Is Burunking

Is Burunking
Is
Pronunciation	[is]
Created by	Neil Whalley
Setting	North Atlantic ocean
Native to	Burung
Language family	language isolate
Writing system	Latin script Hookozoi
Official status
Official language in	Burung

Is Burunking (/is buɾˈunkiŋ/, literally 'Burungian language') is the language of Burung, an island in the north Atlantic Ocean.

Phonology

Consonants

	Bilabial	Alveolar	Post-alveolar	Retroflex	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal	m	n				ŋ
Plosive	p    b	t    d				k    g
Fricative	ɸ	s	ʃ	ʐ	ç		h
Affricate			t͡ʃ    d͡ʒ
Flap or tap		ɾ
Approximant	w				j
Lateral app.	l

Consonants generally do not occur in clusters, with some exceptions (see Phonotactics below). Any consonant except a fricative may occur as a geminate word-internally.

Vowels

	Front	Back
Close	ɨ	ʉ
Open-mid	ɛ	ɔ
Open	a

Vowels are considered to be short in all environments but may occur consecutively as in eekez 'left' /ɛːkɛz/.

Note: word-initial sequences of i + i and u + uu are written yi-, wu-.

Diphthongs

There are six diphthongs proper: ai /ai/, ei /ei/, oi /oi/, au /au/, eu /eu/ and ou /ou/, which may be considered sequences of vowels in measuring syllables. In addition, any vowel is permitted to occur following the 'glides' /w/ or /j/.

Phonotactics

Is Burunking has a relatively restrictive syllabic structure, with a maximal form CGVVC, in which C represents a consonant, G a glide and V a vowel or part of a diphthong. Of these, only the central vowel is essential but there are also restrictions on the other elements. The table below shows the rules governing each position in the syllable:

C1	G	V1	V2	C2
optional only b, g, d, z, f, j, h, x, l, n, ng or m word-initially any consonant word-medially	optional only y or w/u	mandatory any vowel	optional only i, u or the preceding vowel repeated	optional only s, sh, ng or z word-finally only n or m before a consonant, except in the case of geminates

The word-final consonants s, sh, ng and z are not permitted to occur before another consonant, so undergo changes in compounds or when consonant-initial endings are added:

• -s is lost, the preceding vowel is doubled and a following voiced plosive is devoiced:

is 'language, speech' + -do (pejorative) = yito 'curse'

os 'cold' + -pung (abstract) = oopung 'coldness'

• -sh becomes -i-, forming a diphthong with the preceding vowel, and a following voiced plosive is devoiced:

banash 'fruit' + -to (diminutive) = banaito 'berry'

ush 'empty' + gyong 'person' = wikyong 'vain person'

• -ng becomes -m before p, b, f and n before any other consonant:

gyong 'person' + -zoi (collective) = gyonzoi 'team, band'

yong 'smooth' + -pung (abstract) = yompung 'smoothness'

• -z is lost and causes a following consonant to double (except s, z, f, x, h):

az 'man' + -chi (adjectival) = acchi 'masculine'

haaz 'old' + -ki (nominal) = haakki 'antique, relic'

In some cases a word ending in a vowel + -i will alter to vowel + -u when a suffix or the second element of a compound begins with a consonant:

Word-final vowels may also be altered or lost when they come into contact with initial vowels in compounds or endings:

• In words of three or more syllables, the vowel is always lost, e.g. arato 'food' + -oi (adjectival) = aratoi 'gluttonous', eshayo 'sea' + ugi 'bread' = eshayugi 'seaweed'.
• Words of two syllables usually lose their final vowel, e.g. binji 'mountain' + arate 'gap' = binjarate 'mountain pass', but when the second word is only one syllable the final vowel sometimes remains, forming a glide in the case of i or u e.g. bigi 'eye' + uz 'water' = bigyuz 'tear'.
• In reduplication, the final vowel usually remains in disyllables, but an epenthetic k (occasionally y) is inserted between the elements: azekaze 'very dark'.

Stress

Primary stress is generally on the penultimate syllable of polysyllables, e.g. berósu 'nine', esháyo 'sea', ázeng 'fish'.

In true verbs, primary stress is always placed on the first syllable of the root, e.g. eróz 'go down', isúru 'go past'.

In compounds, the primary stress is placed on the second element, with secondary stress on the first.

