{
  "vercy": "1.0-draft",
  "publication": {
    "status": "research-draft",
    "adjudicationStatus": "unreviewed",
    "publishableCanonical": false,
    "generatedAt": "2026-09-11T12:27:07Z",
    "providers": [
      "Claude"
    ],
    "breadth": "written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify",
    "pass": 2,
    "wave": 1,
    "engine": "claude",
    "enrichment": {
      "pass": 3,
      "engine": "claude",
      "producedAt": "2026-10-05T17:00:00Z",
      "ingestedAt": "2026-10-05T13:28:01+00:00",
      "fields": [
        "agent_conduct",
        "ethics",
        "owners"
      ]
    },
    "gate": {
      "passed": true,
      "version": "1.0",
      "at": "2026-10-06T19:51:59+00:00",
      "evidence": [
        "completeness 1.00",
        "sense: Wikidata description",
        "2 live sources",
        "review by codex: pass"
      ]
    }
  },
  "metaModel": {
    "id": "THING-Q33838",
    "registryId": "vr.tr.niger-congo",
    "name": "Niger–Congo",
    "version": "0.2.0-wave.1",
    "entryKind": "thing",
    "family": "Thing Registry",
    "domain": [
      "INF.MED"
    ],
    "status": "research-draft"
  },
  "canonicalUrl": "https://ver.cy/models/thing/q33838/",
  "model": {
    "registry_id": "vr.tr.niger-congo",
    "name": "Niger–Congo",
    "purpose": "Let an agent handle Niger-Congo by branches, member languages, classification debates, speaker figures and resources, with attributed views and self-designations.",
    "definition": "A proposed language family of sub-Saharan Africa, the largest in the world by number of languages, with well over a thousand languages including the Bantu languages such as Swahili and Zulu, and languages such as Yoruba, Igbo, Fula and Wolof; the inclusion of some branches such as Mande, Dogon, Ijoid and Kordofanian remains debated.",
    "what_it_is_for": "Linguistics, education and language resources for African languages.",
    "affordances": [
      "identify the branch of a language",
      "summarise classification debates with sources",
      "find resources and speaker figures",
      "explain shared features such as noun classes"
    ],
    "distinguishing_features": [
      "Very many languages",
      "Widespread noun classes",
      "Mostly tonal",
      "Some branches disputed"
    ],
    "appearance": "Not physical; shown in family trees, maps and grammars.",
    "visual_identification": [
      "Noun class systems in many branches",
      "Tone in most languages",
      "Afroasiatic and Nilo-Saharan are other proposed families"
    ],
    "physical_properties": [],
    "families_and_kinds": [
      "Atlantic-Congo",
      "Benue-Congo including Bantu",
      "Volta-Niger",
      "Kwa and Gur",
      "disputed branches such as Mande, Dogon and Kordofanian"
    ],
    "related_models": [
      {
        "relation": "is a kind of",
        "target": "language family",
        "why": "category"
      },
      {
        "relation": "includes",
        "target": "Bantu languages",
        "why": "branch"
      },
      {
        "relation": "is spoken in",
        "target": "sub-Saharan Africa",
        "why": "region"
      },
      {
        "relation": "is classified by",
        "target": "Glottolog and Ethnologue",
        "why": "references"
      }
    ],
    "identifiers": [
      {
        "scheme": "ISO 639-5",
        "value_or_pattern": "nic",
        "note": "Niger-Kordofanian languages (collective code)"
      }
    ],
    "standards_and_regulation": [
      "National language policies",
      "African Union language charters"
    ],
    "failure_modes_and_hazards": [
      "Presenting a debated grouping as settled",
      "Unsourced speaker numbers",
      "Exonyms instead of self-designations"
    ],
    "in_scope": [],
    "out_of_scope": [],
    "characteristics": [],
    "agent_conduct": {
      "may": [
        "Describe the Niger-Congo family, its branches and major languages with sources.",
        "State which branch memberships are debated and by whom."
      ],
      "must_not": [
        "Present the grouping or a debated branch as settled.",
        "Give speaker numbers without sources and dates.",
        "Use exonyms or offensive names where speakers use their own names.",
        "Rank languages as more or less developed."
      ],
      "requires_human": [
        "Publishing classifications used in language policy or education."
      ]
    },
    "ethics": {
      "considerations": [
        "Language classification has been used to rank peoples; speakers are owed respect for their own names and languages.",
        "Many Niger-Congo languages are under-resourced and endangered."
