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T H E

MONGOLIC

L A N G U A G E S

ROUTLEDGE LANGUAGE FAMILY SERIES

Each volume provides a detailed, reliable account of every member language, or representative language of a particular family. Each account is a reliable source of data, arranged according to the natural system of classification: phonology, morphology, syntax, lexicon, semantics, dialectology and socio-linguistics. Each volume is designed to be the essential source of reference for a particular linguistic community, as well as for linguists working on typology and syntax.

The Austronesian Languages of Asia and Madagascar
The Manchu-Tungusic Languages

Edited by Alexander V o vin
Edited by Nikolaus Himmelmann &
Sander Adelaar

The Mongolic Languages

Edited by Juha Janhunen

The Bantu Languages

Edited by Derek Nurse &
Gérard Philippson

The Oceanic Languages

Edited by John Lynch, Malcolm Ross &
T e rry Crowley

The Celtic Languages

Edited by Martin Ball & James Fife

The Romance Languages

Edited by Martin Harris & Nigel
Vincent

The Dravidian Languages

Edited by Sanford B. Steever

The Semitic Languages
The Germanic Languages

Edited by Johan van der Anwera &
Ekkehard König
Edited by Robert Hetzron

The Sino-Tibetan Languages

Edited by Graham Thurgood & Randy
LaPolla

The Indo-Aryan Languages

Edited by George Cardona & Dhanesh
Jain

The Slavonic Languages

Edited by Bernard Comrie & Greville
B. Corbett

The Indo-European Languages

Edited by Paolo Ramat & Anna
Giacalone

The Turkic Languages

Edited by Lars Johanson & Eva Csato

The Iranian Languages

Edited by Gernot Windfuhr

The Uralic Languages

Edited by Daniel Abondolo

The Khoesan Languages

Edited by Raïner V o ssen

T H E

MONGOLIC

L A N G U A G E S

Edited by
Juha Janhunen

First published 2003 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE

Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001

This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005.

“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s

collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”

Routledge is an imprint of the T a ylor & Francis Group

© 2003 Selection and editorial material, Juha Janhunen; individual chapters, the authors

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

The publisher makes no representation, express or implied, with regard to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and cannot accept any legal responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions that may be made.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

The Mongolic languages/edited by Juha Janhunen. p. cm. — (Routledge language family series ; 5) Includes bibliographical references and indexes. 1. Mongolian languages. I. Janhunen, Juha, 1952- II. Series.

PL400 .M64 2003

  • 494'.2—dc21
  • 2002036793

ISBN 0-203-98791-8 Master e-book ISBN

ISBN 0–7007–1133–3

CONTENTS

List of tables

xii xv xvi xxiv xxvii xxix

Notes on contributors Preface and acknowledgements List of abbreviations Chart of Romanization Language map

  • 1
  • Proto-Mongolic Juha Janhunen

1
Periodization Data and sources Segmental phonemes Word structure Word formation Nominal number Nominal case Numerals Pronouns Participles Imperatives Finite indicative forms Converbs
2348
10 12 13 16 18 21 22 23 25 26 27
Syntax Lexicon

  • 2
  • Written Mongol Juha Janhunen

30
Periodization Data and sources The Mongol script Orthography Letters and sounds Diachronic position Segmental alternations Number and case Numerals Pronouns Verbal forms Syntax Lexicon
32 33 34 37 39 42 43 45 47 48 49 52 54

v

vi CONTENTS

  • 3
  • Middle Mongol V o lker Rybatzki

57
Scripts and documents Data and sources Taxonomic position Segmental phonemes Word formation Nominal number Nominal case Numerals Pronouns Verbal forms Syntax Lexicon
57 60 61 62 64 66 66 70 71 73 78 80

  • 4
  • Khamnigan Mongol Juha Janhunen

83
Data and sources Taxonomic position Segmental phonemes Word structure Number and case Numerals Pronouns Possessive suffixes Imperatives Non-finite verbal forms Finite indicative forms Predicative personal endings Syntax
84 85 86 87 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97

