Overview

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.

Full Product Details

Author:   Lutz Marten (Professor of General and African Linguistics, Professor of General and African Linguistics, SOAS University of London) ,  Ellen Hurst-Harosh (Research Associate, Research Associate, University of Johannesburg) ,  Nancy C. Kula (Professor of Linguistics, Department of Language and Linguistics, Professor of Linguistics, Department of Language and Linguistics, University of Essex) ,  Jochen Zeller (Professor, Linguistics, Professor, Linguistics, University of KwaZulu-Natal)
Publisher:   Oxford University Press
Imprint:   Oxford University Press
ISBN:  

9780198808343

ISBN 10:   0198808348
Pages:   1264
Publication Date:   19 August 2025
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   To order  

Table 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: 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

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Author Information

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.

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