Bala language (China)
| Bala | |
|---|---|
| bani | |
| Native to | northeastern China |
| Region | Heilongjiang Province and Jilin Province |
| Ethnicity | Bala |
| Extinct | 1982 |
| sometimes transcribed with Chinese characters | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | None (mis) |
| Glottolog | bala1242 |
 Map of the Tungusic languages.
Bala | |
The Bala language (Chinese: 巴拉語; pinyin: Bālāyǔ) is a possibly extinct Tungusic language that was spoken in and around the Zhangguangcai Range of Heilongjiang Province, Northeastern China. No standard orthography exists for the language, although manuscripts have occasionally recorded Bala words using Chinese characters.[1]
Classification
Bala clearly belongs to the Jurchenic language subgroup of Southern Tungusic languages, but its exact position within Jurchenic remains to be determined. Bala is more closely related to Jurchen than it is to Manchu and retains many archaic features. It reportedly became extinct in 1982, but it is unknown whether there could be rememberers of the language still alive today.[1][2]
In addition to influences from Northeastern Mandarin and Manchu, Bala may also have been influenced by Southern Nanai languages such as Kilen.[3]
Distribution
Originally spoken by mountain dwellers who claimed to have fled to the Zhangguangcai Mountains to flee from the late 16th-century Manchu campaigns of Nurhaci, Bala speakers later scattered into the plains to the west and south of the mountain range, with some speakers also moving to various villages in northern Jilin Province. Bala villages in Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces include 阿城 Āchéng, 巴彦 Bāyàn, 宾县 Bīn Xiàn, 方正 Fāngzhèng, 呼兰 Hūlán, 木兰 Mùlán, 尚志 Shàngzhì, 双城 Shuāngchéng, 通河 Tōnghé, 五常 Wǔcháng, and 延寿 Yánshòu, 额穆 Émù, 官地 Guāndì, 榆树 Yúshù, and 蛟河 Jiāohé.[1]
Documentation
The Bala language has been documented by 穆晔骏 Mù Yèjùn (also known as 穆尔察晔骏 Mù'ěrchá Yèjùn, or 穆尔察安布隆阿 Mù'ěrchá Ānbùlóngā; 1926‒1989).[4][5][6] Additional linguistic data has also been collected by 李可漫 Lǐ Kěmàn[7][8] and her father 李果钧 Lǐ Guǒjūn.[9]
References
- 1 2 3 Hölzl, Andreas (2020-12-31). "Bala (China) – Language Snapshot". Language Documentation and Description. 19. doi:10.25894/ldd76. ISSN 2756-1224.
- ↑ Hölzl, Andreas (2021). "The only known text from Bala, an extinct Tungusic language". Studia Orientalia Electronica. 9 (1): 173–191. doi:10.23993/store.101600. S2CID 245362010.
- ↑ An, Jun 安俊. 1986. Hezheyu jianzhi 赫哲语简志. Beijing: Minzu chubanshe.
- ↑ Mu, Yejun 穆晔骏. 1984. Juzhu zai zhangguangcailing de manzu ‘balaren’ 居住在张广才岭的满族‘巴拉人’. Heilongjiang wenwu congkan 黑龙江文物丛刊 2, 64–68.
- ↑ Mu, Yejun 穆晔骏. 1987. Balayu 巴拉语. Manyu yanjiu 满语研究 2, 2–31, 128.
- ↑ Mu, Yejun 穆晔骏. 1988. Lun balayu de yuyin bianhua 论巴拉语的语音变化. Manyu yanjiu 满语研究 6, 1–26.
- ↑ Li, Keman 李可漫. 2014. Bala ren ‘xiao mo’ergen yiwen’ de cailu 巴拉人《小莫尔根逸闻》 的采录. Dongbei shidi 东北史地 5, 86–88.
- ↑ Li, Guojun 李果钧. 1991. Dunhua de ‘balaren’ 敦化的‘把拉人’. In Sun Bang 孙邦 (ed.) Jilin manzu 吉林满族, 46–48. Changchun: Jilin renmin chubanshe.
- ↑ Li, Guojun 李果钧. 1991. Jidong manzu ‘balaren’ xisu 吉东满族‘巴拉人’习俗. In Sun Bang 孙邦 (ed.) Jilin manzu 吉林满族, 294–297. Changchun: Jilin renmin chubanshe.