Orthography

Is Burunking was originally written in a syllabary called hookozoi, mainly carved into wood or, occasionally, stone.

	a	e	i	o	u	Ø
Ø	a	e	i	o	u
y	ya	ye	yi	yo	yu
w	wa	we	wi	wo	wu
b	ba	be	bi	bo	bu
d	da	de	ji	do
g	ga	ge	gi	go
p	pa	pe			pu
t	ta	te	chi	to
k	ka	ke	ki	ko
f	fa	fe	fi	fo	fu
h	ha	he		ho
x	xa	xe	xi	xo	xu
s	sa	se		so	su	s
sh	sha	she	shi	sho	shu	sh
m	ma	me			mu	m/n
n	na	ne	ni	no	nu
ng	nga	nge	ngi	ngo		ng
l	la	le	li	lo	lu
r	ra	re	ri	ro	ru
z	za	ze	zi	zo	zu	z

When the language was initially discovered by Europeans the Greek alphabet was used in its transcription, but later studies preferred to use the Latin script, which is still used today.

Graph	IPA
Consonants
b	/b/
ch	/t͡ʃ/
d	/d/
f	/ɸ/
g	/g/
h	/h/
j	/d͡ʒ/
k	/k/
l	/l/
m	/m/
n	/n/
ng	/ŋ/
p	/p/
r	/r/
s	/s/
sh	/ʃ/
t	/t/
w	/w/
x	/ç/
y	/j/
Vowels
a	/a/
e	/ɛ/
i	/i/
o	/ɔ/
u	/u/
Diphthongs
ai	/ai/
au	/au/
ei	/ei/
eu	/eu/
oi	/oi/
ou	/ou/

In word or syllable initial position the sequences ii, uu are written yi, wu. The glide /j/ is always written y but /w/ is written u following a consonant and w syllable initially.

Grammar

Nouns

Gender

Strictly speaking, Is Burunking, like English, does not have grammatical gender affecting the morphology of words. Their concept of natural gender, however, is substantially different from many other cultures and does influence language to certain extent. It is rooted in a more fundamental understanding of how things in the world are related and categorised.

At its most basic, all things (and the names that describe them) are considered either animate (bixi) or inanimate (es bixi). The primary distinction between these two groups is that animate nouns are capable of movement under their own power, but inanimate ones are not. Humans, animals and deities are therefore considered animate (as are some celestial bodies), whereas plants, rocks and abstract concepts are inanimate.

Within the class of animate nouns, a further distinction is made between three genders: masculine (acchi), feminine (buyachi) or middle (iriji). Inclusion within one of these three groups is based to some extent on biological sex, but also takes into account personality, strengths and a chosen role within society.

At birth, all human children are considered to be iriji and remain so throughout childhood until the onset of puberty. At some point during puberty, depending on the development of the individual, the child will be undergo an initiation into adulthood as either acchi, buyachi or iriji, taking a gendered form of their name and a byname to symbolise this important rite of passage. The choice of appropriate gender is made by the community elders, with input from the parents and/or foster parents, based on an understanding of the individual.

There are no hard and fast rules regarding gender, rather each has a series of complex associations. The table below shows some of the basic characteristics for each group:

	Bixi	Eipixi
Buyachi	Iriji	Achi
Element	Earth	Fire	Water	Air
Direction	East	South	West	North
Season	Spring	Summer	Autumn	Winter
Celestial Body	Moon	Sun	Moon	Sun
Lunar Phase	Waxing	Full	Waning	New
Solar Phase	Dawn	Day	Evening	Night
Temperature	Warm/Wet	Hot/Dry	Cool/Wet	Cold/Dry
Family	Mother	Child	Father	House
Aspect	Emotional	Intellectual	Physical	Material
Noun class	adult female humans some female animals female deities	human children adult iriji humans most animals iriji deities	adult male humans some male animals male deities	unmoving objects most materials abstracts

These gender distinctions have a limited effect on the morphology of nouns themselves but affect the way other words behave.

Case

Relationships between nouns in a sentence are marked by particles following the noun.

Case	Particle	Uses
Topicaliser	ba	marks a subject or object as the focus of the utterance
Nominative	az	marks the subject of a verb (where it is not the topic)
Accusative	ke	marks the direct object of a verb
Genitive	eng	marks the possessor of an object, 'of'
Dative	ni	marks the indirect object of a verb, 'to'
Allative	a	marks movement towards, 'to'
Ablative	chi	marks movement away from, 'from, of, through'
Locative	gang	marks location 'in, on, at'
Instrumental	ha	marks use of, 'with, by'

Number

Nouns are generally not marked for number and context is usually sufficient to show whether, e.g. heuji means 'horse' or 'horses'. Numerals or adjectives can be used to qualify the noun for number, e.g. bade oz 'one dog, a dog'.

