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{{POV|date=June 2024}} |
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{{Short description|Reconstructed ancestor of the |
{{Short description|Reconstructed ancestor of the Niger–Congo language family}} |
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{{Infobox proto-language |
{{Infobox proto-language |
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| name = Proto-Niger–Congo |
| name = Proto-Niger–Congo |
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| acceptance = hypothetical |
| acceptance = hypothetical |
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| familycolor= |
| familycolor= Niger–Congo |
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| region = [[Africa]] |
| region = [[Africa]] |
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| era = |
| era = Early {{MILLENNIUM|-8000}} |
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| target = [[Niger–Congo languages]] |
| target = [[Niger–Congo languages]] |
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| child1 = [[Proto-Bantu language|Proto-Bantu]] |
| child1 = [[Proto-Bantu language|Proto-Bantu]]; [[Proto-Yoruboid language|Proto-Yoruboid]] |
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| child2 = |
| child2 = |
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}} |
}} |
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'''Proto-Niger–Congo''' is the hypothetical reconstructed [[proto-language]] of the proposed [[Niger–Congo |
'''Proto-Niger–Congo''' is the hypothetical reconstructed [[proto-language]] of the proposed [[Niger–Congo language family]]. |
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==Validity== |
==Validity== |
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Unlike [[Nilo-Saharan languages|Nilo-Saharan]], the Niger–Congo language phylum is accepted by mainstream linguists and Africanists.<ref name="Guldemann"/> [[Atlantic–Congo languages|Atlantic–Congo]] (roughly, Niger–Congo but excluding the [[Mande languages|Mande]], [[Kru languages|Kru]], [[Siamou language|Siamou]], [[Kordofanian languages|Kordofanian]], [[Dogon languages|Dogon]] and [[Ijoid languages]]) is accepted by ''[[Glottolog]]'' 4.4 |
Unlike [[Nilo-Saharan languages|Nilo-Saharan]], the Niger–Congo language phylum is accepted by mainstream linguists and Africanists.<ref name="Guldemann"/> [[Atlantic–Congo languages|Atlantic–Congo]] (roughly, Niger–Congo but excluding the [[Mande languages|Mande]], [[Kru languages|Kru]], [[Siamou language|Siamou]], [[Kordofanian languages|Kordofanian]], [[Dogon languages|Dogon]] and [[Ijoid languages]]) is accepted by ''[[Glottolog]]'' 4.4. |
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==Origin== |
==Origin== |
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{{see|Niger–Congo languages#Origin|Linguistic homeland#Niger–Congo|Haplogroup E-V38|Haplogroup E-M2|Bantu expansion}} |
{{see|Niger–Congo languages#Origin|Linguistic homeland#Niger–Congo|Haplogroup E-V38|Haplogroup E-M2|Bantu expansion}} |
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Blench (2006,<ref name="BlenchAfricanPast">{{Cite book|title=Archaeology, language, and the African past|last=Blench|first=Roger|publisher=AltaMira Press|year=2006|isbn=9780759104655}}</ref> 2016<ref>Blench, Roger. 2016. [https://llacan.cnrs.fr/nigercongo2/discussions/Can_we_visit_the_graves_of_the_first_Niger.pdf Can we visit the graves of the first |
Blench (2006,<ref name="BlenchAfricanPast">{{Cite book|title=Archaeology, language, and the African past|last=Blench|first=Roger|publisher=AltaMira Press|year=2006|isbn=9780759104655}}</ref> 2016<ref>Blench, Roger. 2016. [https://llacan.cnrs.fr/nigercongo2/discussions/Can_we_visit_the_graves_of_the_first_Niger.pdf Can we visit the graves of the first Niger–Congo speakers?]. Paper presented for the 2nd International Congress "[https://llacan.cnrs.fr/nigercongo2/index.html Towards Proto-Niger–Congo: Comparison and Reconstruction]", Paris, 1-3 September, 2016.</ref>) proposes that Proto-Niger–Congo originated about 11-10,000 years before present in the western part of the "[[Green Sahara]]" of Africa (roughly the [[Sahel]] and southern [[Sahara]]), and that its dispersal can be correlated with the spread of the [[bow and arrow]] by migrating [[hunter-gatherer]]s. |
