Sawabantu languages are a group of

Bantu languages The Bantu languages (English: , Proto-Bantu language, Proto-Bantu: *bantʊ̀), or Ntu languages are a language family of about 600 languages of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern, East Africa, Eastern and Southeast Africa, South ...

that are spoken in

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and

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

. The group consists mostly of zones A.20 and A.30 of Guthrie's classification, and most likely also part of zone A.10. According to Nurse and Philipps on (2003), the A.20 and A.30 languages, apart from the Bubi language, form a valid node. The most important of these languages is Duala, which is a vehicular language.

Etymology

The name ''Sawabantu'' is made up of two words: ''sawa'', which means "coast" in Duala, and ''Bantu''. The name was proposed in 1989 by the Cameroonian linguist Carl Ebobissé.

Languages

Besides the A.20 and A.30 languages, the Oroko

dialect cluster A dialect is a variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standardized varieties as well as vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardized varieties, such as those used in developing countries or iso ...

of A.10 seems to be clearly connected to the Sawabantu group: : (A.10) Oroko; (A.20) Kpwe (Mokpwe, Bakweri)– Mboko (Bomboko, Wumboko)– Kole (Bakole), Duala (incl. Mungo dialect), Su (Isuwu), Limba (Malimba); (A.30) Tanga (Batanga), Yasa– Kombe, Benga The A.20 languages are spoken around the Wouri estuary and in the anglophone region around Mount Cameroon. The A.30 languages are spoken along the Atlantic coast of southern Cameroon down to northern

. These two geographic groups are clearly related; for example, Limba (Malimba, A.26) report some degree of mutual intelligibility with Tanga (Batanga, A.32), which they call "Old Malimba". Oroko is spoken in Ndian and

Meme A meme (; ) is an idea, behavior, or style that Mimesis, spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying c ...

departments in the Southwest Region of Cameroon. Oroko appears to be particularly close to Kpwe (A.22), with which mutual intelligibility might be possible to some extent.E. Monikang - Phonology of Mokpwe The Bube language of Bioko Island (not to be confused with Bubia or Wovea) included in A.30 on geographic grounds, has no particular affinities with the others. Other A.10 languages apart from the Manenguba cluster (A.15 excluding Bafaw-Balong) may also belong, but this is uncertain as they are poorly documented. They are: : Bonkeng and Bafaw-Balong, Nkongho A survey is needed to determine whether these are genetically related to Sawabantu.

Situation of Sawabantu

Duala is the vehicular language of the Sawa, spoken and understood throughout the coastal region, even by non-Sawabantu native speakers such as the Basaa of Douala, the Bakoko, the Bankon, and the Manenguba.

Notes

References

* Derek Nurse and Gérard Philippson (2003), ''The Bantu Languages.'' * Carl Ebobissé (1989), 'Dialectométrie lexicale des Parlers Sawabantu.' ''The Journal of West African Languages'' 19, 2:57-63. * Carl Ebobissé (2014), ''Sawabantu: Eine vergleichende Untersuchung der Küstensprachen Kameruns''. Peter Lang, Frankfurt. {{Bantu-lang-stub