KiBantu

KiBantu is a zonal language that is meant to act as a potential lingua franca for the Bantu-speaking peoples of Sub-Saharan Africa. Though it is highly influenced by Swahili, it is slightly simplified and incorporates Bantu vocabulary of disparate origins.

Phonology
KiBantu's phonology is principally derived from that of Proto-Bantu, although sound correspondences aren't always regular. Like most Bantu languages kiBantu is tonal, though the tones intentionally do not distinguish many minimal pairs.

Vowels
KiBantu, like Swahili, Shona, and Zulu, has a simple five vowel system, as opposed to the seven vowel system of some modern Bantu languages and Proto-Bantu. In addition, there is no contrastive vowel length. The mid vowels /e/ and /o/ may be realized as close-mid and open-mid, and may be pronounced according to each speaker's preference. There are no diphthongs in KiBantu. All vowel sequences are permitted, and each vowel constitutes a separate syllable. Sequences of two of the same vowels, such as /aa/ or /ee/ are rarely found in word roots, but can often be found in inflected words.

Consonants
KiBantu has twenty basic consonant sounds, and an additional thirteen consonants if prenasalized consonants are counted separately.
 * Prenasalised consonants are consonants that are preceded by a brief homorganic nasal. In most cases the homorganic nasal takes on the same place of articulation as the consonant is precedes, though in orthography this is only reflected in the labial consonants, and all other instances of the homorganic nasal are written as ⟨n⟩.
 * When modified by the homorganic nasal, the approximants change in predictable ways. /l/ has no prenasalised counterpart, so it becomes /ⁿd/, as seen in nde, an inflected form of -le "long". /w/ similarly becomes /ᵐb/. As an exception, when /j/ undergoes prenasalisation, instead of becoming a prenasalised consonant it becomes the palatal nasal /ɲ/.
 * The nasals /m/, /n/, and /ɲ/, as well as /h/, do not change at all when prenasalised.
 * The velar nasal [ŋ] does not occur as a separate phoneme, but as a variant of the homorganic nasal before the velar consonants /k/ and /g/.
 * /h/ is almost never found in words of native Bantu origin.
 * /l/ and /r/ do not contrast in native words and most loanwords, as the phoneme /l/ is almost always used. However, /r/ can occur and is written as such in proper names such as kinyarwanda "Rwanda language".

Tone
KiBantu has two tones, high and low. The high tone has a higher pitch and is indicated with an acute accent, while the low tone is lower and unmarked. The low tone is generally treated as a default, and is generally considered an absence of tone. Tones in KiBantu do not play any kind of role in distinguishing grammatical features; they simply exist to distinguish similar words. Tone does not have to be indicated in more casual writing, as there are not enough minimal pairs to make a text difficult to understand if tone is not written. However, this article will mark tone when applicable.

Phonotactics
The syllable structure in KiBantu is (N)(C)(G)V. The nucleus is always a vowel, and cannot be a syllabic /m/ like in many Bantu languages. Though prenasalized consonants are treated as one consonant phonetically, the homorganic nasal that precedes a consonant can be considered a separate part of the onset. Additionally, one of the glides, /j/ or /w/, may follow most consonants in the onset. Maximal syllable structure can be seen monosyllabic words such as ngwe /ᵑɡwe/ "leopard" and mbwá /ᵐbwá/ "dog". Final consonants and consonant clusters in foreign loanwords are often broken up using an epenthetic vowel, such as English gram becoming galamu in KiBantu.

Orthography
KiBantu is written phonetically with the Latin alphabet. Most letters correspond to one sound, but there are two digraphs discounting prenasalized sounds: ⟨sh⟩, and ⟨ny⟩. The letters ⟨q⟩, ⟨r⟩, and ⟨x⟩ do not occur in most words, however they can occur in proper names. The English approximations listed below are not meant to indicate the exact pronunciations of the letters, but to serve as a guide for English speakers. Unlike in many Bantu languages, if another vowel follows i or u the complimentary glide is not written. For example, the word kusía "to abandon" is not written as kusíya, and ilua "flower" is not written as *iluwa.

Word Formation
Approximately 75% of KiBantu's lexicon is of native Bantu origin. Of that percentage, 77% is traceable back to a reconstructable Proto-Bantu root, while 33% comes from words of native Bantu origin that are not reconstructable as Proto-Bantu, or words that were derived from other words of Bantu origin. The remaining 25% of KiBantu's lexicon is of foreign origin. Words of English origin make up the bulk of this, at 60% of loanwords, while Arabic contributes 24%. Words from other languages such as Persian, French, Portuguese, and various Indic languages make up the remainder of loanwords in KiBantu.

Derivation from Proto-Bantu
In many cases, there are regular or semi-regular correspondences between Proto-Bantu phonemes and KiBantu sounds. Tones, as well, usually correspond exactly to the reconstructed Proto-Bantu root.

Grammar
KiBantu is an agglutinative language, which means that most words are constructed by joining a root together with many smaller affixes. Its primary word order is SVO, and it is also primarily a head-initial language. Verbs follow the adjective, adjectives follow the noun they modify, and the adpositions in KiBantu are prepositions, not postpositions. Unlike English, there are no articles such as "a" and "the". Another feature common to Bantu languages that KiBantu naturally shares is a variety of noun classes.

Noun Classes
Nouns classes form the core of how KiBantu nouns work. Verbs, adjectives, demonstratives, and some prepositions all inflect to agree with a noun's inherent class. Most noun classes occur in pairs: singular and plural. Numerically and grammatically, the plural is a different class than the singular, though semantically they are the same class. Most classes have an underlying semantic category and patterns of meaning are often identifiable in each class. However, there are many exceptions in almost every class, and noun class is generally arbitrary. Each of the classes has a usual prefix, however, the prefix often changes before a vowel. In all, there are thirteen full noun classes, and three additional secondary noun classes. Note that in the chart below, the classes are numbered with the traditional Bantu numbering system. Like in several Bantu languages, classes 12 and 13 are skipped and are not a class in KiBantu, due to the fact that were present in Proto-Bantu and are still in many extant Bantu languages.

This prefix list may seem daunting, but there are many general rules:
 * 1) In most cases, if a class prefix precedes a root starting with the same vowel as the prefix, the prefix becomes the bare consonant. For example, the the root for "child", -ána, which takes class 2 in the plural, becomes bána, not *baána.
 * 2) Classes that end in -u become their bare consonants before -o as well as -u. For example, the class 3 root -osí "smoke" is mosí when taking its prefix.
 * 3) The class prefixes that end in -i all behave a little differently. The prefix mi- remains mi- before any vowel except i, while ki becomes c- and bi- becomes by- before every vowel except -i.
 * 4) Classes 1a, 9a, and 10a do not take any prefix.

Mu-ba class
The mu-ba class, known as classes 1 and 2 respectively, is the only noun class in KiBantu that has a clear semantic field. Nouns in the mu-ba class refer exclusively to people. Agent nouns be derived from verbs and adjectives also regularly appear in the mu-ba class. Agent nouns derived from verbs replace the final -a of the verb with -i. There is also a small subset of nouns of class 1 known as class 1a. Except for classes 9a and 10a, it is the only class without an identifying prefix; nouns in class 1a do not have the mu- prefix in the singular that is characteristic of the mu-ba class. However, nouns in class 1a still take class 2 prefixes in the plural.
 * muntu/bantu: person/people
 * mwána/bána: child/children
 * mukázi/bakázi: woman/women
 * mulúme/balúme: man/men
 * kupika: to cook → mupiki/bapiki: chef/chefs
 * kulima: to farm → mulimi/balimi: farmer/famers
 * kulóba: to fish → mulóbi/balóbi: fisherman/fishermen
 * mama/bamama: mother/mothers
 * tata/batata: father/fathers
 * dokótoli/badokótoli: doctor/doctors

Mu-mi class
The mu-mi class is known as class 3 in the singular and class 4 in the plural. It is one of the most common noun classes, and as such is one of the most semantically varied, though a common thread that can be drawn is that nouns in this class often extend in vertically in one direction or more directions. Although many potential categorizations will be laid out, there will always be exceptions.