  • 99
  • Lexicon

  • 5
  • Buryat Elena Skribnik

102
Data and sources Dialects Segmental phonemes Word structure Number and case Numerals Pronouns Possessive suffixes Finite verbal forms Participles
103 104 105 106 108 110 110 112 113 114 116 117 118 119 121 124 125 126
Converbs Predicative personal endings Predicative particles Simple sentences Complex sentences Postpositional constructions Relative clauses Lexicon

CONTENTS vii

129

6

Dagur T o shiro Tsumagari

Data and sources Segmental phonemes Word structure Word formation Number and case Numerals Pronouns Possessive suffixes Imperatives Participles Converbs Finite indicative forms Predicative personal endings Auxiliary verbs Syntax
130 130 133 135 136 139 140 142 143 144 145 147 148 148 149

  • 151
  • Lexicon

7

Khalkha Jan-Olof Svantesson

154
Data and sources Segmental phonemes Word structure Word formation Number and case Numerals Pronouns Possessive suffixes Verbal forms Tense and aspect Phrase types Simple sentences Passive and causative Complex sentences Lexicon
154 155 158 161 162 163 164 164 165 167 169 170 171 172 174

89
Mongol dialects Juha Janhunen

177

  • Classification
  • 178

181 182 185 189 190
Data and sources Phonological trends Segmental phonemes Morphology Lexicon

Ordos Stefan Georg

193
Data and sources Segmental phonemes Word structure
194 194 196

  • 198
  • Word formation

viii CONTENTS

Number and case Numerals Pronouns Possessive suffixes Imperatives Participles Converbs Finite indicative forms Syntax
199 201 201 202 203 204 205 206 207

10 Oirat Ágnes Birtalan

210
Data and sources Segmental phonemes Word formation Number and case Numerals
211 212 215 216 218 219 220 221 223 224 225 226 226
Pronouns Possessive suffixes Finite verbal forms Participles Converbs Predicative personal endings Syntax Lexicon

11 Kalmuck Uwe Bläsing

229
Data and sources Segmental phonemes Word structure Word formation Number and case Numerals Pronouns Possessive suffixes Imperatives Participles Converbs Finite indicative forms Predicative personal endings Syntax
230 230 232 233 234 237 238 239 240 241 243 244 245 245

12 Moghol Michael W e iers

248
Data and sources Dialects Segmental phonemes Word structure Parts of speech Word formation
248 250 250 251 252 252

CONTENTS ix

Number and case Numerals Pronouns Verbal forms Predicative personal endings Syntax
254 255 256 256 260 260

  • 262
  • Lexicon

13 Shira Yughur Hans Nugteren

265
Data and sources Segmental phonemes Word structure Word formation Number and case Numerals Pronouns Possessive suffixes Imperatives Participles Converbs Finite indicative forms Auxiliary verbs Syntax
265 266 267 268 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 278 281 282

  • 283
  • Lexicon

14 Mongghul Stefan Georg

286
Data and sources Segmental phonemes Word structure Word formation Number and case Numerals
287 288 292 293 294 296 297 298 299 300 302 303 304
Pronouns Possessive suffixes Finite verbal forms Non-finite verbal forms The category of perspective Syntax Lexicon

15 Mangghuer Keith W . S later

307
Data and sources Segmental phonemes Word structure Parts of speech Word formation
308 309 310 311 311 312 313
Nominal forms Numerals and classifiers

  • x
  • CONTENTS

Pronouns Verbal forms
314 315 316 317 319 320 323
The category of perspective Simple sentences Auxiliary verbs Complex sentences Final particles

16 Bonan Wu Hugjiltu

325
Data and sources Dialects
326 326 327 330 331 332 334 335 337 340 342 343 344
Segmental phonemes Word structure Word formation Number and case Numerals Pronouns Verbal forms The category of perspective Auxiliary verbs Syntax Lexicon

17 Santa Stephen S. Kim

346
Data and sources Segmental phonemes Word structure Word formation Number and case Numerals
347 348 351 351 353 354 355 356 357 359 360 361 362
Pronouns Possessive suffixes Finite verbal forms Non-finite verbal forms Auxiliary verbs Syntax Lexicon

18 Intra-Mongolic taxonomy V o lker Rybatzki

364

  • Data and sources
  • 365

368 375 384 386
Phonological features Morphological features Lexical features Tentative classification

