1264: 1260: 1256: 1252: 1248: 1244: 1240: 1236: 1228: 1219: 1215: 1211: 1207: 1205: 1201: 1197: 1193: 1186: 1182: 1181: 1177: 1175: 1171: 1168: 1166: 1163: 1161: 1158: 1156: 1152: 1149: 1146: 1142: 1138: 1134: 1130: 1126: 1122: 1118: 1114: 1113: 1104: 1100: 1096: 1093: 1091: 1088: 1084: 1081: 1078: 1075: 1072: 1069: 1066: 1063: 1062: 1060: 1057: 1055: 1052: 1051: 1049: 1048: 1046: 1043: 1042: 1038: 1033: 1030: 1025: 1021: 1018: 1016: 1012: 1009: 999: 996: 995: 987: 982: 978: 975: 973: 970: 967: 963: 960: 957: 953: 950: 949: 945: 939: 936: 932: 928: 924: 920: 916: 913: 912: 910: 906: 905: 901: 898: 894: 890: 885: 881: 880: 876: 875: 874: 871: 866: 862: 858: 854: 850: 846: 845:Senufo people 842: 841: 837: 834: 830: 826: 825: 821: 816: 812: 808: 807: 803: 800: 796: 792: 791: 787: 786: 784: 781: 778: 774: 770: 766: 762: 758: 757: 753: 752: 751: 748: 747: 744: 743: 739: 738: 735: 734:Gola language 732: 730: 727: 725: 724:Mel languages 722: 719: 718:Bak languages 716: 713: 709: 705: 701: 697: 694: 693: 692: 690: 686: 682: 675: 674: 670: 669: 668: 666: 661: 659: 655: 651: 647: 646:Laal language 643: 639: 635: 631: 627: 626: 620: 618: 614: 610: 606: 602: 598: 593: 591: 587: 583: 579: 575: 571: 567: 563: 559: 555: 551: 547: 543: 540:The proposed 538: 536: 532: 526: 522: 514: 512: 510: 506: 502: 498: 494: 490: 486: 481: 474: 472: 470: 466: 462: 458: 454: 449: 447: 443: 438: 436: 432: 428: 424: 420: 416: 412: 407: 405: 401: 396: 394: 389: 385: 381: 378:According to 376: 374: 370: 366: 360: 356: 352: 348: 340: 338: 336: 331: 329: 325: 321: 317: 313: 309: 305: 304:genetic unity 300: 298: 294: 290: 286: 282: 278: 274: 270: 266: 262: 258: 254: 250: 246: 242: 238: 233: 231: 230: 225: 221: 217: 212: 208: 204: 200: 196: 192: 182: 176: 171: 168: 165: 163: 159: 154: 149: 147: 143: 139: 134: 125: 122: 119: 116: 113: 110: 106: 100: 97: 94: 91: 88: 85: 82: 79: 78: 77: 70: 67: 63: 59: 57: 53: 50: 47: 41: 36: 31: 19: 7282: 7274: 7259: 7253:Dima-Bottego 7251: 7239:Unclassified 7221: 7213: 7190: 7183: 7160: 7153: 7146: 7139: 7113:Soninke–Bozo 7111: 7104: 7074: 7067: 7060: 7053: 7046: 7039: 7031:Central West 6882: 6869: 6862: 6855: 6813: 6806: 6794: 6770: 6746: 6729: 6722: 6715: 6708: 6701: 6694: 6687: 6658: 6651: 6644: 6637: 6630: 6623: 6598: 6591: 6571: 6564: 6557: 6550: 6530: 6523: 6516: 6476: 6471:Sere (Ndogo) 6469: 6457: 6450: 6443: 6436: 6401: 6378: 6358: 6351: 6344: 6332: 6325: 6308: 6301: 6289: 6282: 6275: 6240: 6196: 6189: 6188:Families in 6123: 6074: 5972: 5960: 5810: 5778: 5769:Pano-Tacanan 5726: 5689: 5677: 5648:Arutani–Sape 5640: 5585: 5567: 5560: 5545:Oto-Manguean 5543: 5526: 5519: 5466: 5454: 5447: 5440: 5433: 