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==Phonology== |
==Phonology== |
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===Tones=== |
===Tones=== |
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[[Larry Hyman]] (2016) reconstructs two contrastive level [[tone (linguistics)|tones]] for Proto-Niger–Congo, which are:<ref name="Hyman2016">{{cite journal|last1=Hyman|first1=Larry M.|title=On Reconstructing Tone in Proto- |
[[Larry Hyman]] (2016) reconstructs two contrastive level [[tone (linguistics)|tones]] for Proto-Niger–Congo, which are:<ref name="Hyman2016">{{cite journal|last1=Hyman|first1=Larry M.|title=On Reconstructing Tone in Proto-Niger–Congo|journal=UC Berkeley Phonology Lab Annual Reports|volume=12|year=2016|issn=2768-5047|doi=10.5070/P7121040722|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>Hyman, Larry. 2016. [https://llacan.cnrs.fr/nigercongo2/presentations/Hyman%20Paris%20Niger-Congo%20HO2.pdf Can we visit the graves of the first Niger-Congo speakers?]. Paper presented for the 2nd International Congress "[https://llacan.cnrs.fr/nigercongo2/index.html On Reconstructing Tone in Proto-Niger-Congo]", Paris, 1-3 September, 2016.</ref> |
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* *H (high tone) |
* *H (high tone) |
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*''noun class 6A'': prefix for liquid and mass nouns ("uncountables") |
*''noun class 6A'': prefix for liquid and mass nouns ("uncountables") |
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Below are some |
Below are some Niger–Congo noun class markers (Good 2020:145,<ref name="Good">Good, Jeff. 2020. Niger-Congo, with a special focus on Benue-Congo. In: Vossen, Rainer and Gerrit J. Dimmendaal (eds.). 2020. ''The Oxford Handbook of African Languages'', pp. 139-160. Oxford: Oxford University Press.</ref> from Schadeberg 1989:72<ref>[[Thilo C. Schadeberg|Schadeberg, Thilo C.]] (1989). ‘Kordofanian’, in J. Bendor-Samuel (ed.). ''The Niger-Congo Languages: A classification and description of Africa's largest language family'', 66-80. Lanham, MD: University Press of America.</ref>): |
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{| class="wikitable sortable" |
{| class="wikitable sortable" |
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===Verbal extensions=== |
===Verbal extensions=== |
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Below are some Proto- |
Below are some Proto-Niger–Congo, [[Proto-Bantu]], and Proto-[[Atlantic languages|Atlantic]] verbal extensions (Good 2020:146,<ref name="Good"/> from Hyman 2007:157<ref>Hyman, L. M. (2007). ‘Niger-Congo verb extensions: overview and discussion’, in D. L. Payne and J. Pena (eds.), ''Selected Proceedings of the 37th Annual Conference on African Linguistics''. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla, 149-63.</ref>): |
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{| class="wikitable sortable" |
{| class="wikitable sortable" |
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! Type of suffix !! Proto- |
! Type of suffix !! Proto-Niger–Congo !! Proto-Bantu !! Proto-Atlantic |
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|- |
|- |
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! applicative |
! applicative |
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==Pronouns== |
==Pronouns== |
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Güldemann's (2018) Proto-Niger–Congo pronoun reconstructions, for the first and second person pronouns (singular and plural), are given below.<ref name="Guldemann">{{Cite book|title=The Languages and Linguistics of Africa|last=Güldemann|first=Tom|editor-last=Güldemann|editor-first=Tom|publisher=De Gruyter Mouton|chapter=Historical linguistics and genealogical language classification in Africa|year=2018|isbn=978-3-11-042606-9|doi=10.1515/9783110421668-002|location=Berlin|pages=58–444|series=The World of Linguistics series|volume=11}}</ref> |