The most stable category is the names of trees. Tree names can be derived systematically by adding the mu- prefix to plants of other classes. There are many body parts in the mu-mi class, and they are categorized as extending lengthwise in one direction, or being particularly active. Tools that extend lengthwise in one direction can also be found in this class. Incorporeal or amorphous things that are considered active also often appear in the mu-mi class. A few flat stretches or expanses can also sometimes be seen in the mu-mi class. Some nouns derived from verbs can also appears in the mu-mi class. These derivations generally replace the final -a of the verb with a final -o. These nouns aren't derived by a regular scheme, and therefore must be memorized. And finally, a few loanwords that begin with m- have found their way into this class, though they also may fit into some of the aforementioned categorizations.
 * mutí/mití: tree/trees
 * icungwa: orange (fruit) → mucungwa/micungwa: orange tree/orange trees
 * ápola: apple → mwápola/miápola: apple tree/apple trees
 * mutíma/mitíma: heart/hearts
 * mutú/mitú: head/heads
 * mukila/mikila: tail/tails
 * mugulu/migulu: leg/legs
 * mufúpa/mifúpa: bone/bones
 * mulango/milango: door/doors
 * mukónto/mikónto: spear/spears
 * mucailo/micailo: broom/brooms
 * mupanga/mipanga: hatchet/hatchets
 * mweya: air
 * mosí: smoke
 * móto: fire
 * muvuke: steam
 * mudíma: darkness
 * muzimu/mizimu: spirit/spirits
 * munda/minda: field/fields
 * mukeka/mikeka: mat/mats
 * muji/miji: city/cities
 * kutéga: to set a trap → mutégo/mitégo: trap/traps
 * kuténga: to buy → muténgo/miténgo: price/prices
 * kubánza: to begin → mubánzo/mibánzo: beginning/beginnings.
 * munala/minala: tower/towers (from Arabic manāra)
 * musumali/misumali: nail/nails (from Arabic mismār)
 * munuta/minuta: minute/minutes (from French minut.

I-ma class
Known as classes 5 and 6 respectively, the i-ma class, generally encompasses things that are often found in groups, as well as small round things. But, this is complicated by the fact that this is the class with the second largest amount of loanwords, so assigning a clear semantic field is difficult. In other Bantu languages, such as Swahili and Shona, this class often takes no prefix. However, when these words are loaned into KiBantu, they take the i- prefix.

The i-ma class is prototypically associated with fruits. Though there are some fruits in this class, more words for fruits are in class 9a. Other small, rounds objects are also occasionally in this class: Another common semantic commonality, as mentioned before, is body parts that commonly come in groups or pairs: Other things seen in groups or pairs are also included: There are quite a few words that only occur in class 6 and represent liquids: And finally, there are many loanwords present in this class. Many of these are older loanwords that came into Swahili, and then into other Bantu languages, from Arabic: There are, however many more recent loanwords from English in this class, though more recent loanwords are much more common in class 9a.
 * itunda/matunda: fruit/fruits
 * icungwa/macungwa: orange/oranges
 * igwavá/magwavá: guava/guavas
 * ikála/makála: piece of charcoal/charcoal
 * ikí/makí: egg/eggs
 * ibwe/mabwe: stone/stones
 * ibóko/mabóko: arm/arms
 * ino/mano: tooth/teeth
 * iso/maso: eye/eyes
 * itwi/matwi: ear/ears
 * ipapu/mapapu: lung/lungs
 * ifu/mafu: cloud/clouds
 * ibabí/mababí: leaf/leaves
 * ipása/mapása: twin/twins
 * maji: water
 * mafuta: fat, grease
 * magazí: blood
 * maté: saliva
 * matope: mud
 * idilisha/madilisha: window/windows (From Arabic drīša)
 * idubu/madubu: bear/bears (From Arabic dubb)
 * igunia/magunia: sack/sacks (From Arabic gūniyya)
 * itofali/matofali: brick/bricks (From Arabic tafal)
 * isoko/masoko: market/markets (From Arabic sūq)
 * ikandela/makandela: candle/candles (From English candle)
 * itaulo/mataulo: towel/towels (From English towel)
 * ikéteni/makéteni: curtain/curtains (From English curtain)

