| Bugan | |
|---|---|
| Pakan | |
| Native to | China |
| Region | Yunnan |
Native speakers | 2,700 (2005) |
Austroasiatic
| |
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | bbh |
| Glottolog | buga1247 |
| ELP | Bugan |
Bugan, Bogan, Pakan, or Bugeng (布甘语, 布干语, or 布赓语) is an Austroasiatic language. The existence of the Bugan language was not known by the rest of world until recently. There are about 3000 speakers, mostly in some villages in southern Guangnan (广南) and northern Xichou (西畴), Yunnan Province, China. Bugan is an analytic language, and word order and auxiliary words have important functions in the grammar.
According to Li Jinfang (1996), the Bugan-speaking population is distributed in seven villages across southern Guangnan (广南) and northern Xichou (西畴), Yunnan Province, China.
According to a more recent survey by Li Yunbing (2005), the Bugan people, comprising a total of 500+ households and 2,700+ individuals, live in the following locations.
Li Yunbing also uses the term Bùgēng (布赓) in place of Bùgān (布甘).
The Bugan people's autonym is pə55 ka̠n33, while the surrounding Han Chinese call them Huazu (Chinese: 花族; literally "flower people") or Hualo (Chinese: 花倮) due to their colorful clothing. Other autonyms are pu55 qe̠ŋ44 (in Manlong, Xichou County) and pə55 qe̠ŋ44 (in Nala and Xinwalong in Guangnan County). They are an unrecognized ethnic minority, and are currently classified as Yi. The Bugan are endogamous, and thus do not usually marry people from other ethnic groups
The Bugan people also hold their own New Year's Day celebration in April of the Chinese lunar calendar, which is separate from that of the Han Chinese New Year.
Common Bugan surnames include Li 李, Wang 王, Guo 郭, Luo 罗, Yan 严, Lu 卢, Pu 普, and Yi.
Bugan is a tonal SVO language. Unlike the Bolyu language, Bugan distinguishes between tense and lax voice qualities. In current linguistic publications on Bugan, tense voice is indicated by underlining vowels. Bugan has a total of 49 onsets (including various consonant clusters) and 67 possible rimes.
There is a small difference in the phonemic inventory between two Bugan dialects, Nala Bugan and Manlong Bugan:
Phonemically, Manlong Bugan has two more consonants (by count) than Nala Bugan: unique to Manlong are the four consonants /d͡ʑ, ɴ, ɢ, qʰ/, while unique to Nala are the two /θ, v/, with their inventories otherwise aligning; prenasalized and palatalized clusters are not included in their phonemic inventory counts.
However, Manlong Bugan possesses a richer inventory of complex cluster onsets compared to Nala Bugan, featuring a series of glided (palatalized) clusters, a series of prenasalized clusters, and three other labial clusters /pt͡s, pt͡sʰ, bd/.
| Labial | Dental/ Alveolar |
(Alveolo-) Palatal |
Velar | Uvular | Glottal | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | sibilant | ||||||||
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | |||||
| Stop/ Affricate |
voiceless | plain | p | t | t͡s | (t͡ɕ) | k | q | ʔ |
| aspirated | pʰ | tʰ | t͡sʰ | (t͡ɕʰ) | kʰ | ||||
| prenasalized | ᵐt͡sʰ | ᵑq | |||||||
| voiced | plain | b | d | d͡z | ɡ | ||||
| prenasalized | ᵐb | ᵐd, ⁿd | ᵐd͡z, ⁿd͡z | ᵑɡ | |||||
| Fricative | voiceless | f | θ | s | ɕ | x | h | ||
| voiced | v | ʑ | ɣ | ||||||
| Approximant | w | l | j | ||||||
| Labial | Alveolar | (Alveolo-) Palatal |
Velar | Uvular | Glottal | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | pal. | plain | pal. | sibilant | plain | pal. | ||||||
| Nasal | m | mʲ | n | ɲ | ŋ | ɴ | ||||||
| Stop/ Affricate |
voiceless | plain | p | pʲ | t | tʲ | t͡s | t͡ɕ | k | kʲ | q | ʔ |
| aspirated | pʰ | pʰʲ | tʰ | tʰʲ | t͡sʰ | t͡ɕʰ | kʰ | qʰ | ||||
| voiced | plain | b | bʲ | d | dʲ | d͡z | d͡ʑ | ɡ | ɢ | |||
| prenasalized | ᵐb | ᵐbʲ | ᵐd, ⁿd | ᵐbd͡z, ⁿd͡z | ᶮd͡ʑ | ᵑɡ | ᶰɢ | |||||
| Fricative | voiceless | f | s | ɕ | x | xʲ | h | |||||
| voiced | ʑ | ɣ | ||||||||||
| Approximant | w | l | j | |||||||||
In Nala Bugan, there is a distinction between tense-throat vowels (indicated here with an underline) and lax-throat (plain) vowels.
