`zebra'

[Eduard Selleslagh]

Even though I cannot contribute to the etymology of 'zebra', I can help to
clarify the confusion around the various names of the Bantu languages cited.

In fact, many of the names containing e.g. 'mbunda' are actually the same.
The cause of this is that most Congo-Kordofanian lgs. and Bantu in
particular, use mainly PREfixes as grammatical and other devices. Just a
choice (the actual set of prefixes varies according to the 'class' of the
root):

1.<zero>-mbunda : root, or 'a' mbunda tribe member. Note that the mb is one
phoneme (also Ba-ntu!).

2.ba/wa-mbunda : plural (like Wa-tutsi and Ba-hutu) (but : mtoto/vitoto =
child/children)

3.ki/gi/tshi-mbunda : the 'Mbundese' language (ki- is the basic form, the
voiced or palatalized forms are secondary), actually 'something of the
Mbundese kind'. (Wa-tutsi and Ba-hutu speak Ki-rundi, also called
Ki-rwanda).

4.u-mbunda . the land of the Mbunda etc..

5. etc....

[I'm not sure all these prefixed forms actually exist in the case of Mbunda,
but for the Ganda , Kongo and the Luba tribes e.g., at least two or three of
them do]

Conclusions: a) always look for the root b) looking things up in IE-styled
dictionary is not straightforward at all.

Sorry for informing those that already knew.

Ed. Selleslagh

P.S. I have this information from an africanologist, a colleague of mine.