19 Para-Mongolic Juha Janhunen

391
Data and sources The Khitan scripts
392 394

CONTENTS xi

Segmental phonemes Numerals Other features
396 399 400

20 Turko-Mongolic relations Claus Schönig

403

  • Data and sources
  • 403

404 407 410 412 415
The historical background Mongolic and Bulghar Turkic Mongolic and Common Turkic The areal network Morphological interaction

Index

421

TABLES

1.1 Proto-Mongolic vowels 1.2 Proto-Mongolic consonants
46

  • 1.3 Proto-Mongolic case markers
  • 14

18 20 21 23 24 25 35 35 45 47 47 50 50 51 52 63 64 67 71 74 75 76 77 86 87 89 91 93 94 94 95 96
105 106 108 111
1.4 Proto-Mongolic personal pronouns 1.5 Proto-Mongolic pronominal correlations 1.6 Proto-Mongolic participle markers 1.7 Proto-Mongolic imperative markers 1.8 Proto-Mongolic finite tense-aspect markers 1.9 Proto-Mongolic converb markers 2.1 Written Mongol vowel letters 2.2 Written Mongol consonant letters 2.3 Written Mongol case markers 2.4 Written Mongol reflexive declension: analytic forms 2.5 Written Mongol reflexive declension: synthetic forms 2.6 Written Mongol imperative markers 2.7 Written Mongol participle markers 2.8 Written Mongol converb markers 2.9 Written Mongol finite tense-aspect markers 3.1 Middle Mongol vowels 3.2 Middle Mongol consonants 3.3 Middle Mongol case markers 3.4 Middle Mongol personal pronouns 3.5 Middle Mongol imperative markers 3.6 Middle Mongol finite tense-aspect markers 3.7 Middle Mongol participle markers 3.8 Middle Mongol converb markers 4.1 Khamnigan Mongol vowels 4.2 Khamnigan Mongol consonants 4.3 Khamnigan Mongol case markers 4.4 Khamnigan Mongol personal pronouns 4.5 Khamnigan Mongol possessive suffixes 4.6 Khamnigan Mongol imperative markers 4.7 Khamnigan Mongol non-finite verbal markers 4.8 Khamnigan Mongol finite tense-aspect markers 4.9 Khamnigan Mongol predicative personal endings 5.1 Buryat vowels 5.2 Buryat consonants 5.3 Buryat case markers 5.4 Buryat personal pronouns

xii

TABLES xiii

5.5 Buryat possessive suffixes 5.6 Buryat finite verbal markers 5.7 Buryat participle markers 5.8 Buryat converb markers 5.9 Buryat predicative personal endings 6.1 Dagur vowels
112 113 115 116 117 131 132 137 141 142 143 144 145 148 155 156 160 162 164 165 166 166 186 188 195 196 199 202 203 203 204 205 207 212 214 217 219 220 221 224 226 231 231 235 238 240 241 243 244
6.2 Dagur consonants 6.3 Dagur case markers 6.4 Dagur personal pronouns 6.5 Dagur possessive suffixes 6.6 Dagur imperative markers 6.7 Dagur participle markers 6.8 Dagur converb markers 6.9 Dagur predicative personal endings 7.1 Khalkha vowels 7.2 Khalkha consonants 7.3 Khalkha vowel combinations 7.4 Khalkha case markers 7.5 Khalkha personal pronouns 7.6 Khalkha possessive suffixes 7.7 Khalkha finite verbal markers 7.8 Khalkha non-finite verbal markers 8.1 Juu Uda consonants 8.2 Juu Uda vowels 9.1 Ordos vowels 9.2 Ordos consonants 9.3 Ordos case markers 9.4 Ordos personal pronouns 9.5 Ordos possessive suffixes 9.6 Ordos imperative markers 9.7 Ordos participle markers 9.8 Ordos converb markers 9.9 Ordos finite tense-aspect markers
10.1 Spoken Oirat vowels 10.2 Spoken Oirat consonants 10.3 Oirat case markers 10.4 Oirat personal pronouns 10.5 Spoken Oirat possessive suffixes 10.6 Oirat finite verbal markers 10.7 Oirat converb markers 10.8 Spoken Oirat predicative personal endings 11.1 Kalmuck vowels 11.2 Kalmuck consonants 11.3 Kalmuck case markers 11.4 Kalmuck personal pronouns 11.5 Kalmuck possessive suffixes 11.6 Kalmuck imperative markers 11.7 Kalmuck converb markers 11.8 Kalmuck finite tense-aspect markers

