Bantu

See also: bantu, bantú, bàntú, and bǎntú

English

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *bàntʊ̀ pl (“people”), as reconstructed by the 19th-century linguist Wilhelm Bleek.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbæntu/

Noun

Bantu (countable and uncountable, plural Bantus or Bantu)

1. (countable) A member of any of the African ethnic groups that speak a Bantu language.
2. (South Africa, dated, now offensive) A black South African.
3. (uncountable) The largest African language family of the Niger-Congo group, spoken in much of Sub-Saharan Africa.

Usage notes

Black South Africans were at times officially called "Bantus" by the Apartheid regime. New legislation and documents from the South African government have replaced "Bantu" with "Black" due to the former word's derogatory connotations. Outside Southern Africa the term is still widely used as a term for the Bantu-speaking peoples.

Coordinate terms

• (South-Africa): Asian, black/Black, Coloured, white/White

Translations

member of the ethnic group

• Polish: Bantu (pl) m

language family

• Afrikaans: Bantoe
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 班图语支 (Bāntú)

• Danish: bantu
• Dutch: Bantoe (nl) n
• Finnish: bantu (fi)
• Galician: bantú
• German: Bantu (de) n, Bantu-Sprachfamilie f

• Japanese: バントゥー
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: bantu m

  Nynorsk: bantu m

• Polish: bantu (pl) n
• Russian: банту (ru) m (bantu)
• Spanish: bantú (es)

See also

• Bantu languages
• Bantu ethnic groups

Anagrams

• tabun

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German

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Proper noun

Bantu n (proper noun, strong, genitive Bantu or Bantus)

1. Bantu (language family)

Declension

Declension of Bantu [sg-only, neuter, strong]

	singular
	indef.	def.	noun
nominative	ein	das	Bantu
genitive	eines	des	Bantu, Bantus
dative	einem	dem	Bantu
accusative	ein	das	Bantu

Noun

Bantu m (strong, genitive Bantu or Bantus, plural Bantu or Bantus)

1. Bantu speaker (male or of unspecified gender)

Declension

Declension of Bantu [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Bantu	die	Bantu, Bantus
genitive	eines	des	Bantu, Bantus	der	Bantu, Bantus
dative	einem	dem	Bantu	den	Bantu, Bantus
accusative	einen	den	Bantu	die	Bantu, Bantus

Noun

Bantu f (genitive Bantu, plural Bantu or Bantus)

1. female Bantu speaker

Declension

Declension of Bantu [feminine]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	eine	die	Bantu	die	Bantu, Bantus
genitive	einer	der	Bantu	der	Bantu, Bantus
dative	einer	der	Bantu	den	Bantu, Bantus
accusative	eine	die	Bantu	die	Bantu, Bantus

Related terms

• Bantusprache, Bantu-Sprache
• Bantuvolk, Bantu-Volk

Further reading

• “Bantu” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Bantu (Sprecher)” in Duden online
• “Bantu (Sprecherin)” in Duden online
• “Bantu (Sprache)” in Duden online

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Polish

Etymology

Internationalism; compare English Bantu, ultimately Proto-Bantu *bàntʊ̀.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈban.tu/
• Rhymes: -antu
• Syllabification: Ban‧tu
• Homophone: bantu

Noun

Bantu m pers (indeclinable)

1. Bantu (member of any of the Bantu tribes)

Derived terms

adjective

• bantuski

 

nouns

• bantu
• bantustan

 

Further reading

• Bantu in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• Bantu in Polish dictionaries at PWN