Bala
RegionHeilongjiang Province and Jilin Province, northeastern China
Tungusic
None
Language codes
ISO 639-3–
Glottologbala1242

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 Acheng 阿城, Bayan 巴彦, Binxian 宾县, Fangzheng 方正, Hulan 呼兰, Mulan 木兰, Shangzhi 尚志, Shuangcheng 双城, Tonghe 通河, Wuchang 五常, and Yanshou 延寿, Emu 额穆, Guandi 官地, Yushu 榆树, and Jiaohe 蛟河.[1]

Documentation

The Bala language has been documented by Mu Yejun 穆晔骏 (also known as Mu'ercha Yejun 穆尔察晔骏, or Mu'ercha Anbulonga 穆尔察安布隆阿; 1926‒1989).[4][5][6] Additional linguistic data has also been collected by Li Keman 李可漫[7][8] and her father Li Guojun 李果钧.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c Hölzl, Andreas. 2020. Bala (China) – Language Snapshot. Language Documentation and Description 19, 162–170.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ An, Jun 安俊. 1986. Hezheyu jianzhi 赫哲语简志. Beijing: Minzu chubanshe.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ Mu, Yejun 穆晔骏. 1987. Balayu 巴拉语. Manyu yanjiu 满语研究 2, 2–31, 128.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ 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.
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