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UFSP Sprache und Raum Sprache und Raum Lab

Expansion of Bantu Languages

Motivation and Goal: There are contested theories on the expansion of Bantu languages, most centrally involving debate between two paradigms: one positing an early-split and the other a late-split model. We aimed at reconstructing the most probable expansion of Bantu languages, starting in Nigeria and from there, following the paths associated with least travel costs, towards the east and south. We thus conducted a least cost path analysis with the aim of spatially reconstructing the Bantu language tree.

Language Tree of Bantu languages and its representation projected on a least cost path realization
Language Tree of Bantu languages and its representation projected on a least cost path realization. Source: Msc Thesis C. Wirth 2014

Cooperation: Prof. Robert Weibel (Geography, Zurich), Prof. Balthasar Bickel (General Linguistics, Zurich)

State and Outcome: Christian Wirth successfully defended his master thesis in September 2014: Modellierung der Ausbreitungspfade der Bantu-Sprachfamilie mithilfe Geographischer Informationssysteme