Bantu

Bantu is the name of most of the races, with their languages, that occupy Africa from 6° North lattitude to 20° South longitude. They are negroid rather than negro, being in several respects superior. The name, however, suggests rather a linguistic than an ethnological distinction, the language differing radically from all other known forms of speech--the inflection, for one thing, chiefly initial, not final. It is a group of Niger-Congo languages spoken in central and southern Africa which includes Swahili, Xhosa, and Zulu. Anything of or relating to these people and their languages is also referred to as Bantu.

It is worth noting that the word Bantu became a strong offensive term during the apartheid regime in South Africa, especially for a member of these indigenous people speaking Bantu languages. That is why it is avoided in modern usage, and the words 'black' or 'African' are used instead in South Africa. However, outside South Africa, the word 'Bantu' is still being used as a neutral 'scientific' term to collectively denote these people and their languages.