Langenesis

Niger-Congo family

Proto-Mande

c. 5,000 BCE – 3,000 BCE Reconstructed

Proto-Mande (c. 5,000 BCE – 3,000 BCE) is a reconstructed Niger-Congo language. It has 7 descendant languages and stages on the map. Lineage: Proto-Niger-Congo → Proto-Mande.

See Proto-Mande on the interactive map

Ancestor of the Mande languages of West Africa. Mande lacks the noun-class system typical of Niger-Congo and its membership in the family is contested; some treat it as an independent family. Placed here as an early Niger-Congo split.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Niger-Congoc. 10,000 BCE – 7,000 BCE
  2. Proto-Mandec. 5,000 BCE – 3,000 BCE

Descendants 4

Sister languages 1

Also descended from Proto-Niger-Congo.

Sources