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Benue–Congo (sometimes called East Benue–Congo) is a major branch of the Volta-Congo languages which covers most of Sub-Saharan Africa.
| Benue–Congo | |
|---|---|
| East Benue–Congo | |
| Geographic distribution | Africa, from Nigeria eastwards and southwards |
| Linguistic classification | Niger–Congo?
|
| Subdivisions | |
| Language codes | |
| Glottolog | benu1247 |
 The Benue–Congo languages shown within the Niger–Congo language family. Non-Benue–Congo languages are greyscale. | |
Central Nigerian (or Platoid) contains the Plateau, Jukunoid and Kainji families, and Bantoid–Cross combines the Bantoid and Cross River groups.
Bantoid is only a collective term for every subfamily of Bantoid–Cross except Cross River, and this is no longer seen as forming a valid branch, however one of the subfamilies, Southern Bantoid, is still considered valid. It is Southern Bantoid which contains the Bantu languages, which are spoken across most of Sub-Saharan Africa. This makes Benue–Congo one of the largest subdivisions of the Niger–Congo language family, both in number of languages, of which Ethnologue counts 976 (2017), and in speakers, numbering perhaps 350 million. Benue–Congo also includes a few minor isolates in the Nigeria–Cameroon region, but their exact relationship is uncertain.
The neighbouring Volta–Niger branch of Nigeria and Benin is sometimes called "West Benue–Congo", but it does not form a united branch with Benue–Congo. When Benue–Congo was first proposed by Joseph Greenberg (1963), it included Volta–Niger (as West Benue–Congo); the boundary between Volta–Niger and Kwa has been repeatedly debated. Blench (2012) states that if Benue–Congo is taken to be "the noun-class languages east and north of the Niger", it is likely to be a valid group, though no demonstration of this has been made in print.[1]
The branches of the Benue–Congo family are thought to be as follows:
- Bantoid–Cross languages
- Central Nigerian languages, also known as Platoid
Ukaan is also related to Benue–Congo; Roger Blench suspects it might be either the most divergent (East) Benue–Congo language or the closest relative to Benue–Congo.
Fali of Baissa and Tita are also Benue–Congo but are otherwise unclassified.
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Below is a list of major Benue–Congo branches and their primary locations (centres of diversity) within Nigeria based on Blench (2019).[3]
| Branch | Primary locations |
|---|---|
| Cross River | Cross River, Akwa Ibom, and Rivers States; Cameroon |
| Bendi | Obudu and Ogoja LGAs, Cross River State |
| Mambiloid | Sardauna LGA, Taraba State; Cameroon |
| Dakoid | Mayo Belwa LGA, Taraba State and adjacent areas |
| Jukunoid | Taraba, Benue, Nasarawa, Gombe, Adamawa, Bauchi, and Plateau States of Nigeria; Cameroon |
| Yukubenic | Takum LGA, Taraba State; Cameroon |
| Kainji | Kauru and Lere LGAs, Kaduna State; and Bassa LGA, Plateau State; Kano State; Kainji Lake area of Niger and Kebbi States |