      ],
      "affected_parties": [
        "Speakers and communities",
        "Linguists",
        "Learners"
      ]
    },
    "owners": {
      "steward": "Nobody owns a language family; speakers hold their languages and linguists study the grouping.",
      "master_systems": [
        "Language catalogues and code registries"
      ]
    }
  },
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "wikidata",
      "title": "Wikidata item Q33838: Niger–Congo",
      "url": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q33838",
      "url_status": "live",
      "what_it_supports": "identity and sense of the item",
      "checked_by": "wikidata-api"
    },
    {
      "id": "wikipedia-en",
      "title": "Wikipedia: Niger–Congo languages",
      "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niger%E2%80%93Congo_languages",
      "url_status": "live",
      "what_it_supports": "general description of the item",
      "checked_by": "wikidata-api sitelink"
    }
  ],
  "structure": {
    "bundles": [
      {
        "id": "classification",
        "name": "Classification",
        "description": "Family tree.",
        "rationale": "Classification is debated.",
        "layers": [
          {
            "id": "branch",
            "name": "Branch",
            "description": "Which branch.",
            "findings": [
              {
                "id": "branch-finding",
                "name": "Branch",
                "description": "Branch.",
                "questions": [
                  {
                    "text": "Which branch does this language belong to, according to Glottolog or other references?",
                    "kind": "provenance"
                  },
                  {
                    "text": "Do references disagree?",
                    "kind": "boundary"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "id": "debate",
            "name": "Debate",
            "description": "Contested groupings.",
            "findings": [
              {
                "id": "debate-finding",
                "name": "Debate",
                "description": "Classification debate.",
                "questions": [
                  {
                    "text": "Why do linguists debate the inclusion of Mande or Kordofanian?",
                    "kind": "provenance"
                  },
                  {
                    "text": "Who holds which view?",
                    "kind": "provenance"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ]
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "id": "features",
        "name": "Features",
        "description": "Shared traits.",
        "rationale": "Features recur.",
        "layers": [
          {
            "id": "noun",
            "name": "Noun classes",
            "description": "Noun class systems.",
            "findings": [
              {
                "id": "noun-finding",
                "name": "Noun classes",
                "description": "Noun classes.",
                "questions": [
                  {
                    "text": "How do noun class systems work in this language?",
                    "kind": "definition"
                  },
                  {
                    "text": "How many classes are there?",
                    "kind": "measurement"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "id": "tone",
            "name": "Tone",
            "description": "Tonal systems.",
            "findings": [
              {
                "id": "tone-finding",
                "name": "Tone",
                "description": "Tone.",
                "questions": [
                  {
                    "text": "How is tone used in this language?",
                    "kind": "definition"
                  },
                  {
                    "text": "How is it written?",
                    "kind": "provenance"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ]
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "id": "speakers",
        "name": "Speakers",
        "description": "Communities.",
        "rationale": "Figures need sources.",
        "layers": [
          {
            "id": "numbers",
            "name": "Numbers",
            "description": "Speaker figures.",
            "findings": [
              {
                "id": "numbers-finding",
                "name": "Numbers",
                "description": "Speaker numbers.",
                "questions": [
                  {
                    "text": "How many speakers does this language have, according to recent sources?",
                    "kind": "provenance"
                  },
                  {
                    "text": "First or second language?",
                    "kind": "boundary"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "id": "names",
            "name": "Names",
            "description": "Self-designations.",
            "findings": [
              {
                "id": "names-finding",
                "name": "Names",
                "description": "Self-designations.",
                "questions": [
                  {
                    "text": "What do speakers call their language?",
                    "kind": "provenance"
                  },
                  {
                    "text": "Which names are exonyms?",
                    "kind": "provenance"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ]
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "id": "resources",
        "name": "Resources",
        "description": "Learning and technology.",
        "rationale": "Resources support languages.",
        "layers": [
          {
            "id": "learning",
            "name": "Learning",
            "description": "Courses.",
            "findings": [
              {
                "id": "learning-finding",
                "name": "Learning",
                "description": "Learning resources.",
                "questions": [
                  {
                    "text": "Which grammars, dictionaries or courses exist?",
                    "kind": "provenance"
                  },
                  {
                    "text": "Who publishes them?",
                    "kind": "provenance"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "id": "technology",
            "name": "Technology",
            "description": "Language technology.",
            "findings": [
              {
                "id": "technology-finding",
                "name": "Technology",
                "description": "Language technology.",
                "questions": [
                  {
                    "text": "Which keyboards, fonts or translation tools support this language?",
                    "kind": "provenance"
                  },
                  {
                    "text": "How good is their quality?",
                    "kind": "boundary"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ]
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  "openQuestions": [
    "Should branches be separate entries?",
    "How should classification debates be recorded?",
    "How should resources for each language be linked?"
  ],
  "statistics": {
    "bundles": 4,
    "layers": 8,
    "findings": 8,
    "questions": 16
  }
}