Could someone tell me what is the form of the written language in Mongolia?
Has it changed significantly over the course of the region since it came
into usage?
— Marek
31
Dec
Mongolia — query on script, history of written language
posted by admin in Uncategorized and have Comments (6)
6 Responses to “Mongolia — query on script, history of written language”
Place your comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
From: ma…@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Marek Lugowski)
Could someone tell me what is the form of the written language in Mongolia?
Has it changed significantly over the course of the region since it came
into usage?
— Marek
Mongolia uses a variant of the cyrillic alphabet and has since the
1920′s, I beleive. Some modified Russian letters were introduced to
clarify the differences in sounds that exist in Mongolian and the
Altaic languages but are absent in Russian.
Mongolian may have been (probably has been) written with the
extended Arabic alphabet formerly used in neighboring Islamic regions.
Through most of history, Mongolians with a need to read and write
were familiar with Chinese and simply (?) wrote in that language if
there was a need to write.
Al Moore
L629…@LMSC5.IS.LMSC.LOCKHEED.COM writes:
> Mongolian may have been (probably has been) written with the
>extended Arabic alphabet formerly used in neighboring Islamic regions.
It was written in a script derived from Arabic, but that went from
top to bottom, Chinese-style, instead of right to left. The
ancient Chinese copper coins (or is it bronze?), those with the
square hole, bore inscriptions both in Chinese and in Mongolian,
in that script.
From article <93019.33547.L629…@LMSC5.IS.LMSC.LOCKHEED.COM>, by L629…@LMSC5.IS.LMSC.LOCKHEED.COM:
> [...]
> Through most of history, Mongolians with a need to read and write
> were familiar with Chinese and simply (?) wrote in that language if
> there was a need to write.
This was true of some of China’s neighbours at some periods, but the Mongols
wrote Mongolian with their own alphabetic script < Uighur < Sogdian < Aramaic.
A brief exception: Kublai had a Tibetan monk called ‘Phags Pa design a
unified script for all the languages of his empire (Mongolian, Chinese,
Tibetan, etc) — it has a fairly unimaginative adaptation of the Tibetan
script, and wasn’t used for very long.
In-Reply-To: <93019.33547.L629159@LMSC5.IS.LMSC.LOCKHEED.COM> L629159@LMSC5.IS.LMSC.LOCKHEED.COM
> Mongolian may have been (probably has been) written with the
> extended Arabic alphabet formerly used in neighboring Islamic regions.
According to Akira Nakanishi in `Writing Systems of the World’:
Mongolian script traces its origin to Ancient Aramaic
script via Sogdian and Uighur. (p.90)
Mongolian is written in Mongolian script in Inner
Mongolia, while in (Outer) Mongolia Russian script is
used. (p.84) [this was in 1980]
The table on p.90 shows a script readily identifiable as related to
the Arabic script, particularly in the distinction between intial,
medial and final forms.
Peter
—————————————————————————-
Peter Christian
Dept of European Languages pe…@gold.ac.uk
Goldsmiths’ College, London. pe…@cix.compulink.co.uk
—————————————————————————-
In article <1993Jan20.005456.9…@trl.oz.au>, j…@hal.trl.OZ.AU (Jacques Guy) writes:
> L629…@LMSC5.IS.LMSC.LOCKHEED.COM writes:
>> Mongolian may have been (probably has been) written with the
>>extended Arabic alphabet formerly used in neighboring Islamic regions.
> It was written in a script derived from Arabic, but that went from
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
This is known as the Uighur script. It is derived from Sogdian.
> top to bottom, Chinese-style, instead of right to left. The
> ancient Chinese copper coins (or is it bronze?), those with the
> square hole,
^^^^^^^^^^^
Almost all Chinese coins from prehistoric times up to 1911 come
with square holes; but only those made in the Qing dynasty (early
1600′s-1911) would have Manchu inscription on them. (see below).
> bore inscriptions both in Chinese and in Mongolian,
> in that script. ^^^^^^^^^
Actually, this is Manchu, language of the ruling Manchurian minority
in the Qing Dynasty. Manchu is a member of the Tungus branch of
the Altaic family.
Also, see "The Languages of China", by S. Robert Ramsey for information on
Mongolian.
Tak.
—————————————————————————–
Tak To (617) 577-0310 x377
Box 45, MIT Branch PO, Cambridge, Ma 02139. t…@aspentec.com
—————————————————————————–
Do you plan to go to Japan to teach English (after your graduation)?
I would like to introduce you a comprehensive yet concise booklet
(over 50 pages) which provides you all the valuable information
about working in Japan. It tells you step by step how to find a
job in Japan while you are in US/Canada and how to get a Japanese
working visa. Remember you cannot get a working visa from within
Japan. This useful booklet includes names, addresses and phone
numbers of most language institutes, Japanese immigration and
taxation laws, survival tips (living) in Japan, Japanese social
structure, dealing with Japanese people, and virtually any questions
you might have about Japan.
To receive this useful booklet, please send $9 (cost price) plus
$3 S&H charge (payable to M. Yoshida) to Info Japan, 2125 St-Marc,
Apt. 1110, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3H 2P1. Please allow two weeks for
processing. Satisfaction guaranteed.