| Bouyei | |
|---|---|
| Giay (Yay) | |
| Haausqyaix | |
| Native to | China (Guizhou,Yunnan andSichuan Provinces) Vietnam |
| Ethnicity | Bouyei,Giay |
Native speakers | (2.7 million cited 2000 census)[1] |
| Latin,Sawndip | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | pcc |
| Glottolog | bouy1240 |
 Geographic distribution of Bouyei language | |
| This article containsIPA phonetic symbols. Without properrendering support, you may seequestion marks, boxes, or other symbols instead ofUnicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA. | |
TheBouyei language (autonym:Haausqyaix, also spelledBuyi,Buyei orPuyi;[2]Chinese:布依语;pinyin:Bùyīyǔ;Vietnamese:tiếng Bố Y ortiếng Giáy) is a language spoken by theBouyei ethnic group[3] of SouthernGuizhou Province, China. Classified as a member of the Northern Tai group in theTai language branch of theTai–Kadai language family, the language has over 2.5 million native speakers and is also used by theGiay people (Vietnamese:Giáy) in some parts ofVietnam. There are native speakers living inFrance and theUnited States as well, who emigrated from China or Vietnam. About 98% of the native speakers are in China.[2]
Bouyei's characteristics are similar to the other members of its language branch. It is generallymonosyllabic andword order andparticles are the main forms ofgrammar. Bouyei'ssyllable initials match up closely to the other Northern Tai languages, with relatively fast simplification and merging. Bouyei sentences can be shown to contain many different levels of phrasing.
The contemporary Bouyei script was developed after the abandonment of the Bouyei-Zhuang Script Alliance Policy in 1981 and was designed from 1981 to 1985. It is focused and phonologically representative and takes theWangmo County dialect as its foundation.
According to a 1950s survey performed by the Chinese government, the Bouyei language as spoken in Guizhou can be divided into three general dialect groups (Snyder 2008).[1]
Wu, Snyder, & Liang (2007) is the most comprehensive Bouyei survey to date, and covers the following data points.
TheYei Zhuang varieties ofWenshan Prefecture,Yunnan are closely related to the Bouyei varieties ofGuizhou. Many other languages outside China with the names "Yei", "Yay", "Yoy", are also closely related.
Bouyei is also spoken innorthern Vietnam by several groups, the Bouyei people ofMuong Khuong District ofLào Cai Province and inQuan Ba District ofHa Giang Province and theGiáy.[4] Edmondson and Gregerson (2001) has determined their language to be most similar to the Bouyei dialects of southwest Guizhou. The Giáy are an officially recognized group in Vietnam who now number nearly 50,000. Some household registries of the Giáy of Vietnam indicate that their ancestors had leftGuizhou 160 years ago during theQing dynasty, and traveled overland to southernYunnan and then Vietnam (Edmondson & Gregerson 2001). This coincides with theMiao Rebellion (1854–73) of Guizhou. The Giáy are found in the following locations of Vietnam.[5]
Some Giày are inYên Bái Province.
The Giáy ofMường Khương District of Lào Cai who call themselvesTu Dí [thu zi] can only speak aform of Chinese, and no Giáy. Their autonym comes from their ancestral place of origin, which isDuyun ofGuizhou province, China. According to their household records, they had arrived inMaguan County and inHonghe Prefecture about 200 years ago. Similarly, some Giáy of Vietnam report that they have relatives still living inHekou,Yunnan province, China (Edmondson & Gregerson 2001).
ThePu Nả people ofTam Đường District, Lai Châu Province, Vietnam call themselves theVần Nả (withvần meaning 'people'), and number about 5,000 individuals (Lò 2012:11–20).[6] They are also calledQuý Châu (Guizhou贵州),Sa Quý Châu,Củi Chu,Pu Y, orPâu Thìn. The Pu Nả live in the following villages of Tam Đường District (Lò 2012:18).
TheYay language described byWilliam J. Gedney is in fact the Giáy dialect of Mường Hum,Bát Xát District,Lào Cai (Edmondson & Gregerson 2001). There are also other relatedNorthern Tai languages spoken in Vietnam as well, such Bố Y, Nhang, and Quy Châu (possibly closely related toTai Mène ofLaos). The Bố Y had originally came from aroundWangmo County in southwestern Guizhou. Some subgroups of Bố Y call themselves thePu Na orPu Thin, meaning 'people of the paddy field'.
There are also some speakers inLaos. In Laos, the Giáy people are calledYang, which is also used four variousRau peoples living there.
The Yang people, also spelled Nhang, are located inLouang Namtha Province,Oudomxay Province andPhongsaly Province. This three provinces are bordered by Yunnan, and one border Vietnam.
