Langenesis

Niger-Congo family

Shona

c. 1000 CE – today Living

Shona (c. 1000 CE – today) is a living Niger-Congo language. Lineage: Proto-Niger-Congo → Proto-Atlantic-Congo → Proto-Benue-Congo → Proto-Bantu → Shona.

See Shona on the interactive map
Speakers
11M (11,000,000)
ISO 639-3
sna
Glottocode
shon1251

Southern Bantu (Guthrie S10) language of Zimbabwe, associated with the Great Zimbabwe culture.

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. Shonac. 1000 CE – today

Sister languages 21

Also descended from Proto-Bantu.

Sources