There are two collective suffixes, which may sometimes translate the English plural:

• -zoi is used to refer to a discrete group of things, usually occupying a single location, e.g. gyonzoi 'band, group, team of people', heujizoi 'a herd of horses'.
• -bua is more abstract, referring to all things within a class collectively and also to the state of being an object within that class, similar in some ways to the English suffix '-hood' in a word like 'priesthood', e.g. gyombua 'everybody, humanity, humankind, population', binjibua 'mountains'.

Both of these suffixes are productive, though in some cases the noun with the suffix has taken on a specialised meaning as in azoi 'council, assembly' from az 'man'.

Reduplication may also be used to express a large group of something, often with an intensive meaning, e.g. gyongyong 'crowd, mass of people', yaiyai 'storm' (from yai 'wind').

Adjectives

Adjectives precede the noun they modify and are not altered for gender, number or case.

Comparison is expressed by means of particles. The comparative uses the particle byang, somewhat equivalent to Eng. "than", with a noun (standard) of comparison and the positive adjective. Where English uses the pattern [Noun 1] is [Comparative] + than + [Noun 2] (e.g. Eric is bigger than Tom), Is Burunking uses the pattern [Noun 1] + [Noun 2] + byang + [Adjective] + da (e.g. Eric ba Tom byang enji da). There is no equivalent to the English attributive comparative adjective and phrases such as "Eric is the taller brother" would be translated best with the positive adjective, e.g. Eric ba enji angane da lit. "Eric is the tall sibling".

Superlatives are formed from the positive adjective with the suffix -na and precede the noun they modify, e.g. enjina az "biggest man", lashana ebaz "quietest river". The usual sentence structure follows the pattern [Topic] + ba (+ [Location] + gang) + [Superlative] + [Noun] + da, e.g. Eric ba (Burung gang) enjina az da "Eric is the tallest man (in Burung).

Numerals

	Cardinal	Ordinal
1	zu	leneng
2	hai	uzeng
3	gi	gichi
4	baka	bakachi
5	utu	utuchi
6	xa	xachi
7	gyeng	gyenchi
8	eileng	eilenchi
9	zuneng	zunenchi
10	haz	hachi
11	zu-haz	zu-hachi
20	hatorung	hatorunchi
21	zu-hatorung	zu-hatorunchi
30	gyauka	gyaukachi
40	bakauka	bakaukachi
50	utauka	utaukachi
60	xauka	xaukachi
70	gyengauka	gyengaukachi
80	eilengauka	eilengaukachi
90	zunengauka	zunengaukachi
100	inung	inunchi
101	zu-inung	zu-inunchi
121	zu-hatorung-inung	zu-hatorung-inunchi

Pronouns

Personal

		Singular	Plural
1	inclusive	ni	bua
	exclusive		bu
2		yi	fu
3	masculine	az	azoi
	feminine	buya	buyazoi
	common	xini	xinizoi

There are no inanimate forms, the demonstrative pronoun ong being used instead.

Possessives may be formed with the particle eng, e.g. ni eng yata "my father", xini eng eshe "its house".

Reflexive

The reflexive pronoun bera is used as the direct or indirect object of a verb, referring the action back to the subject. The pronoun doesn't change for person or number and simply fills the relevant object slot of the sentence, e.g. az ba bera ke bigiipush fong "he saw himself", ni eng asho ba bera ni inua da "my grandma talks to herself". It is usually only used with animate subjects.

Demonstratives

There are three series of demonstratives expressing three degrees of proximity:

• ong "this" denotes objects close to the speaker
• uri "that" (proximal) denotes objects close to the hearer
• ang "that" (distal) denotes objects at a distance or abstract

	this ong	that (prox.) uri	that (dist.) ang
Object (inan.)	ong this	uri that	ang that yonder
person	m	azong that man	azuri that man	azang that man yonder
f.	buyong this woman	buyuri that woman	buyang that woman yonder
c.	xinyong this xini	xinyuri that xini	xinyang that xini yonder
Place	ukyong here	ukyuri there	ukyang yonder
Way	bideung this way	bideuri that way	bideeng that way yonder
Time	eujong now	eujuri then (recent)	eujang then (distant)

These forms are all really pronouns, but they may perform adjectival or adverbial functions. The simple forms ong, uri, ang are used as adjectives following a noun, e.g. eshe uri "that house". As pronouns, these are used with inanimate objects and the 'person' forms are used with animates, agreeing in gender with the (natural) gender of the object, e.g. ang ba ni eng eshe da "that is my house", azong ba buya eng yata da "this (man) is her father".

The 'place', 'way' and 'time' forms function as adverbs when they take the appropriate case particle, e.g. andosh ba ukyong a etozi heng "the king came here", eujong gang ni ba yus zu "I am leaving now".

