Bunun
Austronesian (Bunun)
Bunun is a Formosan (Austronesian) language of the Bunun people, who inhabit the highest-elevation villages of central Taiwan, often above 1,000m. With ~60K ethnic Bunun and ~12K daily L1 speakers, it has five main dialect groups (Isbukun, Takbanuaz, Takivatan, Takbakha, and the extinct/moribund Takituduh); Isbukun is the modern standard. Bunun is famous worldwide for the eight-part polyphonic Pasibutbut harvest song, the only known indigenous polyphony in Asia documented by Kurosawa Takatomo in 1943 and presented to UNESCO ethnomusicology archives.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Bunun
Water
danum
/danum/
Fire
sapuz
/sapuz/
Sun
vali
/vali/
Moon
buan
/buan/
Mother
tina
/tina/
Father
tama
/tama/
Eat
maun
/maun/
Drink
muqun
/muqun/
Love
madaidaz
/madaidaz/
Heart
is-ang
/isaŋ/
Tree
kahu
/kahu/
House
lumaq
/lumaq/
Dog
asu
/asu/
Cat
ngingiyaw
/ŋiŋijaw/
Hand
ima
/ima/
Eye
mata
/mata/
Hello
uninang
/uninaŋ/
Thank you
uninang
/uninaŋ/
One
tasa
/tasa/
Good
masial
/masial/
Sources
- Ethnologue: bnn
- Li (1988) A Comparative Study of Bunun Dialects
- Kurosawa (1943) Takasago-zoku no ongaku
Words compared
Compared with related Austronesian (Bunun) languages
| Meaning | Bunun | Kadazan-Dusun | Paiwan | Mandar | Tao/Yami | Babuza (Favorlang) | Maranao |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | danum /danum/ | waig /waiɡ/ | zaljum /zaɭum/ | uai /uai/ | ranom /ranom/ | zalum /zalum/ | ig /iɡ/ |
| Fire | sapuz /sapuz/ | tapui /tapui/ | sapuy /sapui/ | api /api/ | apuy /apuj/ | apoi /apoi/ | apoy /apoj/ |
| Sun | vali /vali/ | todau /todau/ | qadaw /qadaw/ | mata allo /mata alːo/ | araw /araw/ | — /—/ | alongan /aloŋan/ |
| Moon | buan /buan/ | vulan /vulan/ | qiljas /qiɭas/ | bulang /bulaŋ/ | vehan /vehan/ | zilias /siliəs/ | bolan /bolan/ |
| Mother | tina /tina/ | tina /tina/ | kina /kina/ | indo /indo/ | ina /ina/ | tina /tina/ | ina /ina/ |
| Father | tama /tama/ | tama /tama/ | kama /kama/ | ama /ama/ | ama /ama/ | tama /tama/ | ama /ama/ |
| Eat | maun /maun/ | mangakan /maŋakan/ | keman /kəman/ | ma'ande /maʔande/ | kuman /kuman/ | maan /maːn/ | mangan /maŋan/ |
| Drink | muqun /muqun/ | monginum /moŋinum/ | temekel /təməkəl/ | minung /minuŋ/ | minum /minum/ | minum /minum/ | minom /minom/ |
| Love | madaidaz /madaidaz/ | gimbai /ɡimbai/ | nasaqaqa /nasaqaqa/ | mappinawa /mapːinawa/ | makakdeng /makakdəŋ/ | — /—/ | kalimo /kalimo/ |
| Heart | is-ang /isaŋ/ | pusod /pusod/ | varung /vaɾuŋ/ | ate /ate/ | paso /paso/ | — /—/ | pusoʔ /pusoʔ/ |
| Tree | kahu /kahu/ | kayu /kayu/ | kasiw /kasiw/ | kaju /kaju/ | kayo /kajo/ | kayu /kaju/ | kayo /kajo/ |
| House | lumaq /lumaq/ | walai /walai/ | umaq /umaq/ | boyang /bojaŋ/ | vahay /vahaj/ | ruma /ruma/ | walay /walaj/ |
| Dog | asu /asu/ | tasu /tasu/ | vatu /vatu/ | asu /asu/ | ino /ino/ | asu /asu/ | aso /aso/ |
| Cat | ngingiyaw /ŋiŋijaw/ | tingau /tiŋau/ | ngiaw /ŋiaw/ | mio /mio/ | koving /koviŋ/ | — /—/ | pusa /pusa/ |
| Hand | ima /ima/ | lima /lima/ | lima /lima/ | lima /lima/ | kamay /kamaj/ | rima /rima/ | lima /lima/ |
| Eye | mata /mata/ | mato /mato/ | maca /matsa/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | macha /matʃa/ | mata /mata/ |
| Hello | uninang /uninaŋ/ | kopivosian /kopivosian/ | masalu /masalu/ | salama' ma'ondong /salamaʔ maʔondoŋ/ | akokay /akokaj/ | — /—/ | kapian /kapijan/ |
| Thank you | uninang /uninaŋ/ | pounsikou /pounsikou/ | masalu /masalu/ | kuru' sumanga' /kuɾuʔ sumaŋaʔ/ | ayoy /ajoj/ | — /—/ | salamat /salamat/ |
| One | tasa /tasa/ | iso /iso/ | ita /ita/ | mesa /mesa/ | asa /asa/ | nata /nata/ | isa /isa/ |
| Good | masial /masial/ | avasi /avasi/ | nguanguaq /ŋuaŋuaq/ | macoa /matʃoa/ | mapia /mapia/ | — /—/ | mapia /mapija/ |
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