The Bouyei script recognizes 32 consonants, with names formed by the consonant in an initial position followed by a long "a" vowel.
| Labial | Alveolar/Dental | (Alveolo-) palatal | Velar | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | pal. | plain | sibilant | plain | labial | |||
| Nasal | m/m/ | my/mʲ/ | n/n/ | ny/ɲ/ | ng/ŋ/ | ngv/ŋʷ/ | ||
| Plosive/ Affricate | voiceless | b/p/ | by/pʲ/ | d/t/ | z/ts/* | j/tɕ/ | g/k/ | gv/kʷ/ |
| aspirated | p/pʰ/* | t/tʰ/* | c/tsʰ/* | q/tɕʰ/* | k/kʰ/* | |||
| implosive | mb/ɓ/ | nd/ɗ/ | ||||||
| Continuant | voiceless | f/f/ | sl/ɬ/ | s/s/~[θ] | x/ɕ/ | h/x/ | ||
| voiced | v/v/~[w] | l/l/ | r/z/~[ð] | y/j/ | hr/ɣ/ | |||
| glottalised | qv/ˀv/~[ˀw] | qy/ˀj/ | ||||||
Pink: p, t, k, q, z, and c are used only to writeChineseloanwords.
Beige: sl and hr are used for sounds that occur only in certain dialects.
V is pronounced as a[w] before a "u".
An absent consonant may produce a glottal sound/ʔ/./ʔ/ is also heard as a final sound.
Bouyei has 77 vowels and diphthongs.
| Front | Central | Back | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | i | ɯ | u | |
| High-mid | e | ooː | ||
| Low-mid | ɐ | ɔ | ||
| Low | aaː | |||
| /a/~/aː/- | /ɐ/ | /o/- | /ɔ/- | /e/- | /iə/- | /i/- | /uə/- | /u/- | /ɯə/- | /ɯ/- | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Level" syllables | -∅ | a/a/ | o/o/ | ee/e/~[ɛ] | ie/iə/ | i/i/ | ue/uə/ | u/u/ | ea/ɯə/ | e/ɯ/~[ɨ] | ||
| -/i/ | aai/aːi/ | ai/ɐi/ | oi/oi/ | ei/ɯi/ | ||||||||
| -/u/ | aau/aːu/ | au/ɐu/ | eeu/eu/ | iu/iu/ | ||||||||
| -/ɯ/ | ae/ɐɯ/ | |||||||||||
| -/m/ | aam/aːm/ | am/ɐm/ | oom/om/ | om/ɔm/ | eem/em/ | iam/iəm/ | im/im/ | uam/uəm/ | um/um/ | eam/ɯəm/ | ||
| -/n/ | aan/aːn/ | an/ɐn/ | oon/on/ | on/ɔn/ | een/en/ | ian/iən/ | in/in/ | uan/uən/ | un/un/ | ean/ɯən/ | en/ɯn/~[ən] | |
| -/ŋ/ | aang/aːŋ/ | ang/ɐŋ/ | oong/oŋ/ | ong/ɔŋ/ | eeng/eŋ/ | iang/iəŋ/ | ing/iŋ/ | uang/uəŋ/ | ung/uŋ/ | eang/ɯəŋ/ | eng/ɯŋ/~[əŋ] | |
| "Entering" syllables | -/p/ | aab/aːp/ | ab/ɐp/ | oob/op/ | ob/ɔp/ | eeb/ep/ | iab/iəp/ | ib/ip/ | uab/uəp/ | ub/up/ | eab/ɯəp/ | |
| -/t/ | aad/aːt/ | ad/ɐt/ | ood/ot/ | od/ɔt/ | eed/et/ | iad/iət/ | id/it/ | uad/uət/ | ud/ut/ | ead/ɯət/ | ed/ɯt/~[ət] | |
| -/k/ | ag/ɐk/ | og/ɔk/ | eeg/ek/ | ig/ik/ | ug/uk/ | eg/ɯk/~[ək] | ||||||
The endings⟨-er⟩/ɚ/,⟨-ao⟩/au/,⟨-ou⟩/əu/,⟨-ia⟩/ia/,⟨-io⟩/io/,⟨-iao⟩/iɐu/,⟨-ua⟩/ua/,⟨-uai⟩/uɐi/, and⟨-ui⟩/ui/ are used in writing Chinese loanwords.
Vowels/iu/ may also have allophones of[ɪʊ].
Another vowel sound[æ] may occur phonemically in the dialects of Anshun, Qinglong, Shuicheng, Zhenning, and Ziyun.
Bouyei has sixtones, corresponding tothe eightsheng of Middle Chinese: all six in open syllables or with a final/n/ or/ŋ/, reduced to two "entering" tones with afinal stop.
| # | Name | Contour | Marking letter | CorrespondingSouthwest Mandarin Tone | Loanword Marking letter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dark level | ˨˦ | l | Departing | q |
| 2 | Light level | ˩ | z | ||
| 3 | Dark rising | ˥˧ | c | Rising | j |
| 4 | Light rising | ˧˩ | x | Light level | f |
| 5 | Dark departing | ˧˥ | s | ||
| 6 | Light departing | ˧ | h | Dark level | y |
| 7 | Dark entering | ˧˥ | t | ||
| 8 | Light entering | ˧ | none | ||
Marking letters are placed at the end of syllables to indicate tone. Loanword marking letters y, f, j, and q match withMandarin tones 1, 2, 3, and 4 respectively.