Interrogative

Interrogative pronouns and adverbs are formed with the prefix n(o)- and a nominal element:

what	nohez
who	nogyong
where	nuki
how	nobide
why	nonaze
when	neuji

These interrogatives may take postpositions such as nogyong go 'whose'

Indefinite

Indefinite pronouns are formed using the same nominal elements as the interrogative pronouns, but with different affixes.

	some- (-do)	any- (eno-)	every- (-bua)
-thing	hedo	enohez	hebua
-one, -body	gyondo	enogyong	gyombua
-where	ukido	enuki	ukibua
-how	bidedo	enobide	bidebua
(reason)	nazedo	enonaze	nazebua
-time	eujido	eneuji	eujibua

The 'any-' forms are also used as the equivalent of English pronouns with '-ever', e.g. enobide 'however', enogyong 'whoever'. They are also employed in negative sentences to mean 'no-one', 'nowhere' etc.

Verbs

Burunking verbs are usually composed of two elements: the main verb which contains the semantic information and an auxiliary verb that contains most of the conjugation information. Verbs may be conjugated according to the following criteria:

• Tense: past or non-past
• Mood: indicative, hypothetical, hortative, imperative
• Aspect: imperfective or perfective
• Valency: transitive, intransitive, applicative or causative.

Main Verbs

Main verbs contain the primary semantic information of the Burunking verb form. At the heart of the main verb is a verbal root, one of a small closed class of elements denoting either basic physical processes (e.g. ANG "eat"), states (e.g. YEKI "stand") or types of movement (e.g. BII "move"). Verbal roots cannot occur independently and, at the most basic, must be accompanied by the prefix e-, i- or y- to create a simple non-finite verb stem, e.g. yang "eat", eyeki "stand", ibii "move".

Note: where verbal roots are shown alone in this article, they will be written in caps to indicate their dependent status, e.g. ANG

The meaning of the verbal root may be modified by one of three processes:

• Reduplication of the root creates an intensive or frequentative meaning, e.g. ibiibii "flit about", yangang "scoff, gobble", inuanua "chatter, babble" (< NUA "speak, make noise").
• The infix -na- may precede the root to create a pejorative verb indicating perversity, ill intent or action resulting in unfortunate circumstances, e.g. enaro "molest, chafe" < RO "touch", enaus "flee, escape" < US "move away".
• The suffix -ki may be added to the end of the root, creating an applicative whereby the direct object of the verb denotes the benefactor, malefactor, recipient, purpose or goal of the action, depending on context and the meaning of the verb, e.g. egonki "wait for" < GONG "wait, stay".

The majority of main verbs replace the prefix with a nominal element that alters the meaning of the root. The initial element may be:

• a noun denoting the direct object of the verb, e.g. burushigos "throw a spear" (< burushi "spear" + GOS "throw"), xennua "call by name" (< xeng "name" + NUA "speak"). These verbs may be intransitive, with the incorporated noun acting as the true direct object, or transitive taking a new direct object, e.g. az ba burushigos da "he throws a spear", Furiko ba ni eng yata az ni ke xennua zu "my father calls me Furiko".
• a verbal noun denoting the primary action or state of the verb, e.g. loging "sleep" (< lo "sleep, sleeping" + GING "do"), neilung "want, desire" (< nei "wanting, desire" + LUNG "have").
• an adjective to denote various senses of being or becoming the quality of the adjective, or to denote the subject's opinion depending on the verb used, furitoz "become white" (< furi "white" + TOZ "come"), onshi "like, approve" (< ong "good" + SHI "think, consider").
• an adverb indicating the method, direction or means of doing the action, e.g. wengeepii "walk" (< wenges "by foot" + BII "move"), laitekkibii "move quickly" (< laitekki "quickly" + BII).

Perfective

Main verbs are considered to be imperfective, generally denoting incomplete or non-finite actions. In order to indicate a completed action the perfective suffix -i is added to the verb, e.g. yangi "ate", enaroi "molested", burushigoshi "threw a spear", ibiyi "moved".

Auxiliary Verbs

Auxiliary verbs carry most of the information regarding tense, mood and valency in the verb form. Each auxiliary is based on one of twelve particles, four intransitive, four transitive and four causative, to indicate past and non-past indicative, hypothetical and hortative moods. In addition, there is an imperative mood, created from the main verb alone. The table below indicates the particles with the primary uses.

