Langenesis

Niger-Congo family

Proto-Nguni

c. 500 CE – 1500 CE Reconstructed

Proto-Nguni (c. 500 CE – 1500 CE) is a reconstructed Niger-Congo language. It has 4 descendant languages and stages on the map. Lineage: Proto-Niger-Congo → Proto-Atlantic-Congo → Proto-Benue-Congo → Proto-Bantu → Proto-Nguni.

See Proto-Nguni on the interactive map

Ancestor of the Nguni languages of southern Africa (Zulu, Xhosa, Swati, Ndebele), notable for click consonants borrowed from Khoisan languages. Dating is approximate.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Niger-Congoc. 10,000 BCE – 7,000 BCE
  2. Proto-Atlantic-Congoc. 7,000 BCE – 5,000 BCE
  3. Proto-Benue-Congoc. 5,000 BCE – 3,500 BCE
  4. Proto-Bantuc. 3,000 BCE – 1,000 BCE
  5. Proto-Ngunic. 500 CE – 1500 CE

Descendants 3

Sister languages 21

Also descended from Proto-Bantu.

Sources