Bouyei shows de-voicing of Proto-Tai–Kadai's voiced consonants (*b →/p/,*d →/t/,*ɡ →/k/), and loss ofaspiration.
| Proto-Tai–Kadai | *ˀn,*n̥ | *t | *ˀd | *dʱ,*d | *n |
| Bouyei | n | t | ɗ | t | n |
| Dark tone | Light tone |
Proto-Tai–Kadai's tones experienced a splitting into modern Bouyei, shown in the following table.
| Proto-Tai–Kadai | *ˀn,*n̥ | *t | *ˀd | *dʱ,*d | *n |
| PTK Level tone | Dark level | Light level | |||
| PTK Rising tone | Dark rising | Light rising | |||
| PTK Departing tone | Dark departing | Light departing | |||
| PTK Entering tone | Dark entering | Light entering | |||
Ancient Bouyei writing was created by borrowing elements fromChinese characters or by mimicking their forms, and is similar toSawndip. Items collected were mostlyShaman's books of the Buyi ancestors, which were used to select auspicious days, lucky numbers and directions, and divination.[7] The scriptures also producedNuo books and literary works. The Nuo scripts have been widely circulated among theBuyi people in Libo region for more than a thousand years to praise goodness, condemn evil, advocate filiality, and to promote truth, kindness and beauty; and these have become the code of conduct among the local Buyei people.[8] The epic poemWang Yulian was a literary work that is believed to be the retelling of a Chinese story in Buyei language. Its manual copies are popular in Zhexiang Township, Wangmo County in Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture in Southwest Guizhou.[9]
In November 1956, a scientific conference was held inGuiyang to discuss the creation and implementation of aLatin-based alphabet for Bouyei. The result was a script similar some Zhuang romanizations that used theLongli County dialect as its base. The script was approved by the Chinese government and was put into use in 1957, though its use ceased in 1960.
In 1981 a conference on Bouyei history revised the script developed in 1956 in an attempt to make it more practical and phonologically representative of Wangmo County speech. It also was approved by the Chinese government, and was adopted on an experimental basis in 1982. Feedback was largely positive, and the script was officially brought into use in March 1985 and continues to be used to the present.
Old and current Bouyei Romanization comparisons
| Old | Current | IPA | Old | Current | IPA | Old | Current | IPA | Old | Current | IPA | Old | Current | IPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| b | b | /p/ | ƃ | mb | /ɓ/ | m | m | /m/ | f | f | /f/ | v | v, qv | /v,ˀv/ |
| c | z | /ts/ | s | s | /s/ | r | r | /z/ | ||||||
| d | d | /t/ | ƌ | nd | /ɗ/ | n | n | /n/ | l | l | /l/ | |||
| g | g | /k/ | gv | gv | /kʷ/ | ŋ | ng | /ŋ/ | ŋv | ngv | /ŋʷ/ | h | h | /x/ |
| gy | j | /tɕ/ | ny | ny | /nʲ/ | x | x | /ɕ/ | y | y, qy | /j,ˀj/ | |||
| by | by | /pʲ/ | my | my | /mʲ/ | |||||||||
| Old | Zhuang | Bouyei | IPA | Old | Zhuang | Bouyei | IPA | Old | Zhuang | Bouyei | IPA | Old | Zhuang | Bouyei | IPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a | a | aa | /aː/ | ə | ae | a | /a/ | e | e | ee | /e/ | i | i | i | /i/ |
| o | o | oo | /oː/ | ө | oe | o | /o/ | u | u | u | /u/ | ɯ | w | e | /ɯ/ |
Tone Marking Letters
| # | Old | Zhuang | Bouyei | Yangchang Dialect | Fuxing Dialect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | none | none | l, q | 35 | 24 |
| 2 | ƨ | z | z | 11 | 11 |
| 3 | ɜ | j | c, j | 13 | 53 |
| 4 | ч | x | x, f | 31 | 11 |
| 5 | ƽ | q | s | 33 | 35 |
| 6 | ƅ | h | h, y | 53 | 33 |
| 7 | (p, t, k) | (p, t, k) | (b, d, g)t | 33 (long), 35 (short) | 35 |
| 8 | (b, d, g) | (b, d, g) | (b, d, g) | 53 (long), 11 (short) | 33 |
The story ofWang Yulian tells that Wang Yulian was forced to join the army by Wang Erniang, and his mother and wife were also forced to beg in street. After Wang Yulian became well-established, with the help of the government, he punished Wang Erniang and reunited with his mother and wife.
Authority control databases: National |
|---|