Function	Intransitive	Transitive	Causative	Usage with Imperfective or Perfective (excl. Causative)
Non-Past	da	zu	dara	Impf: denotes an action ongoing at the time of speaking or a future, e.g. yang da "eats, is eating, will eat". Perf: denotes an action completed at the time of speaking, creating a near-past tense, e.g. yangi da "has eaten".
Past	heng	fong	herang	Impf: denotes an action ongoing at some past time (past progressive), e.g. yang heng "was eating" Perf: denotes an action completed at some past time (remote-past), e.g. yangi heng "had eaten".
Hypothetical	li	lu	lerai	Impf: denotes an ongoing hypothetical action, e.g. yang li "may be eating, may eat". Perf: denotes a completed hypothetical action, e.g. yangi li "may have eaten".
Hortative	bii	byo	berai	Used only with the Impf. to express a wish or an entreaty, e.g. yang bii "let's eat"
Imperative	--	--	--	Used only with the Impf. to give a direct command, e.g. yang! "eat!"

To these base particles, a number of prefixes may be added, in reverse order:

• The negative prefix is ei-, which becomes -i- after another prefix and always causes a following d- or b- to devoice, e.g. yang eita "doesn't eat".
• The conditional prefix is ba-, equivalent to "if" in English, e.g. yangi baheng "if he has eaten". The negative form is bai-, e.g. baita "if it is not".
• The modal prefixes are:
  • nei- denoting desire or wish to do something, e.g. yang neida "want to eat". The negative form is neiki-, e.g. yang neikita "don't want to eat";
  • nau- denoting ability or possibility, e.g. Inlanko ke eiranging nauzu "can read". The negative form is nawi-.
  • bez- denoting necessity, e.g. yang bedda "need to eat"

Postpositions

Spatial relations are largely expressed by means of the case particles, but additional senses can be expressed by nominal elements in combination with the gentive eng and the locative gang. A concise list of forms expressing spatial relations is given below.

Simple Particles
a	to, towards, up to	buya ba ibya a ewangi heng "the woman went to the river"
chi	from, of, off, through	ni eng asho binji chi ewashi heng "my grandmother came down from the mountain"
gang	in, on, at	arato ba jibang gang da "the food is on the floor"
ha	with, by	eba byo aneeto ha "cut it with a knife!"
heez	across, over, beyond
ni	to (recipient), for (purpose, intent)
ta	with (comitative)
Compounds with eng ... gang
auda	beside, by
bee	under, below, beneath
beekaz	behind, at the back of, after
bozu	inside
geeng	outside
gyang	on top of, on
iriji	in the middle of, inside
waz	in front of, before

Derivation

Derivation is carried out using a number of suffixes and independent particles, and by compounding.

Suffix	Use	Example
Adjectives
-chi	(nouns) 'of, like, pertaining to; full of, covered with'	buyachi "feminine, female" (buya "woman"), busochi "shitty" (buso "dirt, shit")
(verbs) characterised by the action, '-y', '-ing'	ibiichi "moving, full of motion, kinetic"
-i	(nouns) 'having the characteristics of'	eechii "sweet" (eechi "honey")
(verbs) perfective participle	inuai "said" (inua "say")
-jing	(nouns) 'resembling', '-ish, -like'	ajjing "man-like" (az "man")
(adjective) somewhat, '-ish'	dodourijing "reddish" (dodouri "red")
-king	(nouns) 'of, relating to'	Burunking "of Burung"
-oi	(nouns) 'tending to, fond of'	aratoi "gluttonous" (arato "food")
(verbs) 'tending to'	neilungoi "needy, wanting, unsatisfied" (neilung "want)
-ri	(nouns) forms colour adjectives, materials, '-en'	dodouri "red" (dodoi "blood"), eziri "made of stone" (ezi "stone")
Nouns
-bua	(nouns) collective, abstract, '-hood'	gyombua "people, population; humanity" (gyong "person")
(adjectives) collective, 'the ~, ~ ones'	ipushoibua "wise ones" (ipushoi "wise")
-daz	(nouns) person or thing from (often analogical); language	eshayodaz 'foreigner' (eshayo "sea"), Inlandaz "English person, English language" (Inlang "England").
-do	(nouns) pejorative	bazedo "mocking laughter" (baze "laughter")
(noun) false, pseudo-; used to extend the metaphorical meaning of nouns	beiwando "leg (of table), support" (beiwang "leg")
-iri	(nouns) thing connected with, found near	yipuiri "glove" (yipu "hand")
(verbs) abstract or concrete, instance of an action	yangiri "eating, meal" (yang "eat")
-ki	(adjectives) concrete noun	bixiki "living thing" (bixi "alive")
(nouns) extending the sense of the noun, creating concrete from abstract nouns	haaki "lucky charm, talisman" (haz' "luck, fortune")
-ko	(nouns) instrument, person connected with, office, occupation	goudeko "ploughman" (goude "plough")
(verbs) office, occupation	iniiko "hunter" (inis "hunt")
-no	(nouns) diminutive (often pejorative)	ano "coward" (az "man")
-sho	(nouns, anim.) augmentative	Amasho "mother goddess"
-te	(adjectives) abstracts, states	bixite "life" (bixi "alive")
(verbs) abstracts, states	oneekonte "patience" (oneekong "be patient")
-teng	(nouns, inan.) augmentative	yiteng "town" (yi "settlement")
-to	(nouns) diminutive	hizito 'piglet' (hizi "pig")
-zoi	(nouns) collective, group	eshezoi "settlement" (eshe "house")
(adjectives) collective, group	gaatezoi "young ones, youths"
-zung	(nouns) possessor of	ombazung "parent" (omba "child")

