Boueki language (Vegetarian World)
From Alternative History
The Boueki language (貿易語, Boueki-go), also known as "Boh'eki" or "Boeki" is a synthetic Chinese language (or dialect) that was created by Chinese and Japanese traders to facilitate doing business. Boueki is written in almost the same way as Chinese, but its characters are pronounced in the Sino-Japanese (Kango) fashion, and do not usually have specific tones.
Boueki is different than a pidgin because it does not corrupt words into new forms, but instead retains the exact same words and sentence structure of the Chinese written language, while merely pronouncing them in a Japanese way. This is also not merely Japanese-accented Chinese, as "kango" pronunciations been part of Japanese for hundreds of years and most words sound significantly different than their Chinese origins.
Boueki is almost completely comprehensible in written form to Chinese, but there are some Japanese words and phrases and alternative meanings for some Chinese characters that are not present in the original Chinese. Boueki, like Chinese, can be written using traditional or simplified characters, but in Japan, the Japanese versions are often used. Recently, simplified Chinese writing has been gaining a foothold.
[edit] Geographic Distribution
Boueki enjoyed its height of popularity in the late 19th century and early 20th century. These days, Boueki is not used very much for international trade. Instead, people choose to learn the other language outright, and there are translators available to those who aren't multilingual. Below is a list of places where Boueki is spoken natively by a substantial group of people.
China - Hoinaam (Hainan) Island and some coastal areas from Jonggwo to Gwong
Japan - Nagasaki Prefecture and Yokohama City
Korea - Tamna (Jeju) Island
Luchu - Uchina City
Taiwan - Taibei City and west coast areas
[edit] Example Words and Sentences
| Written Boueki | Spoken Boueki | Spoken Mandarin | Spoken Japanese | English Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 横浜 | Kouhin | Héngbīn | Yokohama | Yokohama |
| 北京 | Hokkyou/Hokkei | Běijīng | Pekin | Beijing |
| 上海 | Joukai | Shànghǎi | Shanhai | Shanghai |
| 家族 | kazoku/kasou | jiāzú | kazoku | family |
| 知道 | chidou | zhīdao | shiru/wakaru | know |
| 飞机/飛機 | hiki | fēijī | hikouki | airplane |
| 忙 | bou/mou | máng | isogashii | busy |
| 工作 | kousaku | gōngzuò | hataraku | work |
| 朋友 | houyuu | péngyou | tomodachi | friend |
| 晚饭/晚飯 | banhan | wǎnfàn | yuushoku | dinner |
Boueki-Mandarin Comparison 1
- 你会说貿易語吗？ (Written Boueki)
- Ni kai setsu Bouekigo ma? (Spoken Boueki)
- Nǐ huì shuō Màoyìyǔ ma? (Spoken Mandarin)
- Can you speak (the) Boueki (language)? (English Meaning)
Boueki-Mandarin Comparison 2
- 你多大了？(Written Boueki)
- Ni tadai ryou? (Spoken Boueki)
- Nǐ duōdà le? (Spoken Mandarin)
- How old are you? (English Meaning)
Boueki-Mandarin Comparison 3
- 山口先生是我的好朋友。(Written Boueki)
- Sankou sensei shi/ze gateki kou houyuu. (Spoken Boueki)
- Shānkǒu xiānsheng shì wǒde hǎo péngyou. (Spoken Mandarin)
- Mr. Yamaguchi is my good friend. (English Meaning)
