Bouyei word formation

The Bouyei language is divided into three vernaculars, the southern vernacular, the central vernacular and the southwestern vernacular. This paper aims to describe the lexicology of the southern vernacular of the Bouyei language focusing on word formation process. Bouyei words are formed by affixing, compounding and reduplicating. First, the affixation consists of prefixing and suffixing. Infixing is not found in this language. Second, the compound is divided into the semantic and syntactic compound. Finally, the reduplication is divided into the simple and complex reduplication. The simple reduplication is normally used to emphasize the meaning of the root or to indicate plurality.