Bonan language
The Bonan language (pronounced , Baonang; Chinese: 保安语, Bǎo'ānyǔ; Amdo Tibetan: Dorké) is the Mongolic language of the Bonan people of China. As of 1985, it was spoken by about 8,000 people, including about 75% of the total Bonan ethnic population and many ethnic Monguor, in Gansu and Qinghai Provinces. There are several dialects, which are influenced to varying degrees — but always heavily — by Chinese and Tibetan, while bilingualism in Wutun is less common. The most commonly studied is the Tongren dialect. There is no writing system in use. The language is also referred to as "Manegacha", natively. Phonology Bonan phonology has been heavily influenced by Tibetan. Consonants possess a voicedness contrast. Initial consonant clusters of mostly falling sonority are present in native words, as are heavy diphthongs, though the content of both is heavily restricted. The possible word-initial consonant clusters in Bonan are . Ñantoq Baoan has six vowels /a, e, ə, i, ɵ, u/, with long counterparts for all except /ə/. Morphology Bonan, like other Mongolic languages, is agglutinative. There are five case markings for Bonan nouns: Nominative, Accusative-Genitive, Dative-Locative, Ablative-Comparative, and Instrumentative. Verbal morphology is quite complex. Evidentiality is marked in the indicative mood as