The relevance of Bantoid for the reconstruction of Proto-Bantu verbal extensions

In this chapter the relevance of Bantoid for the reconstruction of verbal
extensions in Proto-Bantu (PB) is assessed. The Bantoid or Wide Bantu languages are a
body of some 150–200 languages positioned geographically between Nigeria and
Cameroon. They do not form a genetic subgroup, but all are in some way related
to Narrow Bantu, i.e. Bantu as referentially classified by Guthrie (1948; 1967–71),
more closely than other branches within Benue-Congo. The most well-known
subgroups are Dakoid, Mambiloid, Tivoid, Beboid, Grassfields, and Mbe-Ekoid. The
chapter discusses the characteristics of verbal extensions in Bantoid and their
possible relation to extensions attested in Narrow Bantu on the one hand, and in other
branches of Benue-Congo on the other hand. Based on a review of the literature on
verbal extensions in the various branches of Bantoid and on case studies of
individual languages, the chapter concludes that a rich system similar to Narrow Bantu
can be reconstructed for Proto-Grassfields, while in other Bantoid subgroups, it is
now lost or much reduced. Only the causative -si is attested in a substantial
number of subgroups. Some Bantoid extensions show significant segmental similarities
to certain extensions in Narrow Bantu zone A languages, which have never been
reconstructed for PB. It is argued that these extensions shared between the highest
branches of the Bantu family tree warrant a revision of PB verb derivation suffixes.