First publication in the new series Collectie MenswetenschappenCollection Science Humaines previously the Annales In this period in which Africa is struggling ... » 

First publication in the new series Collectie MenswetenschappenCollection Science Humaines previously the Annales In this period in which Africa is struggling for rehabilitation and revival on so many fronts research on the history cultures and languages of this continent is all the more crucial. Linguists are making industrious attempts to reconstruct macrophyla such as Nostratic while the internal unity of purely African phyla such as NigerCongo is still judged tentative a fact which confirms the need for African comparative linguistics. In a broader perspective historians archaeologists and even geneticists increasingly turn to African linguistic data for reconstructing the early history of this region and beyond.Studies in African Comparative Linguistics offers 21 articles dealing with diverse topics in this domain of research. It comprises a representative selection of presentday NigerCongo research with a special focus on Bantu and Mande. The contributions are subdivided in 7 thematic chapters NigerCongo Mande Bantu Classification Bantu Vocabulary Bantu Phonology Bantu Morphology and Bantu Syntax. This publication celebrates the retirement of Yvonne Bastin and Claire Grgoire from the Linguistics Service of the Royal Museum for Central Africa. The contributions are dedicated to their careerlong commitment to the study of African languages. «