Atlantic languages
Encyclopedia
The Atlantic or West Atlantic languages of West Africa
are an obsolete proposed major group of the Niger–Congo languages
. They are those languages west of Kru
which have the noun-class systems characteristic of the Niger–Congo family; in this they are distinguished from their Mande
neighbors, which do not. The Atlantic languages are highly diverse and it is now generally accepted that they do not form a valid group. Linguists such as Dimmendahl, Blench
, Hyman, and Segerer classify them into three or more independent branches of Niger–Congo. The term 'Atlantic languages' is kept as a geographic term of convenience.
The Atlantic languages are spoken along the Atlantic coast from Senegal
to Liberia
, though transhumant Fula
speakers have spread eastward and are found in large numbers across the Sahel
, from Senegal to Nigeria
and Cameroon
. Wolof
of Senegal and several of the Fula languages are the most populous Atlantic languages, with several million speakers each; other significant members include Serer and the Jola dialect cluster of Senegal and Temne
in Sierra Leone
. The Senegambian languages exhibit consonant mutation
, and most Atlantic languages have noun-class systems similar to those of the distantly related Bantu languages
. Some members are tonal
, while others have pitch accent
systems. The basic word order
tends to be SVO.
in 1854. In the early 20th century, Carl Meinhof
claimed that Fula was a Hamitic
language, but August von Klingenhaben and Joseph Greenberg
's work conclusively established Fula's close relationship with Wolof and Serer. W. A. A. Wilson notes that the validity of the family as a whole rests on much weaker evidence, though it is clear that the languages are part of the Niger–Congo
family, based on evidence such as a shared noun class system. However, comparative
work on Niger–Congo is in its infancy. Classifications of Niger–Congo, usually based on lexicostatistics
, generally propose that the Atlantic languages are rather divergent, but less so than Mande
and other languages that lack noun classes.
David Sapir (1971) proposed a classification of Atlantic into three branches, a northern group (Senegambian and Bak
), a southern group (Mel, Limba
, and Gola
), and the divergent Bijago language
of the Bissagos Islands
off the coast of Guinea-Bissau
(Wilson 1989). However, Segerer (2010), the only classification since Sapir, places Bijago together with the Bak languages; Bak, the rest of Northern (defined by consonant mutation), and Mel are independent branches in his view, and Gola and Limba Niger–Congo isolates.
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
are an obsolete proposed major group of the Niger–Congo languages
Niger–Congo languages
The Niger–Congo languages constitute one of the world's major language families, and Africa's largest in terms of geographical area, number of speakers, and number of distinct languages. They may constitute the world's largest language family in terms of distinct languages, although this question...
. They are those languages west of Kru
Kru languages
-References:* Westerman, Diedrich Hermann Languages of West Africa . London/New York/Toronto: Oxford University Press.-External links:* at Ethnologue*...
which have the noun-class systems characteristic of the Niger–Congo family; in this they are distinguished from their Mande
Mande languages
The Mande languages are spoken in several countries in West Africa by the Mandé people and include Mandinka, Soninke, Bambara, Bissa, Dioula, Kagoro, Bozo, Mende, Susu, Yacouba, Vai, and Ligbi...
neighbors, which do not. The Atlantic languages are highly diverse and it is now generally accepted that they do not form a valid group. Linguists such as Dimmendahl, Blench
Roger Blench
Roger Blench is a British linguist, ethnomusicologist and development anthropologist. He has an M.A. and a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge and remains based in Cambridge, England...
, Hyman, and Segerer classify them into three or more independent branches of Niger–Congo. The term 'Atlantic languages' is kept as a geographic term of convenience.
The Atlantic languages are spoken along the Atlantic coast from Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
to Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
, though transhumant Fula
Fula language
The Fula or Fulani language is a language of West Africa. It is spoken as a first language by the and related groups from Senegambia and Guinea to Cameroon and Sudan...
speakers have spread eastward and are found in large numbers across the Sahel
Sahel
The Sahel is the ecoclimatic and biogeographic zone of transition between the Sahara desert in the North and the Sudanian Savannas in the south.It stretches across the North African continent between the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea....
, from Senegal to Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
and Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
. Wolof
Wolof language
Wolof is a language spoken in Senegal, The Gambia, and Mauritania, and is the native language of the Wolof people. Like the neighbouring languages Serer and Fula, it belongs to the Atlantic branch of the Niger–Congo language family...
of Senegal and several of the Fula languages are the most populous Atlantic languages, with several million speakers each; other significant members include Serer and the Jola dialect cluster of Senegal and Temne
Temne language
Temne is a language of the Atlantic subfamily of Niger–Congo languages spoken in Sierra Leone by about 2 million first speakers. One of the country's most widely spoken languages, it is spoken by 30% of the country’s population...
in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
. The Senegambian languages exhibit consonant mutation
Consonant mutation
Consonant mutation is when a consonant in a word changes according to its morphological and/or syntactic environment.Mutation phenomena occur in languages around the world. A prototypical example of consonant mutation is the initial consonant mutation of all modern Celtic languages...
