みんぶる

Yonaguni

Etymology

First attested in Miyanaga (1930)'s 八重山語彙 as ミンブル (1930 IPA: [m’imburu]).

A surface analysis suggests a compound of みー (mī, “eye”) + んぶる (nburu, "*head", now only meaning "calabash"), from Proto-Ryukyuan *tuburu (“head”).

Pronunciation

• (Sonai) IPA^(key): [mìmbùɾù] (tone class B)

Noun

みんぶる (minburu) 

1. (anatomy) head

   あがみてぃぬ　みんぶる　なでぃりゃ　しゃなきー　どぅぐとぅなるん

   agamitinu minburu nadirya shanakī dugutunarun

   If we pat the children's head, we'll certainly do it quietly.

   かぬとぅやみんぶる　すさん

   kanutuyaminburu susan

   That person is smart.

   (literally, “That person's head is good.”)

   ひらんき　みんぶる　とぅんかし　あぶたに　あたか゚つぁ　みぬ　むぬんでぃ　むたかり

   hiranki minburu tunkashi abutani ata'ngatsa minu munundi mutakari

   I hit my head on a pillar, and my mother scolded me for being clumsy (lit. a bad point).

   みたぬ　みんぶる

   mitanu minburu

   (a situation where) one does not remember what it said many times

   (literally, “mind of a chicken”)

   みんぶる　だみ　ならぬん

   minburu dami naranun

   My head hurts; I can't control it.

   みんぶるに　あしぶ　んでぃどぅぶる

   minburuni ashibu ndiduburu

   On my head, a pimple is appearing.

References

• Miyanaga, Masamori (宮良当壮) (1930) 八重山語彙 [Vocabulary List of the Yaeyama languages], Tokyo (東京都): Tōyō Bunko (東洋文庫), →DOI, page 266
• Yonaguni Hōgen Jiten Henshū I'inkai (与那国方言辞典編集委員会) (2021) どぅなんむぬい辞典 [Dunanmunui Dictionary], Yonaguni (与那国町): Yonaguni-chō Kyōiku I'inkai (与那国町教育委員会), page 309