Güldemann's (2018) Proto-Niger–Congo pronoun reconstructions, for the first and second person pronouns (singular and plural), are given below.<ref name="Guldemann">{{Cite book|title=The Languages and Linguistics of Africa|last=Güldemann|first=Tom|editor-last=Güldemann|editor-first=Tom|publisher=De Gruyter Mouton|chapter=Historical linguistics and genealogical language classification in Africa|year=2018|isbn=978-3-11-042606-9|doi=10.1515/9783110421668-002|location=Berlin|pages=58–444|series=The World of Linguistics series|volume=11|s2cid=133888593 }}</ref> |
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{| class="wikitable" |
{| class="wikitable" |
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==Lexicon== |
==Lexicon== |
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There is currently no comprehensive, systematic reconstruction for Proto-Niger–Congo lexical roots. Nevertheless, quasi-reconstructions (preliminary, tentative reconstructions, which are marked using the [[number sign]] #) have been attempted by [[Roger Blench]]. Some examples from Blench (2016):<ref name="BlenchWrong"/> |
There is currently no comprehensive, systematic reconstruction for Proto-Niger–Congo lexical roots. Nevertheless, quasi-reconstructions (preliminary, tentative reconstructions, which are marked using the [[number sign]] #) have been attempted by [[Roger Blench]], who is currently compiling a Niger–Congo etymological dictionary. Some examples from Blench (2016):<ref name="BlenchWrong"/> |
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{| class="wikitable sortable" |
{| class="wikitable sortable" |
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| *keɗeri || to split, cut, break |
| *keɗeri || to split, cut, break |
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|- |
|- |
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| *suŋguri || to wash ( |
| *suŋguri || to wash ([[Transitive verb|transitive]]) |
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|- |
|- |
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| #tokori || chew |
| #tokori || chew |
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| *tunuru || five |
| *tunuru || five |
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|} |
|} |
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{{ill|Hans Günther Mukarovsky|de|Hans Günther Mukarovsky}}'s reconstruction of Proto-Western Nigritic (roughly equivalent to Proto-[[Atlantic–Congo languages|Atlantic–Congo]]<ref>Blench, Roger. ''[http://www.rogerblench.info/Language/Niger-Congo/General/Westermann%20complete.pdf Kordofanian and Niger-Congo: new and revised lexical evidence]''. Cambridge: Kay Williamson Educational Foundation.</ref>) was published in 2 volumes in 1976 and 1977.<ref>Mukarovsky, Hans. 1976-1977. ''A study of Western Nigritic'' (2 vols). Wien: Institut für Ägyptologie und Afrikanistik, Universität Wien.</ref> |
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===Plants=== |
===Plants=== |
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| #mar(d)a || [[pearl millet]] || ''[[Pennisetum glaucum]]'' || also widespread in [[West Chadic languages|West Chadic]] |
| #mar(d)a || [[pearl millet]] || ''[[Pennisetum glaucum]]'' || also widespread in [[West Chadic languages|West Chadic]] |
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|- |
|- |
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| #fundi<ref name="BlenchAfricanMillets">{{cite journal|last1=Blench|first1=Roger M.|title=Vernacular names for African millets and other minor cereals and their significance for agricultural history|journal=Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences|volume=8|issue=1|year=2012|pages=1–8|issn=1866-9557|doi=10.1007/s12520-012-0104-5}}</ref> || [[fonio]] || ''[[Digitaria exilis]]'' || in Mande, Atlantic, Gur, etc. |
| #fundi<ref name="BlenchAfricanMillets">{{cite journal|last1=Blench|first1=Roger M.|title=Vernacular names for African millets and other minor cereals and their significance for agricultural history|journal=Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences|volume=8|issue=1|year=2012|pages=1–8|issn=1866-9557|doi=10.1007/s12520-012-0104-5|s2cid=128906570 }}</ref> || [[fonio]] || ''[[Digitaria exilis]]'' || in Mande, Atlantic, Gur, etc. |
