Bonan language
language
The Bonan language (pronounced [p⁼aoˈnaŋ], Baonang; Chinese: 保安语, Bǎo'ānyǔ; Amdo Tibetan: Dorké), also known by its endonym Manikacha (Tibetan: མ་ནི་སྐད་ཅི; Wylie: Ma ni skad ci), is the Mongolic language of the Bonan people of China. As of 1985, it was spoken by about 8,000 people, including about 75% of the total Bonan ethnic population and many ethnic Monguor, in Gansu and Qinghai Provinces. There are several dialects, which are influenced to varying degrees – but always heavily – by Chinese and Tibetan, while bilingualism in Wutun is less common. The most commonly studied is the Tongren dialect. Bonan is not typically written by speakers, though there is a folk practice of writing Bonan with the Tibetan syllabary following Amdo pronunciation.
Phonology
Bonan phonology has been heavily influenced by Tibetan. Consonants possess a voicing contrast. Initial consonant clusters of mostly falling sonority are present in native words, as are heavy diphthongs, though the content of both is heavily restricted. The possible word-initial consonant clusters in Bonan are [mp, nt, nt͡ɕ, ntʂ, ŋk, tʰχ, χt͡ɕ, rt͡ɕ, lt͡ɕ, ft, fk, ʂp, ʂk].
Ñantoq Baoan has six vowels, with long counterparts for all except /ə/.
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