The Bu–NaoorBunu languages are a Hmongic (Miao) language branch spoken in Guangxi, Yunnan, and GuizhouinChina. Its speakers are officially classified as ethnic Yao but speak Hmongic languages. The branch consists of three languages, which are Bunu (or Bunu proper), Baonao (Nao Klao), and Numao. The term Bu–Nao is a portmanteauofBunu and Nao Klao.
| Bu–Nao | |
|---|---|
| Bunu languages | |
| Ethnicity | Bunu |
| Geographic distribution | Guangxi, Yunnan, and Guizhou, China[1] |
Native speakers | 390,000 (2001)[1] |
| Linguistic classification | Hmong–Mien
|
| Subdivisions | |
| ISO 639-3 | bwx |
| Glottolog | buna1280 |
Speakers of Bu–Nao languages are officially classified as Yao people by the Chinese government, although they speak Hmongic languages rather than Mienic languages. Strecker (1987) had classified Bunu proper as a Western (Chuanqiandian) Hmongic language, and the other "Bunu" languages—Younuo (Yuno), Wunai (Hm Nai), and Jiongnai (Kiong Nai)—as distinct branches of Hmongic. Matisoff (2001) grouped all of these together in a Bunu branch of Hmongic (that is, outside Western Hmongic). Ratliff (2010) classified Bunu within Western Hmongic and moved Jiongnai to its own peripheral branch of Hmongic.[2] Wang & Deng (2003) classify the Bu–Nao languages as a cousin branch of Western Hmongic, and Jiongnai and Younuo as independent branches.[3]
Bu–Nao language varieties are spoken by a total of 390,000 speakers. They can be divided into three major clusters, namely Bunu, Baonao, and Numao.[1]
Intelligibility among these varieties is difficult, and they may also be considered separate languages. Strecker (1987) suggested they may not form a group at all, but separate languages within West Hmongic.[4]