Ki-bi class
The ki-bi class is known as class 7 and the singular and class 8 in the plural. It is one of the rarer classes in KiBantu. Its primary semantic field is tools and manufactured objects, however, the majority of nouns in this class do not fall into that category. These worlds for tools usually aren't derived from other nouns. The ki-bi class, however is almost always used as the class for language names, and in fact, is used as such in the name "KiBantu", meaning both "Bantu language" and "language of the people" in KiBantu. Some more language names are as follows:
 * kijiko/bijiko: spoon/spoons
 * kibiliti/bibiliti: match/matches
 * kilatu/bilatu: shoe/shoes
 * kitambala/bitambala: fabric/fabrics
 * Kiswahili: Swahili language
 * Kishona: Shona language
 * Kixhosa: Xhosa language
 * Kizulu: Zulu language
 * Kicewá: Chichewa language
 * Kingelesi: English language
 * Kifalansa: French language

N class
Classes 9 and 10 are collectively called the N class. This is because the singular and plural of this class both take a homorganic nasal prefix. The only way the number of these classes is distinguished is through verbal concord. This class contains mostly animal names, and though all the prior mentioned classes have some animals within them, classes 9 and 10 contain the majority of animal names. The rest of the nouns in this class are generally miscellaneous, however, this class too has several nouns derived from verbs. Though these often end in -o like the derived nouns in other classes, this is not always the case.
 * nyama: animal/animals
 * mbúzi: goat/goats
 * mfísi: hyena/hyenas
 * mpúku: mouse/mice
 * mvubú: hippo/hippos
 * ndá: louse/lice
 * ngombé: cow/cows
 * njíwa: dove/doves
 * nkálá: crab/crabs
 * nsíndí: squirrel/squirrels
 * nzovu: elephant/elephants
 * kubala: to count → mbala: time, iterations/times, iterations
 * kulóta: to dream → ndóto: dream/dreams
 * kuféma: to breathe → mfémo: breath/breaths

A subset of the N class, called 9a and 10a, is the largest class in KiBantu. It takes all the same concords as regular nouns in the N class, but there is no nasal prefix. This class consists primary of foreign loanwords, and over 80% of foreign loanwords in KiBantu are placed into this class. This includes loanwords from English: There is also a significant contribution from Arabic, as in the i-ma class: A few Persian loanwords are in this class as well: Loans from the Romance languages, primarily Portuguese and French, make up the final significant chunk of loanwords in this class: Not all words in class 9a are foreign in origin. Quite a few words are of native Bantu origin, but occur in languages where the nasal prefix is not used before unvoiced consonants, primarily Swahili and Shona. As such, there words are loaned into KiBantu without the prefix.
 * keki: cake/cakes (From English cake)
 * búku: book/books (From English book)
 * hoteli: hotel/hotels (From English hotel)
 * ápola: apple/apples (From English apple)
 * sabúni: soap (From Arabic ṣābūn)
 * falási: horse/horses (From Arabic faras)
 * zabibu: grape/grapes (From Arabic zabīb)
 * dini: religion/religionss (From Arabic zabīb)
 * pamba: cotton (From Persian panbe)
 * lángi: color/colors (From Persian rang)
 * pilipili: pepper/peppers (From Persian pelpel)
 * kamyó: truck/trucks (From French camion)
 * pasi: clothing iron/clothing irons (From French repasser)
 * avoká: avocado/avocados (From French avocat)
 * bendéla: flag/flags (From Portuguese bandeira)
 * meza: table/tables (From Portuguese mesa)
 * sóni: shame
 * cupa: bottle/bottles
 * twiga: giraffe/giraffes
 * síku: day/days

