This is a comparative study and classification of the five main dialects in Bunun, based on field data (some 1,100 lexical items) collected in eleven villages. Sixteen consonants and three vowels are reconstructed for Proto-Bunun, and Bunun developments from Proto-Austronesian to modern dialects via Proto-Bunun are traced. Both phonological and lexical evidence is presented to prove that the southern dialect, Ishbukun, split the earliest from Proto-Bunun. Ishbukun is the most innovative of the five dialects, whereas the two northern dialects are the most conservative. A list of dialects, villages and informants is given in the appendix.
Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.