Mark Ledford, Age 14, of Bowling Green, Ohio, for his question:

WHAT IS THE BANTU LANGUAGE?

Bantu are a large group of black African peoples. Bantu also refers to the related languages spoken by these people.

Between 60 and 80 million Africans speak Bantu languages. These people make up a majority of the population of nearly all African countries south of five degrees north latitude. They belong to about 300 groups, each with its own language or dialect.

Each Bantu group has its own separate cultural and political characteristics. The groups vary in size from a few hundred members to several million.

The best known Bantu groups include the Zulu, once the feared warriors of South Africa; the Swahili, whose language is spoken throughout eastern Africa; and the Kikuyu, the largest group in Kenya.

The first Bantu probably lived in what is now Cameroon. But about the time of Christ, they started to move to new lands in one of the greatest migrations in history. The migration occurred gradually with small groups continually splitting off and moving to new regions.