Oxford Guide to the Bantu Languages

This volume brings together leading scholars from the African continent and beyond to provide a detailed account of the languages of the Bantu family. The book will be an essential resource for students and researchers specializing in the Bantu languages and for typologists and comparative linguists more broadly.

List of contents

• 1: Lutz Marten, Ellen Hurst-Harosh, Nancy C. Kula, and Jochen Zeller: Introduction


• Part I. Historical and typological background


• 2: Andrew van der Spuy: A history of research into Bantu linguistics


• 3: Koen Bostoen: Language and (pre)history in Bantu-speaking Africa


• 4: Denis Creissels: Typology and variation


• Part II. Comparative overviews


• 5: Al Mtenje: Phonology


• 6: Larry M. Hyman: Tone


• 7: Lutz Marten: Morphology


• 8: Michael Diercks and Vicki Carstens: Syntax


• 9: Axel Fanego Palat: Semantics and pragmatics


• 10: Felix Banda: Sociolinguistics and applied linguistics


• Part III. Topics in Bantu morphology and syntax


• 11: Josephat Rugemalira: Noun classes and agreement


• 12: Lisa Lai-Shen Cheng: Relative clauses


• 13: Mark L. O. Van de Velde: Attributive possession


• 14: Claire Halpert: The augment


• 15: Justine Mukhwana Sikuku: Subject and object marking


• 16: Kristina Riedel: Object (a)symmetries


• 17: Deo S. Ngonyani: Applicative constructions


• 18: Silvester Ron Simango: Causative constructions


• 19: Rozenn Guérois: Passive constructions


• 20: Fatima Hamlaoui: Inversion constructions


• 21: Jenneke van der Wal: The conjoint/disjoint alternation


• 22: Robert Botne: Tense and aspect


• 23: Maud Devos: Negation


• 24: Hannah Gibson: Auxiliary constructions


• 25: Jochen Zeller: Locatives


• 26: Patricia Schneider-Zioga: Non-verbal predication


• 27: Rose Letsholo-Tafila: Clause linkage


• Part IV. Topics in Bantu semantics and pragmatics


• 28: Thera Marie Crane: Lexical structures and lexical semantics


• 29: Maarten Mous: The lexicon of the mixed language Ma'á/Mbugu


• 30: Steve Nicolle: Narrative discourse


• 31: Yukiko Morimoto and Nobuko Yoneda: Topic and focus


• Part V. Topics in Bantu historical and comparative linguistics


• 32: Jeff Good: Historical morphosyntax and syntactic change


• 33: Eva-Marie Bloom Strom and Malin Petzell: . Micro-variation approaches to Bantu language varieties


• 34: Rasmus Bernander: Language contact and convergence


• 35: Rebecca Grollemund and Mark Pagel: Phylogenetic approaches to Bantu historical linguistics


• 36: Margarida Petter, Esmeralda Vailati Negrão, and Evani Viotti: Bantu languages in the diaspora


• 37: Nancy C. Kula: Vowel harmony


• 38: Maxwell Kadenge: Hiatus resolution


• 39: William G. Bennett: Consonantal processes


• 40: Michelle Morrison: Imbrication


• 41: Jonathan Nyabuto Choti: Nasal prefix segmental processes


• 42: Lee Bickmore: Melodic tone


• 43: Lotta Aunio: Nominal tone


• 44: Seunghun J. Lee: Depressor consonants


• 45: Njoya Ibirahim: Reduplication


• 46: Didier Démolin and Cédric Patin: Phonetics


• 47: Laura J. Downing: Prosody-syntax interface


• 48: Annie Rialland: Intonation


• Part VII. Topics in Bantu sociolinguistics and applied linguistics


• 49: Stephanie Rudwick and Rose Marie Beck: Multilingualism in Bantu languages


• 50: Herman M. Batibo: Language endangerment and vitality


• 51: Rajend Mesthrie: Fanakalo, a Bantu-lexified pidgin


• 52: Ellen Hurst-Harosh: Youth language and registers


• 53: Judith Nakayiza and Medadi E. Ssentanda: Language policy and standardization


• 54: Ashraf Abdelhay, Cristine Severo, and Sinfree Makoni: Towards a decolonial Bantu linguistics