| Plateau | Plateau, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Niger and Bauchi States and the FCT |
| Tivoid | Benue State; Obudu LGA, Cross River State and Sardauna LGA, Taraba State; Nasarawa State; Cameroon |
| Beboid | Takum LGA, Taraba State; Cameroon |
| Ekoid | Ikom and Ogoja LGAs, Cross River State; Cameroon |
| Grassfields | Sardauna LGA, Taraba State; Cameroon |
| Jarawan | Bauchi, Plateau, Adamawa, and Taraba States |
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Sample basic vocabulary for reconstructed proto-languages of different Benue-Congo branches:
| Branch | Language | eye | ear | nose | tooth | tongue | mouth | blood | bone | tree | water | eat | name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benue-Congo | Proto-Benue-Congo[4] | *-lito | *-tuŋi | *-zua | *-nini, *-nino; *-sana; *-gaŋgo | *-lemi; *-lake | *-zi; *-luŋ | *-kupe | *-titi; *-kwon | *-izi; *-ni | *-zina | ||
| Kainji | Proto-Northern Jos[5] | **iji (lì-/à-) | *toŋ (ù-/tì-) | *nyimu (bì-/ì-) | *ʔini (lì-/à-) | *lelem (lì-/à-) | *nua (ù-/tì-) | *nyì(aw) (mà-) | *ti (with reduplication) (ù-/tì-) | *nyi (mà-) | *lia | *ji(a) (lì-/sì-) | |
| Plateau | Proto-Jukunoid[6] | *giP (ri-/a-) | *tóŋ (ku-/a-) | *wíǹ (ri-/a-) | *baŋ (ku-/a-); *gyín (ri-/a-) | *déma (ri-/a-) | *ndut (u-/i-) | *yíŋ (ma-) | *kup (ku-/a-) | *kun (ku-/i-) | *mbyed | *dyi | *gyin (ri-/a-) |
| Plateau | Proto-Kagoro[7] | *-gi | *-two | *nii[ŋ] | *-dyam | *-nu[ŋ] | *-suok | *-kup | *-kwan | *-sii | |||
| Plateau | Proto-Jaba[7] | *gu-su | *gu-to[ŋ] | *-gi[ŋ] | *ga-lem | *ga-nyu | *ba-zi | *gu-kup | |||||
| Plateau | Proto-Beromic[7] | *-gis | *-toŋ | *-ɣiŋ | *-lyam | *-nu | *nì-ji | *-kup | *-kon | *-sii | |||
| Plateau | Proto-Ninzic[7] | *ki-sị́ | *ku-tóŋ | *ki-Nyin / *-Nyir | *ì-rem | *-nuŋ / *-n[y]uŋ | *ma-ɣì | *kù-kụp | *ù-kon | *a-ma-sit | |||
| Cross | Proto-Upper Cross[8] | *dyèná | *-ttóŋ(ì) | *dyòná | *-ttân | *-dák | *-mà | *-dè; *-yìŋ | *-kúpà | *-tté | *-nì | *dyá | *-dínà |
| Cross | Proto-Lower Cross[9] | *ɛ́-ɲɛ̀n / *a- | *ú-tɔ́ŋ / *a- | *í-búkó | *é-dɛ̀t / *a- | *ɛ́-lɛ́mɛ̀ / *a- | *í-núà | *-ɟìːp | *ɔ́-kpɔ́ | *é-tíé | *ˊ-mɔ́ːŋ | *líá | *ɛ́-ɟɛ́n |
| Cross | Proto-Ogoni[10] | *adɛ́ɛ̃ | *ɔ̀tɔ́̃ | *m̀ bĩɔ́̃ | *àdáNa | *àdídɛ́Nɛ́ | *m̀ miNi, *m̀ muNu | *ákpogó | *èté | m̀ mṹṹ | *dè | *àbée | |
| Grassfields | Proto-Grassfields[11] | *Ít` | *túŋ-li | *L(u)Í` | *sòŋ´ | *lím` | *cùl` | *lém`; *cÌ´ | *gÚp; *kúi(n)´ | *tí´ | *LÍb; *kÌ´; *mò´ | *lÍa | *lÍn`; *kúm |
| Grassfields | Proto-Ring[12] | *túɛ̀ | *túndé | *dúì, *tɔ́ŋ | *túŋɔ̀, *góìk | *dɔ́mì, *dídè | *dúɔ̀ | *dúŋá, *káŋù | *gúpɛ́ | *kák`, *tíɛ́ | *múɔ̀ | *dúɛ̀ | *dítɔ́, *gíd' |
| Bantu | Proto-Bantu[13] | *i=jíco | *kʊ=tʊ́i | *i=jʊ́lʊ | *i=jíno; *i=gego | *lʊ=lɪ́mi | *ka=nʊa; *mʊ=lomo | *ma=gilá; *=gil-a; *ma=gadí; *=gadí; *mʊ=lopa; *ma=ɲínga | *i=kúpa | *mʊ=tɪ́ | *ma=jíjɪ; *i=diba (HH?) | *=lɪ́ -a | *i=jína |
| Bantu | Swahili | jicho | sikio | pua | jino | ulimi | kinywa | damu (Ar.) | mfupa | mti | maji | la | jina |
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