Editing West Atlantic languages (section)

==Classification and scope==
===Traditional classification===
The Atlantic family was first identified by [[Sigismund Koelle]] in 1854. In the early 20th century, [[Carl Meinhof]] claimed that Fula was a [[Hamitic]] language, but August von Klingenhaben and [[Joseph Greenberg]]'s work established Fula's close relationship with Wolof and Serer. W. A. A. Wilson notes that the validity of the family as a whole rests on much weaker evidence, though it is clear that the languages are part of the [[Niger–Congo languages|Niger–Congo]] family, based on evidence such as a shared noun-class system. However, [[comparative method|comparative]] work on Niger–Congo is in its infancy. Classifications of Niger–Congo, usually based on [[lexicostatistics]], generally propose that the various Atlantic languages are rather divergent, but less so than [[Mande languages|Mande]] and other languages that lack noun classes.

[[J. David Sapir|David Sapir]] (1971) proposed a classification of Atlantic into three branches, a northern group, a southern group, and the divergent [[Bijago language]] of the [[Bissagos Islands]] off the coast of [[Guinea-Bissau]]:{{sfnp|Sapir|1971|pp=48–49}}

{{tree list}}
*'''Atlantic'''
**[[Senegambian languages|Northern]]
***Sénégal languages: [[Fula language|Fula]]–[[Serer language|Serer]]; [[Wolof language|Wolof]]
***[[Cangin languages]]
***[[Bak languages]] (not including [[Bijago language|Bijago]])
***Eastern Sénégal–Portuguese Guinea languages
****[[Tenda languages]]
****[[Biafada language|Biafada]]–[[Pajade language|Pajade]]
****[[Kobiana language|Kobiana]]–[[Kasanga language|Kasanga]]–[[Banyum language|Banhum]]
****[[Nalu language|Nalu]]–[[Mbulungish language|Mbulungish]]–[[Baga Mboteni language|Baga Mboteni]]
**[[Bijago language|Bijago]]
**Southern
***[[Sua language|Sua]]
***[[Mel languages]] (including Gola)
***[[Limba language|Limba]]
{{tree list/end}}

Sapir's classification is widely cited in handbooks on African linguistics (e.g. Bender 1989, Williamson & Blench 2000), and is also used in the [[Ethnologue]] (22nd ed., 2019).

===Recent proposals===
The unity of the Atlantic languages—as traditionally defined—has long been questioned, e.g. Dalby (1965), who argued for the Mel languages as a primary branch of Niger–Congo. At the current state of research, the wide concept of Atlantic (i.e. including the Southern languages) within the Niger–Congo family is no longer held up.{{sfnp|Güldemann|2018|pp=180–183}}

Segerer (2010, 2016<ref>{{cite conference |last=Segerer |first=Guillaume |url=http://www.guillaumesegerer.fr/Ling/Documents/Pub/Segerer-ACAL47-final.ppsx |title=A new, innovation-based classification of Atlantic languages |conference=ACAL 47 |location=Berkeley |date=Mar 23–26, 2016}}</ref>) and Pozdniakov & Segerer (2017) propose a [[Senegambian languages|narrowed-down version]] of the Atlantic languages by excluding all languages of the southern branch, which they treat as four primary branches (viz. Sua, Limba, Gola, and the Mel languages) within the Niger–Congo family. The Bak languages are split from the northern languages as a coordinate subbranch within Atlantic (in the narrow sense). Bijago is assigned to the Bak languages.