xiv TABLES

11.9 Kalmuck predicative personal endings 12.1 Moghol vowels 12.2 Moghol consonants
245 251 251 255 257 258 258 259 260 266 267 270 272 274 278 283 289 290 293 295 297 299 300 302 309 309 312 314 315 316 318 327 329 330 333 336 338 339 340 348 349 354 356 357 358 359 387 397 398
12.3 Moghol case markers 12.4 Moghol personal pronouns 12.5 Moghol demonstrative pronouns 12.6 Moghol non-finite verbal markers 12.7 Moghol finite tense-aspect markers 12.8 Moghol predicative personal endings 13.1 Shira Yughur vowels 13.2 Shira Yughur consonants 13.3 Shira Yughur case markers 13.4 Shira Yughur personal pronouns 13.5 Shira Yughur possessive suffixes 13.6 Shira Yughur finite tense-aspect markers 13.7 Shira Yughur negative particles 14.1 Mongghul vowels 14.2 Mongghul consonants 14.3 Mongghul initial clusters 14.4 Mongghul case markers 14.5 Mongghul personal pronouns 14.6 Mongghul finite verbal markers 14.7 Mongghul non-finite verbal markers 14.8 Mongghul perspective markers 15.1 Mangghuer vowels 15.2 Mangghuer consonants 15.3 Mangghuer case markers 15.4 Mangghuer personal pronouns 15.5 Mangghuer non-finite verbal markers 15.6 Mangghuer finite tense-aspect markers 15.7 Mangghuer copulas 16.1 Bonan vowels 16.2 Bonan consonants 16.3 Bonan initial clusters 16.4 Bonan case markers 16.5 Bonan personal pronouns 16.6 Bonan non-finite verbal markers 16.7 Bonan finite tense-aspect markers 16.8 Bonan perspective markers 17.1 Santa vowels 17.2 Santa consonants 17.3 Santa case markers 17.4 Santa personal pronouns 17.5 Santa possessive suffixes 17.6 Santa finite tense-aspect markers 17.7 Santa non-finite verbal markers 18.1 Intra-Mongolic taxonomic relationships 19.1 Pre-Proto-Mongolic consonants 19.2 Para-Mongolic consonants

CONTRIBUTORS

Ágnes Birtalan is at the Department of Inner Asian Studies, Eötvös Loránd University,
Budapest, Hungary.

Uwe Bläsing is at the Department of General Linguistics, Leiden University, The
Netherlands.

Stefan Georg is at the Department of Central Asian Studies, University of Bonn,
Germany.

Wu Hugjiltu is at the Academy of Mongol Studies, Inner Mongolia University,
Huhehaote, China.

Juha Janhunen is at the Institute for Asian and African Studies, University of Helsinki,
Finland.

Stephen S. Kim is at the SIL and the Northwestern Institute of Nationalities, Lanzhou,
China.

Hans Nugteren is at the Department of Comparative Linguistics, Leiden University,
The Netherlands.

Volker Rybatzki is at the Institute for Asian and African Studies, University of Helsinki,
Finland.

Claus Schönig is at the Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft Orient-Institut,
Istanbul, Turkey.

Elena Skribnik is at the Department of Finno-Ugric Studies, University of Munich,
Germany.

Keith W. Slater is at the SIL and the Northwestern Institute of Nationalities, Lanzhou,

China.
Jan-Olof Svantesson is at the Department of Linguistics and Phonetics, Lund
University, Sweden.

