Buluk
| Buluk | |
|---|---|
| Tenga Buluk | |
| Created by | Anthony Ancell (GayOpossum) |
| Setting | Ekapa Feñol tribe |
| Native speakers | ~400 (2020) |
Austroasiatic
| |
Buluk (natively Tenga Buluk) is a Mon-Khmer language spoken by approximately 400 members of the Ekapa Feñol tribe in the Annamite Range. It represents the sole member of the Buluic branch within the Austroasiatic language family.
History and Culture
The Ekapa Feñol tribe descended from a late Iron Age tribe in modern-day Cambodia. Following a rebellion for freedom, the tribe became isolated in the Annamite Range. While Buluk maintains loose connections with other Mon-Khmer languages through historical and geographic proximity, its prolonged isolation has resulted in unique linguistic developments, establishing it as a distinct branch within the family.
Phonology
Consonants
| Bilabial | Labiodental | Alveolar | Postalveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | ||||
| Plosive | p b | t d | k g | |||||
| Fricative | f v | s | ʃ ʒ | h | ||||
| Lateral | l | |||||||
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |
| Mid | e | o | |
| Open | a |
Phonotactics
Buluk employs a relatively simple syllable structure:
- CV (most common)
- VC (word-initial only)
Grammar
Word Order
Buluk exhibits two distinct word orders depending on register:
- Informal/Colloquial: w: SVO (Subject-Verb-Object)
- Ve dol diko — "I eat food"
- Formal: w: OSV (Object-Subject-Verb)
- Diko ve dol — "Food I eat" (I eat food)
Key Typological Features
- No grammatical gender
- No grammatical cases
- No articles
- Particle-based marking for tense, plurality, and questions
Pronouns
| English | Buluk |
|---|---|
| I/me/my | ve |
| you (sg.) | du |
| we/us | ka |
| he/him/his | to |
| she/her | te |
| they/them/their | ta |
| it/its | ti |
Nouns
Plurality
Plurality is marked by the particle shi placed before the noun:
- feñol — "person"
- shi feñol — "people"
Possession
Possession follows the pattern: Possessor + eket + Possessed
The particle eket literally means "owns" but functions as a possessive marker:
- feñol eket diko — "the person's food"
- ve eket kaba — "my water"
Verbs
Tense Marking
Tense particles can mark both verbs and nouns:
Past tense — pa (post-positioned):
- dol pa — "ate"
- feñol pa — "was a person"
Future tense — ki (pre-positioned):
- ki dol — "will eat"
- ki feñol — "will be a person"
Aspect
Habitual — hab (sentence-initial):
- Hab ve dol diko — "I habitually eat food"
- Hab to hap — "He habitually runs"
Negation
Negation is marked by ne placed after the negated element:
- To hap ne — "He is not running"
- Ve feñol ne — "I am not a person"
- Diko fath ne — "The food is not good"
Adjectives
Position
Adjectives precede nouns in attributive position:
- fath diko — "good food"
- gal ket — "bad animal"
Predicative Use
Adjectives can function as main predicates without a copula:
- Fath to — "He is good"
- Nim ve — "I am sad"
Adverbial Use
Buluk lacks dedicated adverbs. Adjectives placed after verbs serve an adverbial function:
- Ta vang fath — "They talk well/fluently"
- To hap gal — "He runs badly"
Questions
Yes/No Questions
Formed by adding ku at the beginning with rising intonation:
- Ku John ki dol? — "Will John eat?"
Responses:
- zha — "yes"
- no — "no"
Wh-Questions
Question words are placed directly before the element they modify:
| English | Buluk |
|---|---|
| where | hish |
| when | vit |
| who | bel |
| why | mong |
| how | hak |
Examples:
- Bel dol diko? — "Who eats food?"
- Vit du ki hap? — "When will you run?"
- Hish feñol? — "Where is the person?"
Lexicon
Core Vocabulary
Nouns
- ket — animal
- feñol — person
- kaba — water
- lipi — sun
- hod — thing
- diko — food
Verbs
- dol — to eat
- leke — to drink
- hap — to run
- vang — to talk
Adjectives
- fath — good
- gal — bad
- nim — sad
- mon — happy
Particles & Function Words
- shi — plural marker
- eket — possessive marker
- pa — past tense
- ki — future tense
- hab — habitual aspect
- ne — negation
- ku — yes/no question marker
- zha — yes
- no — no
Prepositions
- pod — in/inside
- lepi — over/above
- ipel — below/under
- shing — at
- gan — near/by
- tekap — on
- mela — through/across
- gena — from
- hik — to/towards
- demat — before
- uko — after
- kofog — during/while
- gumol — with
- bep — about
Conjunctions
- me — and
- a — or
- ko — but
- zhita — because/since
- bu — if/unless
Example Sentences
Simple Statements
Ve
I
dol
eat
diko.
food
"I eat food."
To
he
hap.
run
"He runs."
With Tense
Ve
I
dol
eat
pa
PAST
diko.
food
"I ate food."
Ki
FUT
to
he
hap.
run
"He will run."
With Negation
To
he
hap
run
ne.
NEG
"He is not running."
Ta
they
vang
talk
ne
NEG
fath.
good
"They don't talk well."
Possession
Feñol
person
eket
POSS
diko.
food
"The person's food."
Ve
I
eket
POSS
kaba.
water
"My water."
Questions
Ku
Q
John
John
ki
FUT
dol?
eat
"Will John eat?"
Bel
who
dol
eat
diko?
food
"Who eats food?"
Mong
why
to
he
hap
run
ne?
NEG
"Why is he not running?"
Formal Word Order (OSV)
Diko
food
ve
I
dol.
eat
"I eat food." (formal)
Kaba
water
feñol
person
ki
FUT
leke.
drink
"The person will drink water." (formal)
Disclaimer
This article is out of date. For the most up to date updates on Buluk, go this google doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kiavv1D9LQqWqKCPu_Ipln8sU2rQb0YJgC4RSaQTQu0/edit?usp=sharing