The Oxford Guide to the Bantu Languages

This volume brings together leading scholars from Africa, Europe, the Americas and beyond to provide a detailed account of the languages of the Bantu family, which cover an area from Cameroon and Kenya in the north to South Africa in the south. The Bantu family is part of the Niger-Congo phylum and one of the world's biggest language groups, comprising around 500 languages. The family includes major languages with large numbers of speakers, such as Zulu, Kinyarwanda, and Swahili, the most widely spoken and taught African language, as well as many community languages and several endangered languages. Bantu languages feature prominently in the complex and multilingual language ecologies that are characteristic of the linguistic situation in much of Africa and they provide rich evidence for the study of theoretical and comparative linguistics, language contact, and language change. They play an important role in education, commerce, culture, and artistic expression, in the media and public discourse, in governance and social justice, and are central to the future of the continent and the well-being of its communities.

The first part of The Oxford Guide to the Bantu Languages provides background and context, with chapters exploring the history of research in the field; language and prehistory in Bantu-speaking Africa; and typology and variation. Chapters in the second part offer broad comparative overviews of Bantu phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics, socio- and applied linguistics, before Parts III - VII cover more specific topics in Bantu linguistics across a variety of subfields, ranging from structural issues such as the augment and melodic tone to historical and sociolinguistic topics such as Bantu languages in the diaspora and language policy and standardization. The chapters in the final part offer individual structural overviews of a range of languages from across the Bantu-speaking area. The book will be an essential resource for students and researchers specializing in the Bantu languages and for typologists and comparative linguists more broadly.

Lutz Marten, Professor of General and African Linguistics, SOAS University of London,Ellen Hurst-Harosh, Associate Professor, University of Cape Town,Nancy C. Kula, Professor of Linguistics, Department of Language and Linguistics, University of Essex,Jochen Zeller, Associate Professor, Linguistics, University of Kwa-Zulu Natal

Lutz Marten is Professor of General and African Linguistics at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. He is interested in linguistic theory, comparative and historical linguistics, and questions of language and identity. Most of his work focuses on African languages and he has conducted research in Eastern and Southern Africa. His publications include At the Syntax-Pragmatics Interface (OUP 2002), A Grammatical Sketch of Herero (with Wilhelm Möhlig and Jekura Kavari; Köppe 2002), The Dynamics of Language (with Ronnie Cann and Ruth Kempson; Elsevier 2005), and Colloquial Swahili (with Donovan McGrath; Routledge 2003/2012).


Ellen Hurst-Harosh is Associate Professor in the Humanities Education Development Unit at the University of Cape Town (UCT). She holds a PhD in Linguistics from UCT. Her research focuses on African youth language practices, including stylects and registers, as well as translanguaging pedagogies and the use of African languages in higher education. Recent publications include the monograph Tsotsitaal in South Africa: Style and Metaphor in Youth Language Practices (Köppe 2020) and the edited collection Youth Language Practices and Urban Language Contact in Africa (with Rajend Mesthrie and Heather Brookes; CUP 2021).


Nancy C. Kula is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Essex, and an affiliated Research Fellow at the Department of Linguistics and Language Practice at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa. Her research focuses on Bantu languages of Central/Eastern and Southern Africa where she works on phonology, morphophonology, intonation, tone, the phonology-syntax interface, and aspects of morphosyntax. She also works on language policy and multilingual pedagogies, and has published in these areas in international journals and volumes. She is co-editor of The Bloomsbury Companion to Phonology (2011 and 2013).


Jochen Zeller is Associate Professor of Linguistics at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban. He received his PhD from the University of Frankfurt in 1999, and has lived and worked in South Africa since 2001. He specializes in generative syntax, but he has also published on semantics and phonetics and on topics in applied linguistics and sociolinguistics. While his main research area is Bantu grammar, he is also interested in language and cognition more broadly, and he is currently working on various projects that use experimental methods to explore online language processing in speakers of Bantu languages.

