TheBolyu language (autonym:pɔ33lju13;Chinese:巴琉语, 布流语; also known asPaliu,Palyu, orLai 俫语, 徕语) is anAustroasiatic language of thePakanic branch.^[2]

Bolyu is related to theBugan language, forming thePakanic branch along with it. In 1984, Bolyu was first studied by Liang Min of the Nationalities Research Institute inBeijing. Liang was the first to suggest a Mon–Khmer affiliation of Bolyu, which was later confirmed by Western linguists such asPaul K. Benedict,Paul Sidwell, andJerold A. Edmondson. 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 theVietic branch. However,Gérard Diffloth classifies Pakanic as Northern Mon–Khmer, making it most closely related to thePalaungic branch.^[3]Paul Sidwell later classified Bolyu and Bugan together as forming a separatePakanic branch within Austroasiatic, whileMang is excluded as yet another separate branch of Austroasiatic.^[4]

Bolyu speakers are found in the following locations insouthern China.^[5][6][7]

• Douhong 斗烘屯, Xinhe 新合村, Changfa township 长发,Longlin County,Guangxi (often living withGelao neighbors). Also spoken in the nearby townships of Kechang 克长, De'e 德峨, and Changme 长么.^[8]
  • Xinhe 新合村 - Datiezhai 打铁寨, Changfajie 长发街: 50 speakers
  • Xinhua 新华村 - Luowan 罗湾: 300; Kabao 卡保, Renshang 仁上: 160 speakers
  • Villages with only Bolyu people: Muzi 亩子, Dazhai 大寨, Xiaozhai 小寨
• Guosha/Hengsha 过沙/亨沙, Wenya 文雅村, Puhe Miao Autonomous Township 普合苗族自治乡,Xilin County,Guangxi. Also spoken in Naya 那牙, Badahe Township 八大河乡.^[8] 230 speakers total.

Li (1999) documents the Bolyu variety of Muzitun 亩子屯, Xinhe Village 新合村, Changfa Township 长发乡,Longlin County,Guangxi.

In the following villages, only elderly speakers of Bolyu remain.

• Zhelang township 者浪乡: Zhezhai 者寨, Langrong 郎荣, Linghao 岭好
• Kechang township 克场乡: Haichang 海长
• Shechang township 蛇场乡: Daguo 达果

1,400 Bolyu reside in Guangxi, and over 1,000 in Yunnan.^[8]There are also some Bolyu inGuangnan County,Yunnan.

Bolyu is a monosyllabic tonal language like the surroundingTai–Kadai,Hmong-Mien and evenVietic languages. Unlike Bugan, Bolyu does not have a tense–lax voice quality distinction.

		Labial			Alveolar			Alveolo- palatal	Velar			Uvular	Glottal
		plain	pal.	vel.	plain	pal.	sib.		plain	pal.	lab.		plain	pal.
Nasal		m	mʲ		n				ŋ
Plosive/ Affricate	voiceless	p	pʲ		t	tʲ	t͡s	tɕ	k	kʲ	kʷ	q	ʔ
	aspirated	pʰ	pʰʲ		tʰ	tʰʲ	t͡sʰ	tɕʰ	kʰ			qʰ
	prenasalized	ᵐb	ᵐbʲ		ⁿd
Fricative		v	vʲ	vˠ	ɬ	ɬʲ	s	ɕ	ɣ	ɣʲ			h	hʲ
Approximant					l	lʲ		j			w

Bolyu allows for a large variety of consonant clusters, and has eight possible consonantal finals:^[9] -p, -t, -k, -m, -n, -ŋ, -w, -j.

There are seven vowels in Bolyu:^[10]/a,e,ə,i,o,ɔ,u/.

Bolyu has a total of six tones.^[11]

• Li, Xulian 李旭练 (1999).Láiyǔ yánjiū倈语硏究 [A Study of Lai (Bolyu)] (in Chinese). Beijing: Zhongyang minzu daxue chubanshe.
• Benedict, Paul K. (1990)."How to Tell Lai: An Exercise in Classification"(PDF).Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area.13 (2):1–26.
• Edmondson, Jerold A. (1995)."English-Bolyu Glossary"(PDF).Mon-Khmer Studies.24:133–159.
• Edmondson, Jerold A.; Gregerson, Kenneth J. (1996)."Bolyu Tone in Vietic Perspective"(PDF).Mon-Khmer Studies.26:117–133.
• Sidwell, Paul (1995). "Bolyu is a Mon–khmer Language: Even if Benedict Says So!".La Trobe Working Papers in Linguistics.8.hdl:1959.9/538289.
• Jiang, Jun 蒋俊 (2005).Cūnluò shìyě zhōng de zúqún yǔ mínzú: Guānyú lái rén de tiányě yánjiū村落视野中的族群与民族：关于俫人的田野研究 [Ethnic Group and Nation in the Village Vision: Field Research About Lai People] (M.A. thesis) (in Chinese). Guangxi shifan daxue. Archived fromthe original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved2012-10-10.http://www.docin.com/p-380721709.html
• 俫语使用人口稳定增长原因探究. In 中国少数民族语言使用现状及其演变研究.
• Qin, Xiaohang; Li, Fanglan (2011)."The Status Quo and Trend of Language Use by Lai People"(PDF).Mon-Khmer Studies.40:107–115. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 2017-06-26.

• Bolyu vocabulary from SEAlang

• Mangic languages
• Pakanic languages
• Endangered Austroasiatic languages
• Languages of Guangxi

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