Bu–Nao languages
The Bu–Nao or Bunu languages are a Hmongic language branch spoken in Guangxi, Yunnan, and Guizhou in China. Its speakers are officially classified as ethnic Yao but speak Hmongic languages. The branch consists of three languages, which are Bunu, Baonao, and Numao. The term Bu–Nao is a portmanteau of Bunu and Nao Klao.
Classification
Speakers of Bu–Nao languages are officially classified as Yao people by the Chinese government, although they speak Hmongic languages rather than Mienic languages. Strecker had classified Bunu proper as a Western Hmongic language, and the other "Bunu" languages—Younuo, Wunai, and Jiongnai —as distinct branches of Hmongic. Matisoff grouped all of these together in a Bunu branch of Hmongic. Ratliff classified Bunu within Western Hmongic and moved Jiongnai to its own peripheral branch of Hmongic. Wang & Deng classify the Bu–Nao languages as a cousin branch of Western Hmongic, and Jiongnai and Younuo as independent branches.Language varieties
Bu–Nao language varieties are spoken by a total of 390,000 speakers. They can be divided into three major clusters, namely Bunu, Baonao, and Numao.Intelligibility among these varieties is difficult, and they may also be considered separate languages. Strecker suggested they may not form a group at all, but separate languages within West Hmongic.