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In the same syllable, tense and lax vowels do not co-occur. The restriction seems to be phonemic, because tense vowels are described as having a lower and more retracted tongue position than their lax counterparts. Eg. ta³¹ "near" is realized as a central-open [a], while tense /a̠/ in ta̠³¹ "to bet" is closer to [ɑ].
Like Nala Bugan, lax and tense vowel contrast is found in Manlong Bugan. Each monophthong also has a nasalized counterpart.
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |
| Close-mid | e | ə | o |
| Open-mid | ɛ | ɔ | |
| Open | a |
In syllables with a rising tone, tense vowels are accompanied by a noticeably constricted or tight laryngeal setting, making the tense quality acoustically salient. In syllables with the falling tone (31), however, the laryngeal tension weakens, so the contrast relies more heavily on vowel quality itself. There are six contrastive tones in Nala Bugan. The neutral tone only occurs in some prefixes.
| Tone | Contour | Context |
|---|---|---|
| neutral | 0 | open syllables |
| low rising | 13 | open syllables |
| high rising | 35 | open syllables |
| low falling | 31 | checked (-p̚, -t̚, -k̚) & open syllables |
| mid level | 33 | checked & open syllables |
| high level | 55 | checked & open syllables |
Tone is highly unstable in Bugan. A portion of the lexicon can be pronounced with two tones without semantic losses. E.g. ʑou³³/⁵⁵ 'earth', χau⁵⁵/³¹ 'valley', mtshi⁵⁵/¹³ 'to milk'. Tone shift occurs relative common in speech contexts with harmonic assimilation to the tone contour of the conjunctive element. E.g. χɛ³¹ 'bad', mə⁵⁵ χɛ⁵⁵ 'taste bad'; nam³⁵ 'year', mə⁵⁵ nam⁵⁵ 'one year', nam³³ ni³³ 'this year'.
Manlong Bugan reportedly has four contour tones: /55/, /44/, /24/, and /31/.
In possessive constructions, tone contour in pronouns is raised to /55/ to express possessive relation with the syntactically NP head. Eg. pa²⁴ ʔɔ⁵⁵ (father 1SG.POSS) "my father".
| singular | dual | plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person | exclusive | ʔɔ³¹ | wi³¹ bi̠ɔ̱³¹ | pɛ³¹ |
| inclusive | wi³¹ | |||
| 2nd person | mɯ³¹ | mi³¹ bi̠ɔ̱³¹ | mi³¹ | |
| 3rd person | ʔi³¹ | hɛ³¹ bi̠ɔ̱³¹ | hɛ³¹ | |
Bugan appears to build interrogatives analytically by attaching the element -pau³⁵ to nominal or pronominal bases. For example, mɯ⁵⁵ pau³⁵ means "who?" but can also function as an infinitive pronoun "anyone". This also holds true with mə dze⁵⁵ "what, whatever".
| Interrogative | Meaning |
|---|---|
| mə dze⁵⁵ | 'what?' |
| ʔo⁵⁵pau³⁵ | 'where?' |
| ɣen⁵⁵pau³⁵ | 'why?' |
| ɣɯ³¹pau³⁵ | 'how?' |
| mɯ⁵⁵ pau³⁵ | 'which one?' |
| ta⁵⁵ pau³⁵ | 'which ones?' |
| tə⁵⁵pau³⁵ | 'how many?' |
| tsə⁵⁵pau³⁵ | 'when, which day?' |
There are two types of classifiers in Bugan.