1. Introduction, Lutz Marten, Ellen Hurst-Harosh, Nancy C. Kula, and Jochen ZellerPart I. Historical and typological background2. A history of research into Bantu linguistics, Andrew van der Spuy3. Language and (pre)history in Bantu-speaking Africa, Koen Bostoen4. Typology and variation, Denis CreisselsPart II. Comparative overviews5. Phonology, Al Mtenje6. Tone, Larry M. Hyman7. Morphology, Lutz Marten8. Syntax, Michael Diercks and Vicki Carstens9. Semantics and pragmatics, Axel Fanego Palat10. Sociolinguistics and applied linguistics, Felix BandaPart III. Topics in Bantu morphology and syntax11. Noun classes and agreement, Josephat Rugemalira12. Relative clauses, Lisa Lai-Shen Cheng13. Attributive possession, Mark L. O. Van de Velde14. The augment, Claire Halpert15. Subject and object marking, Justine Mukhwana Sikuku16. Object (a)symmetries, Kristina Riedel17. Applicative constructions, Deo S. Ngonyani18. Causative constructions, Silvester Ron Simango19. Passive constructions, Rozenn Guérois20. Inversion constructions, Fatima Hamlaoui21. The conjoint/disjoint alternation, Jenneke van der Wal22. Tense and aspect, Robert Botne23. Negation, Maud Devos24. Auxiliary constructions, Hannah Gibson25. Locatives, Jochen Zeller26. Non-verbal predication, Patricia Schneider-Zioga27. Clause linkage, Rose Letsholo-TafilaPart IV. Topics in Bantu semantics and pragmatics28. Lexical structures and lexical semantics, Thera Marie Crane29. The lexicon of the mixed language Ma'á/Mbugu, Maarten Mous30. Narrative discourse, Steve Nicolle31. Topic and focus, Yukiko Morimoto and Nobuko YonedaPart V. Topics in Bantu historical and comparative linguistics32. Historical morphosyntax and syntactic change, Jeff Good33. . Micro-variation approaches to Bantu language varieties, Eva-Marie Bloom Strom and Malin Petzell34. Language contact and convergence, Rasmus Bernander35. Phylogenetic approaches to Bantu historical linguistics, Rebecca Grollemund and Mark Pagel36. Bantu languages in the diaspora, Margarida Petter, Esmeralda Vailati Negrão, and Evani Viotti37. Vowel harmony, Nancy C. Kula38. Hiatus resolution, Maxwell Kadenge39. Consonantal processes, William G. Bennett40. Imbrication, Michelle Morrison41. Nasal prefix segmental processes, Jonathan Nyabuto Choti42. Melodic tone, Lee Bickmore43. Nominal tone, Lotta Aunio44. Depressor consonants, Seunghun J. Lee45. Reduplication, Njoya Ibirahim46. Phonetics, Didier Démolin and Cédric Patin47. Prosody-syntax interface, Laura J. Downing48. Intonation, Annie RiallandPart VII. Topics in Bantu sociolinguistics and applied linguistics49. Multilingualism in Bantu languages, Stephanie Rudwick and Rose Marie Beck50. Language endangerment and vitality, Herman M. Batibo51. Fanakalo, a Bantu-lexified pidgin, Rajend Mesthrie52. Youth language and registers, Ellen Hurst-Harosh53. Language policy and standardization, Judith Nakayiza and Medadi E. Ssentanda54. Towards a decolonial Bantu linguistics, Ashraf Abdelhay, Cristine Severo, and Sinfree Makoni55. Language acquisition in Bantu languages, Ramona Kunene Nicolas56. Mental representation and processing, Naledi N. Kgolo57. African languages in education in Sub-Saharan Africa, Russell H. Kaschula, Michael M. Kretzer, and Peter N. Mose58. Bantu languages in the media, Fridah Erastus Kanana59. Literatures in Bantu languages, Alena RettováPart VIII. Language descriptions60. West Ring (Grassfields Bantu), Roland Kießling61. Barombi (A41), Gratien G. Atindogbé62. Basaa (A43), Emmanuel-Moselly Makasso63. Nsamban (B85F), Joseph Koni Muluwa64. Bangala (C30A), Nico Nassenstein65. Lingala (C30B), Michael Meeuwis66. Kinyarwanda (JD61), Jean Paul Ngoboka and Cyprien Niyomugabo67. Runyakitara (JE10A), Fridah Katushemererwe68. Luganda (JE15), Saudah Namyalo and Jackson Ssekiryango69. Wanga (JE32A), Christopher R. Green, Michael R. Marlo, and Michael Diercks70. Rwa (E621A), Uru (E622D), and Mkuu (E623C): Less described varieties of Kilimanjaro Bantu (Chaga) languages, Daisuke Shinagawa71. Kiswahili (G40), Amani Lusekelo72. Chimiini (G412), Brent Henderson73. Kwangali (K33), Karsten Legère74. Cilubà (L31), Stephen T. M. Lukusa75. Lunda (L52), Boniface Kawasha76. Bemba (M42), Kelvin Mambwe77. Matengo (N13), Nobuko Yoneda78. Chinyanja/Chichewa (N31), Pascal J. Kishindo79. Emakhuwa (P31), Armindo Ngunda and Carlos J. Manuel80. Otjiherero (R30), Jekura U. Kavari81. Zulu (S42), Nhlanhla MathonsiReferences