Koen Bostoen – författare

Written by an international team of experts, this comprehensive volume presents grammatical analyses of individual Bantu languages, comparative studies of their main phonetic, phonological and grammatical characteristics and overview chapters on their history and classification. It is estimated that some 300 to 350 million people, or one in three Africans, are Bantu speakers. Van de Velde and Bostoen bring together their linguistic expertise to produce a volume that builds on Nurse and Philippson’s first edition.The Bantu Languages, 2nd edition is divided into two parts; Part 1 contains 11 comparative chapters, and Part 2 provides grammar sketches of 12 individual Bantu languages, some of which were previously undescribed. The grammar sketches follow a general template that allows for easy comparison. Thoroughly revised and updated to include more language descriptions and the latest comparative insights.New to this edition:• new chapters on syntax, tone, reconstruction and language contact• 12 new sketch grammars• thoroughly updated chapters on phonetics, aspect-tense-mood and classification• exhaustive catalogue of known languages with essential referencesThis unique resource remains the ideal reference for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students of Bantu linguistics and languages. It will be of interest to researchers and anyone with an interest in historical linguistics, linguistic typology and grammatical analysis.

The Bantu Expansion is one of the most intriguing issues in African history. Based on extensive fieldwork in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and laboratory analysis, this book provides the most comprehensive, up-to-date, and multi-proxy account of the first Bantu speakers south of the Congo rainforest.This volume begins with state-of-the-art reviews of the archaeological, palaeoenvironmental, genetic, linguistic, and oral historical contexts of the Bantu Expansion and includes evidence from over 150 previously unknown archaeological sites with extensive analyses of pottery, lithics, soil stable isotopes, phytoliths, charcoal, and human remains. Seven appendices contain the full metadata, radiometric, and geographical data for each site and comparative language data. The volume concludes with a sweeping interdisciplinary reconstruction of the first Bantu-speaking settlers in the Kwilu-Kasai region and rethinks how farming, climate change, and contact with Central African hunter-gatherers and Ubangi speakers impacted their lifeworld.This book is indispensable for scholars and students of Africa from a wide variety of fields such as archaeology, palaeoecology, linguistics, population genetics, history, and anthropology, and of considerable interest to scientists active in other parts of the world. All who think African history matters will find it a valuable source.

The Kongo kingdom, which arose in the Atlantic Coast region of West-Central Africa, is a famous emblem of Africa's past yet little is still known of its origins and early history. This book sheds new light on that all important period and goes on to explain the significance of its cosmopolitan culture in the wider world. Bringing together different new strands of historical evidence as well as scholars from disciplines as diverse as anthropology, archaeology, art history, history and linguistics, it is the first book to approach the history of this famous Central African kingdom from a cross-disciplinary perspective. All chapters are written by distinguished and/or upcoming experts of Kongo history with a focus on political space, taking us through processes of centralisation and decentralisation, the historical politics of extraversion and internal dynamics, and the geographical distribution of aspects of material and immaterial Kongo culture.

The Kongo kingdom, which arose in the Atlantic Coast region of West-Central Africa, is a famous emblem of Africa's past yet little is still known of its origins and early history. This book sheds new light on that all important period and goes on to explain the significance of its cosmopolitan culture in the wider world. Bringing together different new strands of historical evidence as well as scholars from disciplines as diverse as anthropology, archaeology, art history, history and linguistics, it is the first book to approach the history of this famous Central African kingdom from a cross-disciplinary perspective. All chapters are written by distinguished and/or upcoming experts of Kongo history with a focus on political space, taking us through processes of centralisation and decentralisation, the historical politics of extraversion and internal dynamics, and the geographical distribution of aspects of material and immaterial Kongo culture.

Written by an international team of experts, this comprehensive volume presents grammatical analyses of individual Bantu languages, comparative studies of their main phonetic, phonological and grammatical characteristics and overview chapters on their history and classification. It is estimated that some 300 to 350 million people, or one in three Africans, are Bantu speakers. Van de Velde and Bostoen bring together their linguistic expertise to produce a volume that builds on Nurse and Philippson’s first edition.The Bantu Languages, 2nd edition is divided into two parts; Part 1 contains 11 comparative chapters, and Part 2 provides grammar sketches of 12 individual Bantu languages, some of which were previously undescribed. The grammar sketches follow a general template that allows for easy comparison. Thoroughly revised and updated to include more language descriptions and the latest comparative insights.New to this edition:• new chapters on syntax, tone, reconstruction and language contact• 12 new sketch grammars• thoroughly updated chapters on phonetics, aspect-tense-mood and classification• exhaustive catalogue of known languages with essential referencesThis unique resource remains the ideal reference for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students of Bantu linguistics and languages. It will be of interest to researchers and anyone with an interest in historical linguistics, linguistic typology and grammatical analysis.

Of all the great kingdoms that flourished in Africa, the Kongo is one of the most famous. It remains an important historical and cultural reference for Africans and their diaspora. The KongoKing inter-university project (2012-2016), funded by the European Research Council, aimed, through an interdisciplinary approach, to understand the origin of the kingdom and to shed light on the phenomena of political centralization, economic integration and linguistic evolution that took place there. This book presents in detail the results of archaeological research carried out by the KongoKing project in the former northern provinces of the Kongo Kingdom, currently located in the Democratic Republic of Congo. | De tous les grands royaumes qui fleurirent en Afrique, le royaume Kongo est l’un des plus célèbres. Il reste une référence historique et culturelle importante pour les Africains et leur diaspora. Entraînés très tôt dans le commerce de traite, les esclaves originaires de la région font que du Brésil à New York, en passant par les Caraïbes, la culture Kongo a laissé de nombreuses traces. Le projet interuniversitaire KongoKing (2012-2016), financé par le Conseil Européen de la Recherche a été coordonné par Koen Bostoen, tandis que Bernard Clist et Pierre de Maret en ont dirigé le volet archéologique. Ce projet visait par une approche interdisciplinaire à comprendre l’origine du royaume et à éclairer les phénomènes de la centralisation politique, d’intégration économique et d’évolution linguistique qui s’y sont déroulés . Cet ouvrage présente de façon détaillée les résultats des recherches archéologiques menées par le projet KongoKing dans les anciennes provinces septentrionales du royaume Kongo, situées actuellement en République Démocratique du Congo. Dans une première partie on présente le contexte général, l’évolution du milieu, l’histoire du groupe linguistique kikongo et ce que l'on sait des périodes qui précèdent le royaume, ainsi que des informations récoltées dans diverses sources historiques sur ces provinces. Les prospections et fouilles des différents sites étudiés sont ensuite présentées. Puis vient le bilan des recherches archéologiques avec une synthèse des datations, une esquisse de la séquence chrono-culturelle de la poterie kongo et les études systématiques des différents types de vestiges récoltés. Pour conclure, on présente la synthèse de l'ensemble de ces découvertes et la façon dont celles-ci viennent compléter les données issues des autres disciplines pour éclairer d'un jour nouveau l'histoire du royaume Kongo.