Toshiro Tsumagari is at the Faculty of Letters, Northern Culture Studies, Hokkaido

University, Sapporo, Japan.
Michael Weiers is at the Department of Central Asian Studies, University of Bonn,
Germany.

xv

PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This volume offers a survey of Mongolic, one of the major language families of Central and Northeast Asia. The Mongolic languages are spoken over a wide span of the Eurasian continent, extending from the Caspian region in the west to southern and central Manchuria in the east. In the south, the Mongolic territory extends to northern Afghanistan as well as to the Gansu-Qinghai region (Amdo) in northern Tibet, while in the north it comprises the Baikal region and part of the Amur basin. The political and historical centre of gravity of this territory is located on the Mongolian Plateau, a region dominated by steppes and mountains in the heart of Asia. An important feature adjoining the Mongolian Plateau in the south is the Gobi Desert, traditionally considered to mark the physical border between Mongolia and China. The Great Wall of China is a permanent man-made symbol of the Sino-Mongol ethnic boundary.
Historically, the Mongols are known as the creators of the largest land empire that has ever existed on earth. The Mongol empire, founded by Chinggis Khan (c.1160–1227), disintegrated almost as rapidly as it had been formed, but during its brief existence it contributed to the history of all regions and civilizations between the Mediterranean and the Yellow Sea. Once only thought to have brought misfortune and destruction to the conquered populations, the historical Mongols have subsequently come to be recognized as unsurpassed strategists, superb organizers, and effective administrators. Their greatest political achievement was perhaps the Yuan dynasty of China (1279–1368), during which Greater China reached its largest territorial extension ever. Of a similar significance was the Ilkhanid dynasty of Persia (1256–1335). It is true, though, that the Mongol rule in the western end of Asia, including Russia, was largely effectuated by the local Turkic populations mobilized by the Mongols.
Originally, Mongol was the name of a limited social unit, or a tribe, but since this happened to be the unit from which Chinggis Khan descended, the term was ultimately extended to comprise the entire population which spoke, or came to speak, the same language. With the historical diversification of this language, the entire family of related languages and dialects collectively termed Mongolic arose. Some populations today still keep the common ethnonym, or its variants, and continue to be referred to by names such as Mongol (Mongolian), Mongghul, Mangguer, or Moghol. Most of the Mongolic populations, however, bear different ethnonyms, mainly based on other ancient ethnic or tribal names. Irrespective of their ethnonyms, all speakers of the Modern Mongolic languages may be regarded as more or less direct descendants of the historical Mongols. It has to be emphasized, however, that it is a question of linguistic descent only, while biologically and culturally the modern Mongols have absorbed a multitude of other influences.
The mutual relationship of the Mongolic languages is relatively close and, hence, fairly transparent even for the non-specialist. This circumstance leads to a number of problems in the definition of what is a language in the Mongolic context. Basically, we may work with the criterion of mutual intelligibility and define any two mutually

xvi

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  • Permutation Test Applied to Lexical Reconstructions Partially Supports the Altaic Linguistic Macrofamily

    Permutation Test Applied to Lexical Reconstructions Partially Supports the Altaic Linguistic Macrofamily

    Evolutionary Human Sciences (2021), 3, e32, page 1 of 10 doi:10.1017/ehs.2021.28 RESEARCH ARTICLE Permutation test applied to lexical reconstructions partially supports the Altaic linguistic macrofamily Alexei S. Kassian1* , George Starostin2,3* , Ilya M. Egorov1 , Ekaterina S. Logunova4 and Anna V. Dybo5 1School of Advanced Studies in the Humanities, The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Moscow, Russia, 2Institute for Oriental and Classical Studies, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia, 3Santa Fe Institute, New Mexico, USA, 4Institute of Linguistics, Russian State University for the Humanities, Moscow, Russia and 5Institute of Linguistics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia *Corresponding authors. E-mails: [email protected], [email protected]. Abstract In this paper, we present the results of our analysis of the 110-item basic wordlists for four reconstructed and one ancient languages, the linguistic ancestors of five language families which are hypothesized to constitute the Altaic (a.k.a. Transeurasian) macrofamily: Proto-Turkic, Proto-Mongolic, Proto- Tungusic, Middle Korean and Proto-Japonic wordlists. Protolanguage wordlists were reconstructed according to strict criteria of semantic reconstruction, based on accurate semantic glossing of forms in daughter languages. Each involved form was encoded into a bi-consonantal CC-shaped sequence using the consonant class method, after which a recently developed weighted permutation test was applied. In a typical situation, our algorithm makes a small number of type 1 errors (false positive), but the num- ber of type 2 errors (false negative) can be substantial. Our main finding is that pairs between the Nuclear Altaic taxa – Turkic, Mongolic and Tungusic – as well as the Turkic-Japonic and Tungusic-Japonic pairs demonstrate significant p-values.
  • 1. the Kalmyk Language

