Proto-Bantu

doi:10.1016/B0-08-044854-2/04224-3

Encyclopedia of Language & Linguistics (Second Edition)

2006, Pages 198-205

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The Bantu languages are spoken in an area south of an imaginary line drawn from central Cameroon to southern Somalia, covering roughly a third of the African continent. They constitute the largest individual language grouping in Africa, and comprise anywhere between 300 to 600 distinct languages.

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Jouni Filip Maho, b. 1966, is a Bantuist working on various comparative aspects of Bantu grammar, in particular that related to nominal morphology. He specialises also in bibliographical surveys, and has a natural fondness for language classifications of all kinds. He is currently attached to Gšteborg University, Sweden. His publications include Few people, many tongues. the languages of Namibia (1998), A comparative study of Bantu noun classes (1999), and together with Bonny Sands The languages of Tanzania: a bibliography (2002).

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