• 55: Ramona Kunene Nicolas: Language acquisition in Bantu languages


• 56: Naledi N. Kgolo-Lotshwao: Mental representation and processing


• 57: Russell H. Kaschula, Michael M. Kretzer, and Peter N. Mose: African languages in education in Sub-Saharan Africa


• 58: Fridah Erastus Kanana: Bantu languages in the media


• 59: Alena Rettová: Literatures in Bantu languages


• Part VIII. Language descriptions


• 60: Roland Kießling: West Ring (Grassfields Bantu)


• 61: Gratien G. Atindogbé: Barombi (A41)


• 62: Emmanuel-Moselly Makasso: Basaa (A43)


• 63: Joseph Koni Muluwa: Nsamban (B85F)


• 64: Nico Nassenstein: Bangala (C30A)


• 65: Michael Meeuwis: Lingala (C30B)


• 66: Jean Paul Ngoboka and Cyprien Niyomugabo: Kinyarwanda (JD61)


• 67: Fridah Katushemererwe: Runyakitara (JE10A)


• 68: Saudah Namyalo and Jackson Ssekiryango: Luganda (JE15)


• 69: Christopher R. Green, Michael R. Marlo, and Michael Diercks: Wanga (JE32A)


• 70: Daisuke Shinagawa: Rwa (E621A), Uru (E622D), and Mkuu (E623C): Less described varieties of Kilimanjaro Bantu (Chaga) languages


• 71: Amani Lusekelo: Kiswahili (G40)


• 72: Brent Henderson: Chimiini (G412)


• 73: Karsten Legère: Kwangali (K33)


• 74: Stephen T. M. Lukusa: Cilubà (L31)


• 75: Boniface Kawasha: Lunda (L52)


• 76: Kelvin Mambwe: Bemba (M42)


• 77: Nobuko Yoneda: Matengo (N13)


• 78: Pascal J. Kishindo: Chinyanja/Chichewa (N31)


• 79: Armindo Ngunda and Carlos J. Manuel: Emakhuwa (P31)


• 80: Jekura U. Kavari: Otjiherero (R30)


• 81: Nhlanhla Mathonsi: Zulu (S42)


• References

About the author

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, identity, and society. Most of his work focuses on African languages and he has conducted research in Eastern and Southern Africa.

Ellen Hurst-Harosh holds a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Cape Town. Her research focuses on African youth language practices, including stylects and registers, and the use of African languages and English in peer interactions and online spaces, media, texts, and education. She is a Research Associate with the Department of Languages, Cultural Studies, and Applied Linguistics at the University of Johannesburg.

Nancy C. Kula is Professor of African Linguistics at the University of Leiden (Leiden University Centre for Linguistics). Her research focuses on Bantu languages of Central/Eastern and Southern Africa where she works on phonology, mophology, intonation, tone, the phonology-syntax interact, and aspects of morphosyntax. She also works on language policy, multlingualism, and multilingual pedagogies and practices in Africa.

Jochen Zeller is 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 socio- and applied linguistics. While his main research area is Bantu grammar, he is also interested in language and cognition more broadly, and he has been working on various projects that use experimental methods to explore online language processing in speakers of Bantu languages.

Summary

This volume brings together leading scholars from the African continent and beyond to provide a detailed account of the languages of the Bantu family. The book will be an essential resource for students and researchers specializing in the Bantu languages and for typologists and comparative linguists more broadly.

Product details

• Authors: Lutz (Professor of General and African Lin Marten
• Assisted by: Ellen Hurst-Harosh (Editor), Nancy C. Kula (Editor), Kula Nancy C. (Editor), Lutz Marten (Editor), Marten Lutz (Editor), Jochen Zeller (Editor), Zeller Jochen (Editor)
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 25.03.2025, delayed
• EAN: 9780198808343
• ISBN: 978-0-19-880834-3
• No. of pages: 1264
• Series: Oxford Guides to the World's Languages
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > General and comparative linguistics; LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / Sociolinguistics, Africa, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Anthropology / Cultural & Social, Sociolinguistics, Social & cultural anthropology, Social and cultural anthropology, Historical & comparative linguistics, Historical and comparative linguistics, Bantu languages