5426: 5399: 5392: 5369: 5362: 5350: 5323: 5301: 5294: 5282: 5270: 5253: 5246: 5239: 5232: 5225: 5213: 5206: 5165: 5132: 5128:Western Daly 5106:Pama–Nyungan 5104: 5092: 5085: 5072: 5050: 5045:Eastern Daly 5043: 5035: 4990: 4866: 4854: 4832: 4815: 4793: 4764:Kaure–Kosare 4724:Doso–Turumsa 4714:Chimbu–Wahgi 4704:Bulaka River 4688:Austronesian 4686: 4647: 4640: 4621: 4608: 4601: 4594: 4520: 4513: 4506: 4496:Sino-Tibetan 4494: 4477: 4460: 4438: 4431: 4424: 4407: 4397:Austronesian 4395: 4388: 4376: 4322: 4260:Nilo-Saharan 4258: 4252: 4251: 4236:Austronesian 4234: 4227: 4040: 4010: 3991: 3974: 3970: 3961: 3927: 3908: 3897:the original 3878: 3868: 3864: 3855: 3835: 3831: 3806: 3802: 3785: 3781: 3772: 3768: 3755: 3743:the original 3734: 3713: 3703: 3699: 3676: 3651: 3632:. Retrieved 3628: 3619: 3611: 3606: 3593: 3576: 3572: 3566: 3548: 3544: 3527: 3521: 3501: 3495: 3477: 3473: 3467: 3450: 3446: 3440: 3421: 3415: 3396: 3392: 3382: 3371:the original 3366: 3362: 3337: 3333: 3327: 3314: 3293:the original 3288: 3247: 3229: 3224: 3191: 3181: 3162: 3152: 3133: 3123: 3110: 3083: 3073: 3064: 3054: 3045: 3032: 3021:. Retrieved 2999: 2989: 2963: 2958: 2949: 2940: 2929:. Retrieved 2916:. Retrieved 2903: 2891: 2886: 2878: 2870: 2861: 2844: 2839: 2831: 2826: 2818: 2813: 2805: 2800: 2792: 2787: 2779: 2774: 2765: 2752: 2744: 2739: 2731: 2726: 2718: 2698: 2683: 2678: 2651: 2647: 2637: 2625: 2617: 2612: 2592: 2585: 2565: 2558: 2533: 2519: 2509: 2494: 2486: 2483: 2458:noun-initial 2457: 2454:Noun phrases 2452: 2444: 2417: 2407: 2400: 2396: 2392: 2388: 2378: 2368: 2364: 2360: 2356: 2353: 2349: 2346:Zande people 2341: 2333: 2329: 2318: 2310:Morphosyntax 2089: 2069: 2055:nasal vowels 2052: 2043: 2040: 1957: 1909: 1905: 1901: 1897: 1843: 1840: 1789: 1782:consonants. 1776: 1766:phonological 1755: 1704: 1701:Roger Blench 1692: 1677:Nilo-Saharan 1674: 1640: 1618: 1612: 1605: 1594: 1589: 1588: 1584: 1573: 1572: 1553: 1548: 1542: 1537: 1533: 1523: 1517: 1507: 1501: 1486: 1475: 1455: 1445: 1407:Overview map 1382: 1341:The various 1340: 1286:Dogon people 1232: 1178: 1039: 979:: including 964:: including 917:: spoken in 902: 891:, spoken in 877: 872: 838: 822: 804: 788: 754: 749: 740: 702:, spoken in 681:polyphyletic 678: 671: 662: 623: 621: 597:Roger Blench 594: 539: 528: 482: 478: 450: 439: 427:Niger Rivers 408: 397: 380:Roger Blench 377: 362: 332: 301: 234: 227: 220:Austronesian 190: 189: 166: 75:Subdivisions 45:distribution 7307:Proto-Bantu 7132:Kordofanian 7100:Jowulu (Jɔ) 6837:Ivory Coast 6815:Senegambian 6675:Volta–Niger 6653:Grassfields 6543:Cross River 6502:Benue–Congo 6493:Volta–Congo 6380:Central Gur 6241:Niger–Congo 6082:Germanosign 5986:Mura-Pirahã 5867:Lule–Vilela 5843:Bora-Witoto 5818:Uru–Chipaya 5791:Ticuna–Yuri 5774:Peba–Yaguan 5759:Nambikwaran 5562:Uto-Aztecan 5498:Mesoamerica 5352:Uto-Aztecan 5341:Tsimshianic 5303:Palaihnihan 5173:Malak-Malak 4910:Papuan Gulf 4884:West Papuan 4789:Lower Sepik 4779:Lakes Plain 4682:Arai–Samaia 4670:the Pacific 4378:Afroasiatic 4253:Niger–Congo 4229:Afroasiatic 3871:(1): 46–56. 