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ProtoBantu

Proto-Bantu is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Bantu languages, a major branch of the Niger-Congo family. It is not directly attested in any written records; scholars infer its features through the comparative method by examining similarities and regular sound correspondences among modern Bantu languages such as Swahili, Zulu, Xhosa, Kikuyu, Shona, and Lingala. From this evidence, linguists outline a single ancestral language that gave rise to a vast and dispersed speech community across central, eastern, and southern Africa.

The reconstruction of Proto-Bantu covers its phonology, morphology, and core lexicon. Its phonemic inventory is typically

Lexical evidence indicates regular correspondences in basic terms across daughter languages, supporting a shared vocabulary and

Origin and expansion are typically placed in the Congo Basin region of central Africa, with a spread

described
as
including
a
set
of
voiceless
and
voiced
stops,
a
range
of
nasals
and
prenasalized
consonants,
and
a
five-vowel
system.
The
consonant
system
likely
featured
prenasalized
forms
such
as
mb,
nd,
ng,
alongside
plain
stops
and
fricatives.
Grammatically,
Proto-Bantu
is
reconstructed
as
having
a
robust
noun-class
system,
with
prefixes
attached
to
nouns
that
trigger
agreement
on
verbs
and
adjectives
in
surrounding
phrases.
semantic
fields.
The
grammar
and
morphology
point
to
extensive
nominal
class
marking
and
concord,
traits
that
remain
central
in
most
Bantu
languages
today.
Proto-Bantu
is
thus
viewed
as
the
progenitor
of
a
widespread
linguistic
zone
that
includes
hundreds
of
languages.
outward
to
eastern
and
southern
Africa
during
the
late
Holocene,
roughly
between
3,000
and
5,000
years
ago.
This
expansion
is
associated
with
agricultural
practices
and
metalworking,
contributing
to
the
dissemination
of
Bantu
languages
and
cultures.