文字characters
布朗族历史上没有创制自己的文字，这一现象在民间有多种解释。一种传说是：当初天神桑木氐教各民族识字，汉族骑马、傣族骑象按时赶到学会了文字，而布朗族步行未能及时赶到，因此没有学到文字。另一种”捞智慧”的传说则解释为：布朗族心急第一个捞智慧，只得到表面的智慧，而傣族、汉族最后捞，得到了更深层的智慧。
The Bulang people did not historically create their own written language, and among the folk there are various explanations for this phenomenon. One legend tells that when the heavenly deity Sangmudi (神桑木氐) taught different peoples to read and write, the Han arrived on horseback and the Dai on elephants, thus learning the language on time. On the other hand, the Bulang, who traveled on foot, failed to arrive in time and therefore did not learn any language. Another tale, known as the “scooping wisdom” legend, explains that the Bulang, being impatient, were the first to scoop up wisdom but only obtained its surface layer, whereas the Dai and Han, who scooped last, gained a deeper, more profound wisdom.
无论这些传说的真实性如何，它们都反映了布朗族对文字的渴望和对文化传承的重视。在没有文字的情况下，布朗族发展出了刻木记事、结绳记事等原始记事方法，用于记录债务、约定等重要信息。
Regardless of their historical authenticity, these legends reflect the Bulang people’s longing for written language and the extent to which they value cultural inheritance. In the absence of written language, the Bulang developed primitive methods to keep their records, such as carving notches on wood and tying knots on ropes, which were used to record debts, agreements, and other important information.
随着南传上座部佛教的传入，布朗族开始借用傣文作为书写系统。在西双版纳地区，布朗族使用”多塔”（西双版纳傣文）记录佛经和民间事务；在临沧地区，则使用”多列”（德宏傣文）进行书写。傣文的使用主要在以下几个领域：
- 宗教领域：用于抄写佛经、记录宗教仪式。
- 历史记载：记录村寨大事、家族谱系，如图1。
- 文学创作：创作诗歌、故事等文学作品。
- 日常通信：用于书信往来、契约文书等。
With the introduction of Theravada Buddhism, the Bulang people began to adopt the Dai language as their writing system. In the Xishuangbanna region, the Bulang used Dota (Xishuangbanna Dai language) to record Buddhist scriptures and community affairs, while in the Lincang region they used Dolie (Dehong Dai language) for writing. The use of the Dai language was mainly found in the following areas:
- Religious domain: copying Buddhist scriptures and recording religious rituals.
- Historical records: documenting major village events and family genealogies (see Fig. 1).
- Literary creation: composing poetry, stories, and other literary works.
- Daily communication: writing letters, contracts, and other documents.
从表面上看布朗族中被称为“康朗”的知识分子熟悉傣文，但实际情况是：“康朗”是布朗族男子入寺庙出家修行升任“大佛爷”后并且还俗后的姓氏，并且这个姓氏为后代所继承（其它布朗族男子均姓“岩”或“艾”、“哎”，同一发音，不同汉语写法），所以通常情况下布朗族中以“康朗”为姓的男子多认识傣文。
On the surface, it appears that the intellectuals among the Bulang, known as Kanglang, were familiar with the Dai language. In reality, however, Kanglang is a surname adopted by Bulang men who, after entering the monastery, being ordained, and rising to the rank of “Great Abbot,” later returned to secular life. This surname was then passed down to their descendants. (Other Bulang men generally bore the surnames “Yán” or “ái” or “ai”—different Chinese characters used to represent the same pronunciation.) As a result, in most cases, Bulang men with the surname Kanglang were more likely to be literate in Dai language.
Those who mastered the Dai language played an important role in the transmission of Bulang culture. It is worth noting that when the Bulang used the Dai script, they often adapted it according to the phonological features of the Bulang language, thus forming a distinctive tradition of language usage. As shown in Fig. 2, the respected Kanglang Kanlong inherited the family surname passed down from an ancestor who had returned to secular life after serving as a “Great Abbot.” He himself also entered the monastery and rose to the rank of “Lesser Abbot.” Today, he is recognized as the most authoritative Azhang (the ritual leader responsible for major sacrificial ceremonies) among the three Bulang villages of Zhanglang.
随着与汉族交往的加深，汉文也逐渐被布朗族所接受和使用。特别是在靠近内地的保山、施甸等地，布朗族使用汉文的历史可以追溯到元明时期。近代以来，汉文在布朗族地区的普及程度不断提高：
With the deepening of interactions with the Han people, Chinese characters were gradually adopted and used by the Bulang. In areas closer to the inland, such as Baoshan and Shidian, the use of Chinese by the Bulang can be traced back to the Yuan and Ming dynasties. Since modern times, the spread of Chinese in Bulang regions has steadily increased, particularly in the following areas:
- 学校教育：20世纪50年代后，布朗族地区普遍建立了学校，采用汉文教学。
- 行政文书：政府公文、法律法规等都使用汉文。
- 现代传媒：电视、广播、手机等现代媒体主要使用汉语汉文。
- School education: After the 1950s, schools were widely established in Bulang areas, and teaching was conducted in Chinese.
- Administrative documents: Government paperwork, laws, and regulations were all written in Chinese.
- Modern media: Television, radio, mobile phones, and other modern forms of communication primarily use the Chinese language.
目前，汉文已成为绝大多数布朗族共同使用的文字，在政治、经济、教育等领域发挥着不可替代的作用。
At present, Chinese has become the common language used by the vast majority of the Bulang people, playing an irreplaceable role in politics, economy, education, and other fields.
