Proto-Niger–Congo is the hypothetical reconstructed proto-language of the proposed Niger–Congo language family.
Validity Unlike Nilo-Saharan, the Niger–Congo language phylum is accepted by mainstream linguists and Africanists. Atlantic–Congo (roughly, Niger–Congo but excluding the Mande, Kru, Siamou, Kordofanian, Dogon and Ijoid languages) is accepted by Glottolog 4.4.
Origin
Blench (2006, 2016Blench, Roger. 2016. Can we visit the graves of the first Niger–Congo speakers?. Paper presented for the 2nd International Congress "Towards Proto-Niger–Congo: Comparison and Reconstruction", Paris, 1-3 September, 2016.) proposes that Proto-Niger–Congo originated about 11,000–10,000 years before present in the western part of the "Green Sahara" of Africa (roughly the Sahel and southern Sahara), and that its dispersal can be correlated with the spread of the bow and arrow by migrating hunter-gatherers.
Phonology Tones Larry Hyman (2016) reconstructs two contrastive level tones for Proto-Niger–Congo, which are:Hyman, Larry. 2016. Can we visit the graves of the first Niger-Congo speakers?. Paper presented for the 2nd International Congress "On Reconstructing Tone in Proto-Niger-Congo", Paris, 1-3 September, 2016.
*H (high tone) *L (low tone)
Syllabic structure Proto-Niger–Congo is traditionally assumed to have had a disyllabic root structure similar to that of Proto-Bantu, namely (C)V-CVCV (Williamson 2000,Williamson, Kay. 2000. Proto-Niger-Congo. In: H. Ekkehard Wolff, Orin D. Gensler (eds). Proceedings of the 2nd World Congress of African Linguistics, Leipzig 1997, pp.49-70. Köln: Rüdiger Köppe. ISBN 9783896451248. etc.). However, Roger Blench (2016) proposes a trisyllabic (CVCVCV) syllabic structure for Proto-Niger–Congo roots,Blench, Roger. 2016. Supposing we have been completely wrong about the shape of early Niger-Congo roots?. Paper presented for the 2nd International Congress "Towards Proto-Niger-Congo: Comparison and Reconstruction", Paris, 1-3 September, 2016. while Konstantin Pozdniakov (2016) suggests that the main prototypical structure of Proto-Niger–Congo roots is *CVC, along with disyllabic, trisyllabic, and other variations.Pozdniakov, Konstantin. 2016. Proto-Niger-Congo root structures. Paper presented for the 2nd International Congress "On Reconstructing Tone in Proto-Niger-Congo", Paris, 1-3 September, 2016.
Morphology Noun classes Noun classes can be reconstructed for Proto-Atlantic–Congo, and these are sometimes assumed to be Proto-Niger–Congo. Noun class prefixes in Proto-Atlantic–Congo include:
noun class 1: prefix for human singular noun class 2: prefix for human plural noun class 6A: prefix for liquid and mass nouns ("uncountables")
Below are some Niger–Congo noun class markers (Good 2020:145,Good, Jeff. 2020. Niger-Congo, with a special focus on Benue-Congo. In: Vossen, Rainer and Gerrit J. Dimmendaal (eds.). 2020. The Oxford Handbook of African Languages, pp. 139-160. Oxford: Oxford University Press. from Schadeberg 1989:72Schadeberg, Thilo C. (1989). ‘Kordofanian’, in J. Bendor-Samuel (ed.). The Niger-Congo Languages: A classification and description of Africa's largest language family, 66-80. Lanham, MD: University Press of America.):
Branch 1 1 (semantic category) 3 4 4 (semantic category) 5 6 6 (semantic categories) 6a 6a (semantic category) Kordofanian *gu- humans *gu- *j- ‘tree’ *li- *ŋu- ‘egg’ *ŋ- liquids Atlantic *gu- humans *gʊ- *Ci- ‘trees’ *de- *ga- ‘head, name’ *ma- liquids Oti–Volta (Gur) *-ʊ humans *-bʊ *-Ci ‘tree’ *-ɖɪ *-a ‘egg, head’ *-ma liquids Ghana–Togo (Kwa) *o- humans *o- *i- ‘firewood’ *li- *a- ‘egg, head, name’ *N- liquids Benue–Congo *u- humans *u- *(t)i- ‘tree’ *li- *a- ‘egg, head, name’ *ma- liquids Bantu (noun) *mu- humans *mu- *mi- ‘tree’ *i̧- *ma- ‘egg, name’ *ma- liquids Bantu (pronoun) *ju- *gu- *gi- *di- *ga- *ga-
Verbal extensions Below are some Proto-Niger/Atlantic–Congo, Proto-Bantu, and Proto-Atlantic verbal extensions (Good 2020:146, from Hyman 2007:157Hyman, L. M. (2007). ‘Niger-Congo verb extensions: overview and discussion’, in D. L. Payne and J. Pena (eds.), Selected Proceedings of the 37th Annual Conference on African Linguistics. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla, 149-63.):
Type of suffix Proto-Niger/Atlantic–Congo Proto-Bantu Proto-Atlantic applicative *-de *-ɪd *-ed causative *-ci, *-ti *-ic-i *-an passive *-o *-ɪb-ʊ *-V[+back] reciprocal *-na *-an *-ad reversive *-to *-ʊd *-ɪt
For example, in Swahili: verb root: penda 'to love' reciprocal: pendana 'to love each other' applicative: pendea 'to love for' causative: pendeza 'to please'
Pronouns Güldemann's (2018) Proto-Niger–Congo pronoun reconstructions, for the first and second person pronouns (singular and plural), are given below.
