Kimbundu languages

{{Short description|Group of Bantu languages}}

{{Infobox language family

|name=Kimbundu

|altname=Northern Mbundu

|ethnicity=

|region=

|familycolor=Niger-Congo

|fam2=Atlantic–Congo

|fam3=Benue–Congo

|fam4=Southern Bantoid

|fam5=Bantu (Zone H.20)

|glotto=mbun1247

|glottorefname=Mbundu (H.20)

}}

The Kimbundu languages are a group of Bantu languages coded Zone H.20 in Guthrie's classification. According to Nurse & Philippson (2003),{{cite book |editor1-last=Nurse |editor1-first=Derek |editor2-last=Philippson |editor2-first=Gérard |title=The Bantu languages |date=2003 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=9780700711345}} they probably form a valid node, though this is still uncertain. They are:

: Kimbundu (Mbundu), Sama, Bolo, Mpinda.

Songo is often assumed to be a dialect of Kimbundu, but actually appears to be one of the Teke languages. Ngoya to its south was until recently considered a dialect of Kimbundu, but has now been recognized as a language in own right, and may be transitional between Kimbundu and Umbundu.Angenot et al. (2013) [http://www.periodicos.unir.br/index.php/linguaviva/article/download/727/776 "Comparison between the Ipala-Ngoya, Kimbundu and Umbundu tone-class systems"], Revista Língua Viva vol. 3, no. 1.

References

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{{Narrow Bantu languages}}

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