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|- |
|- |
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| #ku; #ji<ref name="BlenchAfricanPast"/> || yam || ''[[Dioscorea]]'' spp. || |
| #ku; #ji<ref name="BlenchAfricanPast"/> || yam || ''[[Dioscorea]]'' spp. || |
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| #-solu || elephant || Volta-Congo |
| #-solu || elephant || Volta-Congo |
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|- |
|- |
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| #-bu || dog || Proto- |
| #-bu || dog || Proto-Niger–Congo |
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|- |
|- |
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| #kuru<ref name="BlenchAfricanPast"/> || crocodile || Niger-Congo ([[Proto-Bantu]] has #-gandu)<ref name="BlenchAfricanPast"/> |
| #kuru<ref name="BlenchAfricanPast"/> || crocodile || Niger-Congo ([[Proto-Bantu]] has #-gandu)<ref name="BlenchAfricanPast"/> |
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==Bibliography== |
==Bibliography== |
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*{{cite |
*{{cite book|last1=Güldemann|first1=Tom|title=Geographical Typology and Linguistic Areas |chapter=Proto-Bantu and Proto-Niger-Congo: Macro-areal Typology and Linguistic Reconstruction|series=Tokyo University of Foreign Studies |volume=2|year=2011|pages=109|issn=1877-6248|doi=10.1075/tufs.2.09gul|isbn=978-90-272-0769-2 }} |
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*{{cite journal|last1=Sim|first1=Galina|title=Towards Proto- |
*{{cite journal|last1=Sim|first1=Galina|title=Towards Proto-Niger–Congo: Comparison and Reconstruction, Paris, LLACAN, September 1–3, 2016|journal=Journal of Language Relationship|volume=14|issue=3–4|year=2017|pages=207–210|issn=2219-4029|doi=10.31826/jlr-2017-143-408|doi-access=free}} |
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*Grollemund, Rebecca, Simon Branford, Jean-Marie Hombert & Mark Pagel. 2016. ''[https://llacan.cnrs.fr/nigercongo2/abstracts/Grollemund_Hombert_Pagel-Genetic%20Unity%20of%20the%20Niger-Congo%20family.pdf Genetic unity of the Niger-Congo family]''. Paper presented for the 2nd International Congress "[https://llacan.cnrs.fr/nigercongo2/index.html Towards Proto-Niger-Congo: Comparison and Reconstruction]", Paris, 1-3 September, 2016. |
*Grollemund, Rebecca, Simon Branford, Jean-Marie Hombert & Mark Pagel. 2016. ''[https://llacan.cnrs.fr/nigercongo2/abstracts/Grollemund_Hombert_Pagel-Genetic%20Unity%20of%20the%20Niger-Congo%20family.pdf Genetic unity of the Niger-Congo family]''. Paper presented for the 2nd International Congress "[https://llacan.cnrs.fr/nigercongo2/index.html Towards Proto-Niger-Congo: Comparison and Reconstruction]", Paris, 1-3 September, 2016. |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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*[https://llacan.cnrs.fr/nigercongo2/index.html Towards Proto-Niger-Congo: Comparison and Reconstruction] |
*[https://llacan.cnrs.fr/nigercongo2/index.html Towards Proto-Niger-Congo: Comparison and Reconstruction] |
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*[http://sumale.vjf.cnrs.fr/NC/ Niger-Congo Reconstruction] project at LLACAN |
*[http://sumale.vjf.cnrs.fr/NC/ Niger-Congo Reconstruction] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509020508/http://sumale.vjf.cnrs.fr/NC/ |date=2021-05-09 }} project at LLACAN |
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{{Niger-Congo branches}} |
{{Niger-Congo branches}} |
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Proto-Niger–Congo | |
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(hypothetical) | |
Reconstruction of | Niger–Congo languages |
Region | Africa |
Era | Early 8th millennium BC |
Lower-order reconstructions |
Proto-Niger–Congo is the hypothetical reconstructed proto-language of the proposed Niger–Congo language family.