语言language
布朗语属于南亚语系孟高棉语族布朗语支，与同语族的佤语、德昂语、克木语等有着密切的亲缘关系。根据语言学家的研究，布朗语与佤语的同源词比例达到43%-47%，在语法结构方面也呈现出高度的一致性。这种语言亲属关系反映了布朗族与佤族、德昂族等在历史上的族源联系。
The Bulang language belongs to the Austroasiatic family, the Mon–Khmer branch, Bulang subgroup, and is closely related to other languages of the same branch, such as Wa, De’ang, and Khmu. According to linguistic research, Bulang and Wa language share 43%–47% of cognates, and their grammatical structures also exhibit a high degree of similarity. This linguistic kinship reflects the historical connections in ethnic origins between the Bulang, Wa, De’ang, and related groups.
南亚语系是一个分布广泛、语种繁多的语系，主要分布在东南亚和中国西南地区。在中国境内，属于南亚语系的民族除布朗族外，还包括佤族、德昂族等。布朗语作为这一语系的重要代表，保留了南亚语系的诸多典型特征，如丰富的辅音系统、复杂的韵母结构以及特殊的修饰语序等。
The Austroasiatic language family is widely distributed and includes a large number of languages, mainly spoken in Southeast Asia and Southwest China. Within China, the Austroasiatic-speaking peoples include not only the Bulang but also the Wa, De’ang, and others. As an important representative of this family, the Bulang language preserves many of the typical features of Austroasiatic languages, such as a rich consonant system, complex rhyme structures, and distinctive modifier–noun word order.
值得注意的是，布朗族在不同地区有着不同的自称和他称。西双版纳地区的布朗族自称”布朗”，临沧地区的自称”阿尔佤”或”阿瓦”，保山地区的自称”乌”或”本人”。这种多元的族称现象反映了布朗族在漫长历史中的迁徙与分化过程。
It is worth noting that the Bulang people use different autonyms and exonyms in different regions. In Xishuangbanna, they call themselves Bulang; in Lincang, they use A’ewa or Awa; and in Baoshan, they use Wu or Benren (“ourselves”). This diversity of ethnonyms reflects the processes of migration and differentiation experienced by the Bulang throughout their long history.
由格桑顿珠主编的《云南民族文化大观丛书 – 布朗族文化大观》中对布朗语有极为详细的叙述：
“The Grand View of Yunnan Ethnic Culture Series – Grand View of Bulang Ethnic Culture” edited by Gesang Dunzhu provides an extremely detailed account of the Bulang language:
“布朗语属南亚语系孟高棉语族布朗语支。与布朗语同属一个语族的在国内还有偏语、德昂语、克木话、葬话、户话等。由于同一族源的原因，布朗语与但语、德昂语之间存在有亲缘关系，不仅其语法结构与偏语、德昂语基本相同，而且在一些词汇方面有部分相同或彼此有着对应规律。”
“The Bulang language belongs to the Bulang branch of the Mon-Khmer language family within the Austroasiatic language group. Other languages in China that belong to the same language family include Wa, De’ang, Kemu, Zang, and Hu. Due to their shared linguistic origins, the Bulang language has a kinship relationship with the Wa and De’ang languages. Not only does its grammatical structure largely align with that of Wa and De’ang, but some vocabulary is also partially identical or follows corresponding patterns.”
国内语言学工作者曾选用勘海县巴达、西定两乡的309个布朗语词汇与西盟县马散但语进行分析比较，结果有134个词汇属同源词，占比较数的43.4%,同源词中，完全相同的有21个，有对应规律的101个，主要相同但附加成分不同的有34个。后又选用劫海西定乡的343个布朗语语汇与沧源但语进行比较分析，结果有164个词汇属同源词，占比较数的47.8%,同源词中，有34个完全相同，118个有对应规律，12个主要成分相同但附加成分不同。
Chinese linguists once conducted a comparative analysis of 309 Bulang vocabulary items from Bada and Xiding townships in Menghai County with the Wa language of Masan in Ximeng County. The results showed that 134 words were cognates, accounting for 43.4% of the total. Among these cognates, 21 were identical, 101 followed corresponding phonetic patterns, and 34 had the same root but differed in affixes. Later, another comparison was made between 343 Bulang vocabulary items from Xiding Township in Menghai and the Wa language of Cangyuan, revealing 164 cognates, or 47.8% of the total. Among these, 34 were identical, 118 followed phonetic patterns, and 12 shared the same root but differed in affixes.
和其他同语族的语言一样，布朗语在语言方面是比较复杂的，一般说来，韵母比声母更为复杂，而布朗语有十个辅音韵尾，其中较为普遍的是：
Like other languages in the same family, the Bulang language is phonetically complex. Generally speaking, its vowels are more intricate than its consonants, and Bulang has ten consonant endings, the most common of which are:
而各地不完全一致，或有相应变化的是：
However, what is not completely consistent in different regions or has corresponding changes is:
布朗语各方言都有声调。词汇方面，单音节词较多，多音节词可分为词根与词缀两部分,词缀有构词与语法的功能。语法方面，修饰关系一般是修饰词在
被修饰词之后，少数修饰词可以出现在被修饰词之前，或者两者同时使用，加深语气。语序一般为主语——谓语——宾语。”
The Bulang language exhibits tonal variations across its dialects. In terms of vocabulary, monosyllabic words dominate, while polysyllabic words can be divided into roots and affixes, with affixes serving both derivational and grammatical functions. Grammatically, the typical modifier-head order places modifiers after the modified nouns, though a minority of modifiers may precede the head or co-occur in both positions for emphatic purposes. The basic word order follows a subject-verb-object (SVO) pattern.
布朗语的语音、词汇、语法、方言正在更新中…….
The phonetics, vocabulary, grammar, and dialects of the Bulang language are currently being updated…