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.

Gen language macroFamily Niger–Congo languages
Nyeri dialect languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Embu language languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Meru language languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Kamba language languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Gikuyu languageBranch Niger–Congo languages
subject surface form: Kikuyu
Kikuyu language languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
siSwati belongsToBranch Niger–Congo languages
this entity surface form: Niger–Congo language family
Gurma language languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Mumuye language family Niger–Congo languages
this entity surface form: Niger-Congo
Yakoma language languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Kabba language languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
this entity surface form: Niger-Congo
Waja language family Niger–Congo languages
this entity surface form: Niger-Congo language family
Waja language languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
this entity surface form: Niger-Congo
Daka language languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
this entity surface form: Niger–Congo
Duru languages subclassOf Niger–Congo languages
Day language languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
this entity surface form: Niger–Congo
Mba languages family Niger–Congo languages
this entity surface form: Niger–Congo
Mba languages typologicalArea Niger–Congo languages
this entity surface form: Niger–Congo
Raymond Boyd fieldOfWork Niger–Congo languages
this entity surface form: Niger-Congo languages
Raymond Boyd studies Niger–Congo languages
this entity surface form: Niger-Congo languages
Proto-Niger–Congo isAncestorOf Niger–Congo languages
Proto-Niger–Congo belongsToLanguageFamily Niger–Congo languages
this entity surface form: Niger–Congo
Chewa people languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Zande language languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Bena–Mboi languages subfamilyOf Niger–Congo languages
this entity surface form: Niger–Congo language family
Bena–Mboi languages languageFamilyColor Niger–Congo languages
this entity surface form: Niger–Congo
Bena–Mboi languages arePartOf Niger–Congo languages
this entity surface form: Niger–Congo phylum
Mbum languages subfamilyOf Niger–Congo languages
this entity surface form: Niger–Congo language family
Mbum languages macroFamily Niger–Congo languages
this entity surface form: Niger–Congo
Atlantic languages subfamilyOf Niger–Congo languages
this entity surface form: Niger-Congo languages
Atlantic languages partOf Niger–Congo languages
this entity surface form: Niger-Congo language family
Kru languages subfamilyOf Niger–Congo languages
Dogon languages oftenClassifiedAs Niger–Congo languages
Sango languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Urhobo languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Urhobo language family Niger–Congo languages
this entity surface form: Niger-Congo
Edoid languages subfamilyOf Niger–Congo languages
Ughelli languageGroup Niger–Congo languages
this entity surface form: Niger-Congo languages
Edo people languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Tumbuka subfamily Niger–Congo languages
Zanaki people languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Isanzu languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
this entity surface form: Niger-Congo languages
Ganda languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Lusoga languageBranch Niger–Congo languages
this entity surface form: Niger–Congo
Runyankole subfamilyOf Niger–Congo languages
Baka–Gundi languages subclassOf Niger–Congo languages
Efik language family Niger–Congo languages
this entity surface form: Niger–Congo
Henshaw languageFamily Niger–Congo languages
Oron people languageFamily Niger–Congo languages