Zone A
S Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, N Gabon
- A10 Lundu–Balong : Oroko (likely one of the Sawabantu languages); the other languages apart from A15 Manenguba (that is, Bonkeng, Nkongho, Bafaw-Balong) may be Sawabantu as well.
- A15 Manenguba (Ngoe) languages
- A20–30 Sawabantu languages; Bube (in Mbam?)
- A40a (reduced) Basaa languages
- A50 Bafia languages
- A60+40b Mbam languages (Jarawan added after Guthrie)
- A70 Beti language
- A80–90 Pomo–Bomwali languages
Zone A is sometimes considered Forest Bantu.
Guthrie's A60 and part of his A40 have been removed to the Bantoid Mbam languages. Sawabantu may include some of the A10 languages apart from Manenguba, whereas Bube may belong in Mbam.
Bantoid Jarawan was assigned to Zone A by Gerhardt (1982) and Blench (ms 2006, 2011), specifically to A60, within Mbam.
According to several scholars, including Blench, there can be no coherent concept of Bantu as long as many of the Zone A and perhaps Zone B languages are included.
Read more about this topic: Guthrie Classification Of Bantu Languages
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