    1. the Kalmyk Language

    Seth Cable Field Methods Spring 2016 Ling404 Some Basic Background on the Kalmyk Language 1 1. Genetic Affiliation The Kalmyk language (/χalymg keln/) is the westernmost member of the Mongolic languages. (1) Map of the Mongolic Language Family 2 The internal classifications within Mongolic are controversial, but the following is one proposal Mongolic Dagur Central Southern Moghol Western Central Eastern Northern Oriat, Kalkha (Mongolian), Kharchin Buryat Kalmyk, Ordos, Korchin, … … … 1 The information in this handout is taken from such sources as Knyazev (2015), Bläsing (2003), and the articles “Kalmyk Oriat” and “Kalmyk People” on Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/). 2 “Linguistic map of the Mongolic languages” by Maximilian Dörrbecker. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongolic_languages#/media/File:Linguistic_map_of_the_Mongolic_languages.png 1 Seth Cable Field Methods Spring 2016 Ling404 (2) Some Features of the Mongolic Languages The following are features common in the Mongolic languages; we should therefore be on the look for them in Kalmyk. a. Agglutinative, suffixal morphology Both nouns and verbs can appear with a string of suffixes, with little contextual allomorphy or irregularity. b. Rich case system on nouns. c. Head-Final Word Order Sentences are typically verb-final; the languages have postpositions rather than prepositions; etc. d. Front vowels can be rounded (/y/, /ø/) e. Vowel harmony The vowels of suffixes are subject to phonological rules that make them ‘match’ the vowels of the root. 2. Sociolinguistic Properties (3) Locations Spoken: Principally the Republic of Kalmykia in the Russian Federation 2 Seth Cable Field Methods Spring 2016 Ling404 (4) Dialects Spoken a. Dörbet (spoken mainly in the west) b.
  • LINCOM Studies in Asian Linguistics 64

    LINCOM Studies in Asian Linguistics 64

    ASIAN LANGUAGES passives and the appearance of a considerable number of passives in a proposition with a neutral LINCOM Studies or positive meaning. Many previous researchers have claimed a complete and apparently transparent correlation between the syntactic and semantic distinctions of in Asian Linguistics the Japanese passive. However, through analysing authentic data, it becomes evident that the correlation is much more subtle, and that is a Wutun matter of degree or a continuum, rather than a discrete, black and white issue. To reflect this JUHA JANHUNEN, MARJA PELTOMAA, ERIKA SANDMAN, XIAWU view, this study proposes separate sets of DONGZHOU, University of Helsinki categories for syntactic and semantic distinctions. This is the first ever systematic grammatical description of the Wutun language, spoken by ISBN 978 3 89586 768 2. LINCOM Studies in a compact population of some 4,000 individuals at Wutun, Qinghai Province, China, also Asian Linguistics 71. 255pp. USD 119.30 / known as the Amdo region of ethnic Tibet. Wutun is an aberrant variety of Northwest EUR 81.20 / GBP 58.50. 2007. Mandarin. Its basic vocabulary and the material resources of its grammar are mainly of a Chinese origin, but structurally it has almost completely adapted to its current linguistic The only typological work ever undertaken on the Andamanese languages environment, in which various local varieties of Amdo Tibetan are the dominant oral idioms. Endangered Languages Wutun may be characterized as a topic-prominent serial-verb language with a well- of the Andaman Islands developed category of nominal case and a complex system of complement verbs and auxiliaries.
  • Mongghul, Mangghuer and Beyond: Estimating the Proximity

