Khitan language

Template:Short description Template:Lead too short {{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template otherTemplate:Main other Khitan or Kitan (File:Khitan (Large Script).svg in large script or File:Khitan (Small Script).svg in small, Khitai;<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Template:Zh, Qìdānyǔ), also known as Liao, is an extinct language once spoken in Northeast Asia by the Khitan people (4th to 13th century CE). It was the official language of the Liao Empire (907–1125) and the Qara Khitai (1124–1218). Owing to a narrow corpus of known words and a partially undeciphered script, the language has yet to be completely reconstructed.<ref name=":0" />

Classification

Khitan appears to have been related to the Mongolic languages;<ref>Herbert Franke, John King Fairbank, Denis Crispin Twitchett, Roderick MacFarquhar, Denis Twitchett, Albert Feuerwerker. The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 3: Sui and T'ang China, 589–906. Part 1, p.364</ref> Juha Janhunen states: "Today, however, the conception is gaining support that Khitan was a language in some respects radically different from the historically known Mongolic languages. If this view proves to be correct, Khitan is, indeed, best classified as a Para-Mongolic language."Template:Sfn

Alexander Vovin (2017) argues that Khitan has several Koreanic loanwords.Template:Sfn Since both the Korean Goryeo dynasty and the Khitan Liao dynasty claimed to be successors of Goguryeo, it is possible that the Koreanic words in Khitan were borrowed from the language of Goguryeo.Template:Sfn

Script

Khitan was written using two mutually exclusive writing systems known as the Khitan large script and the Khitan small script.Template:Sfn The small script, which was a syllabary, was used until the Jurchen-speaking Jin dynasty (1115–1234) replaced it with the Jurchen script in 1191.Template:Sfn The large script was logographic like Chinese.

Records

Prior to the 19th century, only one Khitan text, the Langjun inscription, was known to scholarship in China; however, the inscription was thought by Ming and Qing scholars to be written in the Jurchen script.<ref name=":0" />

The History of Liao contains a volume of Khitan words transcribed in Chinese characters titled "Glossary of National Language" (國語解). It is found in Chapter 116.<ref>遼史/卷116 卷116.</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="YongPeng2008">Template:Cite book</ref>

The Qianlong Emperor of the Qing dynasty erroneously identified the Khitan people and their language with the Solons, leading him to use the Solon language to "correct" Chinese character transcriptions of Khitan names in the History of Liao in his Imperial Liao-Jin-Yuan Three Histories National Language Explanation (欽定遼金元三史國語解) project.

The Liao dynasty referred to the Khitan language with the term Guoyu (國語, "National language"), which was also used by other non-Han Chinese dynasties in China to refer to their languages like Manchu of the Qing, Classical Mongolian during the Yuan dynasty, Jurchen during the Jin, and Xianbei during the Northern Wei. Even today, Mandarin is referred to in Taiwan as Guoyu.

Vocabulary

There are several closed systems of Khitan lexical items for which systematic information is available.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref> The following is a list of words in these closed systems that are similar to Mongolic. Mongolian and Daur equivalents are given after the English translation:

Seasons

Khitan	Translation	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>||modern Mongolian pronunciation	Daur
heu.ur	spring	Template:Transliteration	havar	haor
ju.un	summer	Template:Transliteration	zun	najir
n.am.ur	autumn	Template:Transliteration	namar	namar
u.ul	winter	Template:Transliteration	övöl	uwul

Numerals

Khitan	Translation	Mongolian script	modern Mongolian pronunciation	Daur
*omc	one	Template:Transliteration 'unique'	onts (unique)	enqu
j.ur.er	second	Template:Transliteration 'two'	jirin (two), jiremsen (double/pregnant)	jieeq
hu.ur.er	third	Template:Transliteration 'three'	gurav, gurvan, guramsan (triple)	guarab
durer/duren	fourth	Template:Transliteration	döröv, dörvön	durub
tau	five	Template:Transliteration	tav, tavan	taawu
t.ad.o.ho	fifth	Template:Transliteration	tav dahi	taawudar
*nil	six	Template:Transliteration	zurgaa (innovation "jir'gur" or 2x3)	jirwoo
da.lo.er	seventh	Template:Transliteration 'seven'	doloo	doloo
n.ie.em	eight	Template:Transliteration 'eight'	naim	naim
*is	nine	Template:Transliteration	yüs, yüsön	is
par (p.ar)	ten	Template:Transliteration	arav	harbin
jau	hundred	Template:Transliteration	zuu, zuun	jao
ming	thousand	Template:Transliteration	myanga, myangan	mianga

