Bolyu language
Encyclopedia
The Bolyu language is an Austro-Asiatic
language of the Pakanic
branch (Sidwell 1995). In 1984, Bolyu was first studied by Liang Min of the Nationalities Research Institute in Beijing
. Liang was the first to suggest the Mon–Khmer affiliation of Bolyu, which was later confirmed by Western linguists such as Paul K. Benedict
, Paul Sidwell
, and Jerold A. Edmondson
.
, forming the Pakanic branch
along with it. However, the place of the Pakanic branch within the Mon–Khmer family is uncertain. Sidwell (1995) suggests that the Pakanic branch may be an Eastern Mon–Khmer branch, thus making it most closely related to the Vietic branch
. However, Gérard Diffloth classiflies Pakanic as Northern Mon–Khmer, making it most closely related to the Palaungic
branch.
Bolyu has a total of six tones (Edmondson 1995).
There are 7 vowels in Bolyu (Edmondson 1995): /a, e, ə, i, o, ɔ, u/.
Bolyu allows for a large variety of consonant clusters, and has 8 possible consonantal finals (Sidwell 1995): -p, -t, -k, -m, -n, -ŋ, -w, -j.
Austro-Asiatic languages
The Austro-Asiatic languages, in recent classifications synonymous with Mon–Khmer, are a large language family of Southeast Asia, also scattered throughout India and Bangladesh. The name Austro-Asiatic comes from the Latin words for "south" and "Asia", hence "South Asia"...
language of the Pakanic
Pakanic languages
The Pakanic languages, also known as Palyu and Mangic, are a tentative recently identified branch of endangered Austro-Asiatic languages...
branch (Sidwell 1995). In 1984, Bolyu was first studied by Liang Min of the Nationalities Research Institute in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
. Liang was the first to suggest the Mon–Khmer affiliation of Bolyu, which was later confirmed by Western linguists such as Paul K. Benedict
Paul K. Benedict
Paul K. Benedict was an American linguist who specialized in languages of East and Southeast Asia. He is well-known for his 1942 proposal of the Austro-Tai language family and also his reconstruction of Proto-Sino-Tibetan and Proto-Tibeto-Burman.-References:...
, Paul Sidwell
Paul Sidwell
Paul Sidwell is a researcher and director at the Centre for Research in computational Linguistics and the Australian National University. Sidwell is a leading specialist in Mon-Khmer languages, especially the Katuic and Bahnaric branches.-Publications:...
, and Jerold A. Edmondson
Jerold A. Edmondson
Jerold A. Edmondson is a professor of linguistics at the University of Texas at Arlington. Edmondson is a leading specialist in Tai–Kadai languages, especially the Kam–Sui branch. He was one of the researchers who discovered the En language during a linguistic field expedition in the late...
.
Classification
Bolyu is related to the Bugan languageBugan language
Bugan, Bogan, Pakan, or Buzhui is an Austro-Asiatic 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 and northern Xichou , Yunnan Province, China...
, forming the Pakanic branch
Pakanic languages
The Pakanic languages, also known as Palyu and Mangic, are a tentative recently identified branch of endangered Austro-Asiatic languages...
along with it. However, the place of the Pakanic branch within the Mon–Khmer family is uncertain. Sidwell (1995) suggests that the Pakanic branch may be an Eastern Mon–Khmer branch, thus making it most closely related to the Vietic branch
Vietic languages
The Vietic languages are a branch of the Austro-Asiatic language family. The branch was once referred to by the terms Việt–Mường, Annam–Muong, and Vietnamuong, but today these are understood as referring to a sub-branch of Vietic containing only the Vietnamese and Mường languages.-Origins:Based on...
. However, Gérard Diffloth classiflies Pakanic as Northern Mon–Khmer, making it most closely related to the Palaungic
Palaungic languages
The nearly thirty Palaungic or Palaung–Wa languages form a branch of the Austro-Asiatic languages.Most of the Palaungic languages lost the contrastive voicing of the ancestral Austro-Asiatic consonants, with the distinction often shifting to the following vowel...
branch.
Distribution
The Bolyu-speaking population is found in the following locations in southern China (Edmondson 1995).- Longlin County, GuangxiGuangxiGuangxi, formerly romanized Kwangsi, is a province of southern China along its border with Vietnam. In 1958, it became the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, a region with special privileges created specifically for the Zhuang people.Guangxi's location, in...
(often living with Gelao neighbors) - Guosha, Xilin CountyXilin CountyXilin County is a county of Guangxi, China. It is under the administration of Baise city....
, GuangxiGuangxiGuangxi, formerly romanized Kwangsi, is a province of southern China along its border with Vietnam. In 1958, it became the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, a region with special privileges created specifically for the Zhuang people.Guangxi's location, in... - Guangnan CountyGuangnan CountyGuangnan County is located in Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan province, China.-Climate:-Historical sites:Grave of Princess Anhua...
, Wenshan Prefecture, YunnanYunnanYunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
Phonology
Bolyu is a monosyllabic tonal language like the surrounding Tai–Kadai and Hmong–Mien languages. Unlike Bugan, Bolyu does not have a tense–lax voice quality distinction.Bolyu has a total of six tones (Edmondson 1995).
| Tone number | Tone contour Tone contour A tone contour is a tone in a tonal language which shifts from one pitch to another over the course of the syllable or word. Tone contours are especially common in East and Southeast Asia, but occur elsewhere, such as the Kru languages of Liberia and the Ju languages of Namibia.-Themes:When the... |
|---|---|
| 1 | ˥ |
| 2 | ˧ |
| 3 | ˩ |
| 4 | ˥˧ |
| 5 | ˧˩ |
| 6 | ˩˧ |
There are 7 vowels in Bolyu (Edmondson 1995): /a, e, ə, i, o, ɔ, u/.
Bolyu allows for a large variety of consonant clusters, and has 8 possible consonantal finals (Sidwell 1995): -p, -t, -k, -m, -n, -ŋ, -w, -j.