Lu class
The lu class is called class 11, however, there is no class 12 to act as its plural. Instead, class 10 acts as the plural for lu class nouns. This class has nearly merged with class 14 in Swahili; however it is still a completely separate class in KiBantu. This is one of the rarest noun classes in KiBantu, but as a result it is one of the most semantically coherent. Nearly all nouns in this class are long, relatively flat things. Body parts are among the most salient members of this category: Many long, flat objects are in this class as well:
 * lubavu/mbavu: rib/ribs
 * lulími/ndími: tongue/tongues
 * lunwéle/nwéle: a hair/hair
 * lwála/nyála: fingernail/fingernails
 * lukúni/nkúni: piece of firewood/firewood
 * lushíngé/nshíngé: needle/needles
 * lwembe/nyembe: razor blade/razor blades
 * lubao/mbao: board/boards

Bu class
The bu class is class 14. This class is mostly coherent, as it primarily encompasses abstract concepts. As such, most nouns in the class do not have a plural form. A scant few nouns in this class can nevertheless be pluralized in the ma class. The abstract concepts that this class contains are most often derived from nouns, verbs, or adjectives: Country names can also be derived, with some regularity, from the names of languages: There are a few nouns in the bu class which do not fall into either of these categories, but they do not have a plural. These nouns are generally lumpy or round in some way: There is a final subset of nouns in this class which take ma- in the plural. There is little that unites that semantically, so they must be memorized:
 * kulima: to farm → bulimo: agriculture
 * muntu: human → buntu: humanity
 * mwána: child → bwána: childhood
 * kubátiza: to baptize → bubátizo: baptism
 * Kifalansa: French → Bufalansa: France
 * Kingelesi: English → Bwingelesi: England
 * Kicina: Chinese → Bucina: China
 * bowa: mushroom
 * busó: face
 * bongó: brain
 * bugali: porridge
 * bushánga/mashánga: bead/beads
 * bwáto/máto: boat/boats
 * bukondé/makondé: net/nets
 * butá/matá: bow/bows

Ku Class
The ku class, or class 15, is a unique class grammatically. Verbs are fundamentally a bare root in KiBantu, but verbs must take the class 15 prefix when used in isolation or as the compliment of an auxiliary verb, All verbal infinitives are in this class, and they often act just as infinitives or gerunds do in English.
 * kulála: to sleep
 * kwenda: to go
 * kubóna: to see
 * kuféma: to breathe
 * kuma: to be dry
 * kógela: to swim

The Locative Classes
The final three noun classes are known as classes 16, 17, and 18, and are not considered primary noun classes like the first thirteen. This is because, in most cases, they are added to a noun in addition to the class prefix it already has. Like other classes, however, the locative classes still take concords and adjectives, verbs, demonstratives and prepositions can agree with them.

The pa locative class:

Known as class 16 numerically, the pa locative represents a definitive location at or on a place or surface. This is generally the most commonly used locative. The ku locative class:
 * isoko: market → paisoko: at the market
 * mugulu: leg → pamugulu: on the leg
 * madilisha: windows → pamadilisha: on the window
 * ápola: apple → pápola: on the apple

Class 17, the ku locative class, in the most complicated of the three locative classes. At its core, it represents a more indefinite or general location. Knowing when to use class 17 rather than class 16 can be difficult, but 17 can generally be used when the speaker is being less specific about where something is. The mu locative class:
 * kikalo: bridge → kukikalo: on a bridge
 * bitenga: roofs → kubitenga: on roofs

The mu locative class, or class 18, expresses interiority. Basically, it shows that that the noun with this prefix is containing another noun within it. The prefix of this class is homophonous with that of both class 1 and class 3.
 * sandúku: box → musandúku: in a box
 * ndege: airplane → mundege: on an airplane
 * makondé: nets → mumakondé: in nets
 * mulomo: mouth → mumulomo: in the mouth
 * izíko: fireplace → mwizíko: in the fireplace