B.20 is a proposed Bantu linguistic grouping whose internal and external classification remains contested. The extract distinguishes a ndasa–wumbvu–kota–mahongwe-shama cluster from a ngom–mbangwe–sake cluster, while noting that both groupings are unstable across classification methods. Geographic contact with languages of zones A and C.20/30 complicates the distinction between inherited relationships and later diffusion.
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The Story
B.20 brings together several Bantu language varieties whose relationships do not appear consistently in lexicostatistical trees. One cluster comprises ndasa, wumbvu, kota, and mahongwe-shama, while another contains ngom, mbangwe, and sake. Each cluster remains “floating” because its closest attachment changes according to the classification procedure used.
Three interpretations are considered for the relationship between B.20 and neighbouring groups. B.20 may represent a genealogical unit whose languages have been strongly influenced by zone A, especially A.80; it may instead be part of an AX grouping affected by Bantu languages of B; or both B.20 and an AX(A.80bis) group may be retained, with strong contact effects between them. The evidence does not allow these possibilities to be reduced to a single secure reconstruction.
Several lexical distributions illustrate the difficulty. The innovation *-pici 7/8 ‘os’ occurs throughout the relevant set, whereas *-kumbu 9/10 ‘nom’ appears in ndasa and as a variant in wumbvu alongside the wider protobantu theme *-jina 5/6. The distribution of these forms suggests a relationship between geographic position and diffusion, particularly among southern varieties, but the extract stresses that areal evidence does not always yield the same historical conclusion.
The authors describe a double directional pattern in the classifications: kota, mahongwe-shama, wumbvu, and ndasa progressively move away from B toward A, while the reverse ordering brings ndasa, wumbvu, mahongwe-shama, and kota closer to B. Because speakers of varieties classified as B.20 are dispersed across Gabon and Congo, a broader study incorporating dialect variation is presented as necessary for clarifying their historical relationships.
B.20 is a proposed Bantu linguistic grouping whose internal and external classification remains contested. The extract distinguishes a ndasa–wumbvu–kota–mahongwe-shama cluster from a ngom–mbangwe–sake cluster, while noting that both groupings are unstable across classification methods. Geographic contact with languages of zones A and C.20/30 complicates the distinction between inherited relationships and later diffusion.
Continue exploring
The Story
B.20 brings together several Bantu language varieties whose relationships do not appear consistently in lexicostatistical trees. One cluster comprises ndasa, wumbvu, kota, and mahongwe-shama, while another contains ngom, mbangwe, and sake. Each cluster remains “floating” because its closest attachment changes according to the classification procedure used.
Three interpretations are considered for the relationship between B.20 and neighbouring groups. B.20 may represent a genealogical unit whose languages have been strongly influenced by zone A, especially A.80; it may instead be part of an AX grouping affected by Bantu languages of B; or both B.20 and an AX(A.80bis) group may be retained, with strong contact effects between them. The evidence does not allow these possibilities to be reduced to a single secure reconstruction.
Several lexical distributions illustrate the difficulty. The innovation *-pici 7/8 ‘os’ occurs throughout the relevant set, whereas *-kumbu 9/10 ‘nom’ appears in ndasa and as a variant in wumbvu alongside the wider protobantu theme *-jina 5/6. The distribution of these forms suggests a relationship between geographic position and diffusion, particularly among southern varieties, but the extract stresses that areal evidence does not always yield the same historical conclusion.
The authors describe a double directional pattern in the classifications: kota, mahongwe-shama, wumbvu, and ndasa progressively move away from B toward A, while the reverse ordering brings ndasa, wumbvu, mahongwe-shama, and kota closer to B. Because speakers of varieties classified as B.20 are dispersed across Gabon and Congo, a broader study incorporating dialect variation is presented as necessary for clarifying their historical relationships.