| Noun | Verbal | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Classifier | Purpose | Classifier | Purpose |
| pau³¹ | humans | tsi³⁵ | time frequency |
| biə³³ | animals | fɛ³¹ | for trip |
| li̠³³ | long objects | mtsa³⁵ | for eating |
| tsʰe¹³ | objects, rivers | tuŋ⁵⁵ | for biting |
| tsu̠ŋ⁵⁵ | plants | ŋga³¹ | for sleeps, naps |
| liu³³ | thin, sheet objects | ta̱ŋ³³ | for hitting with fist |
| tsam³³ | pairs | ||
| pam³⁵ | portions | ||
Bugan has a typical Austroasiatic decimal counting system with head-first combining forms for higher numerals. For examples, nineteen in Bugan is mã³¹ ɕi³³ (10 + 9), forty is pau³³ mã³¹ (4 x 10), 200 is bi³¹ ʑu³¹ (2 x 100), and 10,010 is mə⁵⁵ vã¹³ lɛ³³ ma³¹ or 1 x 10,000 + 10. Comparison of some cardinal numerals of Bugan, Mang (Mangic), and Gorum (South Munda):
| gloss | Bugan | Mang | Gorum | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| one | bɔ⁵⁵/mə⁵⁵ | măk⁶ | bɔˀj | mə⁵⁵ is the weakly suppletive form of bɔ⁵⁵ in NPs with classifiers and numbers higher than 100 |
| two | biɔ³¹/bi³¹ | ʑɯəi² | bag, bagu | bi³¹ is the shorter form of biɔ³¹, only occurs in NPs with classifiers and numbers larger than 100 |
| three | mtse³¹ | pe³ | yag, yagu, yagi | cf. Santali pɛ |
| four | pau³³ | pun² | ungi | cf. Santali pon |
| five | mi³³ | hăn² | mɔnlɔy | |
| six | pi̱o̱³³ | ʑɔ̆m² | turgi | cf. Palaung tɔr, Semelai pruʔ |
| seven | po̱u̱³¹ | tăm¹ py³ | gulgi | |
| eight | sã³³ | tăm¹ ham² | tamgi | |
| nine | ɕi³³ | tăm¹ θin² | timgi | |
| ten | mã³¹ | ʑi³ mɛ⁴ | galgi | cf. Wa kau, Palaung ʔukɤr |
| hundred | ʑu³¹ | ran⁵~ʑan⁵ |
A significant portion of Bugan lexemes appears to be derived via phonological alternation, a widespread feature in Mainland Southeast Asian linguistic area:
A diminutive infix xi³¹ is often found in terms relating to small female animal, e.g. mu³³li⁵⁵ "cow", mu³³xi³¹li⁵⁵ "small cow"; mu³³ɕen⁵⁵ "nanny (goat)", mu³³xi³ɕen⁵⁵ "small nanny (goat)".
Bugan nouns display a morphological distinction between free forms and combining forms. In free forms, the monosyllabic nominal root usually appear with a prefix, although their characterization as prefixes is somewhat arbitrary, as they never manifest in free isolation or carry any lexical meaning and productive function. Those dozen or so prefixes in Bugan seem to be fossilized retentions of an earlier classification system, even if many common ones occur across various noun categories that are difficult to unite semantically.
Additionally, new lexical words can be formed via compounding. There are lexicalized verb-noun compounds, i.e. noun incorporation. E.g. tsɔ̱³¹ɕɔ̱³⁵ ("go hunting"), derived from tsɔ̱³¹ "hunt" and ɕɔ̱³⁵ "game". Compounds are generally head-first, e.g. biou³³ɣɔ³³ (hill-rock) "rock hill, karst formation"; ʑuŋ⁵⁵⁽³¹⁾tse³¹ (foot-mountain) "foot of mountain", although there are few examples in which the modifier precedes the head, such as da³⁵ta̱ɯ̱³⁵ (water-field) "rice field".
Nala Bugan has two copulas: generic ni³³/ȵu³³ and negative mə⁵⁵sa̱ŋ⁵⁵. ȵu³³, presumably derived from the same root which means "do", is not frequently used as copula.
ʔɔ³¹
I
ni³³/ȵu³³
COP
pə⁵⁵ka̱n³³
Bugan
'I am a Bugan.'
The preverbal negative mə⁵⁵ appears to be deeply connected with a wide array of Munda and Austroasiatic preverbal negatives otherwise, such as the conservative South Munda Juang finite negative ma-, Gtaʔ ma=, Kharia um, Gorum ambu.
Bugan (Li & Luo (2015:1044))
ʔɔ³¹
I
mə⁵⁵
NEG
sa̱ŋ⁵⁵
COP
piau¹³
person
pə⁵⁵se³³
Guangnan
'I am not a native of Guangnan.'
Kharia (Peterson (2011), Kerkeʈʈā, (1990:11))
am
You
um
NEG
co=na=m
go=MID.IRR=2SG
laʔ=ta
EMOT=MID.PRES
'It looks like you won't be going.'