, and most Atlantic languages have noun-class systems similar to those of the distantly related Bantu languages
Bantu languages
The Bantu languages constitute a traditional sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages. There are about 250 Bantu languages by the criterion of mutual intelligibility, though the distinction between language and dialect is often unclear, and Ethnologue counts 535 languages...
. Some members are tonal
Tone (linguistics)
Tone is the use of pitch in language to distinguish lexical or grammatical meaning—that is, to distinguish or inflect words. All verbal languages use pitch to express emotional and other paralinguistic information, and to convey emphasis, contrast, and other such features in what is called...
, while others have pitch accent
Pitch accent
Pitch accent is a linguistic term of convenience for a variety of restricted tone systems that use variations in pitch to give prominence to a syllable or mora within a word. The placement of this tone or the way it is realized can give different meanings to otherwise similar words...
systems. The basic word order
Word order
In linguistics, word order typology refers to the study of the order of the syntactic constituents of a language, and how different languages can employ different orders. Correlations between orders found in different syntactic subdomains are also of interest...
tends to be SVO.
Classification
The Atlantic family was first identified by Sigismund KoelleSigismund Koelle
Sigismund Wilhelm Kölle was a German missionary, and pioneer scholar of African languages....
in 1854. In the early 20th century, Carl Meinhof
Carl Meinhof
Carl Friedrich Michael Meinhof was a German linguist and one of the first linguists to study African languages.-Early years and career:...
claimed that Fula was a Hamitic
Hamitic
Hamitic is an historical term for the peoples supposedly descended from Noah's son Ham, paralleling Semitic and Japhetic.It was formerly used for grouping the non-Semitic Afroasiatic languages , but since, unlike the Semitic branch, these have not been shown to form a phylogenetic unity, the term...
language, but August von Klingenhaben and Joseph Greenberg
Joseph Greenberg
Joseph Harold Greenberg was a prominent and controversial American linguist, principally known for his work in two areas, linguistic typology and the genetic classification of languages.- Early life and career :...
's work conclusively established Fula's close relationship with Wolof and Serer. W. A. A. Wilson notes that the validity of the family as a whole rests on much weaker evidence, though it is clear that the languages are part of the Niger–Congo
Niger–Congo languages
The Niger–Congo languages constitute one of the world's major language families, and Africa's largest in terms of geographical area, number of speakers, and number of distinct languages. They may constitute the world's largest language family in terms of distinct languages, although this question...
family, based on evidence such as a shared noun class system. However, comparative
Comparative method
In linguistics, the comparative method is a technique for studying the development of languages by performing a feature-by-feature comparison of two or more languages with common descent from a shared ancestor, as opposed to the method of internal reconstruction, which analyzes the internal...
work on Niger–Congo is in its infancy. Classifications of Niger–Congo, usually based on lexicostatistics
Lexicostatistics
Lexicostatistics is an approach to comparative linguistics that involves quantitative comparison of lexical cognates. Lexicostatistics is related to the comparative method but does not reconstruct a proto-language...
, generally propose that the Atlantic languages are rather divergent, but less so than Mande
Mande languages
The Mande languages are spoken in several countries in West Africa by the Mandé people and include Mandinka, Soninke, Bambara, Bissa, Dioula, Kagoro, Bozo, Mende, Susu, Yacouba, Vai, and Ligbi...
and other languages that lack noun classes.
David Sapir (1971) proposed a classification of Atlantic into three branches, a northern group (Senegambian and Bak
Bak languages
-Bijago:Bijago is highly divergent. Sapir classified it as an isolate within West Atlantic. However, Segerer showed that this is primarily due to unrecognized sound changes, and that Bijago is in fact close to the Bak languages...
), a southern group (Mel, Limba
Limba language
Limba is an erstwhile Atlantic language of Sierra Leone. It is not closely related to other languages and appears to form its own branch of Niger–Congo. The eastern variety, spoken primarily in Guinea, is quite distinct.-References:...
, and Gola
Gola language
Gola is an erstwhile Atlantic language of Liberia. It is not closely related to other languages and appears to form its own branch of Niger–Congo.-References:*Guillaume Serere & Florian Lionnet 2010. . Language Isolates in Africa workshop, Lyon, Dec. 4...
), and the divergent Bijago language
Bijago language
Bijago, or Bidyogo, is the language of the Bissagos Archipelago of Guinea-Bissau. There are some difficulties of grammar and intelligibility between dialects, with the Kamona dialect of Caravela and Carache Islands being unintelligible to the others....
of the Bissagos Islands
Bissagos Islands
The Bissagos Islands or Bijagós Archipelago are a group of 18 major islands and dozens more smaller ones in the Atlantic Ocean with an area of 2,624 km2 and a population of 30,000...
off the coast of Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau
The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....
(Wilson 1989). However, Segerer (2010), the only classification since Sapir, places Bijago together with the Bak languages; Bak, the rest of Northern (defined by consonant mutation), and Mel are independent branches in his view, and Gola and Limba Niger–Congo isolates.