2479:adpositions 2448:auxiliaries 2395:'to love', 2348:are called 1721:singulative 1655:Proto-Bantu 1549:Niger–Congo 1530:Kordofanian 1304:Ijaw people 1267:Kordofanian 1255:Niger Delta 1165:Grassfields 1129:West Beboid 1125:East Beboid 1112:to 500 CE. 1054:Cross River 1041:Benue–Congo 1005: 1990 933:, of which 904:Volta–Niger 873:South-Volta 859:; includes 849:Ivory Coast 767:; includes 765:West Africa 750:North-Volta 742:Volta–Congo 698:: includes 630:Kordofanian 570:Benue–Congo 566:Volta–Niger 535:Volta–Congo 429:in central 411:Benue–Congo 191:Niger–Congo 105:Kordofanian 33:Niger–Congo 7327:Categories 6696:Ayere–Ahan 6346:Samba–Duru 6316:Kwah (Baa) 6284:Bikwin–Jen 6076:Francosign 5924:Chiquitano 5904:Alacalufan 5712:Guaicuruan 5685:Chapacuran 5668:Cahuapanan 5636:Araucanian 5539:Mixe–Zoque 5534:Misumalpan 5248:Comecrudan 5100:Nyulnyulan 4879:Upper Yuat 4856:Torricelli 4828:Senu River 4759:Foja Range 4665:New Guinea 4590:Burushaski 4451:Kartvelian 4426:Hmong–Mien 4242:Khoe–Kwadi 3775:(1): 1–43. 3634:2022-05-13 3340:: 108–177. 3023:2020-03-26 2931:2012-12-29 2918:2012-12-29 2501:References 2462:adjectives 2440:word order 2414:Word order 2385:reciprocal 2369:(ta-enda)' 2344:while the 2340:is called 2334:Waswahili. 2330:Kiswahili, 2222:T, H, M, L 2121:Languages 1773:Consonants 1729:noun-class 1669:See also: 1659:Potou-Tano 1625:hypothesis 1614:Dimmendaal 1555:Pozdniakov 1509:Westermann 1032:Ayere-Ahan 1015:Kogi State 1007:estimates) 761:Kru people 665:noun class 632:branches ( 335:noun-class 232:is 1,540. 229:Ethnologue 211:noun class 183:subfamily. 43:Geographic 7086:Northwest 6913:Southeast 6808:Rio Nunez 6600:Mambiloid 6353:Tula–Waja 6277:Bena–Mboi 6107:Tanzanian 6048:languages 5945:Hodï/Joti 5889:Isolates 5828:Yanomaman 5764:Otomákoan 5728:Jirajaran 5717:Guajiboan 5679:Catacaoan 5658:Barbacoan 5587:Cuitlatec 5556:Totonacan 5515:Jicaquean 5394:Chimariko 5290:Muskogean 5272:Kalapuyan 5266:Iroquoian 5241:Chumashan 5234:Chinookan 5227:Chimakuan 5145:Yangmanic 5140:Worrorran 5123:Wagaydyic 5013:Australia 4862:Trans-Fly 4528:Yeniseian 4515:Tyrsenian 4409:Dravidian 3944:772580339 3936:1011-6737 3232:, p. 146. 3067:(18): 19. 2654:: 28–35. 