    Mongghul, Mangghuer and Beyond: Estimating the Proximity

    Ilya Gruntov†, Olga Mazo‡ † Institute of Linguistics of the Russian Academy of Sciences / Yandex, Moscow; [email protected] ‡ Russian State University for the Humanities / Higher School of Economics, Moscow; [email protected] Mongghul, Mangghuer and beyond: estimating the proximity The paperʼs chief goal is to evaluate the intensity of relations between various idioms of Mongolic languages within the Qinghai-Gansu Sprachbund, with special focus on Mangghuer and Mongghul dialects. On the basis of 58 grammatical and phonological shared innovations we attempt to deepen our understanding of the pathways and patterns of lan- guage change taking place in this area. Keywords: Qinghai-Gansu Sprachbund; language contacts; Monguor language; Shirongolic languages; Mangghuer language; Mongghul language; Mongolic languages; shared innova- tions. Mongghul and Mangghuer are two closely related endangered languages of the Mongolic family, spoken in Qinghai and Gansu provinces of China. For a long time they have been gen- erally considered as a single Monguor language with two main dialects. Although the division of these idioms into at least two languages has gradually become accepted among specialists, new linguistic works continue to be published in which both languages are still referred to as Monguor dialects. Our paper is an attempt to clarify and evaluate the intensity of relations between various idioms of QG Mongolic languages with special focus on Mangghuer and Mongghul, and to investigate various isoglosses within these languages. We do not discuss here the peculiarities and features shared by all QG Mongolic languages. The languages of the region belong to the so called Qinghai-Gansu Sprachbund (Yellow River language union, Amdo Sprachbund, the Northwest China Sprachbund, etc., see Dwyer 1992, 1995; Slater 2003a; Janhunen 2007, 2012).
  • Altaic Languages

    Altaic Languages

    Altaic Languages Masaryk University Press Reviewed by Ivo T. Budil Václav Blažek in collaboration with Michal Schwarz and Ondřej Srba Altaic Languages History of research, survey, classification and a sketch of comparative grammar Masaryk University Press Brno 2019 Publication financed by the grant No. GA15-12215S of the Czech Science Foundation (GAČR) © 2019 Masaryk University Press ISBN 978-80-210-9321-8 ISBN 978-80-210-9322-5 (online : pdf) https://doi.org/10.5817/CZ.MUNI.M210-9322-2019 5 Analytical Contents 0. Preface .................................................................. 9 1. History of recognition of the Altaic languages ............................... 15 1.1. History of descriptive and comparative research of the Turkic languages ..........15 1.1.1. Beginning of description of the Turkic languages . .15 1.1.2. The beginning of Turkic comparative studies ...........................21 1.1.3. Old Turkic language and script – discovery and development of research .....22 1.1.4. Turkic etymological dictionaries .....................................23 1.1.5. Turkic comparative grammars .......................................24 1.1.6. Syntheses of grammatical descriptions of the Turkic languages .............25 1.2. History of descriptive and comparative research of the Mongolic languages .......28 1.2.0. Bibliographic survey of Mongolic linguistics ...........................28 1.2.1. Beginning of description of the Mongolic languages .....................28 1.2.2. Standard Mongolic grammars and dictionaries ..........................31 1.2.3. Mongolic comparative and etymological dictionaries .....................32 1.2.4. Mongolic comparative grammars and grammatical syntheses...............33 1.3. History of descriptive and comparative research of the Tungusic languages ........33 1.3.0. Bibliographic survey of the Tungusic linguistics.........................33 1.3.1. Beginning of description of the Tungusic languages ......................34 1.3.2.
  • Chapter 43 the Homelands of the Individual Transeurasian Proto