Summary of Particles

a	allative "to, towards, up to"
Noun	az az	Example
au	interrogative, precedes auxiliary verb
Aux. Vb.	Example	Example
az	nominative
Noun	Example	Example
ba1	topicaliser
Noun	Example	Example
ba2	conditional "if"
Aux. Vb.	Example	Example
chi	ablative, "from, off, of, through"
Noun	Example	Example
eng	genitive, "of"
Noun	Example	Example
gang	locative, "in, on, at"
Aux. Vb.	Example	Example
ha	instrumental, "by, with", "in" (with languages)
Noun (language)	Lating ha	"in Latin"
heez	"across, over, beyond, past"
Noun	Example	Example
ke	accusative
Noun	Example	Example
meng	hearsay, precedes auxiliary verb
Aux. Vb.	Example	Example
ni	dative, "to" (recipient), "for" (purpose)
Aux. Vb.	Example	Example
ta	comitative, "with", "and"
Noun	ni az ni eng buya ta egong da	"I live with my wife"
Noun
te	uncertainty, precedes auxiliary verb
Aux. Vb.	Example	Example

Vocabulary

(see also [| Vocabulary])

Verbal Roots

Root	Meanings	Stem	Perfective
BII	move; travel; run, flow	ibii	ibiyi
GANG	go up, ascend; grow; improve	egang	egangi
WASH	go down, descend; fall; shrink; deteriorate	ewash	ewashi
SURU	go past, pass; exceed; change state	isuru	isurui
RO	touch, come into contact; mention	ero	eroi
TOZ	move towards, come, approach; arrive, reach; attain	etoz	etozi
US	move away, go	yus	yushi
XAZ	move into, enter; penetrate	exaz	exazi
UKI	move out of, leave, exit	yuki	yukii
GONG	remain; stay, wait; dwell; persist, continue	egong	egongi
AZ	sit; be located, situated; abide passively	yaz	yazi
SUANG	lie; be located; spread, extend	isuang	isuangi
YEKI	stand; be located; abide actively	eyeki	eyekii
EHANG	be, exist	yehang	yehangi
KING	heat, cook	iking	ikingi
RESH	constrict, narrow, tighten; shrink	eresh	ereshi
XOZ	begin; beget, produce, create, conceive	exoz	exozi
JI	appear; seem, look like	iji	ijii
LU	die; cease, stop; break	ilu	ilui
LUAZ	spread, scatter, disperse	eluaz	eluazi
LUNG	have; own, possess; use	ilung	ilungi
BA	incise, cut, scratch; carve; mark	eba	ebai
BANG	give; offer, pay; provide	ebang	ebangi
BEI	come together, congregate, assemble; swarm, herd	ebei	ebeyi
GOS	throw; shoot; cast; release	egos	egoshi
LAZ	divide, split, separate	elaz	elazi
AS	step; pace, tread; measure	yas	yashi
GING	do, act; make	iging	igingi
NUA	speak, say; make noise	inua	inuai
ZUNG	expel; defecate; emit, reject	izung	izungi
ANG	eat, consume; take in; receive, accept	yang	yangi
GAS	get; obtain, receive; understand	egas	egashi
KASH	learn, comprehend	ekash	ekashi
PUSH	perceive; know; sense	ipush	ipushi
SHI	think, consider, regard; view; judge, measure	ishi	ishii

Verbs of Motion

Verbal roots of motion define direction but not means or manner, i.e. there are roots meaning 'go', 'go up', 'go past' etc. but not 'walk', 'fly', 'ride', 'rush'. To describe either means or manner, compound verbs are used.

