Bonda language

Bonda
Remo
ବଣ୍ଡା
Region	India
Ethnicity	Bonda
Native speakers	9,000 (2002)
Language family	Austroasiatic Munda South Gutob-Remo Bonda
Writing system	Odia
Language codes
ISO 639-3	bfw
Glottolog	bond1245

The Bonda language, also known as Bondo or Remo, is a south Munda language of the Austroasiatic language family spoken in Odisha, formerly known as Southern Odisha, in India. It had 2,568 speakers, all in Odisha, according to the 1951 Census of India, increasing to approximately 9,000 speakers in 2002 according to SIL.

Classification

The Bonda language is an indigenous language belonging to the Southern subgroup of the Munda branch of the Austroasiatic language family. Bonda is a spoken language with no traditional written system recorded. Bonda is a part of the Gutob-Remo branch, due to the similarities Bonda shares with another Southern Munda Language named Gutob

History

The Bonda language derives its name from the tribe of the Bonda people, an indigenous group located in Odisha known as the Bonda Highlanders. In their native language, the Bonda people regard themselves as "Remo', which translates to human, and derive their language name from that root, calling their language as the human language or 'Remosam' in their native tongue

Geographic distribution

The language differs slightly, classified according to whether it can be categorized as Plains Remo (Bonda) or Hill Remo (Bonda).

Plains Remo

This is a subdivision of Bonda, localized in 35 villages throughout the Khairpat within the Malkangiri district in Odisha. In 1941, 2,565 people categorized the Plains Remo. That number nearly doubled in 1971, with 4,764 people classifying themselves as Plains Remo. The increase in population was not correlated with language extension. There are 3,500 speakers as of 2002, but few are monolingual.

Hills Remo

This is a subdivision of Bonda, localized in the Jeypore Hills region of Odisha. There are 5,570 speakers as of 2002.

Phonology

Stress

In Bonda, primary stress is placed on the last syllable in a word, syllables with diphthongs, glottal stops, or checked consonants. However, Plains Remo primarily stresses the second syllable in a word. Bonda words can have a maximum of 5 syllables.

Diphthongs

Diphthongs are placed either in the beginning or middle of a word, usually used in combination of two different vowel types.

Bonda	Translation
lean	tongue
bois	age
guidag	to wash
otoi	not to be
dau	small

Consonants

There are 33 consonants in the Bonda language.

Consonants

		Bilabial		Alveolar		Retroflex		Palatal		Velar		Glottal
		plain	aspirated	plain	aspirated	plain	aspirated	plain	aspirated	plain	aspirated
Stop	voiceless	p	pʰ	t	tʰ	ʈ	ʈʰ	c	cʰ	k	kʰ	ʔ
	voiced	b	bʱ	d	dʱ	ɖ	ɖʱ	ɟ	ɟʱ	g	gʱ
Fricative	voiceless			s								h
	voiced			(z)
Nasal		m		n		ɳ		ɲ		ŋ
Approximant				l		ɭ		j		w
Trill				r

/z/ only occurs in loanwords from Odia.

Vowels

Bonda has 5 vowel phonemes: /a, e, i, o, u/.

In Bonda, vowels are nasalized and clusters are commonplace.

Grammar

Syntax

Bonda follows the SOV (Subject + Object + Verb) sequence, but other word orders are possible.

Gender

Age and gender serve as classification denominations for individuals. Female names end in /-i/ and male names end in /-a/. Animals are also distinguished by gender.

Compound verb

The compound verb is not frequently used in Bonda and can be used as a conjunctive participle.

Vocabulary

Kinship terminology

In Kinship terms, the velar nasal, ŋ, is often used. Various kinship terms also represent multiple positions.

Bonda	English Gloss
baʔ	Father
iyɔŋ	Mother
remɔ	Man
mpɔr	Husband
kunui	Wife
bɔrai	Aunt
busã	Uncle
tata	Grandfather
ya/iya	Father's Mother/Mother's Mother
maŋ	Eldest brother
miŋ	Elder sister
ileʔǐ	Grandchild
masɔ	Nephew

External links

• Patricia Donegan & David Stampe’s Online Remo Dictionary
• Remo to English Talking Dictionary