Khitan language

Khitan or Kitan ( in large script or in small, Khitai; , 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.

Classification Khitan appears to have been related to the Mongolic languages;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 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."

Alexander Vovin (2017) argues that Khitan has several Koreanic loanwords. 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.

Script Khitan was written using two mutually exclusive writing systems known as the Khitan large script and the Khitan small script. 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. 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.

The 14th century 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.遼史/卷116 卷116.

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. 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

KhitanTranslationMongolian scriptmodern Mongolian pronunciationDaurheu.ur spring havarhaorju.un summer zunnajirn.am.ur autumn namarnamaru.ul winter övöluwul

Numerals

KhitanTranslationMongolian script modern Mongolian pronunciationDaur*omcone 'unique' onts (unique)enquj.ur.ersecond 'two' jirin (two), jiremsen (double/pregnant)jieeqhu.ur.erthird 'three'gurav, gurvan, guramsan (triple)guarabdurer/durenfourthdöröv, dörvöndurubtaufive tav, tavantaawut.ad.o.hofifthtav dahitaawudar*nilsixzurgaa (innovation "jir'gur" or 2x3) jirwooda.lo.erseventh 'seven' doloodoloon.ie.emeight 'eight' naimnaim*isnine yüs, yüsönispar (p.ar)ten aravharbinjau hundred zuu, zuunjaomingthousandmyanga, myanganmianga

Animals

KhitanTranslationMongolian script modern Mongolian pronunciationDaurte.qo.achicken tahiakakraani.qodognohoinowus.au.abirdshuvuudegiiem.a goat yamaaimaatau.li.arabbit tuulaitaulimo.rihorsemorimoriunicowüneeuniemu.ho.osnakemogoimowo

Directions

KhitanTranslationMongolian scriptmodern Mongolian pronunciationDaurud.ureast dorno garkuidzi.ge.nleftzüünsolwoibo.ra.ianright baruunbarandau.ur.unmiddledundduandxe.du.unhorizontalhöndölönja.cen.iborderzasan, zaagjag

Time

KhitanTranslationMongolian scriptmodern Mongolian pronunciationDaursuninightshönösuniun.n/un.enow, presentönöönee

Personal relations

KhitanTranslationMongolian scriptmodern Mongolian pronunciationDaurc.i.isbloodtsusqosmo kufemaleememwundeuyounger siblingdüüdeun.ai.cifriendnaizguqna.ha.anunclenagatsnaoqs.ia/s.engoodsainsaing.en.unsadness, regret='to regret' in the letter of Arghun Khan)genen, gemgemxbeikupersonhün, hümünhuu

Tribal administration

KhitanTranslationMongolian scriptDaurcau.urwar, as in "tsa'urgalan dairakh"quagurnai/nai.dheads, officials"-d" is a plural suffix=noyan, noyad for pluralnoyint.em-to bestow a title 'sign'temgeetk.emdecree kemjiye 'law/norm'hesus.giletterjiexgenuimatterurgilqudugblessedhireebeixe.se.gepart, section, provincemeyenming.anmilitary unit of thousandmiangan

Basic verbs

KhitanTranslationMongolian scriptp.obecomep.o.juraise(intr.)on.a.anfallx.ui.ri.ge.eitransferu-givesa-to residea-be 'live', as in "aj ahui"

Natural objects

KhitanTranslationMongolian scriptmodern Mongolian pronunciationDaureu.ulcloudüül eulens.eu.kadewshüüdersuidersairmoonsarsaruulnairsunnarnarm.em/m.ngsilvermöngmungu

The Liaoshi records in Chapter 53:

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

The term 'zhao-ding' appears in the first excerpt from the "Qidan Guo Zhi ("Records of the Khitan State")". This term most likely refers to the 'jad' institution found among nomadic peoples; for instance, among the ancient Mongols, members of a given clan referred to their own kin as 'urukh', whereas members of other clans were designated as 'jad'. For every member of an ancient Mongol clan, a fellow clansman was 'uruh' (or 'urug')—meaning "descendant" or "offspring of the clan", and consequently "relative" or "kinsman"—whereas anything belonging to a different clan was 'jad' ("stranger" or "foreigner"); thus, everyone was categorized as either 'uruh' or 'jad'.[https://eo.iea.ras.ru/wp-content/uploads/1971/04/eoarchive_1971_4_149_munkuev_taskin.pdf ОБ ОБЩНОСТИ ИНСТИТУТА ПОБРАТИМСТВА И ТЕРМИНА JAD У КИДАНЕИ И МОНГОЛОВ] References

Bibliography

Khitan language

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