Animals

Khitan	Translation	Mongolian script	modern Mongolian pronunciation	Daur
te.qo.a	chicken	Template:Transliteration	tahia	kakraa
ni.qo	dog	Template:Transliteration	nohoi	nowu
s.au.a	bird	Template:Transliteration	shuvuu	degii
em.a	goat	Template:Transliteration	yamaa	imaa
tau.li.a	rabbit	Template:Transliteration	tuulai	tauli
mo.ri	horse	Template:Transliteration	mori	mori
uni	cow	Template:Transliteration	ünee	unie
mu.ho.o	snake	Template:Transliteration	mogoi	mowo

Directions

Khitan	Translation	Mongolian script	modern Mongolian pronunciation	Daur
ud.ur	east	Template:Transliteration	dorno	garkui
dzi.ge.n	left	Template:Transliteration	züün	solwoi
bo.ra.ian	right	Template:Transliteration	baruun	baran
dau.ur.un	middle	Template:Transliteration	dund	duand
xe.du.un	horizontal	Template:Transliteration	höndölön
ja.cen.i	border	Template:Transliteration	zasan, zaag	jag

Time

Khitan	Translation	Mongolian script	modern Mongolian pronunciation	Daur
suni	night	Template:Transliteration	shönö	suni
un.n/un.e	now, present	Template:Transliteration	önöö	nee

Personal relations

Khitan	Translation	Mongolian script	modern Mongolian pronunciation	Daur
c.i.is	blood	Template:Transliteration	tsus	qos
mo ku	female	Template:Transliteration	em	emwun
deu	younger sibling	Template:Transliteration	düü	deu
n.ai.ci	friend	Template:Transliteration	naiz	guq
na.ha.an	uncle	Template:Transliteration	nagats	naoq
s.ia/s.en	good	Template:Transliteration	sain	sain
g.en.un	sadness, regret	Template:Transliteration='to regret' in the letter of Arghun Khan)	genen, gem	gemxbei
ku	person	Template:Transliteration	hün, hümün	huu

Tribal administration

Khitan	Translation	Mongolian script	Daur
cau.ur	war	Template:Transliteration, as in "tsa'urgalan dairakh"	quagur
nai/nai.d	heads, officials	"-d" is a plural suffix=noyan, noyad for plural	noyin
t.em-	to bestow a title	Template:Transliteration 'sign'	temgeet
k.em	decree	Template:Transliteration kemjiye 'law/norm'	hes
us.gi	letter	Template:Transliteration	jiexgen
ui	matter	Template:Transliteration	urgil
qudug	blessed	Template:Transliteration	hireebei
xe.se.ge	part, section, province	Template:Transliteration	meyen
ming.an	military unit of thousand	Template:Transliteration	miangan

Basic verbs

Khitan	Translation	Mongolian script
p.o	become	Template:Transliteration
p.o.ju	raise(intr.)	Template:Transliteration
on.a.an	fall	Template:Transliteration
x.ui.ri.ge.ei	transfer	Template:Transliteration
u-	give	Template:Transliteration
sa-	to reside	Template:Transliteration
a-	be	Template:Transliteration 'live', as in "aj ahui"

Natural objects

Khitan	Translation	Mongolian script	modern Mongolian pronunciation	Daur
eu.ul	cloud	Template:Transliteration	üül	eulen
s.eu.ka	dew	Template:Transliteration	shüüder	suider
sair	moon	Template:Transliteration	sar	saruul
nair	sun	Template:Transliteration	nar	nar
m.em/m.ng	silver	Template:Transliteration	möng	mungu

The Liaoshi records in Chapter 53:

'Tao Saiyier' corresponds to Mongolian 'tavan sar' (fifth moon/month).

Bibliography

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Further reading

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External links

• New Developments of the Studies on Khitai Language and Khitai Scripts Template:Webarchive