    Chapter 43 the Homelands of the Individual Transeurasian Proto

    This is a draft version of a chapter that appears in Robbeets, M and A. Savelyev (eds). The Oxford Guide to the Transeurasian Languages (OUP, 2020)' see https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-oxford-guide-to-the- transeurasian-languages-9780198804628. The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the Horizon 2020 Program/ ERC Grant Agreement n. 646612 granted to Martine Robbeets. Chapter 43 The homelands of the individual Transeurasian proto-languages Martine Robbeets, Juha Janhunen, Alexander Savelyev and Evgeniya Korovina Abstract This chapter is an attempt to identify the individual homelands of the five families making up the Transeurasian grouping, i.e. the Turkic, Mongolic, Tungusic, Koreanic and Japonic families. Combining various linguistic methods and principles such as the diversity hotspot principle, phylolinguistics, cultural reconstruction and contact linguistics, we try to determine the original location and time depth of the families under discussion. We further propose that the individual speech communities were originally familiar with millet agriculture, while terms for pastoralism or wet- rice agriculture entered their vocabularies only at a later stage. Keywords: Japonic, Koreanic, Tungusic, Mongolic, Turkic, Transeurasian, homeland, time depth, agriculture, cultural reconstruction, contact linguistics 43.1 Introduction The aim of this chapter is to estimate the location and time depth of the individual families that make up the Transeurasian grouping and to suggest evidence for the presence of agricultural vocabulary in each of the proto-languages. In the present context, farming or agriculture is understood in its restricted sense of economic dependence on the cultivation of crops and does not necessarily include the raising of animals as livestock.
  • Mongolic Elements in Tuvan

    Mongolic Elements in Tuvan

    Turcologica 81 Mongolic Elements in Tuvan Bearbeitet von Bayarma Khabtagaeva 1. Auflage 2009. Taschenbuch. XI, 341 S. Paperback ISBN 978 3 447 06095 0 Format (B x L): 17 x 24 cm Gewicht: 660 g Weitere Fachgebiete > Literatur, Sprache > Angewandte Sprachwissenschaft > Sprachkontaktforschung Zu Inhaltsverzeichnis schnell und portofrei erhältlich bei Die Online-Fachbuchhandlung beck-shop.de ist spezialisiert auf Fachbücher, insbesondere Recht, Steuern und Wirtschaft. Im Sortiment finden Sie alle Medien (Bücher, Zeitschriften, CDs, eBooks, etc.) aller Verlage. Ergänzt wird das Programm durch Services wie Neuerscheinungsdienst oder Zusammenstellungen von Büchern zu Sonderpreisen. Der Shop führt mehr als 8 Millionen Produkte. Bayarma Khabtagaeva Mongolic Elements in Tuvan 2009 Harrassowitz Verlag · Wiesbaden ISSN 01774743 ISBN 978-3-447-06095-0 Contents Preface......................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 3 The topic of the study........................................................................................... 3 The database and structure of the book......................................................... 4 Notes on transcription .................................................................................... 6 The Tuvan language............................................................................................. 6 The

  • New Evidence on Para-Mongolic Numerals

    SUSA/JSFOu 96, 2017 Andreas Hölzl (Munich) New evidence on Para-Mongolic numerals Para-Mongolic is a technical term that designates languages that were related to the Mongolic languages, but which split off from this lineage before Proto-Mongolic times. One source of knowledge for Para-Mongolic comes from loanwords in surrounding languages, of which borrowed numerals in the Tungusic language Jurchen are a well- known example. The paper presents new evidence found in Tungusic languages that were previously almost unknown in the West and briefl y sketches the place of those languages within the Tungusic family. 1. Introduction Para-Mongolic is a technical term which refers to languages that were related to the Mongolic languages, but split off from this lineage before Proto-Mongolic times. There are several possible sources of Para-Mongolic data (summarized in Janhunen 2003b), of which loanwords found in surrounding languages constitutes one exam- ple (e.g. Doerfer 1993). This paper focuses on a particular kind of loans found in some Tungusic languages: “The most reliable source on the Para-Mongolic numer- als is provided by the Jurchen-Manchu set for the teens (11‒19). These were sys- tematically borrowed from an idiom clearly related to Mongolic, but different from the lineage of Proto-Mongolic.” (Janhunen 2003b: 399.) Since Grube (1896) and Laufer (1921) these numerals have been analyzed many times (see Róna-Tas 2016: 126 for a list), but the best treatment can still be found in Janhunen (2003b: 399f.). Nevertheless, new evidence suggests that some of his reconstructions have to be revised.1 Both Mongolic and Tungusic are part of what Janhunen (2007: 78) has called the Ural-Altaic belt, which is “united by a multitude of common structural features, covering all major areas of the grammar, including phonology, morphology, mor- phosyntax, and syntax.” Any explanation of this phenomenon such as in terms of areal convergence or genetic inheritance is necessarily based on the primary recon- struction of the participating proto-languages.