Güldemann (2018) goes even further, and also treats [[Nalu language|Nalu]] and [[Mbulungish language|Mbulungish]]–[[Baga Mboteni language|Baga Mboteni]] ("[[Rio Nunez languages|Rio Nunez]]") as unclassified first-order branches of Niger–Congo.{{sfnp|Güldemann|2018|p=188}}

====Vossen & Dimmendaal (2020)====
Revised classification of the Atlantic languages (Vossen & Dimmendaal 2020:166,<ref name="Vossen">{{cite book |editor-last1=Vossen |editor-first1=Rainer |editor-last2=Dimmendaal |editor-first2=Gerrit J. |year=2020 |title=The Oxford Handbook of African Languages |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199609895.001.0001|isbn=978-0199609895 }}</ref> from Pozdniakov & Segerer<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pozdniakov |first1=K. |last2=Segerer |first2=G. |chapter=A genealogical classification of Atlantic languages |editor-last=Lüpke |editor-first=F. |title=The Oxford Guide to the Atlantic Languages of West Africa |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref>):

{{tree list}}
*'''Atlantic'''
**North
***Wolof: Wolof, Lebu
***Nyun-Buy
****Nyun (Gunyaamolo, Gujaher, Gubëeher, etc.)
****Buy (Kasanga, Kobiana)
***Tenda-Jaad
****Tenda: Basari, Tanda, Bedik, Bapen; Konyagi
****Jaad: Biafada; Badiaranke
***Fula-Sereer
****Fula (Pular, Pulaar, Fulfulde, etc.)
****Sereer
***Cangin
****Palor, Ndut
****Noon, Laala, Saafi
***Nalu
****Nalu
****Bage Fore
****Baga Mboteni
**Bak
***Balant: Ganja, Kentohe, Fraase
***Joola-Manjaku
****Joola: Fogny, Banjal, Kasa, Kwaatay, Karon, Ejamat, Keeraak, etc.; Bayot ?
****Manjaku
****Bok, Cur, Bassarel
****Pepel
****Mankanya
***Bijogo: Kamona, Kagbaaga, Kajoko
{{tree list/end}}

====Merrill (2021)====
Merrill (2021) proposes that Atlantic (or North Atlantic) is not a valid subgroup of Niger-Congo, but rather considers each of the established Atlantic "branches" to all be primary branches of Niger-Congo. Furthermore, Merrill suggests that due to the divergence of the Atlantic languages, the homeland of Niger-Congo may lie in the northwest of sub-Saharan Africa.<ref name="Merrill">{{cite conference |last=Merrill |first=Jack |url=https://www.iaaw.hu-berlin.de/de/region/afrika/veranstaltung/archiv/4-6-11-diedrich-westermann-workshop/4-6-11-diedrich-westermann-workshop-powerpoint-und-pdf/2021-11-westermann-berlin-3-4-merrill-atlantic-primary-families-bantu-cognates.pdf |title=Cognate noun class markers between Northern Atlantic groups and Benue-Congo| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230829151341/https://www.iaaw.hu-berlin.de/de/region/afrika/veranstaltung/archiv/4-6-11-diedrich-westermann-workshop/4-6-11-diedrich-westermann-workshop-powerpoint-und-pdf/2021-11-westermann-berlin-3-4-merrill-atlantic-primary-families-bantu-cognates.pdf |archive-date=2023-08-29 |conference-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230829193710/https://www.iaaw.hu-berlin.de/en/region/africa/events/archives/4-6-11-2021-diedrich-westermann-workshop |conference=Diedrich Westermann-Workshop |date=2021-11-06 |location=Humboldt University of Berlin}}</ref>

{{tree list}}
*'''North Atlantic geographical area'''
**Fula-Sereer (branch)
***Fula
***Sereer
**Cangin
**Wolof
**Bainunk-Kobiana-Kasanga (branch)
***Kobiana
***Gujaher
***Gubëeher
***Guñaamolo
**Biafada-Pajade (branch)
***Pajade
***Biafada
**Tenda (branch)
***Konyagi
***Bassari
***Bedik
**Bak (branch)
***Joola
***Manjak
***Balanta
**Bijogo (branch)
{{tree list/end}}

Merrill (2021) also notes that Tenda and Biafada-Pajade share similarities with each other, and may possibly form a [[linkage (linguistics)|linkage]].