Non-Sinoxenic pronunciations are vocabularies borrowed from Chinese, but differ from Sinoxenic pronunciations in that:
The corresponding Chinese writing system is not borrowed alongside the pronunciation The pronunciation did not arise from the attempt at adopting Chinese as the literary language The borrowed vocabulary is not limited to Classical Chinese, but often includes modern and colloquial forms of Chinese
As such, non-Sinoxenic pronunciations are therefore loanwords in which the corresponding Chinese character is not adopted. These non-Sinoxenic pronunciations are thus most prominent in Asian languages in which cultural exchanges with Chinese culture occurred (e.g. Mongolian, Central Asian or Turkic languages), but the adoption of the Chinese writing system did not occur. This also includes non-Sinitic languages within China (e.g. Tibetan, Uyghur, Hani, Zhuang, Hmong). While the Sinoxenic model has traditionally held the limelight as the most distinctive and influential model for the borrowing of Chinese vocabulary, it is not the only model. For Sinoxenic languages, pronunciations are regarded as non-Sinoxenic if there is a mismatch between the vocabulary and the codified Sinoxenic pronunciation.
Mongolian Timespan Chronologically, Mongolian borrowing of Chinese vocabulary took place later than that of the Sinoxenic languages. In contrast to Sinoxenic vocabulary, Sino-Mongolian vocabulary is not the result of an attempt to adopt Chinese as the literary language or the adoption of the Chinese writing system as a whole. The majority of Mongolian loanwords from Chinese occurred in the last 800 years, sourced from Early, Middle, and Modern Mandarin as spoken in northern China, rather than Classical Chinese, as in the case of Sinospheric cultures.
Indirect and direct borrowing Modes of borrowing are not uniform. Some vocabulary was borrowed indirectly, such as the term for writing, bichig (Mongolian script: ; Mongolian Cyrillic: бичиг), which appears to have entered from Turkic in ancient times. Bichig derives from biir (; Mongolian Cyrillic: бийр), which was adopted from Tibetan for writing instrument, pir (Tibetan: པིར), which itself is derived from the Chinese word for pen or writing brush ().
In more recent times, most words have been borrowed directly. Some are starkly different from the Chinese pronunciation because of the long time for pronunciations to change or because of impressionistic auditory borrowing. One example is the word for window, tsonkh (Mongolian script: ; Mongolian Cyrillic: цонх), from Chinese chuānghu (). Similarly, the word for peace, taivang (Mongolian script: ; Mongolian Cyrillic: тайван) is supposedly from Chinese tàipíng (), which also means peace. Note that the traditional spelling (which equates to 'taibung') makes no attempt to reproduce the original vowel in 平 'píng'.
Although the traditional Mongolian script often tends to highlight the original Chinese pronunciation, the Cyrillic orthography, which spells words as they are pronounced, obscures the connection with Chinese. For instance, the syllable-final н in the Cyrillic script is pronounced /ŋ/ in Mongolia, thus neutralising the earlier distinction between /ŋ/ and /n/ in this position and further obscuring the regularity of relationships with Chinese. The distinction between /ŋ/ and /n/ is retained in Inner Mongolian dialects.
Examples Note that the following examples are in the context of non-Sinoxenic vocabulary that exist in the Mongolian language.
The Sinoxenic languages of Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese are included for comparative purposes. Words that do not actually occur in the Sinoxenic languages are given in their Sinoxenic reading but are greyed out. The absence of these terms in Sinoxenic languages suggests that the borrowing of Chinese in Mongolian is attributed to a more recent form of a Sinitic language (such as Early Mandarin and Middle Mandarin), rather than Classical Chinese.
