Bantu
/banˈtuː
/ /ˈbantuː /adjective
Relating to or denoting a group of Niger-Congo languages spoken in central and southern Africa, including Swahili, Xhosa, and Zulu.The San people were also similarly displaced and reduced in numbers by the arrival of invading Bantu farmers (and later by white farmers) to the south a few centuries later....
- He said that according to old Bantu law, virginity was sacred.
- It's a land where Bantu roots and Islam have intertwined since the tenth century.
noun (plural same or Bantus)
1 [mass noun] A group of Niger-Congo languages spoken in central and southern Africa, including Swahili, Xhosa, and Zulu.Kenya is a multilingual and multicultural nation, with 42 different languages spoken, including Bantu, Arabic, and Nilotic....
- The Swahili language, a mixture of Bantu and Arabic, developed as a lingua franca for trade between the different peoples.
- Swahili, which comes from the Arabic word meaning ‘coast,’ is a mix of Arabic and the African language Bantu.
2 offensive A member of an indigenous people of central and southern Africa that speaks a Bantu language.The Bantus, particularly the Kikuyu, established a stronghold in Kenya's interior around Mount Kenya, largely as a result of their sophisticated tools and weapons....
- Torture and war survivor counselor Sherif Amin, who is also Somali, says Somalis here will treat the Bantus with respect.
- The arrival of the Bantus from the north about 1,600 years ago in Zambia changed the landscape from that of hunters/gatherers to that of farmers.
Usage
The word Bantu became a strongly offensive term under the old apartheid regime in South Africa, especially when used to refer to a single individual. In standard current use in South Africa the term black or African is used as a collective or non-specific term for African peoples. The term Bantu has, however, continued to be accepted as a neutral ‘scientific’ term outside South Africa used to refer to the group of languages and their speakers collectively.
Origin
Mid 19th century: plural (in certain Bantu languages) of -ntu 'person'.