LINGUIST List 13.804

Mon Mar 25 2002

Books: Mongolian Linguistics: Written Oirat

Editor for this issue: Dina Kapetangianni <dinalinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. LINCOM EUROPA, Written Oirat, Attila Rakos

Written Oirat

ATTILA R�KOS 
ELTE University Budapest

The Written Oirat language and the Oirat script were created in 1648
by the Oirat Zaya Pandita, Oqtor?uyin Dalai. On the basis of the
traditional Uigur-Mongolian script he prepared a new writing system
(Oir. todorxoi �z�q 'Clear Script'), which has eliminated the
deficiencies of that (ambiguity of some letters, lack of long vowels,
etc.) using diacritical marks and new letters, so the new script was
suitable to accurately indicate the vocalic system of the contemporary
spoken Mongolian. Beside the new script Zaya Pandita created a new
literary language with new orthography, and he intended it for a
common Mongolian literary language, however it could spread only among
the Oirats (Western Mongols). Although this literary language was
close to the spoken language in some aspects, it had many features
inherited from Written Mongolian. It had strict rules in its original
form and was used mostly for Buddhist texts, but shortly spread in
wider range (codes, documents, historical works, folk-religious texts,
etc.), and became under the strong influence of the spoken language.
Up to the 20th century Written Oirat was the literary language of the
Oirats of Western Mongolia and Eastern Turkestan, as well as of the
Kalmyks. Later on the Oirats of Xinjiang used it only, but few years
ago they partly replaced it with Uigur-Mongolian script.

ISBN 3 89586 471 4. 
Languages of the World/Materials 418. 
60pp. USD 34.50 / EUR 28.20 / � 21.10. 


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