Bugan, Bogan, Pakan, or Bugeng (布甘语, 布干语, or 布赓语) is an

Austroasiatic The Austroasiatic languages , , are a large language family in Mainland Southeast Asia and South Asia. These languages are scattered throughout parts of Thailand, Laos, India, Myanmar, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Nepal, and southern China and are th ...

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 Guangnan County (; Zhuang languages, Zhuang: ) is located in Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan province, China. The seat of Guangnan, known today as Liancheng (), was the heart of the Gouding Kingdom () that lasted approximat ...

(广南) and northern

Xichou Xichou County () is under the administration of the Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, in the southeast of Yunnan province, China. Administrative divisions In the present, Xichou County has 2 towns and 7 townships. ;2 towns * Xisa ( ...

(西畴),

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 C ...

Province, China. Bugan is an analytic language, and word order and auxiliary words have important functions in the grammar.

Distribution

Li Jinfang (1996)

According to Li Jinfang (1996), the Bugan-speaking population is distributed in seven villages across southern

(广南) and northern

(西畴),

Province, China. As the language is highly uniform, it is not divided into any dialects. *Laowalong 老挖龙 (Bugan-only population); Bugan language: ' *Xinwalong 新挖龙 (Bugan-only population); Bugan language: ' *Jiuping 九平 (Bugan and Han Chinese population); Bugan language: ' *Shibeipo 石北坡 (Bugan-only population); Bugan language: ' *Xinzhai 新寨 (Bugan and Han Chinese population); Bugan language: ' *Malong 马龙 (Bugan-only population); Bugan language: ' *Nala 那拉 (Bugan and Han Chinese population)

Li Yunbing (2005)

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. *Laowalong 老挖龙, Nasa Township 那洒镇; Bugan language: ' *Xinwalong 新挖龙; Bugan language: ' *Xiaoping 小坪寨 ; Bugan language: ' *Nala 那腊; Bugan language: ' *Jiuping 九坪, Zhuanjiao Township 篆角乡 (Chongtian Township 冲天乡); Bugan language: ' *Shibeipo 石碑坡; Bugan language: ' *Manlong 曼龙; Bugan language: ' Li Yunbing also uses the term Bùgēng (布赓) in place of Bùgān (布甘).

People

The Bugan people's

autonym Autonym may refer to: * Autonym, the name used by a person to refer to themselves or their language; see Exonym and endonym * Autonym (botany), an automatically created infrageneric or infraspecific name See also * Nominotypical subspecies, in zo ...

is ', while the surrounding Han Chinese call them ''Huazu'' (; literally "flower people") or ''Hualo'' () due to their colorful clothing. Other autonyms are ' (in Manlong,

Xichou County Xichou County () is under the administration of the Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, in the southeast of Yunnan province, China. Administrative divisions In the present, Xichou County has 2 towns and 7 townships. ;2 towns * Xisa ( ...

) and ' (in Nala and Xinwalong in

Guangnan County Guangnan County (; Zhuang: ) is located in Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan province, China. The seat of Guangnan, known today as Liancheng (), was the heart of the Gouding Kingdom () that lasted approximately 400 years, f ...

). 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.

Phonology

Bugan is a tonal SVO language. Unlike the

Bolyu language The Bolyu language (autonym: '; ; also known as Paliu, Palyu, or Lai 俫语, 徕语) is an Austroasiatic language of the Pakanic branch. The Bolyu are among the unrecognized ethnic groups of China. Classification Bolyu is related to the Bug ...

, 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.

Notes

References

* * * {{Austroasiatic languages Pakanic languages Languages of China