The Southern Bantu or siNtu languages are a large 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 ...

, largely validated in Janson (1991/92).Tore Janson (1991-92) "Southern Bantu and Makua", ''Sprache und Geschichte in Afrika'' (''SUGIA'') Vol. 12/13: 63-106,

Rüdiger Köppe Verlag Rüdiger (English ''Ruediger'', ''Rudiger'', Roger) is a German given name. The meaning comes from Old High German: ''hruod'' (fame) and ''ger'' (Migration Period spear, spear). The name became popular because of the character Rüdiger von Bechelare ...

, Cologn

/ref> They are nearly synonymous with Guthrie's '' Guthrie classification of Bantu languages, Bantu zone S'', apart from the debated exclusion of Shona and inclusion of Makhuwa. They include all of the major Bantu languages of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

Lesotho Lesotho, formally the Kingdom of Lesotho and formerly known as Basutoland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Entirely surrounded by South Africa, it is the largest of only three sovereign enclave and exclave, enclaves in the world, t ...

Eswatini Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where i ...

, and

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

, with outliers such as Lozi in

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

and

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

, and Ngoni in Zambia,

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

and

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

Languages

Language groups are followed by their code in the Guthrie classification. Makhuwa languages are included in this tree. *Southern Bantu languages ** Makua (P30) *** Makhuwa *** Koti *** Sakati (Nathembo) *** Lomwe *** Chuwabu *** Moniga ** Chopi (S60) *** Chopi *** Guitonga **

Nguni languages The Nguni languages are a group of Bantu languages spoken in southern Africa (mainly South Africa, Zimbabwe and Eswatini) by the Nguni people. Nguni languages include Xhosa, Tsonga, Ndebele, and Swati. The appellation "Nguni" derives from t ...

(S40) ***Zunda **** Xhosa **** Zulu ****Ndebele ***** Northern Ndebele (Zimbabwe Ndebele) ***** Southern Ndebele *** Tekela **** Swati **** Phuthi **** Sumayela Ndebele (Northern Transvaal Ndebele) **** Lala **** Bhaca **** Hlubi **** Nhlangwini ** Sotho–Tswana (S30 + K20): ***

Tswana Tswana may refer to: * Tswana people, the Bantu languages, Bantu speaking people in Botswana, South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and other Southern Africa regions * Tswana language, the language spoken by the (Ba)Tswana people * Tswanaland, ...

("West Sotho") *** Birwa *** Tswapong *** Kgalagadi *** Sotho ****

Northern Sotho Sepedi, also known as Northern Sotho, is one of South Africa’s twelve official languages and belongs to the Bantu language family, specifically the Sotho-Tswana group. The language is spoken mainly in Limpopo Province, and to a lesser exten ...

(Sepedi) ****

Southern Sotho Sotho (), also known as ''Sesotho'' (), Southern Sotho, or ''Sesotho sa Borwa'' is a Southern Bantu language spoken in Lesotho as its national language and South Africa where it is an official language. Like all Bantu languages, Sesotho is ...

(Sesotho) ****East Sotho (Pulana, Khutswe and Pai) **** Lozi ** Tswa–Ronga (S50): ***

Tsonga Tsonga may refer to: * Tsonga language, a Bantu language spoken in southern Africa * Tsonga people, a large group of people living mainly in southern Mozambique and South Africa. * Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (; born 17 April 1985) ...

*** Ronga *** Tswa **Shona-Venda *** Shona *** Eastern Shona group **** Ndau (S15) *** Central Shona group **** Korekore (S11) and Tawara **** Zezuru (S12) **** Manyika (S13) and Tewe **** Karanga (S14) *** Western Shona group **** Kalanga (S16) **** Nambya ***

Venda Venda ( ), officially the Republic of Venda (; ), was a Bantustan in northern South Africa. It was fairly close to the South African border with Zimbabwe to the north, while, to the south and east, it shared a long border with another black hom ...

(S20)

References

{{Bantu-lang-stub