Means of motion is usually indicated by an adverb ending in -(e)s, derived from

• a noun denoting the physical method of propulsion

wengeepii "walk, go by foot" < wenges "by foot" + BII

heujiipii "ride, go by horse" < heujis "by horse" + BII

ferowupii "sail, go by boat" < ferous "by boat" + BII

• a noun denoting the medium through which movement occurs

uzeepii "swim etc, go by water" < uzes "by water" + BII

urushiipii "fly, go by air" < urushis "by sky" + BII

bideepii "go by road" < bides "by road" + BII

Manner of motion is denoted either by

• an adverb in -ki, derived from an adjective

laitekkibii "move quickly" < laitekki "quickly"

lambakibii "move slowly" < lambaki "slowly"

• a noun, with the meaning "to move as or like..."

urujibii "move drunkenly" < uruji "drunk person"

bumibii "move like a baby" < bumi "baby"

heujitobii "move like a foal" < heujito "foal"

These same methods can be employed with other roots denoting movement to describe both directed and means or manner, e.g:

wengeekang "climb, ascend by foot" < wenges + GANG

uzeewash "sink, descend through water" < uzes + WASH

laitekkitoz "rush towards, charge" < laitekki + TOZ

urujixaz "enter drunkenly" < uruji + XAZ

Kinship Terms

In Burungian society, each individual belongs to a broad group known as an yenu "tribe", largely defined by adherence to a particular chief and worship of a tutelary deity. Within that tribe they belong to a family group called an as "clan", the members of which claim matrilineal descent from a pair of common ancestors known as the atasho (male) and amasho (female). A person belonging to the same clan is called a beraako, whilst anyone beyond the clan group is an ase.

Somewhat distinct from the clan group is an individual's close family group, known as angazoi "kinsmen". While a person traces his clan group as a vertical line, descending through a series of individuals, his angazoi is more like a network extending in every direction. Anyone who shares a common great-grandfather (araato) or great-grandmother (ashoto) with a person is considered his angaba "relative, kinsman". Within this family group there are then three degrees of proximity, which restrict such things as marriage and are relevant in the inheritance of property: the hayabing line, the yipuaute line and the wengaute line.

Hayabing

The hayabing line (literally "ancestors-descendents"), also called the buruaute or "head line", is the primary family line including a persons direct ancestors and descendents. Marriage and sexual relationships are strictly prohibited within the hayabing.

• hayaba any direct ancestor preceding great-grandparents
• nanaba "great-grandmother"
• waraapa "great-grandfather"
• ashoba "grandmother"
• araapa "grandfather"
• ama "mother"
• ata "father"
• ayaba "daughter" (teenage or older)
• xemba "son" (teenage or older)
• omba "child" (preteen or iriji)
• yoba "grandchild"
• yobato "great-grandchild"
• bimba any direct descendant following great-grandchild.

Notes:

• Most familial terms end with the suffix -ba and are derived (sometimes irregularly) from ordinary parts of speech, e.g. xemba "son" < xini "boy, lad", waraapa "great-grandfather" < waras "old man".
• Distinctions between maternal and paternal ancestors are made with the adjectives amaking "maternal" and ataking "paternal", e.g. amaking nanaba "maternal great-grandmother".
• Disctinctions of gender may be made with hayaba, yoba, yobato and bimba with the adjectives acchi, buyachi and iriji, e.g. acchi yoba "grandson".

Yipuaute

The yipuaute (literally "hand line") is the secondary line and includes a person's siblings and their children, their spouse and their spouse's parents and children, and their parent's siblings or spouses. Half-siblings are not distinguished from full siblings as they still contain one parent's blood. Step-parents are considered identical in relation to parents-in-law and step-children to children-in-law. Marriage within this line is prohibited (except in the case of spouses), but sexual relationships are not.

• xeba "aunt, foster-mother"
• hoyaba "uncle, foster-father"
• waba "mother-in-law, step-mother, mother of half-sibling"
• aneriba "father-in-law, step-father, father of half-sibling"
• az, abba "husband"
• buya, buyaba "wife"
• neba "older sibling"
• azeba "younger sibling"
• ezang "daughter-in-law, step-daughter"
• angane "older cousin, foster-sibling, or other relative of same generation"
• angeepa "younger cousin, foster-sibling, or other relative of same generation"

			nanaba great-grandmother waraapa great-grandfather
		ashoba grandmother araapa grandfather	older relative
	ama mother ata father	xeba aunt hoyoba uncle
EGO	neba older sibling azeba younger sibling	angane older cousin angeepa younger cousin
ayaba daughter xemba son omba child	niece, nephew
yoba grandchild
yobato great-grandchild

Personal Names

Burunking personal names consist of a family name (aaxeng) and a given name (xeng). Family names are derived from an individual's clan and remain the same throughout a person's life. Given names consist of two types: a) a childhood name conferred by parents at birth or early childhood (ayaxeng), and b) an adult name conferred at puberty by community elders (xensho).

Family Names

Family names are generally derived from the name of the amasho (female ancestor) of a clan, usually with one of the suffixes -eng, -iri, -ko, -zoi and, rarely, -daz. For example, a descendant of Endazibya might be called Endazibyeng or Endazibiri. More often, a hypocoristic form of the name is used, e.g. Endashiri or Daziko.