singular plural 1st person *mVfront *TVclose 2nd person *mVback *NVclose
Babaev (2013) is a detailed survey of pronouns in Niger–Congo languages, along with detailed reconstructions.
Numerals Konstantin Pozdniakov (2018) has published a detailed reconstruction of Proto-Niger–Congo numerals, as well as comprehensive reconstructions for the lower-order branches of the Niger–Congo phylum. Pozdniakov (2018: 293) and Güldemann (2018: 147) reconstruct the following numerals for Proto-Niger–Congo.
Numeral Proto-Niger–Congo(Pozdniakov 2018) Proto-Niger–Congo(Güldemann 2018) 1 *ku-(n)-di (> ni/-in), *do, *gbo/*kpo 2 *ba-di *Ri 3 *tat / *tath *ta(C) 4 *na(h)i *na(C) 5 *tan, *nu(n) *nU 6 5+1 7 5+2 8 *na(i)nai (< 4 reduplicated) 9 5+4 10 *pu / *fu 20 < ‘person’
The numerals 6-9 are formed by combining lower numerals, while ‘20’ is derived from ‘person’.
Lexicon There is currently no comprehensive, systematic reconstruction for Proto-Niger–Congo lexical roots. Nevertheless, quasi-reconstructions (preliminary, tentative reconstructions, which are marked using the number sign #) have been attempted by Roger Blench, who is currently compiling a Niger–Congo etymological dictionary. Some examples from Blench (2016):
Proto-Niger–Congo Gloss *keɗeri to split, cut, break *suŋguri to wash (transitive) #tokori chew *siŋguri rub, smear *ɗumigbi bury, dig, grave, plant #tɪ́gbʊ́rɪ́ head #gbukuru tortoise, turtle #goŋgboro chest #kpagara leg, foot #ku(n)duŋo knee #-bugbulu hole #kVnV one *tunuru five
's reconstruction of Proto-Western Nigritic (roughly equivalent to Proto-Atlantic–CongoBlench, Roger. Kordofanian and Niger-Congo: new and revised lexical evidence. Cambridge: Kay Williamson Educational Foundation.) was published in 2 volumes in 1976 and 1977.Mukarovsky, Hans. 1976-1977. A study of Western Nigritic (2 vols). Wien: Institut für Ägyptologie und Afrikanistik, Universität Wien.
Plants Blench (2009) lists various Niger–Congo quasi-reconstructions for plants with important economic uses (note that not all of them necessarily reconstruct to Proto-Niger–Congo). These roots are generally widespread areal forms (Wanderworts), with some of them also found in Afroasiatic and Nilo-Saharan languages.Blench, Roger. 2009. New reconstructions of West African economic plants. In: Jörg Adelberger & Rudolf Leger (eds.): Language, History and Reconstructions. Frankfurter Afrikanistische Blätter 21 (2009) XX-XX. Rüdiger Köppe Verlag, Köln. A few forms are also added from some of Blench's other works (2006, 2012, 2016).