2474:genitives 2405:causative 2391:(Swahili 2359:is 'good 2260:Dan-Santa 1752:Phonology 1725:plurative 1575:Glottolog 1083:Mambiloid 625:Glottolog 544:combines 386:in 1922. 265:Ga-Dangme 162:Glottolog 142:ISO 639-2 7279:" ? 7202:Isolates 7076:Vai–Kono 6963:Southern 6830:Others ( 6748:Yoruboid 6518:Jukunoid 6429:Ubangian 6259:Savannas 6243:branches 6140:See also 6117:Isolates 6092:Japanese 6032:Yuracaré 5914:Candoshi 5873:Macro-Jê 5838:Zaparoan 5833:Zamucoan 5823:Witotoan 5806:Tucanoan 5801:Tiniguan 5796:Timotean 5780:Quechuan 5749:Matacoan 5744:Mascoian 5734:Jivaroan 5697:Chibchan 5691:Charruan 5642:Arawakan 5579:Isolates 5510:Chibchan 5386:Isolates 5358:Wakashan 5319:Salishan 5261:Eskaleut 5167:Giimbiyu 5159:Isolates 5068:Jarrakan 5063:Iwaidjan 4920:Isolates 4774:Kutubuan 4642:Sumerian 4578:Isolates 4533:Yukaghir 4502:Tungusic 4468:Mongolic 4456:Koreanic 4415:Eskaleut 4306:Isolates 4290:Ubangian 4157:Archived 4154:archives 4141:Archived 4130:Archived 4117:Archived 4108:Journals 4103:(LLACAN) 4087:Archived 4070:Archived 4029:42810789 3854:(1963). 3189:(2018). 2881:2/5:841. 2701:, 2011). 2691:Archived 2466:numerals 2367:will go 2342:Pazande, 2262:(Mande) 2234:Munzombo 2176:Nafaanra 2105:downstep 2096:Atlantic 2049:Nasality 1859:Purpose 1536:, later 1351:Kordofan 1243:Timbuktu 1196:Jukunoid 952:Yoruboid 806:Ubangian 673:Atlantic 605:Ubangian 550:Ubangian 7287: ? 7270: ? 7264: ? 7256: ? 7248: ? 7226: ? 7218: ? 7209:Bangime 7048:Manding 6945: ? 6921:Eastern 6887: ? 6874: ? 6871:Mangree 6717:Idomoid 6532:Plateau 6510:Platoid 6465:Ngbandi 6398: ? 6386:Kulango 6321:Longuda 6268:Adamawa 6190:italics 6167:Pidgins 6152:Creoles 6102:Swedish 6070:Chinese 6017:Urarina 6002:Puinave 5956:Itonama 5950:Irantxe 5919:Chimane 5849:Chimuan 5754:Nadahup 5673:Cariban 5653:Aymaran 5614:America 5456:Waikuri 5449:Tonkawa 5442:Timucua 5435:Takelma 5428:Siuslaw 5417:Kutenai 5401:Esselen 5364:Wintuan 5325:Shastan 5296:Na-Dene 5284:Maiduan 5221:Caddoan 5195:America 5149:Wagiman 5147:(incl. 5118:Tangkic 5058:Garawan 5031:Bunuban 4992:Tambora 4959:Maybrat 4927:Abinomn 4850:Teberan 4811:Pauwasi 4801:Mairasi 4769:Kiwaian 4649:Tambora 4635:Shompen 4617:Kusunda 4610:Kenaboi 4596:Elamite 4568:Siangic 4550:Kho-Bwa 4544:Hrusish 4462:Kra–Dai 4446:Japonic 4355:Eurasia 4330:Sandawe 4313:Bangime 4278:Songhay 3823:4391154 2656:Bibcode 2460:, with 2408:pendeza 2397:pendana 2387:suffix 2363:people 2350:Azande. 