+Artisan occupations Meaning Chinese characters Chinese pronunciation Mongolian Mongolian Script Japanese Korean Vietnamese Brassfounder 銅匠 ㄊㄨㄥˊ ㄐㄧㄤˋ tóngjiàng түнжаан (tünǰaan) (tünǰiyaŋ) どうしょう (dōshō) 동장 (dongjang) đồng tượng Carpenter 木匠 ㄇㄨˋ ㄐㄧㄤˋ mùjiàng мужаан (muǰaan) (muǰiyaŋ) ぼくしょう (bokushō) or もくしょう(mokushō) 목장 (mokjang) mộc tượng Ironworker 鐵匠 ㄊㄧㄝˇ ㄐㄧㄤˋ tiějiàng тижаан (tiǰaan) (tiǰiyaŋ) てっしょう (tesshō) 철장 (cheoljang) thiết tượng Silversmith 銀匠 ㄧㄣˊ ㄐㄧㄤˋ yínjiàng инжаан (inǰaan) (inǰiyaŋ) ぎんしょう (ginshō) 은장 (eunjang) ngân tượng Stonemason 石匠 ㄕˊ ㄐㄧㄤˋ shíjiàng шожоон (šoǰoon) (šoǰiyaŋ) せきしょう (sekishō) 석장 (seokjang) thạch tượng
+Food related Meaning Chinese characters Chinese pronunciation Mongolian Mongolian Script Japanese Korean Vietnamese Gourd 葫蘆 ㄏㄨˊ ㄌㄨˊ húlu хулуу (xuluu) (xulu) ころ (koro) 호로 (horo) hồ lô Green pepper 青椒 ㄑㄧㄥ ㄐㄧㄠ qīngjiāo чинжүү (činjüü) (činǰüü) or (čiŋ ǰiyuu) せいしょう (seishō) 청초 (cheongcho) thanh tiêu Peanut 花生 ㄏㄨㄚ ㄕㄥ huāshēng хуасан (xuasan) (xuwašEŋ) かせい (kasei) 화생 (hwasaeng) hoa sinh Pepper (spice) 花椒 ㄏㄨㄚ ㄐㄧㄠ huājiāo хуажуу (xuaǰuu) (xuwaǰuu) かしょう (kashō) 화초 (hwacho) hoa tiêu Radish 蘿蔔 ㄌㄨㄛˊ ㄅㄨˇ luóbo лууван (luuvan) (luubaŋ) らふく, (rafuku) or らほく(rahoku) 나복 (nabok) or 라복(rabok) la bặc Steamed bread (or dumpling) 饅頭 ㄇㄢˊ ㄊㄡˊ mántou мантуу (mantuu) (mantau) まんとう (mantō) 만두 (mandu) màn thầu Teapot 茶壺 ㄔㄚˊ ㄏㄨˊ cháhú саахуу (saaxuu) (saxuu) ちゃこ (chako) 차호 (chaho) trà ho, chè ho
Korean
Sinoxenic vs non-Sinoxenic Sino-Korean vocabulary, borrowing from Middle Chinese with highly consistent and systematic pronunciation correspondences, dominates the spectrum of borrowed Chinese words. However, there are words in Korean also derived from Chinese that do not align with the systematically borrowed pronunciation. Such loanwords most likely preserve a different Sinitic variety or different stage of Sinitic from the one codified in Sino-Korean, thus making such words Sinitic borrowings but not classically Korean Sino-Xenic (non-Sinoxenic) pronunciation.
Examples
Brush The Korean term for brush, but (붓), descended from Middle Korean but (붇), is likely derived from Sinitic 'brush' 筆 (Old Chinese ) This predates the Sino-Korean pronunciation for 筆 (from Middle Chinese pit), now pronounced as pil (필).
Ink The Korean term for ink, meok (먹), is likely derived from the Sinitic 'ink' 墨—possibly Early Middle Chinese () or Old Chinese (). This predates the Sino-Korean reading for 墨, now pronounced as muk (묵).
Horse The Korean term for horse, mal (말), may have been derived from the Early Middle Chinese term for horse (馬), but actually, the Sino-Korean reading for 馬 was codified (and is pronounced) as ma (마). However, considering the Mongolic word for horse, mori, shows a trace of the l/r consonant in mal (Korean mal becomes mari in the nominative case), it is unlikely to be a Chinese loanword.
Old Chinese cognates A few native Korean words closely resemble reconstructed pronunciations of Old Chinese that was spoken at least 2000 years ago in China. It is unclear if these words are borrowed from Old Chinese, or if Old Chinese borrowed these words from an ancient Koreanic language, or if these words are borrowed from another language (i.e. both Old Korean and Old Chinese borrowed from another language), or if these words are descended from a common proto-language, or if these words are false cognates by mere chance. These words may or may not be non-Sinoxenic pronunciations.
