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Bugun language

{{Short description|Kho-Bwa language of Arunachal Pradesh, India}}

{{Infobox language

|name=Bugun

|altname=Khowa

|states=India

|region=Arunachal Pradesh

|ethnicity=Bugun (Khowa)

|speakers=900

|date=2001

|ref=e25

|familycolor=Sino-Tibetan

|fam1=Sino-Tibetan?

|fam2=Kho-Bwa?

|iso3=bgg

|glotto=bugu1246

|glottorefname=Bugun

}}

Bugun, also known as Khowa, is a small possible language isolate spoken in Arunachal Pradesh state of India by the Bugun. They numbered about 1,700 in 2011.

Phonology

=Vowels=

class="wikitable"

!

!Front

!Central

!Back

align=center

!Close

|{{IPA link|i}}

{{IPA link|u}}
align=center

!Mid

|{{IPA link|ɛ}}

|

|{{IPA link|ɔ}}

align=center

!Open

|

|{{IPA link|ä}}

|

=Consonants=

class="wikitable" style=text-align:center
style="font-size: 90%;"

! colspan="2" |

! Labial

! Coronal

! Retroflex

! Palatal

! Velar

! Post-
velar

! Glottal

colspan="2" | Nasal

| {{IPAlink|m}}

| {{IPAlink|n}}

| || || || ||

rowspan="3" | Stop

! voiceless

| {{IPAlink|p}}

| {{IPAlink|t}}

| {{IPAlink|ʈ}}

|

| {{IPAlink|k}}

| ||

voiced

| {{IPAlink|b}}

| {{IPAlink|d}}

| {{IPAlink|ɖ}}

|

| {{IPAlink|ɡ}}

| {{IPAlink|ɢ}}

|

breathy

| {{IPA link|bʱ}}

| {{IPA link|dʱ}}

| {{IPA link|ɖʱ}}

|

| {{IPA link|ɡʱ}}

|

|

rowspan="3" | Affricate

! voiceless

|

| {{IPAlink|ts}}

| {{IPAlink|ʈʂ}}

| {{IPAlink|tɕ}}

| || ||

voiced

|

| {{IPAlink|dz}}

| {{IPAlink|ɖʐ}}

| {{IPAlink|dʑ}}

| || ||

breathy

|

| {{IPA link|dzʱ}}

| {{IPA link|ɖʐʱ}}

| {{IPA link|dʑʱ}}

| || ||

rowspan="2" | Fricative

! voiceless

|

| {{IPAlink|s}}

| {{IPAlink|ʂ}}

| {{IPAlink|ɕ}}

| {{IPAlink|x}}

| ||

voiced

| {{IPAlink|v}}

| {{IPAlink|z}}

| {{IPAlink|ʐ}}

| {{IPAlink|ʑ}}

| {{IPAlink|ɣ}}

|

| {{IPAlink|ɦ}}

colspan="2" | Approximant

|

| {{IPAlink|l}} {{IPAlink|ɫ}}

|

| {{IPAlink|j}}

|

| ||

colspan="2" | Rhotic

|

| {{IPAlink|ɾ}}

| || || || ||

Classification

Bugun is classified as a Kho-Bwa language in Blench & Post (2013), although Blench (2015)Blench, Roger. 2015. [https://www.academia.edu/15108029/The_Mey_languages_and_their_classification The Mey languages and their classification]. Presentation given at the University of Sydney. believes Bugun may actually be unrelated to the rest of the Kho-Bwa languages.

Dialects

Lieberherr & Bodt (2017)Lieberherr, Ismael; Bodt, Timotheus Adrianus. 2017. [https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4t27h5fg Sub-grouping Kho-Bwa based on shared core vocabulary]. In Himalayan Linguistics, 16(2). list the following Bugun dialects along with their numbers of speakers.

  • Dikhyang (100 speakers)
  • Singchung (680 speakers)
  • Wangho (220 speakers)
  • Bichom (630 speakers)
  • Kaspi (80 speakers)
  • Namphri (180 speakers)

Distribution

Bugun is spoken in the following villages in southern West Kameng District, Arunachal Pradesh (Dondrup 1990:iv).Dondrup, Rinchin. 1990. Bugun language guide. Itanagar: Directorate of Research, Government of Arunachal Pradesh. The total population numbered 800 in 1981. Names in parentheses are spellings as given in Ethnologue.

  • Wanghoo (Wangho)
  • Singchung
  • Kaspi (New Kaspi)
  • Lichini
  • Ramo (Ramu)
  • Namphri
  • Chithu (Situ)
  • Sachida (Sachita)
  • Pani-Phu
  • Ditching ({{not a typo|Diching}})
  • Dikhiyang (Dikiang)
  • Bicham (Bichom) (a recently founded hamlet)

Ethnologue also lists Mangopom village. These villages are located on the mountains on both sides of Rupa River.

References

{{Reflist}}

{{Sino-Tibetan languages}}

{{Arunachal languages}}

Category:Kho-Bwa languages

Category:Languages of India

Category:Endangered languages of India

Category:Language isolates of Asia

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