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BANTU
BANTU. A term with a neutral, scholarly use throughout the world and, especially formerly, a sociopolitical use in SOUTH AFRICA that, in the context of apartheid, was largely pejorative and is therefore disliked by black South Africans. The international sense relates to a group of over 300 widely distributed and closely related languages of Black Africa south of a line from CAMEROON to KENYA, and by extension to c.60m people of various ethnic backgrounds who speak these languages. The Bantu languages belong to the Niger–Congo family and include: Douala in Cameroon, Ganda in UGANDA, Kongo in Zaïre, Nyanja in MALAWI, Shona and Ndebele in ZIMBABWE, Sotho in LESOTHO and South Africa, Tsonga in Mozambique and South Africa, Tswana in BOTSWANA and South Africa, Siswati in SWAZILAND, and Xhosa and Zulu in South Africa. The most widely used Bantu language is SWAHILI, a LINGUA FRANCA of East and Central Africa that has been strongly influenced by ARABIC. The original Bantu-speaking peoples appear to have originated in the region of Cameroon. In the structure of their languages, bases and affixes play a pre-eminent role: for example, from the base Tswana are formed Batswana the Tswana people (formerly rendered in English as Bechuana), Motswana an individual Tswana, Botswana land of the Tswana, and Setswana the Tswana language. Bantu loanwords in English are relatively few. Among them are: the animal names impala, zebra; boma a thorn-bush enclosure; (Zulu) impi regiment, indaba gathering, conference; (Swahili) uhuru freedom. English words associated with the Bantu-speaking peoples can be etymologically deceptive: Swahili bwana (master, boss) is from Arabic abuna (our father); assegai (spear, lance) has passed from Berber into Arabic and thence to Southern Africa; kraal is from PORTUGUESE through AFRIKAANS, and is a doublet of corral. Bantu languages have borrowed extensively from English, especially in South Africa: for example, Zulu ikhalenda calendar, ukheroti carrot, ukholiflawa cauliflower; Xhosa ibhentshi bench, ikati cat, ukubhaptiza to baptise. See AFRICAN LANGUAGES, BORROWING.
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Cite this article
TOM McARTHUR. "BANTU." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. TOM McARTHUR. "BANTU." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-BANTU.html TOM McARTHUR. "BANTU." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-BANTU.html |
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Bantu
Bantu , ethnic and linguistic group of Africa, numbering about 120 million. The Bantu inhabit most of the continent S of the Congo River except the extreme southwest. The classification is primarily linguistic, and there are almost a hundred Bantu languages, including Luganda, Zulu, and Swahili. Few cultural generalizations concerning the Bantu can be made. Before the European conquest of Africa the Bantu tribes were either pastoral and warlike or agricultural and usually pacific. There were some highly developed Bantu states, including Buganda in present-day Uganda. Possibly under the fear of European encroachment, several additional Bantu states developed in the 19th cent., notably among the Zulu and the Sotho. Other well-known Bantu tribes include the Ndebele (Matabele) and the Shona. In South Africa, the term Bantu is commonly used to refer to the native African population, which was subject to the policies of apartheid .
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"Bantu." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Bantu." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Bantu.html "Bantu." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Bantu.html |
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Bantu
Bantu Group of African languages generally considered as forming part of the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo family. Swahili, Xhosa, and Zulu are among the most widely spoken of the several hundred Bantu languages spoken from the Congo Basin to South Africa, and almost all are tone languages. There are more than 70 million speakers of Bantu.
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"Bantu." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Bantu." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-Bantu.html "Bantu." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-Bantu.html |
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Bantu
Ban·tu / ˈbantoō/ • n. (pl. same or -tus) 1. a member of an extensive group of native peoples of central and southern Africa. 2. the group of languages spoken by these peoples. • adj. of or relating to these peoples or their languages. |
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"Bantu." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Bantu." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-bantu.html "Bantu." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-bantu.html |
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Bantu
Bantu
•Bantu, stand-to
•Manawatu, Vanuatu
•passe-partout • gentoo • lean-to
•pistou
•into, thereinto
•manitou • onto • Motu
•Basotho, Hutu, Lesotho, Mobutu, Sotho, tutu
•hereunto, thereunto, unto
•surtout
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"Bantu." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Bantu." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Bantu.html "Bantu." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Bantu.html |
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