Differences in genetic structure between the Nguni-speaking population and other Southern African Bantu-speaking populations

Abstract

Africa is arguably the most genetically, culturally, and linguistically diverse region in the world, despite only being the second most populated continent (Zhang et al., 2021 and Tishkoff et al., 2009). There are four major language families in Africa: KhoeSan, Afroasiatic, Niger-Congo and Nilo-Saharan, of which there are 2 171 languages, which amounts to one third of the world’s languages (Eberhard et al., 2025; Tucci and Akey, 2019). Language ties in with culture according to Jiang (2000) who states that languages represent people, their history as well as their approach to life. Therefore, the large number of ethnolinguistic groups can give an indication as to how culturally diverse Africa is.