Niger–Congo form Common name Scientific name(s) Notes #-bal- palm spp. Raphia sudanica; Elaeis guineensis #-kundi- dryzone palm Phoenix reclinata; Borassus aethiopum; Raphia sp. #-bila- oil-palm (?) Elaeis guineensis #-eli- oil-palm Elaeis guineensis #-ten- oil-palm Elaeis guineensis #(n)gbaŋ- fan-palm Borassus aethiopum #lonaBlench, Roger. 2016. Reconstructing African agrarian prehistory by combining different sources of evidence: methodological considerations and examples for west African economic plants. In: News from the Past; Progress in African Archaeobotany. Proceedings of the 7th International Workshop on African Archaeobotany, Vienna, 2-5th July, 2012. U. Thanheiser ed. 13-26. Groningen: Barkhuis. locust bean tree Parkia biglobosa #-(g)be cola nut Cola nitida, Cola acuminata #goro cola nut Cola nitida, Cola acuminata #kum silk-cotton tree Ceiba pentandra #kom- African mahogany Khaya senegalensis #ŋ-kpunu shea tree; ‘oil, fat’ Vitellaria paradoxa #-par African olive, bush-candle Canarium schweinfurthii #kVN- sorghum, guinea-corn Sorghum bicolor #mar(d)a pearl millet Pennisetum glaucum also widespread in West Chadic #fundi fonio Digitaria exilis in Mande, Atlantic, Gur, etc. #ku; #ji yam Dioscorea spp. #-tom aerial yam Dioscorea bulbifera widespread in Nigeria and western Cameroon #koko cocoyam, taro Colocasia esculenta #zo(ko) cowpea Vigna unguiculata in Central Nigeria; Benue-Congo has *kón (Proto-Manenguba) and *-kʊ́ndè (Proto-Bantu) #-kpa Bambara groundnut Vigna subterranea West Benue-Congo #-gunu Bambara groundnut Vigna subterranea East Benue-Congo #-wi Bambara groundnut Vigna subterranea Plateau languages #-kora calabash, gourd Lagenaria siceraria; Cucurbita spp. #kom- enset, banana Musa spp. #konde plantain Musa paradisiaca #màaló (?) rice Oryza glaberrima Proto-Manding reconstruction; widespread form across West Africa
Other plant names with widespread areal distributions in West Africa: Milicia excelsa: odum, iroko (in Ghana and Nigeria) Funtumia elastica (bush rubber tree): o-fruntum (in Ghana) Sesamum indicum (sesame): #-sVwa (Benue-Congo) Abelmoschus esculentus (okra): ɔ́kʊrʊ, ɪkɪabʊ, akɛnɛta (in southern Nigeria)
Animals Below are some quasi-reconstructions of Niger–Congo areal forms for animal names given by Blench (2007Blench, Roger. 2007. Lexical avoidance taboos and the reconstruction of names for large animals in Niger-Congo, an African language phylum. In: Edmond Dounias, Elisabeth Motte-Florac and Margaret Dunham (eds). Le symbolisme des animaux - l’animal “clef de voûte” dans la tradition orale et les interactions homme-nature. 545-569 + unpaginated appendices. Paris: Editions IRD.), with some reconstructions also based on Blench (2006).
Niger–Congo form Common name Distribution #jata lion Mande-Congo #guni lion areal form #-bungu hyena Volta-Congo #-biti hyena Proto-Benue-Kwa #murum hyena Central Nigeria #gbali elephant Mande-Congo #-nyi elephant Benue-Kwa ?; also means 'tusk' #-solu elephant Volta-Congo #-bu dog Proto-Niger–Congo #kuru crocodile Niger-Congo (Proto-Bantu has #-gandu) #budi goat Niger-Congo (Afroasiatic and Nilo-Saharan have #k-r-) #-ga village weaver Benue-Congo
Pan-African roots Below are some Pan-African lexical roots proposed by Blench (2025). These roots may variously be found in different language phyla, including Niger–Congo, Nilo-Saharan, Afroasiatic, and even Khoisan and language isolates. Blench points to early language contact as a possible explanation for the widespread distribution of these roots. Sound symbolism (a phonaesthetic explanation) is another possible explanation. Blench rejects the similarities as being due to chance resemblances. (preprint)
Root Gloss #ɓwoN- to come #keri to split, cut, break #kulu knee #-duŋ- knee #kuru tortoise, turtle #kala crab #kulu skin, hide #morV fat, oil, grease #(dw)isi fire #-si dog #pur- to fly, jump
See also Proto-Bantu language Proto-Afroasiatic language Haplogroup E-M2 Ounjougou
Bibliography
Grollemund, Rebecca, Simon Branford, Jean-Marie Hombert & Mark Pagel. 2016. Genetic unity of the Niger-Congo family. Paper presented for the 2nd International Congress "Towards Proto-Niger-Congo: Comparison and Reconstruction", Paris, 1-3 September, 2016.
References
External links Towards Proto-Niger-Congo: Comparison and Reconstruction Niger-Congo Reconstruction project at LLACAN