Unlike Nilo-Saharan, the Niger–Congo language phylum is accepted by mainstream linguists and Africanists.[1] Atlantic–Congo (roughly, Niger–Congo but excluding the Mande, Kru, Siamou, Kordofanian, Dogon and Ijoid languages) is accepted by Glottolog 4.4.
Blench (2006,[2] 2016[3]) proposes that Proto-Niger–Congo originated about 11-10,000 years before present in the western part of the "Green Sahara" of Africa (roughly the Sahel and southern Sahara), and that its dispersal can be correlated with the spread of the bow and arrow by migrating hunter-gatherers.
Larry Hyman (2016) reconstructs two contrastive level tones for Proto-Niger–Congo, which are:[4][5]
Proto-Niger–Congo is traditionally assumed to have had a disyllabic root structure similar to that of Proto-Bantu, namely (C)V-CVCV[6] (Williamson 2000,[7] etc.). However, Roger Blench (2016) proposes a trisyllabic (CVCVCV) syllabic structure for Proto-Niger–Congo roots,[6] while Konstantin Pozdniakov (2016) suggests that the main prototypical structure of Proto-Niger–Congo roots is *CVC, along with disyllabic, trisyllabic, and other variations.[8]
Noun classes can be reconstructed for Proto-Niger–Congo. Noun class prefixes in Proto-Niger–Congo include:[1]
Below are some Niger–Congo noun class markers (Good 2020:145,[9] from Schadeberg 1989:72[10]):
Branch | 1 | 1 (semantic category) | 3 | 4 | 4 (semantic category) | 5 | 6 | 6 (semantic categories) | 6a | 6a (semantic category) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kordofanian | *gu- | humans | *gu- | *j- | ‘tree’ | *li- | *ŋu- | ‘egg’ | *ŋ- | liquids |
Atlantic | *gu- | humans | *gʊ- | *Ci- | ‘trees’ | *de- | *ga- | ‘head, name’ | *ma- | liquids |
Oti–Volta (Gur) | *-ʊ | humans | *-bʊ | *-Ci | ‘tree’ | *-ɖɪ | *-a | ‘egg, head’ | *-ma | liquids |
Ghana–Togo (Kwa) | *o- | humans | *o- | *i- | ‘firewood’ | *li- | *a- | ‘egg, head, name’ | *N- | liquids |
Benue–Congo | *u- | humans | *u- | *(t)i- | ‘tree’ | *li- | *a- | ‘egg, head, name’ | *ma- | liquids |
Bantu (noun) | *mu- | humans | *mu- | *mi- | ‘tree’ | *i̧- | *ma- | ‘egg, name’ | *ma- | liquids |
Bantu (pronoun) | *ju- | *gu- | *gi- | *di- | *ga- | *ga- |
Below are some Proto-Niger–Congo, Proto-Bantu, and Proto-Atlantic verbal extensions (Good 2020:146,[9] from Hyman 2007:157[11]):
Type of suffix | Proto-Niger–Congo | Proto-Bantu | Proto-Atlantic |
---|---|---|---|
applicative | *-de | *-ɪd | *-ed |
causative | *-ci, *-ti | *-ic-i | *-an |
passive | *-o | *-ɪb-ʊ | *-V[+back] |
reciprocal | *-na | *-an | *-ad |
reversive | *-to | *-ʊd | *-ɪt |
For example, in Swahili:
Güldemann's (2018) Proto-Niger–Congo pronoun reconstructions, for the first and second person pronouns (singular and plural), are given below.[1]
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
1st person | *mVfront | *TVclose |
2nd person | *mVback | *NVclose |
Babaev (2013) is a detailed survey of pronouns in Niger–Congo languages, along with detailed reconstructions.[12]
Konstantin Pozdniakov (2018) has published a detailed reconstruction of Proto-Niger–Congo numerals, as well as comprehensive reconstructions for the lower-order branches of the Niger–Congo phylum. Pozdniakov (2018: 293)[13] and Güldemann (2018: 147) reconstruct the following numerals for Proto-Niger–Congo.[1]
