Bu-Nao, or Bunu proper ( ''Bùnǔyǔ''), is a
Hmongic (Miao)
dialect cluster
A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulate over distance so that widely separated vari ...
spoken in
Guangxi
Guangxi (; ; alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam ...
,
Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the ...
, and
Guizhou
Guizhou (; Postal romanization, formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in the Southwest China, southwest region of the China, People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the pr ...
in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
. Its speakers are among the ''Bunu'' (): ethnic
Yao (Mien) speakers of
Miao languages Miao may refer to:
* Miao people, linguistically and culturally related group of people, recognized as such by the government of the People's Republic of China
* Miao script or Pollard script, writing system used for Miao languages
* Miao (Unicod ...
.
Classification
The Bunu people are the
Yao people
The Yao people (its majority branch is also known as Mien; ; vi, người Dao) is a government classification for various minorities in China and Vietnam. They are one of the 55 officially recognised ethnic minorities in China and reside in t ...
who speak
Hmongic languages. That is, ''Bunu'' in the broad sense is a cultural rather than linguistic group. Strecker (1987) had classified Bu-Nao (Bunu proper) as a
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
(Chuanqiandian) Hmongic language, and the other Bunu languages—
Younuo (Yuno),
Wunai (Hm Nai), and
Jiongnai (Kiong Nai)—as distinct branches of Hmongic. Matisoff (2001) grouped all of these together in a ''Bunu'' branch of Hmongic (that is, outside Western Hmongic). Ratliff (2010) returned Bu-Nao to Western Hmongic, and moved Jiongnai to its own peripheral branch of Hmongic, but did not address Younuo or Wunai.
Chinese sources generally do not treat the languages as Hmongic because the speakers are not ethnic Miao, but Wang & Deng (2003) classify Bunao as a cousin of Western Hmongic, and Jiongnai and Younuo as independent branches.
Varieties
Bu-Nao dialects include:
*Bunu 布努 (Pu Nu) - 359,474 speakers; representative dialect: Nongjing, Qibainong
Township
A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries.
Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, ...
,
Dahua County 大化七百弄乡弄京
**Dongnu 东努 (Tung Nu,
autonyms: ) - 293,489 speakers in
Funing County,
Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the ...
(in Longshao 龙绍, etc.) and northern
Guangxi
Guangxi (; ; alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam ...
:
Du'an (in Meizhu 梅珠, etc.),
Dahua,
Bama,
Pingguo,
Tiandong
Tiandong County(, za, Denzdungh Yen) is a county of Guangxi, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Baise.
Demographics
Tiandong's population was 411,500(2010). 85.22% of the people belong to the Zhuang ethnic grou ...
,
Mashan,
Debao,
Long'an,
Baise
Baise (; local pronunciation: ), or Bose, is the westernmost prefecture-level city of Guangxi, China bordering Vietnam as well as the provinces of Guizhou and Yunnan. The city has a population of 4.3 million, of which 1.4 million live in the ...
,
Tianyang
Tianyang District (; Standard Zhuang: ; Youjiang Zhuang: ) is a district in western Guangxi, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Baise.
History
Tianyang County was formed in 1935 by combining Fengyi County () and ...
,
Donglan,
Hechi
Hechi () is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China, bordering Guizhou to the north. In June 2002 it gained city status.
Geography and climate
Hechi is located in northwestern ...
,
Shanglin,
Xincheng,
Yishan,
Laibin
Laibin (, Zhuang: Laizbinh) is a prefecture-level city in the central part of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China.
History
Laibin is an ancient town with more than 2000 years of history. The area was settled in prehistoric times, more t ...
. In
Funing County, they are known as Buzha 布咋 (their autonym) or the Mountain Yao 山瑶.
**Nunu 努努 (Nu Nu, autonyms: ) - 53,870 speakers in northwestern
Guangxi
Guangxi (; ; alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam ...
:
Lingyun (in Taohua 陶化, etc.),
Fengshan,
Donglan,
Bama (in Xishan 西山, etc.),
Tianlin,
Leye
**Bunuo 布诺 (Pu No, autonym: ) - 12,115 speakers in
Du'an (in Sanzhiyang 三只羊; Longma 龙麻 of Xia'ao 下坳乡, etc.),
Guangxi
Guangxi (; ; alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam ...
*Baonao 包瑙 (Nao Klao, Naogelao 瑙格劳,
autonyms: ) - 28,952 speakers in
Nandan,
Hechi
Hechi () is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China, bordering Guizhou to the north. In June 2002 it gained city status.
Geography and climate
Hechi is located in northwestern ...
, and
Tian'e in
Guangxi
Guangxi (; ; alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam ...
as well as
Libo County
Libo County () is a county of southern Guizhou province, China, bordering Guangxi to the south. It is under the administration of the Qiannan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture.