Examples
Wind The Korean term for wind, baram (바람), may have been derived from the Old Chinese term for wind, /*prəm/ (風). The Sino-Korean reading for 風 is pronounced as pung (풍), from Middle Chinese (Baxter pjuwng, ZZ ).
Taste The Korean term for taste, mat / mas- (맛), may have been derived from the Old Chinese term for taste, /*mɯds/ (味). The Sino-Korean reading for 味 is pronounced as mi (미), from Middle Chinese (Baxter mj+jH, ZZ ).
Bowl The Korean term for bowl, geureut / geureus- (그릇), may have been derived from the Old Chinese term for container, /*kʰrɯds/ (器). The Sino-Korean reading for 器 is pronounced as gi (기), from Middle Chinese (Baxter khijH, ZZ ).
Comb The Korean term for comb, bit / bis- (빗), may have been derived from the Old Chinese term for comb, /*bis/ (篦). The Sino-Korean reading for 篦 is pronounced as bi (비), from Middle Chinese (Baxter pej, ZZ ).
River The Korean term for river, garam (가람), may have been derived from the Old Chinese term for river, /*kroːŋ/ (江). The Sino-Korean reading for 江 is pronounced as gang (강), from Middle Chinese (Baxter kaewng, ZZ ).
Bear The Korean term for bear, gom (곰), may have been derived from the Old Chinese term for bear, /*ɢʷlɯm/ (熊). The Sino-Korean reading for 熊 is pronounced as ung (웅), from Middle Chinese (Baxter hjuwng, ZZ ).
Dragon The Korean term for dragon, mireu (미르), may have been derived from the Old Chinese term for dragon, /*mroːŋ/ (龍). The Sino-Korean reading for 龍 is pronounced as ryong (룡), from Middle Chinese (Baxter ljowng, ZZ ).
Street The Korean term for street, geori (거리), may have been derived from the Old Chinese term for street, /*kreː/ (街). The Sino-Korean reading for 街 is pronounced as ga (가), from Middle Chinese (Baxter kea, ZZ ).
Vietnamese Some Sinologists such as Wang Li have attempted to classify words of Chinese origins into at least three categories: old or pre-Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary, Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary, and nativized Chinese vocabulary. Among the three, only Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary is considered to have a Sino-Xenic pronunciation, borrowed from Classical Chinese. The other two were introduced verbally through colloquial speech and are not as systematic, especially in terms of the lack of consistent correspondence between the tones of Vietnamese tones and the four tones of Middle Chinese. Some dictionaries, such as that of Thiều Chửu, may consider some pre-Sino-Vietnamese syllables to be Sino-Vietnamese.
Consequences of the multiple layers of borrowing are doublets and alternative readings:
Traditional Chinese Middle Chinese Pre-Sino-Vietnamese(non-Sino-Xenic) Sino-Vietnamese(Sino-Xenic) Nativized Chinese(non-Sino-Xenic) Gloss 嫁 kæH gả giá to marry off 價 kæH cả giá price 斧 pjuX búa phủ hammer 符 bju bùa phù spell; charm 佛 bjut Bụt Phật Buddha 夏 hæH hè hạ summer 車 tsyhæ xe xa wheeled vehicle 未 mjɨjH Mùi vị zodiac goat 味 mjɨjH mùi vị smell; taste 為 hjwe vị vì because 類 lwijHloại loài kind; species 外 ngwajHngoại ngoài outside 鏡 kjængH kính gương mirror 劍 kjæmH kiếm gươm sword 記 kiHkí ghi to write 壁 pek bích vách wall 板 pænX bản ván plank; board
Apart from these old borrowings, which are deeply integrated into Vietnamese, there are also phonetic borrowings of Yue or Cantonese origin, such as lì xì, lạp xưởng, xíu mại, xí ngầu, hầm bà lằng, and tả pín lù. These words were also borrowed through the spoken language and, unlike Sino-Vietnamese, also are not systematic. They are especially common in southern Vietnam, which has a significant population of Chinese, known as the Hoa ethnic group. A lot of these pronunciations came from recent Cantonese migration to southern Vietnam during the 17th–20th centuries. Most of the Cantonese eventually settled down in Chợ Lớn, and they introduced their cuisine to Vietnam. Thus, many Cantonese borrowings in Vietnamese are food-related.