Architecture

The BantuOS layer stack.

BantuOS is a strictly layered symbolic runtime. Each layer has a narrow contract, a defined dependency boundary, and a product reason to exist.

Kernel / Phonology / Tone

Compile typed morphemes into valid surface forms with syllable, tone, and trace output.

Status: planned prototype Source: Bemba FSI, phonology trackers, tone/A12 evidence Contract: compile(morphemes, cartridge, mode)

Store roots, stems, and lexical facts the OS cannot derive.

Status: source artifacts identified Source: Hoch workbook, BTS source tables, v3 verb sources Contract: lookup(id), query(predicate)

Represent noun class as type and expose agreement facts keyed by Class_ID.

Status: source artifacts identified Source: UCM / master concord matrix Contract: concord(class_id, agreement_context)

Provide typed subject markers, object markers, TAM markers, final vowels, extensions, and closed-class morphemes.

Status: planned extraction Source: BTS template reference and cartridge conventions Contract: get(slot, key)

Validate compositions and emit first-class rejection records.

Status: planned prototype Source: BC rule families and BantuNomics standards Contract: validate(composition)

Expose equation-backed template families as the public symbolic API.

Status: planned prototype Source: BTS Template & Equation Reference Contract: generate(template_id, args)

Resolve symbolic ambiguity with controlled neural adapters while preserving the symbolic core as authority.

Status: contract planned Source: Gemma strategy paper, future model-neutral adapter spec Contract: resolve(symbolic_output, context, adapter)

Build generated dictionaries, pedagogy, keyboards, ASR/TTS post-processing, translation scaffolds, and product apps.

Status: consumer layer Source: BantuNomics product surfaces Contract: call public OS APIs only

Rules

The symbolic core is the moat; model adapters consume it, not replace it.

Tone belongs in the kernel because tone changes meaning and docks on the syllable nucleus.

Noun class is type; concord is type-driven dispatch.

Rejection records are product outputs, not exceptions.

Applications call the template/syscall layer and do not import lower-layer internals.

Language cartridges are versioned runtime packages with source provenance and validation status.