2293:Swahili 2283:Kimwani 2242:Mambila 2200:Yukuben 2168:H, M, L 2162:Lingala 2150:Dagbani 2138:Maninka 2134:Bambara 1737:Plateau 1717:general 1697:Songhay 1681:Sudanic 1601:Bantoid 1467:Meinhof 1324:Bangime 1253:), the 1235:Senegal 1204:Plateau 1170:Jarawan 1145:Menchum 1045:linkage 1020:Idomoid 931:Nigeria 909:linkage 884:linkage 865:Supyire 790:Adamawa 704:Senegal 613:Bantoid 601:Adamawa 546:Adamawa 469:Khoisan 465:Bushmen 431:Nigeria 355:Congoid 341:Origin 293:Swahili 273:Sesotho 253:Lingala 7246:Degere 7179:Defaka 7172:Others 7155:Rashad 7148:Lafofa 7055:Mokole 6953:Tyenga 6949:Shanga 6891:Siamou 6778:Bijago 6731:Nupoid 6724:Igboid 6660:Tivoid 6632:Beboid 6593:Dakoid 6525:Kainji 6414:Tusian 6403:Senufo 6391:Miyobe 6334:Mumuye 6065:BANZSL 6027:Yamana 6012:Trumai 5981:Movima 5935:Fulniô 5898:Aikanã 5812:Tupian 5707:Chonan 5631:Arauan 5569:Xincan 5521:Lencan 5474:Yokuts 5371:Yukian 5336:Tanoan 5331:Siouan 5314:Pomoan 5255:Coosan 5081:Mirndi 4974:Porome 4969:Pawaia 4823:Senagi 4795:Madang 4744:Eleman 4699:Border 4630:Nihali 4623:Minoan 4603:Hattic 4585:Basque 4556:Mijiic 4538:Digaro 4522:Uralic 4508:Turkic 4359:Europe 4216:Africa 4027: 4017: 3998: 3955:. 2.2. 3942: 3934: 3915: 3889: 3821: 3721: 3683: 3658: 3534: 3508: 3428: 3258: 3212: 3169: 3140: 3098: 3014: 2896:p. 717 2600: 2573: 2526: 2495:inside 2401:pendea 2361:(zuri) 2256:Ashuku 2196:Dangme 2188:Yoruba 2172:Yakuba 2076:Yoruba 1786:Vowels 1330:Siamou 1200:Kainji 1121:Esimbi 1117:Tivoid 1065:Dakoid 998:Nupoid 977:Igboid 956:Yoruba 861:Senari 840:Senufo 829:Mooré) 799:Mumuye 775:, and 773:Nyabwa 706:, and 656:, and 642:Heiban 638:Talodi 634:Lafofa 615:, and 580:, and 578:Yoruba 509:Rashad 507:, and 497:Defaka 357:, and 328:Rashad 326:, and 287:, and 241:Yoruba 205:, the 118:Siamou 99:Lafofa 49:Africa 7268:Rimba 7261:Omaio 7223:Komta 7215:Jalaa 7192:Ijoid 7185:Dogon 7141:Katla 6997:Yaure 6929:Bissa 6905:Mande 6846:Dompo 6832:Ghana 6790:Limba 6742:Ukaan 6703:Edoid 6689:Akpes 6683:Akoko 6646:Ekoid 6639:Bendi 6625:Bantu 6606:Tikar 6566:Ogoni 6478:Zande 6445:Gbaya 6438:Banda 6419:Viemo 6409:Tiefo 6022:Warao 5991:Nukak 5962:Kunza 5940:Guató 5929:Cofán 5909:Camsá 5702:Choco 5663:Boran 5612:South 5593:Huave 5528:Mayan 5479:Yuchi 5462:Washo 5412:Karuk 5407:Haida 5346:Utian 5278:Keres 5215:Alsea 5208:Algic 5193:North 4985:Taiap 4979:Sulka 4834:Sepik 4749:Engan 4490:Ongan 4473:Nivkh 4341:Shabo 4324:Jalaa 4318:Hadza 4272:Mande 4123:(LLA) 3977:(2). 3900:(PDF) 3883:(PDF) 3819:JSTOR 3760:(PDF) 3746:(PDF) 3739:(PDF) 3374:(PDF) 3359:(PDF) 3319:(PDF) 3296:(PDF) 3285:(PDF) 3252:(PDF) 3196:(pdf) 3042:(PDF) 2912:(PDF) 2762:(PDF) 2436:Dogon 2432:Ijoid 2428:Mande 2393:penda 2279:Wolof 2238:Igede 2192:Jukun 2184:Banda 2180:Kasem 2154:Gbaya 2146:Dogon 2142:Temne 2130:Dyula 2118:Tones 2092:tonal 2080:Zialo 2072:Kasem 1847:Wolof 1471:Bantu 1463:Bleek 1393:Jalaa 1314:Mande 1296:Ijoid 1282:Dogon 1271:Mandé 1265:(the 1259:Ijoid 1251:Dogon 1247:Mande 1239:Niger 1229:Other 1210:Ukaan 1180:Bantu 