Bunu language

Last updated
Bunu
Pu Nu
Buod Nuox
Native to China
Region Guangxi and bordering regions
Ethnicity Yao
Native speakers
359,474 (2001) [1]
Dialects
  • Dongnu
  • Nunu
  • Bunuo
Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3 –
Glottolog buna1273

Bunu is a Hmongic language of southern China. Bunu speakers are classified ethnically as Yao by the People's Republic of China.

Contents

Varieties

Meng (2001) lists the following language varieties for Bunu. [1]

The Shaoyang Prefecture Gazetteer (1997:533) reports that the Miao of Xinning County, Hunan, speak a Bunu-branch language.

The Yunnan Province Gazetteer (1989) reports that a Bunu dialect known as pu55ʐa11 (布咋) is spoken by about 7,000 people in Guichao (归朝乡) and Dongbo (洞波瑶族乡) (including in Dadongzhai 大洞寨, Saxiangdong Village 三湘洞村 [3] ) townships of Funing County, Yunnan.

Others

The following may be alternative names for speakers of Bunu languages. [4]

Phonology

This section presents the phonology of the Dongnu variety of Qibainong (七百弄) Township, Dahua Yao Autonomous County, Guangxi as representative. [10]

Consonants

Labial Dental/Alveolar Retroflex (Alveolo-)
palatal 		Velar Glottal
plain pal. plain sib. lat. plain lab. pal.
Nasal voiceless m̥ m̥ʲ n̥ ɲ̟̊ ŋ̊ ŋ̊ʷ
voiced m mʲ n ɲ̟ ŋ ŋʷ
Stop voiceless p pʲ t ʈ k kʷ kʲ
aspirated pʰ pʲʰ tʰ ʈʰ kʰ kʷʰ kʲʰ
prenasal ᵐp ᵐpʲ ⁿt ᶯʈ ᵑk ᵑkʷ ᵑkʲ
prenasal asp. ᵐpʰ ᵐpʲʰ ⁿtʰ ᶯʈʰ ᵑkʰ ᵑkʷʰ
Affricate voiceless tɬ tɕ
aspirated tɬʰ tɕʰ
prenasal ⁿtθ ⁿts ⁿtɬ ᶮtɕ
prenasal asp. ⁿtθʰ ⁿtsʰ ⁿtɬʰ ᶮtɕʰ
Fricative voiceless f θ s ɬ ʂ ɕ h
aspirated θʰ sʰ
voiced v ʐ ʑ ɣ ɦ
Approximant l

Sounds /tɬ, tɬʰ, ⁿtɬ, ⁿtɬʰ/ may be pronounced as [pl, plʰ, ᵐpl, ᵐplʰ] in some areas. [11]

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close i ɯ u
Close-mid e ə o
Open-mid ɛ ɔ
Open a
Examples of vowels
VowelExample word
i pi43 'fruit'
ɯ tɯ13 'speak'
u ɬu41 'iron'
e he33 'open (a door)'
ə shə43 'on top'
o no13 'person'
ɛ hɛ33 'fast'
ɔ tɔ41 'kill'
a ka33 'chicken'

Diphthongs and Other Rimes

Qibainong Dongnu has seven diphthongs: /ei/, /ai/, /au/, /ou/, /ɔi/, /iu/, and /eu/. [12] Of these, /ɔi/, /iu/, and /eu/ only appear in recent loans from Chinese and Zhuang. [13] Examples of words with diphthongs appear in the table below; yellow background is for those diphthongs that appear only in recent borrowings.

Examples of diphthongs
DiphthongExample word
/ei/tei35 'team'
/ai/mpai41 'pig'
/au/sau41 'satiated'
/ou/
/ɔi/sɔi221 'crime'
/iu/ʐiu221 'cotton tree'
/eu/

Several vowels in Qibainong Dongnu permit a nasal consonant following, either /n/ or /ŋ/; most vowels permit one or the other, but not both. [12] Qibainong also permits the rime /iaŋ/, despite not having a diphthong /ia/; /iaŋ/ is used only in recent loans. [14] The possible combinations of vowel with final nasal, organized by the position of the vowel, appear in the table below.

Vowel + nasal sequences
Front Central Back
Close i ŋ u ŋ
Close-mid e n ə n , ə ŋ
Open-mid ɔ n , ɔ ŋ
Open a n , a ŋ
Examples of rimes with nasals
RimeExample
i ŋ iŋ33 'bitter'
u ŋ muŋ33 'sick'
e n pen13 'flower'
ə n
ə ŋ nəŋ33 'snake'
ɔ n
ɔ ŋ nɔŋ13 'eat'
a n man43 'village'
a ŋ aŋ33 'water'
i a ŋ

Tone

Qibainong Dongnu has eight tones, with four having an alternate realization, giving a total of 12 tone values. [15]

Tones
Tone numberTone classTone valueExample word
1A133tɔ33 'deep'
1′A1′55ven55 'winnowing basket'
2A213tɔ13 'come'
2′A2′35ven35 'garden'
3B143tɔ43 'hit'
3′B1′54pe54 'bowl'
4B2232tɔ232 'read'
4′B2′454pe454 'handle'
5C141tɔ41 'kill'
6C2221tɔ221 'die'
7D132tɔ32 'affix (a seal)'
8D221tɔ21 'bite'

Alphabet

Bunu is written in a Latin script similar to other minority languages of China, such as Hmong-Mien languages, like Hmong or Tai-Kadai languages, like Kam or Sui. It uses Digraphs or combinations of letters instead of diacritics to represent additional sounds. The Bunu alphabet is [16]  :