Numeral | Proto-Niger–Congo (Pozdniakov 2018) |
Proto-Niger–Congo (Güldemann 2018) |
---|---|---|
1 | *ku-(n)-di (> ni/-in), *do, *gbo/*kpo | |
2 | *ba-di | *Ri |
3 | *tat / *tath | *ta(C) |
4 | *na(h)i | *na(C) |
5 | *tan, *nu(n) | *nU |
6 | 5+1 | |
7 | 5+2 | |
8 | *na(i)nai (< 4 reduplicated) | |
9 | 5+4 | |
10 | *pu / *fu | |
20 | < ‘person’ |
The numerals 6-9 are formed by combining lower numerals, while ‘20’ is derived from ‘person’.
There is currently no comprehensive, systematic reconstruction for Proto-Niger–Congo lexical roots. Nevertheless, quasi-reconstructions (preliminary, tentative reconstructions, which are marked using the number sign #) have been attempted by Roger Blench, who is currently compiling a Niger–Congo etymological dictionary. Some examples from Blench (2016):[6]
Proto-Niger–Congo | Gloss |
---|---|
*keɗeri | to split, cut, break |
*suŋguri | to wash (transitive) |
#tokori | chew |
*siŋguri | rub, smear |
*ɗumigbi | bury, dig, grave, plant |
#tɪ́gbʊ́rɪ́ | head |
#gbukuru | tortoise, turtle |
#goŋgboro | chest |
#kpagara | leg, foot |
#ku(n)duŋo | knee |
#-bugbulu | hole |
#kVnV | one |
*tunuru | five |
Hans Günther Mukarovsky [de]'s reconstruction of Proto-Western Nigritic (roughly equivalent to Proto-Atlantic–Congo[14]) was published in 2 volumes in 1976 and 1977.[15]
Blench (2009) lists various Niger–Congo quasi-reconstructions for plants with important economic uses (note that not all of them necessarily reconstruct to Proto-Niger–Congo). These roots are generally widespread areal forms (Wanderworts), with some of them also found in Afroasiatic and Nilo-Saharan languages.[16] A few forms are also added from some of Blench's other works (2006, 2012, 2016).
Other plant names with widespread areal distributions in West Africa:
Below are some quasi-reconstructions of Niger–Congo areal forms for animal names given by Blench (2007[19]), with some reconstructions also based on Blench (2006).[2]
Niger–Congo form | Common name | Distribution |
---|---|---|
#jata | lion | Mande-Congo |
#guni | lion | areal form |
#-bungu | hyena | Volta-Congo |
#-biti | hyena | Proto-Benue-Kwa |
#murum | hyena | Central Nigeria |
#gbali | elephant | Mande-Congo |
#-nyi | elephant | Benue-Kwa ?; also means 'tusk' |
#-solu | elephant | Volta-Congo |
#-bu | dog | Proto-Niger–Congo |
#kuru[2] | crocodile | Niger-Congo (Proto-Bantu has #-gandu)[2] |
#budi[2] | goat | Niger-Congo (Afroasiatic and Nilo-Saharan have #k-r-)[2] |
#-ga[2] | village weaver | Benue-Congo[2] |
Niger–Congo branches
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Atlantic–Congo |
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Mande |
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Kordofanian |
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Others |
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Isolates |
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Unclassified |
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Proto-languages |
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