1160:Mamfe 1151:Ekoid 1105:from 1090:Bendi 1077:Tikar 1024:Idoma 972:Akoko 962:Edoid 927:Benin 919:Ghana 893:Ghana 857:Ghana 712:Sahel 700:Wolof 689:Wolof 658:Dogon 654:Mande 650:Ijoid 617:Bantu 505:Katla 501:Ijoid 489:Mande 485:Dogon 461:Pygmy 423:Benue 404:Sudan 369:Sahel 324:Katla 316:Mande 312:Dogon 289:Mooré 277:Xhosa 269:Shona 181:Bantu 93:Ijoid 87:Mande 81:Dogon 7284:Wawu 7230:Laal 7095:Bobo 7041:Jogo 7024:West 7002:Mano 6993:Guro 6988:Beng 6984:Gban 6979:Tura 6938:Boko 6934:Busa 6884:Mpra 6878:Mbre 6835:and 6802:Nalu 6785:Gola 6303:Fali 6197:bold 6124:See 6060:Arab 6046:Sign 5997:Páez 5974:Maku 5968:Leco 5484:Zuni 5468:Yana 5422:Seri 5179:Tiwi 4999:Wiru 4964:Mpur 4954:Kuot 4937:Anêm 4932:Abun 4899:Yuat 4894:Yawa 4840:Skou 4817:Ramu 4668:and 4562:Miju 4384:Ainu 4364:Asia 4362:and 4335:Laal 4296:Kadu 4284:Ijaw 4247:Kx'a 4025:OCLC 4015:ISBN 3996:ISBN 3940:OCLC 3932:ISSN 3913:ISBN 3887:ISBN 3719:ISBN 3681:ISBN 3656:ISBN 3532:ISBN 3506:ISBN 3426:ISBN 3256:ISBN 3210:ISBN 3167:ISBN 3138:ISBN 3096:ISBN 3048:: 2. 3012:ISBN 2598:ISBN 2571:ISBN 2524:ISBN 2487:SOVX 2472:and 2434:and 2365:(tu) 2289:none 2275:Fula 2267:PA/S 2230:Wobe 2226:Gban 2216:Igbo 2208:Anyi 2204:Akan 2158:Efik 2126:H, L 2086:Tone 1739:and 1606:The 1391:and 1389:Mpre 1385:Laal 1300:Ijaw 1290:Mali 1275:Ijaw 1273:and 1237:and 1218:Tita 1174:Mbam 1141:Buru 1137:Furu 1133:Momo 981:Igbo 944:YEAI 929:and 923:Togo 889:Akan 863:and 853:Mali 851:and 777:Dida 769:Bété 708:Fula 687:and 685:Fula 679:The 640:and 582:Igbo 552:and 523:and 463:and 451:The 425:and 285:Akan 281:Zulu 249:Fula 245:Igbo 167:None 7011:Wan 7007:Mwa 6975:Goo 6971:Dan 6864:Kwa 6857:Kru 6851:Ega 6821:Sua 6796:Mel 6772:Bak 6737:Oko 6710:Gbe 6452:Mba 6371:Gur 6310:Kim 6297:Day 6291:Bua 4949:Kol 4943:Ata 4889:Yam 4754:Fas 4267:Tuu 3979:doi 3840:doi 3811:doi 3790:doi 3581:doi 3553:doi 3482:doi 3455:doi 3401:doi 3200:doi 3088:doi 3004:doi 2664:doi 2652:101 2424:SOV 2389:-na 2246:Fon 2212:Ewe 1889:-al 1886:-əl 1867:-lɛ 1864:-le 1288:of 1155:Mbe 1143:?, 1139:?, 1135:?, 1131:?, 1071:Fam 1011:Oko 994:": 991:NOI 966:Edo 935:Ewe 915:Gbe 897:Twi 879:Kwa 824:Gur 763:in 756:Kru 609:Kwa 562:Kwa 558:Kru 554:Gur 503:), 499:as 493:Ijo 320:Ijo 261:Fon 257:Ewe 153:nic 112:Kru 7329:: 5151:)? 4023:. 3975:23 3973:. 3938:. 3869:11 3867:. 3834:. 3817:. 3807:12 3805:. 3784:. 3773:12 3771:. 3702:. 3698:. 3643:^ 3627:. 3577:23 3575:. 3547:. 3476:. 3449:. 3397:28 3395:. 3391:. 3367:29 3365:. 3361:. 3346:^ 3336:. 3304:^ 3287:. 3270:^ 3237:^ 3208:. 3161:. 3132:. 3094:. 3086:. 3082:. 3063:. 3044:. 3010:. 3002:. 2998:. 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Knowledge

Niger–Congo languages

Index