Letter
abbycchddleeefggwgyhhlhmhmyhnhnghngwhnyhsijkkwkylmmbmbymcmchmdmdlmg
IPA
appʲsʰʈʰttɬəe/ɛfkkʷkʲh/ɦɬm̥m̥ʲn̥ŋ̥ŋ̥ʷɲ̥θʰitɕkʰkʷʰkʲlmmpmpʲntsʰɳʈʰntntɬŋk
Letter
mgwmgymhsmjmkmkwmpmpymqmsmtmtlmzmzhnngngwnyoppyqrsshttluuovwxyzzh
IPA
ŋkʷŋkʲntθʰntɕŋkʰŋkʷʰmpʰmpʰʲntɕʰntθntʰntɬʰntsɳʈnŋŋʷɲɔpʰpʰʲtɕʰʐθʂtʰtɬʰuoɣv/ɯɕʑsʈ

Tones

Tones are marked with a consonant letter written at the end of a syllable.

Tone
12345678
Value
331343232412213221
Orthography
bxdltskf

Grammar

Word Classes

According to Meng (2001), Bunu has 12 parts of speech, namely, nouns, pronouns, numerals, classifiers, adjectives, verbs, intensifiers (状词), adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, auxiliaries, and interjections. [17]

Pronouns

Personal pronouns in Bunu exhibit a three-way distinction in both person and number, yielding nine contrasting terms: [18]

Personal pronouns in Qibainong Dongnu
SingularDualPlural
First Persontɕuŋ43a33pe33
Second Personkau13me33me13
Third Personni232mo33mo13

Bunu also has pronouns for 'oneself' and 'everyone', as well as a set of interrogative expressions: [19]

Interrogative expressions in Qibainong Dongnu
PronounMeaning
po33si54'what'
ɦau221tau221'how'
po43tau221'who, which'
ɦa232tau221'where'
pan33tau221'when'
Demonstratives

According to Meng (2001), demonstratives fall within the word class of pronouns. Five demonstratives are attested in Qibainong: nɔŋ43/54 'this (visible)', kau13/35 'that (medial, visible)', uŋ33/55 'that (distal, visible)', no43 'that (unknown)', and i43 'that (known, not visible)'. [20]

Numerals

Cardinal numerals include the following: [21]

Cardinal numerals in Qibainong Dongnu
NumeralMeaningNote
len13'zero'
tɕau221'one'used only in combination with classifiers
i55'one'general use
au33'two'
pe33'three'
tɬa33'four'
pjo33'five'
ʈu41'six'
sɔŋ221'seven'
ʑo21'eight'
tɕu13'nine'
tɕu21'ten'
pai41'hundred'
sen33'thousand'
van221'ten thousand'

References

  1. 1 2 Meng, Chaoji 蒙朝吉 (2001). Yáozú Bùnǔyǔ fāngyán yánjiū瑤族布努语方言研究[A Study of the Bunu Dialects of the Yao People] (in Chinese). Beijing: Minzu chubanshe.
  2. ↑ Meng, Youyi 蒙有义 (2011). "Lóngmá Bùnǔyǔ yǔyīn xìtǒng" 龙麻布努语语音系统 [On Phonetic System of Bunu Language in Longma]. Sānxiá lùntán (Sānxiá wénxué. Lǐlùn bǎn)三峡论坛（三峡文学.理论版） (in Chinese). 2011 (5): 61–65, 148. Archived from the original on 2021-06-24. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
  3. ↑ "Fùníng Xiàn Dòngbō Yáozú Xiāng Sānxiāngdòng Cūnwěihuì Shàngdàdòng" 富宁县洞波瑶族乡三湘洞村委会上大洞 [Shangdadong, Sanxiangdong Village Committee, Dongbo Yao Ethnic Township, Funing County]. ynszxc.gov.cn (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2017-09-26. Retrieved 2017-09-26.
  4. ↑ "China". Asia Harvest. Archived from the original on 2013-08-01. Retrieved 2013-07-19.
  5. ↑ "Beidalao" (PDF)– via Asia Harvest.
  6. ↑ "Changpao" (PDF)– via Asia Harvest.
  7. ↑ Bradley, David (2007). "East and Southeast Asia". In Moseley, Christopher (ed.). Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages. New York: Routledge.
  8. ↑ "Youmai" (PDF)– via Asia Harvest.
  9. ↑ Li, Yunbing 李云兵 (2000). Miáoyǔ fāngyán huàfēn yíliú wèntí yánjiū苗语方言划分遗留问题研究[Research on Remaining Questions in the Division of Miao Dialects] (in Chinese). Beijing: Zhongyang minzu daxue chubanshe.
  10. ↑ Meng 2001, pp. 32–37.
  11. ↑ Meng, Chaoji (2008). 瑤汉词典 : (布努语) [Yao Han ci dian : (Bunu yu)]. 民族出版社 [Minzu chubanshe], Beijing Shi.
  12. 1 2 Meng 2001, p. 35.
  13. ↑ Meng 2001, pp. 36–37.
  14. ↑ Meng 2001, pp. 35–37.
  15. ↑ Meng 2001, p. 37.
  16. ↑ Meng 1996, pp. 10-14.
  17. ↑ Meng 2001, p. 107.
  18. ↑ Meng 2001, p. 108.
  19. ↑ Meng 2001, p. 108-109.
  20. ↑ Meng 2001, pp. 110–111.
  21. ↑ Meng 2001, p. 111.
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