Some clans - mainly those of higher status - take their name from a specific historical event or a chosen characteristic, e.g. Laitezuenzoi "swift-footed ones", Buzugozzoi "solid in battle".

Family names are not changed on marriage. Children will usually adopt the name of their mother.

Childhood Names

Childhood names are usually affectionate, descriptive names indicating some physical characteristic or quality. For example, a child born with dark hair or complexion might be called Beuto "little dark one", a fair child might be called Oijing "like the sun", a happy child might be called Izizoi "fond of smiling". To western ears some of these names might seem rude or uncouth, denoting apparently negative or embarrassing features according to our own standards, e.g. Ishuno "little blind one", Beretteng "big ears", Xabeuno "little pot belly". There are few taboos concerning such names, except where they are deemed to confer bad luck or are considered to diminish the status of the family. A handful of words are not considered appropriate, e.g. dedez "beautiful, handsome" is used only of adults.

Since prepubescent children are considered to be iriji, names do not differ between physically male and female children, except in cases where they refer to specifically male or female properties, e.g. Hekyuto "little penis" or Heenjing "bull-like".

Childhood names essentially work like nicknames in the sense that they are designed to be specific to an individual and affectionate. As such, they often continue to be used even when the child no longer resembles the description. In some cases, however, names are changed naturally to more appropriate descriptions. For example, a small chubby baby named Lujito "little chubby one" might grow tall and slim and be renamed Xigojjing "rod-like".

Once a child has reached adulthood and undergone the relevant rites, it is considered rude to refer to a person by their childhood name, except for close family members and close friends. In some cases an individual will forego their childhood name entirely.

Adult Names

Adult names are conferred as part of the series of rites that initiate a child into adulthood. They are usually composed of two elements, which are symbolic of an individual's qualities and expected role in society. The two elements are always combined into a single word, but they may or may not make sense as a unit. For example, the name Endazibya above is derived from endaz "strength, power" and ibya "river", and may be interpreted as a whole meaning "power of a river".

There is effectively no restriction to the elements that may be used to create a given name, but there are general themes to words used and certain common elements. The elements may be nouns or adjectives and in most cases there is no restriction on the order in which they appear.

• Topographical features: binji "mountain", ibya "river", eshayo "sea", laze "meadow"
• Celestial: xaz "star", urushi "sky", yori "rain", oi "sun", oje "cloud", ye "moon", yai "wind", ibung "day", ba "night", nibu "winter", oda "summer"
• People: andosh "lord", andez "lady"
• Animals: heuji "horse", osho "wolf", heeng "bull", azang "eagle", erei "bee", uruho "dove", iji "ox", esang "stallion"
• Other: fu "fire", xing "oath, promise"
• Adjectives: dedez "beautiful, handsome", enji "great, large", furi "white, pure", funuz "wise", eregi "bright", laxa "calm, peaceful, gentle", xakong "deep", ong "good", goz "hard", beng "solemn", heni "careful, vigilant"

In some communities it is common for all children to the same parents or the same mother to have one element of their name in common. For example, a group of siblings may be called Azangenji, Odaazang, Nibuazang, Azamfunuz and Azambeng.

There are no clear distinctions made between masculine, feminine or iriji names. Semantically, certain elements are more common for certain genders:

• acchi names are more commonly associated with battle, physical strength and bravery. Male animals like heeng and esang are almost exclusively used for males, as are other masculine forms like andosh "lord".
• buyachi names are often

Hypocoristics

Hypocoristics or nicknames are common in Is Burunking. There are no clear rules for their formation, but they are generally shortened versions of childhood or adult names. They also rarely include long vowels or diphthongs.

The shortened form may be purely a section of a longer name, commonly taken from the middle of the name so that it overlaps separate elements, though frequently the choice is merely a matter of preference. E.g. Izizoi → Zizo, Zizoi, Izi, Endazibya → Dazi, Endaz. Frequently, such names will undergo anomalous changes, such as voicing of plosives or altering sounds, e.g. Hekyuto → Gyudo, Azambeng → Zambu, Zama, Jambe, Shambe.

Reduplication of a syllable is especially common in childhood names, in female names and in pet names but is often considered demeaning in the wrong context. Any part of the name may be reduplicated and the syllable may be repeated exactly or undergo ablaut. E.g. Beuto → Bebe, Bebo; Oijing → Jiji, Jiju, Lujito → Lulu, Lula. Names or syllables beginning with a vowel will often reduplicate the consonant at the beginning of the word, e.g. Oijing → Joji, Odaazang → Doda.