The Bantu language family is a branch of larger language groups (e.g. Niger-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantoid). The 400+ Bantu languages range from Cameroon in the northwest to Kenya in the northeast, and South Africa in the south. Bantu languages are conventionally referred to by a LETTER-NUMBER combination (like A12 or G44) following the Guthrie reference system (map and language list). This system uses the letters ABCDEFGHJKLMNPRS for zones, located approximately on this map from Wikimedia: The expansion of the Bantu languages is seen in the map below from Koile et al. (2022). Proto-Bantu (PB) is the reconstructed ancestor of all these language groups. Northwestern Bantu (NWB) languages are groups 1-2 in green. Proto-Northwestern-Bantu (PNWB) is their reconstructed common ancestor. Transcontinental Bantu (TB) languages are groups 3-23. Proto-Transcontinental-Bantu (PTB) is their reconstructed common ancestor. Eastern Bantu (EB) languages are groups 12-23 marked in red and orange. Proto-Eastern-Bantu (PEB) is their reconstructed common ancestor. South Bantu (SB) languages are groups 16-17. Proto-South-Bantu (PSB) is their reconstructed common ancestor. The Bantu family tree (based on lexical innovations) is seen in this chart from Koile et al. (2022):
