Langenesis

Niger-Congo family

Xhosa

c. 1500 CE – today Living

Xhosa (c. 1500 CE – today) is a living Niger-Congo language. Lineage: Proto-Niger-Congo → Proto-Atlantic-Congo → Proto-Benue-Congo → Proto-Bantu → Proto-Nguni → Xhosa.

See Xhosa on the interactive map
Speakers
8.2M (8,200,000)
ISO 639-3
xho
Glottocode
xhos1239

Nguni language of South Africa's Eastern Cape, with the richest click inventory of the Bantu languages.

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
  6. Xhosac. 1500 CE – today

Sister languages 2

Also descended from Proto-Nguni.

Sources