Hill Gtaʔ (Anderson (2020), field notes)
ma-bihæ=nǝ
NEG.ATTR-marry=ATTR
ngire
young.man
'Unmarried young man, bachelor'
The following story was narrated by a Bugan man named Wang Zhiyou in Manlong dialect, Manlong village, Xichou County, Wenshan Prefecture, Yunnan, recorded and translated by Li Yunbing (2005).
Bugan folklore: The Sun and the Chicken
pei²⁴
sun
tɕaŋ³¹
and
tɕa̠²⁴
chicken
'The sun and the chicken.'
tɕaɯ³¹kei⁴⁴,
before
pei²⁴
sun
kai⁴⁴
exist
ɕi̠⁴⁴
nine
mou⁴⁴na⁴⁴,
sisters
'Long ago, there were nine suns in the sky.'
xa³¹
sundry
ɣɔ̠⁴⁴
stone
tɕi̠⁴⁴
then
ɣɔ̠⁴⁴
stone
ka̠³¹,
crack
xa³¹
sundry
lɯ̠³¹
grass
tɕi̠⁴⁴
then
lɯ̠³¹
grass
tɕo̠u³¹
dry
'The heat cracked the rocks and burnt all the grasses and plants.'
xo⁵⁵mɯ⁴⁴ɣi̠³¹
fairy
lɛ²⁴
ADD
mɯ⁵⁵
NEG
ɣoŋ²⁴
bear
tu̠³¹
able
ma²⁴,
DISC
'Even the fairy couldn't stand it.'
ɕi̠⁴⁴
then
ʑa̠u³¹
go
ptsou⁴⁴
to
qoŋ⁴⁴
pond
ʑa̠u³¹,
go
'and had to get into the pond.'
qa³¹la³¹
then
tɕʰaŋ⁴⁴
invite
pjou³¹
heavenly.dog
po³¹
come
tɕa̠²⁴
bite
'(She had to) ask the heavenly dogs to eat (the suns).'
pei²⁴
sun
ɕi⁵⁵
then
kou⁴⁴
hide
loŋ⁴⁴
hole
ʑa̠u⁵⁵
go
ma²⁴,
DISC
ɕi̠⁴⁴
then
'But the latter went hiding in their burrows.'
la⁴⁴
again
ȵo̠u⁴⁴
do
ku³¹
sky
ŋa̠²⁴
dark
ma²⁴
DISC
'making the sky dark.'
pʰi³¹
call
mɯ⁵⁵ȵdʑi⁴⁴
what
qa²⁴
call
lɛ⁵⁵
ADD
mɯ⁵⁵
NEG
no̠³¹
come
ma²⁴
DISC
'The suns refused to come out despite numerous requests (from all kinds of animals).'
tɕʰaŋ⁴⁴
invite
tɕau⁴⁴
bamboo.chicken
qa²⁴
call
ma²⁴,
DISC
qa²⁴
call
lɛ⁵⁵
ADD
'The bamboo chicken was (the first to be) asked to call (the suns out).'
mɯ⁵⁵
NEG
no̠³¹
come
ma²⁴
DISC
'but (they still) hid (themselves in their burrows)'
pu⁵⁵dou²⁴
later.on
ma²⁴,
ADD
tɕa̠²⁴
chicken
la⁴⁴
then
qa²⁴
call
sai⁴⁴,
again
i³¹
it
tu⁴⁴
exit
no̠³¹
come
ma²⁴
DISC
'Later on, after many attempts, the chicken made suns come out.'
tɕau⁴⁴
bamboo.chicken
lɛ̠³¹
shy
ma²⁴
DISC
'The bamboo chicken felt embarrassed.'
tɕau⁴⁴
bamboo.chicken
qʰe̠i³¹
run
ma²⁴,
DISC
ʑo̠ŋ⁵⁵
foot
ko³¹
a.bit
la̠⁴⁴
red
ma²⁴
DISC
'and (the chicken) ran away, its feet turning red from running.'
ɣo²⁴
since
qo⁵⁵
then
mɯ⁵⁵
NEG
ɕaŋ⁵⁵
raise
ma²⁴,
DISC
i³¹
it
qo³¹
then
mbjau⁴⁴
hill
ʑa̠u⁵⁵
go
'From then on, the bamboo chicken turned into wild birds, living in the bush.'
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