Geography
The county is located in the remote southeastern corne ...
,
Guizhou
Guizhou (; Postal romanization, formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in the Southwest China, southwest region of the China, People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the pr ...
; representative dialect: Lihu
Township
A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries.
Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, ...
,
Nandan County
Nandan (, za, Nanzdanh) is a county of Hechi City, in the northwest of Guangxi, China. It has an area of and a population of (2010).
Administrative divisions
There are 7 towns, 3 townships and 1 ethnic township in the county.
Towns:
* Chenggu ...
南丹里湖瑶族乡
*Numao 努茂 (Nu Mhou, autonym: ) - 1,715 speakers in
Libo County
Libo County () is a county of southern Guizhou province, China, bordering Guangxi to the south. It is under the administration of the Qiannan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture.
Geography
The county is located in the remote southeastern corne ...
,
Guizhou
Guizhou (; Postal romanization, formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in the Southwest China, southwest region of the China, People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the pr ...
; representative dialect: Yaolu
Township
A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries.
Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, ...
, Libo County 荔波瑶麓瑶族乡
**Numao 努茂 (Nu Mhou, White-Trouser Yao 白裤瑶,
autonym: ) - about 1,200 speakers in the
townships of Yaolu 瑶麓 and Jiarong 佳荣
**Dongmeng 冬孟 (Long-Shirt Yao 长衫瑶,
autonym: ) - about 400 speakers in the
townships of Maolan 茂兰, Dongtang, 洞塘, and Weng'ang 翁昂
These add up to a total number of 390,000 speakers.
The ''Guizhou Province Gazetteer'' (2002) lists the following
autonyms for these villages in
Libo County
Libo County () is a county of southern Guizhou province, China, bordering Guangxi to the south. It is under the administration of the Qiannan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture.
Geography
The county is located in the remote southeastern corne ...
, Guizhou.
*': Yaolu 瑶麓
*': Yaoshan 瑶山
*': Yao'ai 瑶埃
The ''Yunnan Province Gazetteer'' (1989) reports that a Bunu dialect known as ' (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) townships of
Funing County,
Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the ...
.
The ''Shaoyang Prefecture Gazetteer'' (1997:533) reports that the
Miao Miao may refer to:
* Miao people, linguistically and culturally related group of people, recognized as such by the government of the People's Republic of China
* Miao script or Pollard script, writing system used for Miao languages
* Miao (Unicode ...
of
Xinning County
Xinning County () is a Counties of the People's Republic of China, county in the Provinces of China, Province of Hunan, China, it is under the administration of Shaoyang, Shaoyang City. Located on the south western margin of Hunan, the county is ...
,
Hunan
Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangx ...
, speak a Bunu-branch language.
Intelligibility among these varieties is difficult, and they may be separate languages. Strecker (1987) went so far as to suggest they may not form a group at all, but separate languages within West Hmongic.
Others
The following peoples may also speak Bunu languages.
*Beidalao 北大老: 15,000 (1990) in
Rong'an County and
Rongshui County
Rongshui Miao Autonomous County (; Standard Zhuang: ) is under the administration of Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. The seat of Rongshui County is Rongshui Town. It borders the prefecture-level divisions of Qiandongnan (Guizhou ...
,
Guangxi
Guangxi (; ; alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam ...
; probably Bunu, though divergent
*Beidongnuo 被动诺: 244 (1984) in
Libo County
Libo County () is a county of southern Guizhou province, China, bordering Guangxi to the south. It is under the administration of the Qiannan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture.
Geography
The county is located in the remote southeastern corne ...
,
Guizhou
Guizhou (; Postal romanization, formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in the Southwest China, southwest region of the China, People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the pr ...
; likely a variety of Nagelao (Nao Klao). Identified as Dongmeng by Bradley (2007).
*Changpao 长袍: 5,000 (1999) in southern
Guizhou
Guizhou (; Postal romanization, formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in the Southwest China, southwest region of the China, People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the pr ...
; undetermined linguistic affiliation, but could possibly be Bunu. Identified as Dongmeng by Bradley (2007).
*Youmai 优迈: 2,000 (1999) in southwestern
Guizhou
Guizhou (; Postal romanization, formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in the Southwest China, southwest region of the China, People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the pr ...
; possibly a Bunu variety; classified as
Pingtang Miao by Li Yunbing (2000)
See also
*
Bunu languages
The Bunu (Punu) are the Yao people who speak Hmongic languages. That is, ''Bunu'' in the broad sense is a cultural rather than linguistic group. Strecker (1987) had classified Bunu proper (Bu-Nao) as a Western (Chuanqiandian) Hmongic language, ...
References
External links
Bunu basic lexicon at the Global Lexicostatistical Database
{{Languages of China
West Hmongic languages
Languages of China