Niger–Congo languages

E8177

The Niger–Congo languages form one of the world’s largest language families, encompassing hundreds of related languages spoken across much of sub-Saharan Africa, including major groups like Bantu.

All labels observed (18)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (80)

Predicate Object
instanceOf language family
macrofamily
approximateNumberOfSpeakers over 700 million
continent Africa
estimatedNumberOfLanguages over 1500
glottologCode nige1235
hasAlternativeName Niger–Kordofanian languages
hasWritingSystem Arabic script
Latin alphabet
surface form: Latin script
includesLanguage Akan
Bambara
Chichewa
Ewe
Fula
Igbo
Kikuyu
Kinyarwanda
Kirundi
Lingala
Luganda
Sesotho
Setswana
Shona
Swahili language
surface form: Swahili

Wolof
Xhosa
Yoruba
Zulu
isOneOfLargestLanguageFamilies true
majorSubgroup Adamawa–Ubangi languages
Niger–Congo languages self-linksurface differs
surface form: Atlantic–Congo languages

Bantu languages
Benue–Congo languages
Gur languages
Kordofanian languages
Kwa languages
Mande languages
morphologyFeature noun class system
primaryRegion Sub-Saharan Africa
surface form: sub-Saharan Africa
spokenIn Angola
Benin
Botswana
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cameroon
Cape Verde Islands
surface form: Cape Verde

Central African Republic
Chad
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Equatorial Guinea
Ethiopia
Gabon
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Côte d'Ivoire
surface form: Ivory Coast

Kenya
Liberia
Malawi
Mali
Mozambique
Namibia
Niger
Nigeria
Republic of the Congo
Rwanda
Senegal
Sierra Leone
South Africa
South Sudan
Sudan
São Tomé and Príncipe
Tanzania
The Gambia
Togo
Uganda
Zambia
Zimbabwe
typology mostly SVO word order
mostly tonal languages

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (823)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Bamoun languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
nso languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
ewo languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
subject surface form: Ewondo language
Gonja languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Chuwabu language languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Koti language languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Duala people languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Themne languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
subject surface form: Temne language
Kwanyama languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Aakwanhama languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Standard Ndonga languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Ongé languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Diwala languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
subject surface form: Duala people
Bayang languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Bongwe languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Oroko languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Manyu peoples languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Moundang languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
subject surface form: Moundang language
Chopi languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Bitonga languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Tonga language (Malawi) languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Aka languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Bimoba languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Ronga people languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Bassa people languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Gurunsi languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Kwaluudhi languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Eunda languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Denya language languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Kendem language languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Mancanha languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Manjaku languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Manjack languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Papel ethnic community languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Mungaka languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Tupuri languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Tikar language languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Medumba language languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Ghomáláʼ language languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Kenyang language languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Bamun people languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Venda language languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Akuapem people languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Luhya languages languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Chaga languages languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Bena language languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Balanta people languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Manjack people languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Tewe languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Jindwi languageFamily Niger–Congo languages