The West Atlantic languages (also the Atlantic languages"West Atlantic" is the traditional term, following Diedrich Hermann Westermann; "Atlantic" is more typical in recent work, particularly since Bendor-Samuel (1989), but is also used specifically for the northern branch of West Atlantic. or North Atlantic languages) of West Africa are a typological grouping of Niger–Congo languages.
The Atlantic languages are spoken along the Atlantic coast from Senegal to Liberia, though transhumant Fula speakers have spread eastward and are found in large numbers across the Sahel, from Senegal to Nigeria, Cameroon and Sudan. Wolof of Senegal and several of the Fula languages are the most populous Atlantic languages, with several million speakers each. Other significant members include Serer and the Jola dialect cluster of Senegal. Temne, a major language of Sierra Leone, was included in the Atlantic subgroup in earlier classifications but in modern proposals, it is no longer grouped within Atlantic.
Most Atlantic languages exhibit consonant mutation and have noun-class systems similar to those of the distantly related Bantu languages. Some languages are tonal, while others such as Wolof have pitch-accent systems. The basic word order tends to be SVO.
Classification and scope Traditional classification The Atlantic family was first identified by Sigismund Koelle in 1854. In the early 20th century, Carl Meinhof claimed that Fula was a Hamitic language, but August von Klingenhaben and Joseph Greenberg's work established Fula's close relationship with Wolof and Serer. W. A. A. Wilson notes that the validity of the family as a whole rests on much weaker evidence, though it is clear that the languages are part of the Niger–Congo family, based on evidence such as a shared noun-class system. However, comparative work on Niger–Congo is in its infancy. Classifications of Niger–Congo, usually based on lexicostatistics, generally propose that the various Atlantic languages are rather divergent, but less so than Mande and other languages that lack noun classes.
David Sapir (1971) proposed a classification of Atlantic into three branches, a northern group, a southern group, and the divergent Bijago language of the Bissagos Islands off the coast of Guinea-Bissau:
Atlantic Northern Sénégal languages: Fula–Serer; Wolof Cangin languages Bak languages (not including Bijago) Eastern Sénégal–Portuguese Guinea languages Tenda languages Biafada–Pajade Kobiana–Kasanga–Banhum Nalu–Mbulungish–Baga Mboteni Bijago Southern Sua Mel languages (including Gola) Limba
Sapir's classification is widely cited in handbooks on African linguistics (e.g. Bender 1989, Williamson & Blench 2000), and is also used in the Ethnologue (22nd ed., 2019).
Recent proposals The unity of the Atlantic languages—as traditionally defined—has long been questioned, e.g. Dalby (1965), who argued for the Mel languages as a primary branch of Niger–Congo. At the current state of research, the wide concept of Atlantic (i.e. including the Southern languages) within the Niger–Congo family is no longer held up.
Segerer (2010, 2016) and Pozdniakov & Segerer (2017) propose a narrowed-down version of the Atlantic languages by excluding all languages of the southern branch, which they treat as four primary branches (viz. Sua, Limba, Gola, and the Mel languages) within the Niger–Congo family. The Bak languages are split from the northern languages as a coordinate subbranch within Atlantic (in the narrow sense). Bijago is assigned to the Bak languages.
Güldemann (2018) goes even further, and also treats Nalu and Mbulungish–Baga Mboteni ("Rio Nunez") as unclassified first-order branches of Niger–Congo.
Vossen & Dimmendaal (2020) Revised classification of the Atlantic languages (Vossen & Dimmendaal 2020:166, from Pozdniakov & Segerer):
Atlantic North Wolof: Wolof, Lebu Nyun-Buy Nyun (Gunyaamolo, Gujaher, Gubëeher, etc.) Buy (Kasanga, Kobiana) Tenda-Jaad Tenda: Basari, Tanda, Bedik, Bapen; Konyagi Jaad: Biafada; Badiaranke Fula-Sereer Fula (Pular, Pulaar, Fulfulde, etc.) Sereer Cangin Palor, Ndut Noon, Laala, Saafi Nalu Nalu Bage Fore Baga Mboteni Bak Balant: Ganja, Kentohe, Fraase Joola-Manjaku Joola: Fogny, Banjal, Kasa, Kwaatay, Karon, Ejamat, Keeraak, etc.; Bayot ? Manjaku Bok, Cur, Bassarel Pepel Mankanya Bijogo: Kamona, Kagbaaga, Kajoko
Merrill (2021) Merrill (2021) proposes that Atlantic (or North Atlantic) is not a valid subgroup of Niger-Congo, but rather considers each of the established Atlantic "branches" to all be primary branches of Niger-Congo. Furthermore, Merrill suggests that due to the divergence of the Atlantic languages, the homeland of Niger-Congo may lie in the northwest of sub-Saharan Africa.
North Atlantic geographical area Fula-Sereer (branch) Fula Sereer Cangin Wolof Bainunk-Kobiana-Kasanga (branch) Kobiana Gujaher Gubëeher Guñaamolo Biafada-Pajade (branch) Pajade Biafada Tenda (branch) Konyagi Bassari Bedik Bak (branch) Joola Manjak Balanta Bijogo (branch)
Merrill (2021) also notes that Tenda and Biafada-Pajade share similarities with each other, and may possibly form a linkage.
Reconstruction Proto-Atlantic lexical innovations reconstructed by Pozdniakov & Segerer (2017):
Gloss Proto-Atlantic star *kʷʊʈ to fly *yiiʈ to die *keʈ to rot *pʊʈ three *taʈ eye *giʈ liver *heɲ feather *lung hair *wal baobab *bak ~ *ɓak to see *jok (?) tree trunk *dik to give birth *was / *bas
Wilson (2007:36) also proposed the tentative Proto-Atlantic reconstructions:
Gloss Proto-Atlantic head *kop ear *nop eye *kit mouth *tum
Sample Atlantic cognate sets:
Language ‘eye’ ‘liver’ ‘feather’ ‘hair’ ‘baobab’ ‘to see’ ‘tree trunk’ ‘to give birth’ Proto-Atlantic *giʈ *heɲ *lung *wal *b/ɓak *jok? *dik *w/bas Tenda-Jaad *gəɬ *ceeɲ *dɔ̰̀ngw *mbal ɓak jeek? *bas Fula-Sereer *git xeeɲ wiil ɓaak/ɓok jak lek- ɓas-il Nyun-Buy *giɬ kɩɩɲ lung bɔk njug? leex/rien bɔs Wolof -ət dung *-war jàkk wəs-in Cangin *ʔəɬ *kɛɛɲ ɓaʔ/ɓɔh *dik ɓəs Nalu cet bɛɛk yɛk dik/lik Joola kiɬ hɩɩɲ *wal bak jʊk nʊk-an βɔs Manjak *kiɬ *-ɩɲ lung *wɛl bak jʊk bas Balant *kít/git hɩ́ɩ́ɲɛ̰̀ wul/hul ndíŋá/ndiik Bijogo ŋɛ runk- wa joŋ nik-an -gbʸa
Reconstructions for individual West Atlantic branches can be found in Merrill (2021).
Numerals Comparison of numerals in individual languages: