View source for Kalmyk Oirat

{{Short description|Oirat dialects spoken in Kalmykia, Russia}}
{{Redirect|Kalmyk language|discussion of the language of the Oirat people in general|Oirat language}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Kalmyk
| altname          = Kalmyk Mongolian
| nativename       = {{lang|xal|Хальмг келн}}<br />{{transliteration|xal|Haľmg keln}}<br />{{MongolUnicode|ᡍᠠᠯᡅᡏᠠᡎ<br>ᡍᡄᠯᡄᠨ|lang=xal}}
| states           = [[Russia]]
| region           = [[Kalmykia]]
| ethnicity        = [[Kalmyks]]
| speakers         = 110,000
| date             = 2021
| ref              = <ref name=ethnologue/>
| familycolor      = Altaic
| fam1             = [[Mongolic languages|Mongolic]]
| fam2             = Central Mongolic
| fam3             = [[Buryat language|Buryat]]–[[Mongolian language|Mongolian]]
| fam4             = [[Mongolian language|Mongolian]]
| fam5             = [[Oirat language|Oirat]]
| iso2             = xal
| iso3             = xal
| isoexception     = dialect
| glotto           = kalm1244
| glottorefname    = Kalmyk
| linglist         = xal-kal
| script           = [[Cyrillic script|Cyrillic]], [[Latin script|Latin]], [[Clear Script|Clear script]]
| nation           = {{flag|Russia}}
* {{flag|Kalmykia}}
{{flag|Kyrgyzstan}}
* [[File:Issyk kul obl flag.svg | 23px|border]] [[Issyk-Kul Region]]
| notice           = IPA
| map              = Lang Status 60-DE.svg
| mapcaption       = {{center|{{small|Kalmyk Oirat is classified as Definitely Endangered by the [[UNESCO]] [[Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger]]}}}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.wal.unesco.org/countries/russian-federation/languages/oirad-kalmyk-darkhat|title=Oirad-Kalmyk-Darkhat in Russian Federation {{!}} UNESCO WAL}}</ref>
| pronunciation    = {{IPA|[xalʲˈmək keˈlən]}}
}}

[[File:Kalmyk sign.jpg|thumb|A bilingual ([[Russian language|Russian]] and Kalmyk) sign with the text "Clean zone!" (Russian) and "Overseen zone!" (Kalmyk) at the [[Elista]] bus station]]

'''Kalmyk Oirat''' ({{langx|xal-RU|Хальмг Өөрдин келн|links=no}}, ''Haľmg Öördin keln'', {{IPA-all|xalʲˈmək øːrˈdin keˈlən}}),<ref>Kalmyk is alternatively spelled as Kalmuck, Qalmaq, or Khal:mag; Kalmyk Oirat is sometimes called "Russian Oirat" or "Western Mongol"</ref> commonly known as the '''Kalmyk language''' ({{langx|xal-RU|Хальмг келн|links=no}}, ''Haľmg keln'', {{IPA-all|xalʲˈmək keˈlən}}), is a [[Variety (linguistics)|variety]] of the [[Oirat language]], natively spoken by the [[Kalmyks|Kalmyk people]] of [[Kalmykia]], a federal subject of [[Russia]]. In Russia, it is the [[standard language|standard form]] of the [[Oirat language]] (based on the [[Torgut Oirat|Torgut dialect]]), which belongs to the [[Mongolic languages|Mongolic language family]]. The [[Kalmyk people]] of the Northwest [[Caspian Sea]] of Russia claim descent from the [[Oirats]] from [[Eurasia]], who have also historically settled in [[Mongolia]] and [[Northwest China]]. According to [[UNESCO]], the language is "definitely endangered".<ref name="UNESCO">[http://www.unesco.org/culture/languages-atlas/index.php?hl=en&page=atlasmap&lid=368 UNESCO Atlas of the World's languages in danger] Retrieved on 2012-10-31 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190912020055/http://www.unesco.org/languages-atlas/index.php?hl=en&page=atlasmap&lid=368 |date=2019-09-12 }}</ref> According to the Russian census of 2021, there are 110,000 speakers out of an [[ethnic group|ethnic population]] consisting of 178,000 people.<ref name=ethnologue>{{Cite web |title=Kalmyk-Oirat |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/xal |url-access=subscription |access-date=2022-03-12 |website=Ethnologue |language=en}}</ref>

==History==
Kalmyk is now only spoken as a native language by a small minority of the Kalmyk population.{{citation needed|date=October 2011}} Its decline as a [[living language]] began after the Kalmyk people [[Kalmyk deportations of 1943|were deported]] en masse from their homeland in December 1943, as punishment for limited [[Kalmykian Cavalry Corps|Kalmyk collaboration with the Nazis]]. Significant factors contributing to its demise include: (1) the deaths of a substantial percentage of the Kalmyk population from disease and malnutrition, both during their travel and upon their arrival to remote exile settlements in [[Central Asia]], south central [[Siberia]] and the [[Soviet Far East]]; (2) the wide dispersal of the Kalmyk population; (3) the duration of exile, which ended in 1957; (4) the stigma associated with being accused of treason, and (5) assimilation into the larger, more dominant culture. Collectively, these factors discontinued the intergenerational language transmission.

In 1957, the Soviet government reinstated the [[Kalmyk Autonomous Oblast]] and later reestablished the [[Kalmyk Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic|Autonomous Republic of Kalmykia]]. The Kalmyk people were permitted to return to the Republic in 1957, 14 years after exile. The [[Russian language]], however, was made the official language of the Republic, and Sovietisation was imposed on the Kalmyk people, leading to drastic cuts in Kalmyk language education.{{citation needed|date=September 2012}} The Cyrillic alphabet became firmly established among the Kalmyks (and other peoples, too). For instance, books, periodicals, newspapers, etc., were published using it. By the late 1970s, the Russian language became the primary language of instruction in all schools in the Republic.

During the period of [[Perestroika]], Kalmyk linguists, in collaboration with the Kalmyk government, planned and tried to implement the revival of the Kalmyk language. This revival was seen as an integral part of the reassertion of Kalmyk culture. In an important symbolic gesture, the Kalmyk language was declared an official language of the Republic, giving it equal status with the Russian language with respect to official governmental use and language education.

During the production of the film ''[[Return of the Jedi]]'', sound designer Rafe Mercieca—with his life-time partner Ben Curtis—based the language of the [[Ewok]]s on Kalmyk after hearing it spoken in a documentary and being impressed with its phonology.<ref>{{YouTube|id=Gmt1t-BOGCA|time=18m44s|title=Star Wars: Return of the Jedi sound design explained by Ben Burtt }}</ref>

==Geographic distribution==
The majority of Kalmyk language speakers live in the Republic of Kalmykia, where it is an official language. A small group of Kalmyk language speakers also live in France and the US, but the use of Kalmyk is in steep decline. In all three locations, the actual number of speakers is unknown. Kalmyk is an endangered language.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Reckel |first1=Johannes |last2=Schatz |first2=Merle |title=Oirat and Kalmyk Identity in the 20th and 21st Century |date=2020 |publisher=Universitätsverlag Göttingen |page=6 |isbn=9783863954642 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CHUGEAAAQBAJ&q=kalmyk-oirat+endanger |access-date=1 May 2022}}</ref>

As of 2012, the Kalmyk community in [[New Jersey]], which arrived in the US in the 1950s, was planning to work with the [[Enduring Voices]] project to promote Kalmyk language and culture.<ref>{{Cite news
| last = K. David Harrison
| title = Cultural Revival in Europe's Only Buddhist Region – News Watch
| access-date = 2012-10-21
| date = 2012-05-27
| url = http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2012/05/27/cultural-revival-in-europes-only-buddhist-region/
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120613170547/http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2012/05/27/cultural-revival-in-europes-only-buddhist-region/
| url-status = dead
| archive-date = June 13, 2012
}}</ref>

==Linguistic classification==
From a synchronic perspective, Kalmyk is the most prominent variety of Oirat. It is very close to the Oirat dialects found in Mongolia and the People's Republic of China, both [[Phonology|phonologically]] and [[Morphology (linguistics)|morphologically]]. The differences in dialects, however, concern the vocabulary, as the Kalmyk language has been influenced by and has adopted words from the Russian language and various [[Turkic languages]].

Two important features that characterise Kalmyk are [[agglutination]] and [[vowel harmony]]. In an [[agglutinative language]], words are formed by adding [[affixes]] to existing [[word]]s, called stem words or root words. [[Prefixes]], however, are not common in Mongolic. Vowel harmony refers to the agreement between the vowels in the root of a word and the vowels in the word's suffix or suffixes. Other features include the absence of [[grammatical gender]].

It has some elements in common with the [[Ugric languages|Uralic]] and [[Turkic languages|Uyghur]] languages, which reflects its origin from the common language of the Oirats, a union of four Oirat tribes that absorbed some Ugric and Turkic tribes during their expansion westward.{{Citation needed|reason=Does not provide evidence that similarities with Turkic and Uralic languages are present or come from the westward expansion of the Oirats and not from earlier contact and/or coincidence|date=February 2019}}

==Phonology==
Similar to [[Middle Mongol]] and [[Written Oirat]], Kalmyk exhibits [[retracted tongue root|tongue-root]] [[vowel harmony]]. Unlike [[Middle Mongol]], however, consonants are not restricted by [[consonant harmony|harmony]]. For instance, the [[voiced velar fricative]] /ɣ/ can appear in both front and back vowel words, e.g. һәәвһә /ɣæːwɣæ/ "good" and һалун /ɣalun/ "goose".<ref>{{cite book| author = Д. А. Павлов| title = Современный калмыцкий язык. Фонетика и графика|location= Элиста |date = 1968|publisher= Калмыцкое книжное издательство| pages = 227}}</ref> Nonetheless, all consonants and [[schwa|neutral reduced vowel]] /ə/ are influenced by harmonic status of a word, at least phonetically. The harmonic vowel pairs are: /a/~/æ/, /o/~/ø/, /u/~/y/, {{IPAblink|i}}~{{IPAblink|ɨ}}, the last pair being [[allophone|allophonic]].

Historical [[long vowels]] in non-initial syllables have been reduced to [[short vowels]], while historical short vowels have been reduced to [[schwa]] and then, just like in [[Mongolian language|Mongolian]], were replaced according to language's [[phonotactics]]. For example, [[Written Oirat]] ''ɣarān'' "hand-{{gcl|P.REFL|possesive reflexive}}" became һаран /ɣaran/; ''ɣarɣaqsan'' "to get out-{{gcl|CAUS}}-{{gcl|PC.PST|past participle}}" became һарһсн /ɣarɣsən/. Long vowels and [[diphthongs]] in one-syllable words have been also reduced to short vowels: ''sayin'' "good" > сән /sæn/. Nevertheless, in inflected forms of such words, short vowels tend to become elongated: сән /sæn/ "good" > сәәг /sæːgə/ "good-{{gcl|ACC}}", күн /kyn/ "man"> күүнә /kyːnæ/ "man-{{gcl|GEN}}". Despite that, long vowels still may be pronounced in non-initial syllables. This happens if a word consists of three syllables, second of which has a vowel /a/ or /æ/, and third syllable has a [[reduced vowel]] /ə/. Examples include гөрәсн [gøræːsᵊn] "[[saiga]]", туршарт [turʃaːrtə] "during", кезәңк [kezæːŋkə] "a while ago", һазрас [ɢazraːsə] "land-{{gcl|ABL}}".

===Consonants===

The following is an outline of the consonant system of Kalmyk. Note that since virtually all speakers of Kalmyk are [[bilingual]],<ref>{{cite journal |author = В. В. Баранова |title=Языковая ситуация в Калмыкии: социолингвистический очерк |journal=Acta Linguistica Petropolitana. Труды института лингвистических исследований |date=2009 |volume= 5 |issue=2 |pages=22–41}}</ref> recent borrowings from [[Russian language|Russian]] do not undergo phonological adaptation and are pronounced according to the rules of [[Russian phonology]], including those of [[Vowel reduction in Russian|vowel reduction]] and [[Russian phonology#Stress|stress]].
{| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center
|+Consonants of Kalmyk
!colspan=2| 
![[Labial consonant|Labial]]
![[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
![[Postalveolar consonant|Post-<br>Alveolar]]
![[Dorsal consonant|Dorsal]]
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPAslink|m}} м
| {{IPAslink|n}} н
|{{IPAslink|nʲ}} нь
| {{IPAslink|ŋ}} ң
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Plosive]]
! {{small|[[voicelessness|voiceless]]}}
| {{IPAslink|p}} п
| {{IPAslink|t}} т
|{{IPAslink|tʲ}} ть
| {{IPAslink|k}} к
|-
! {{small|[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]}}
| {{IPAslink|b}} б
| {{IPAslink|d}} д
|{{IPAslink|dʲ}} дь
| {{IPAslink|ɡ}} г
|-
!rowspan=2| [[Affricate]]
! {{small|[[voicelessness|voiceless]]}}
| 
| {{IPAslink|t͡s}} ц
|{{IPAslink|t͡ɕ}} ч
| 
|-
! {{small|[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]}}
| 
| 
|{{IPAslink|d͡ʑ}} җ
|
|-
!rowspan=2| [[Fricative]]
! {{small|[[voicelessness|voiceless]]}}
| ({{IPAslink|f}} ф) 
| {{IPAslink|s}} с
| {{IPAslink|ʃ}} ш
| {{IPAslink|x}} х
|-
! {{small|[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]}}
| ({{IPAslink|β}})
| {{IPAslink|z}} з
|
| {{IPAslink|ɣ}}  һ
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Approximant]]
| {{IPAslink|w}} в
| {{IPAslink|l}} л
|{{IPAslink|lʲ}} ль
| {{IPAslink|j}} й
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Trill consonant|Trill]]
|
|{{IPAslink|r}} р
|
|
|}
* The [[voiceless labiodental fricative]] /f/ occurs only in loanwords and [[onomatopoeic]] terms;
* The [[voiced velar fricative]] /ɣ/ may also be released as a uvular plosive {{IPAblink|ɢ}} in the word-initial position as well as uvular fricative {{IPAblink|ʁ}} in any position, including initial;
* The [[voiceless velar fricative]] /x/ may also be pronounced as [[uvular]] {{IPAblink|χ}};
* The [[voiced labial–velar approximant|voiced labial approximant]] /w/ may be released as the [[voiced bilabial fricative]] [β];<ref>{{cite book| author = Д. А. Павлов| title = Современный калмыцкий язык. Фонетика и графика|location= Элиста |date = 1968|publisher= Калмыцкое книжное издательство| pages = 127}}</ref>
* The [[velar nasal]] /ŋ/ is often pronounced with a velar plosive {{IPAblink|g}} or {{IPAblink|k}} at the end, e.g. дөң [døŋk] "help", саң [saŋk] "treasury", маңна [maŋgna] "forehead".

===Vowels===

{| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center
|+ Vowels<ref>{{Cite book|title=Vowel Contrast and Vowel Harmony Shift in the Mongolic Languages|last=Ko|first=Seongyeon|year=2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| author = П. Ц. Биткеев | title = Калмыцкий язык за 400 лет|location= Элиста |date = 2009|publisher= Джангар | pages = 192}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author = С. С. Сай | title = Исследования по грамматике калмыцкого языка|location= СПБ|date = 2009|publisher= Наука| pages = 624}}</ref>
|-
!
! colspan="2" |[[Front vowel|Front]]
! colspan="1" |[[Central vowel|Central]]
![[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! style="text-align: left;" |[[Close vowel|Close]]
|{{IPAslink|i}} {{IPAslink|iː}} и ии
|{{IPAslink|y}} {{IPAslink|yː}} ү үү
|({{IPAslink|ɨ}})
|{{IPAslink|u}} {{IPAslink|uː}} у уу
|-
! style="text-align: left;" |[[Close-mid vowel|Mid]]
|{{IPAslink|e}} {{IPAslink|eː}} е ее
|{{IPAslink|ø}} {{IPAslink|øː}} ө өө
|{{IPAslink|ə}}
|{{IPAslink|o}} {{IPAslink|oː}} о оо
|-
! style="text-align: left;" |[[Open vowel|Open]]
| colspan="2" |{{IPAslink|æ}} {{IPAslink|æː}} ә әә
|
|{{IPAslink|a}} {{IPAslink|aː}} а аа
|}

* Note that the mid central vowel /[[schwa|ə]]/ is not orthographically written;
* The open back vowel is also phonetically central {{IPAblink|ä}};
* The (historically reduced) vowel /ə/ is phonetically released as {{IPAblink|ə̟}} in [[Vowel harmony|harmonically]] front-vowel words, as {{IPAblink|ə̠}} in back-vowel words, and as {{IPAblink|ɪ}} after palatal and post-alveolar consonants /nʲ tʲ dʲ t͡ɕ d͡ʑ ʃ lʲ j/;<ref>{{cite book| author = П. Ц. Биткеев | title = Калмыцкий язык за 400 лет|location= Элиста |date = 2009|publisher= Джангар | pages = 58}}</ref>
* Although not always manifested orthographically, {{IPAblink|ɨ}} is a back vowel word allophone of /i/ that is only present in [[hortative]], [[genitive]] and [[accusative]] suffixes;<ref>{{cite book| author = Д. А. Павлов| title = Современный калмыцкий язык. Фонетика и графика|location= Элиста |date = 1968|publisher= Калмыцкое книжное издательство| pages = 37–38}}</ref>
* In native words, vowels /o oː/ and /ø øː/ can only appear in word-initial syllables.<ref>{{cite book| author = Д. А. Павлов| title = Современный калмыцкий язык. Фонетика и графика|location= Элиста |date = 1968|publisher= Калмыцкое книжное издательство| pages = 27}}</ref>

===Devoicing and assimilation===
Orthographic [[Voicing (phonetics)|voiced]] [[plosive|stops]] d, g are devoiced: келәд /kelæt/ "to speak-{{gcl|CV.ANT|anterior converb}}", бөлг /bølək/ "chapter". [[Devoicing]] also occurs whenever there is a two-consonant [[consonant cluster|cluster]] with one consonant being [[voiceless]]: /bolʃko/ "may not", таңһч /taŋxt͡ɕə/ "republic". Consonant clusters exhibit other types of assimilation:
# /kx/, /gx/, /xx/ > /kk/, /kk/, /xk/: закх /zakxə~zakkə/ "to order"; өргх /ørkxə~ørkkə/ "to raise" хатхх /xatxxə~xatxkə/ "to poke";
# /n/ + /b/ > /mb/: кен /ken/ "who" + б /bə/ "{{gcl|Q}}" > кемб /kembə/ "who-{{gcl|Q}}";
# /w/ + /n/ > /mn/: тәв- /tæv-/ "to put" + /-næ/ "{{gcl|PRS}}" > тәмнә /tæmnæ/ "to put-{{gcl|PRS}}";
# /w/ + [[voiceless consonant]] > /p/: ав- /awə/ "to take" + чк /t͡ɕkə/ "{{gcl|COMPL}}> апчк /apt͡ɕkə/ "to put-{{gcl|COMPL}}";
# /t͡ɕ/ + /l/ or /t/ > /ʃl/, /ʃt/: көвүчлх /køvyt͡ɕəlxə/ > көвүшлх /køvyʃəlxə/ "to adopt", ачтн /at͡ɕtən/ > аштн /aʃtən/ "to load-{{gcl|IMP.PL|plural imperative}}" ;
# /n/ > /ŋ/ before consonants /ɣ, g, x, k, s/: [[Written Oirat]] ''sonosxu'' "to listen" > соңсх /soŋksxə/, түрүн /tyryn/ "first" + к /kə/ "{{gcl|ADJ}}" > түрүңк /tyryŋkə/ "first-{{gcl|ADJ}}";
# /l/ is [[Palatalization (phonetics)|palatalised]] to /lʲ/ before [[palatal]] [[affricates]] /t͡ɕ d͡ʑ/: болҗ /bolʲd͡ʑə/ "to become-{{gcl|CV.IPEF|imperfective converb}}".

The [[voiced bilabial stop]] /b/, being only restricted to word-initial position, may be pronounced as {{IPAblink|β}} in a phrase: келҗ бәәнә /kelʲd͡ʑə bæːnæ/ > [kelʲd͡ʑ βæːnæ] "to speak-{{gcl|CV.IPEF|imperfective converb}} to be-{{gcl|prs}}".

The [[voiced labial–velar approximant|labial approximant]] or [[Voiced bilabial fricative|fricative]] /w/ can be pronounced as:
# Close rounded [[vowel]] {{IPAblink|y}} or {{IPAblink|u}} in past tense [[inflection]]: кел- /kelʲ-/ "to say" + -в /w/ "{{gcl|PST}}" + -в /w/ "{{gcl|1SG}}" > келүв /kelyw/ "I said" or in consonant clusters: тарвс /tarvəs/ > тарус /tarus/ "watermelon" 
#[[Voiced bilabial stop]] [b] in [[past tense]] inflection, if the [[verb]] [[stem (linguistics)|stem]] ends in /-w/: ав- /aw-/ "to take" + -в /-w/ "{{gcl|PST}}" > /awbə/ "took".<ref>{{cite book| author = Д. А. Павлов| title = Современный калмыцкий язык. Фонетика и графика|location= Элиста |date = 1968|publisher= Калмыцкое книжное издательство| pages = 167–174}}</ref>

===Vowel reduction and phonotactics===
Word-initial [[syllable structure]] is (C)V(C), meaning that in native words no word-initial clusters can occur. For non-initial syllables, however, a syllable-initial cluster of up to four consonants is allowed, meaning the maximal syllable is CCCCVC. In some [[consonant clusters]] such as /tl tn dn dl/ a [[sonorant]] becomes [[syllabic consonant|syllabic]]. These clusters are also [[nasal release|nasally released]].

[[Vowel reduction|The reduced vowel]] /ə/ is regularly preserved and can be a [[syllable nucleus]] in the following cases:
# In a word-final position: ик /i.kə/ "big", арат /a.ra.tə/ "fox", чон /t͡ɕo.nə/ "wolf";
# If, word-finally, there is either a [[closed syllable]] or a final [[open syllable]] with a consonant cluster: эцкнр /et͡s.kə.nər/ "father-{{gcl|PL}}" келчксн /kelʲ.t͡sək.sən/ "to say-{{gcl|COMPL}}-{{gcl|PC.PST|past participle}}" соңсгдна /soŋk.sə.gdna/ "to hear-{{gcl|PASS}}-{{gcl|PRS}}";
# In closed non-final syllables of a multisyllabic word: шорһлҗн /ʃor.ɣəlʲ.d͡ʑən/ "ant", әәмшгтә /æ:m.ʃək.tæ/ "dangerous";<ref>{{cite book| author = Д. А. Павлов| title = Современный калмыцкий язык. Фонетика и графика|location= Элиста |date = 1968|publisher= Калмыцкое книжное издательство| pages = 182–185, 191}}</ref>
# Word-finally in the following affixes:
## [[Ablative]] -ас /-asə/;
## [[Accusative]] -иг /-igə/, -г /-gə/;
## [[adjective|Adjective suffix]] -к /-kə/;
## [[grammatical aspect|Completive]] -чк /-t͡ɕkə/;
## [[converb|Imperfective converb]], [[admirative]] and [[evidential]] suffix -җ /-dʑə/;
## [[Dative]] -д /-də/;
## [[Negation]] particle эс /esə/;
## [[Present tense]] [[negation]] particle (or [[suffix]]) биш, -ш /biʃə/ /-ʃə/;
## [[Future tense]] [[participle]] -х /-xə/.<ref>{{cite book|author = С. С. Сай | title = Исследования по грамматике калмыцкого языка|location= СПБ|date = 2009|publisher= Наука| pages = 867–870}}</ref>

On the other hand, the vowel /ə/ cannot form syllables on its own if the following is true:
# If the following syllable is [[open syllable|open]]: бичх /bi.t͡ɕxə/ "to write", өгх /øk.kxə/ "to give";
# In [[inflections]] of two-syllable words, if the second syllable of an inflected word has a non-reduced vowel, e.g. мөрн /mørən/ "horse" > мөрта mørtæ "with a horse", церг /t͡se.rək/ "army" > церглә  /t͡serglæ/ "with an army";
# If the following syllable is open and has non-reduced vowel: тоһрун */to.ɣə.run/ > /to.ɣrun/ "grus"; шамдһа */ʃam.də.ɣa/ > /ʃam.dɣa/ "sneaky". In this case, however, reduced syllables may be released phonetically, although they do not play a role in [[syllable nucleus|syllable forming]].;<ref>{{cite book| author = Д. А. Павлов| title = Современный калмыцкий язык. Фонетика и графика|location= Элиста |date = 1968|publisher= Калмыцкое книжное издательство| pages = 181–182}}</ref>

Two-syllable words with schwa as a [[syllable nucleus|nucleus]] of the second syllable may undergo [[Metathesis (linguistics)|metathesis]], thus creating an [[open syllable]]: [[Written Oirat]] ''oros'' "Russian" > /orəs/ > /orsə/; ''ulus'' "country, people" > /uləs/ > /ulsə/; ''oyirad'' "Oirat" > /øːrət/ > /øːrdə/.<ref>{{cite book| author = Д. А. Павлов| title = Современный калмыцкий язык. Фонетика и графика|location= Элиста |date = 1968|publisher= Калмыцкое книжное издательство| pages = 168}}</ref>

===Stress===
Kalmyk exhibits [[Stress (linguistics)#Non-phonemic stress|non-phonemic stress]] with the last syllable (even if it ends in [[schwa]]) being stressed.<ref>{{cite book|author = С. С. Сай | title = Исследования по грамматике калмыцкого языка|location= СПБ|date = 2009|publisher= Наука| pages = 630}}</ref>

==Grammar==
Like other [[Mongolic languages]], Kalmyk is an [[agglutinative]], suffixing, and a [[grammatical gender|genderless]] language. Some aspects of its [[syntax]] have been influenced by [[Russian language|Russian]]; for example, [[relative clause]]s, traditionally characterized by [[branching (linguistics)|left-branching]] and employing a [[converb|converbial form]] of a verb (similarly to [[Japanese grammar|Japanese]]), now often use Russian relative pronoun [[wiktionary:который|который]] and thus exhibit right-branching. Other noticeable feature possibly influenced by Russian is frequent usage of future [[participle]] as a [[predicate (grammar)|predicate]] of a sentence to express [[future tense]].<ref>{{cite journal |author = В. В. Баранова |title=Языковая ситуация в Калмыкии: социолингвистический очерк |journal=Acta Linguistica Petropolitana. Труды института лингвистических исследований |date=2009 |volume= 5 |issue=2 |page=444}}</ref> There is little to none [[suppletion]] (irregular forms) in verbal [[inflection]] and noun [[grammatical conjugation|conjugation]]

===Nouns===
Traditionally, Kalmyk [[case (grammar)|cases]] are said to have three declensions; however, this is mostly due to orthographical peculiarities. Basically, if the word ends in a full vowel and the case ending begins in a vowel, either (1) a prothetic /g/ or /ʁ/ is added or (2) a vowel is deleted from the case ending. This is further demonstrated in the table below.
:{| class="wikitable"
|-
|+Kalmyk noun cases <ref>{{cite journal |author = В. В. Баранова |title=Языковая ситуация в Калмыкии: социолингвистический очерк |journal=Acta Linguistica Petropolitana. Труды института лингвистических исследований |date=2009 |volume= 5 |issue=2 |page=640}}</ref>
|-
! Case !! Suffix (Cyrillic) !! Suffix (IPA) !! [[Clear Script]] spelling
|-
| [[nominative case|nominative]] || -∅ || -∅ || -
|-
| [[genitive case|genitive]] || -ин; -һин; -н; -а; -ә; -i || -in; -ʁin; -n; -a; -æ; -i || {{MongolUnicode|ᡅᡕᡅᠨ}} ({{Transliteration|xwo|-iyin}}); {{MongolUnicode|ᡎᡅᡕᡅᠨ}} ({{Transliteration|xwo|-giyin}});  {{MongolUnicode|ᠨ}} ({{Transliteration|xwo|-n}});  {{MongolUnicode|ᠠᡅ}} ({{Transliteration|xwo|-ai}});  {{MongolUnicode|ᡅ}} ({{Transliteration|xwo|-i}}) 
|-
| [[dative case|dative]] || -д; -т || -də; -tə || {{MongolUnicode|ᡑᡇ}} ({{Transliteration|xwo|-du}}) / {{MongolUnicode|ᡑᡉ}} ({{Transliteration|xwo|-dü}}) (depending on [[vowel harmony]]) {{MongolUnicode|ᡐᡇ}} ({{Transliteration|xwo|-tu}}) / {{MongolUnicode|ᡐᡉ}} ({{Transliteration|xwo|-tü}})
|-
| [[accusative case|accusative]] || -иг; -г; ∅ || -igə; -gə; ∅ || {{MongolUnicode|ᡕᡅᡎᡅ}} ({{Transliteration|xwo|-yigi}}); {{MongolUnicode|ᡎᡅ}} ({{Transliteration|xwo|-gi}}); -
|-
| [[ablative case|ablative]] || -ас; -әс; -һас; -һәс || -asə; -æsə; -ʁasə; -ʁæsə || {{MongolUnicode|ᠠᡃᠰᠠ}} ({{Transliteration|xwo|-āsa}}), {{MongolUnicode|ᡄᡃᠰᡄ}} ({{Transliteration|xwo|-ēse}}) (later spelling, written together with the word); {{MongolUnicode|ᡄᡃᡔᡄ}} ({{Transliteration|xwo|-ēce}}) (earlier spelling, written separately from the word)
|-
| [[instrumental case|instrumental]] || -ар; -әр; -һар; -һәр || -ar; -ær; ʁar; ʁær || {{MongolUnicode|ᠠᡃᠷ}} ({{Transliteration|xwo|-ār}}), {{MongolUnicode|ᡄᡃᠷ}} ({{Transliteration|xwo|-ēr}}); {{MongolUnicode|ᡅᡕᠠᠷ}} ({{Transliteration|xwo|-iyar}}) (earlier spelling)
|-
| [[comitative case|comitative]] || -та; -тә || -ta; -tæ || {{MongolUnicode|ᡐᠠᡅ}} ({{Transliteration|xwo|-tai}}); {{MongolUnicode|ᡐᡄᡅ}} ({{Transliteration|xwo|-tei}})
|-
| [[allative case|directive]] || -ур; -үр; -һур; -һүр || -ur; -yr; -ʁur; -ʁyr || {{MongolUnicode|ᡇᡇᠷ}} ({{Transliteration|xwo|-uur}}); {{MongolUnicode|ᡇᡇᠷᡇ}} ({{Transliteration|xwo|-uuru}}) (earlier spelling; written separately from the word)
|}
* [[Genitive case|Genitive]] takes the suffix -ин ({{Transliteration|xal|-in}}) in case it is preceded by a consonant; -һин ({{Transliteration|xal|-ğin}}) or -н ({{Transliteration|xal|-n}}) if it is preceded by a vowel; -ә ({{Transliteration|xal|-ä}}), -a or -и ({{Transliteration|xal|-i}}) if it is preceded by the /n/ consonant. 
* [[Dative case|Dative]] suffix is -т ({{Transliteration|xal|-t}}) if preceded by voiced stops /b/ (/β/) /d/ /g/, voiceless sibilants /s/ /ʃ/, and /r/
* [[Accusative case|Accusative]] is marked (with a suffix) if the object is definite, unmarked if the object is indefinite
* Nouns ending in -n declense differently. -n is subtracted in the accusative, instrumental, and comitative cases. In all other cases, it is left untouched. For example: kelʲən "language-{{gcl|NOM}}" kelʲnæ "language-{{gcl|GEN}}" kelʲəndə "language-{{gcl|DAT}}" kelʲə/kelʲigə "language-{{gcl|ACC}}" kelʲnæsə "language-{{gcl|ABL}}" kelʲær "language-{{gcl|INS}}" kelʲtæ "language-{{gcl|COM}}" kelʲnyr "language-{{gcl|DIR|directive (lative) case}}"
* [[Dative]] also bears the function of [[lative]] and [[locative]] cases. Its difference with the [[illative|directive]] case is not clear, and in some dialects, [[dative]] is  the prevailing case for [[lative]] usage.

==Writing systems==
[[File:Clear-script-19th-ctry.png|200px|right|Todo bichig]]
{{main|Clear script}}
The literary tradition of Oirat reaches back to 11th century when the [[Old Uyghur alphabet|Old Uyghur script]] was used. The official Kalmyk alphabet, named [[Clear Script]] or ''Todo bichig'' in Oirat, was created in the 17th century by a Kalmyk Buddhist monk called [[Zaya Pandita]].

Like the Old Mongolian script, Todo bichig was written from top to bottom. Written Oirat language contained many words borrowed from the Mongolian language and not used in everyday speech, despite many attempts to bring the written standard and colloquial spoken language closer together. Thus, already at the beginning of the 18th century, two written forms of the Kalmyk language were recorded - “bookish”, used in religious practice and having numerous Mongolian and Tibetan borrowings and preserving archaic language forms, as well as “conversational”, used in private correspondence and reflecting the changes taking place in the language{{sfn|Номинханов|1976|pp=6-11}}{{full citation needed|date=January 2021}}.<ref>{{cite book| author = М. И. Исаев | title = Языковое строительство в СССР | edition =  {{nowrap|2650 экз}} |location= М. |date = 1979 |publisher= «Наука» | pages = 215–218}}</ref>

Todo bichig, also called “zayapandit script” after its creator, existed among the Kalmyks until 1924 with minor changes. Oirats of China use it to the present.<ref>{{cite book| author = Мусаев К. М. | title = Языки и письменности народов Евразии | edition =  {{nowrap|100 экз}} |location= Алматы |date = 1993 |publisher= «Гылым» | pages = 132| isbn = 5-628-01418-4}}</ref>

In 1924 this script was replaced by an adaptation of the [[Cyrillic script]], which was abandoned in 1930 in favour of a [[Latin script]].

===Early Cyrillic alphabets===
At the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries, the Orthodox Missionary Society published a number of school books in the Kalmyk language, using Cyrillic script. The first edition of this kind was the "Primer for Kalmyk ulus schools" (1892). The alphabet used in this primer has the following composition: '''А а, Б б, В в, Г г, Д д, Е е, З з, И и, К к, Л л, М м, Н н, О о, П п, Р р, С с, Т т, У у, Х х, Ц ц, Ч ч, Ш ш, ь, Э э, Ю ю, Я я, [[Ӓ]] [[ӓ]], [[Ā]] [[ā]], [[Ǟ]] [[ǟ]], [[Ӧ]] [[ӧ]], [[Ō]] [[ō]], [[Ȫ]] [[ȫ]], [[Ӱ]] [[ӱ]], [[Ӯ]] [[ӯ]], [[Ӱ̄]] [[ӱ̄]], Д[[ж]] д[[ж]], Нг нг, [[І]]й, [[і]]й, Йе йе, Йӧ йӧ, Ӓй ӓй, [[Ӣ]] [[ӣ]], Э̄ э̄, Ю̄ ю̄, Я̄ я̄'''.<ref>{{cite book| title = Букварь для калмыцких улусных школ |location= Казань |date = 1892 |publisher= Православное миссионерское общество }}</ref> In 1902, the “Primer for Kalmyks” was released, where a different version of the alphabet was used: '''А а, Б б, Г г, Д д, З з, И и, Й й, К к, Л л, М м, Н н, О о, Р р, С с, Т т, У у, Х х, Ц ц, Ч ч, Ш ш, ь, Э э, Ӓ ӓ, Ā ā, Ǟ ǟ, Ӧ ӧ, Ō ō, Ȫ ȫ, Ӱ ӱ, Ӯ ӯ, Ӱ̄ ӱ̄, Дж дж, Ҥ ҥ, Ӣ ӣ, Э̄ э̄'''.<ref>{{cite book| title = Букварь для калмыков (опыт) | orig-year = Хальмагӯдӣн тӧлӓ̄ бичигдэксэн ӱзӱгӱ̄дӣн дэктэр орошиба| edition =  {{nowrap|300 экз}} |location= Казань |date = 1902 |publisher= Православное миссионерское общество }}</ref> At the same time, the letter of the clear script continued to be used.<ref>{{cite news|author=А. Т. Баянова|title=Первые калмыцкие буквари как источники духовной культуры калмыков|work=Вестник Калмыцкого университета|year=2012|volume=3|issue=15|issn=1995-0713|url=https://cyberleninka.ru/article/v/pervye-kalmytskie-bukvari-kak-istochniki-duhovnoy-kultury-kalmykov-1|pages=50–55}}</ref>

On January 6, 1924, a meeting of the Kalmyk public was held in Astrakhan. At this meeting, the majority of the votes had declared obsolete writing - it was noted that it was difficult for writing and learning, lack of fonts, the inability to use on the telegraph, and so on. In this regard, it was decided to translate Kalmyk language into Cyrillic script. On January 12, the alphabet was adopted, consisting of the following letters: '''А а, Б б, В в, Г г, Д д, Е е, Ж ж, З з, И и, К к, Л л, М м, Н н, О о, П п, Р р, С с, Т т, У у, Ф ф, Х х, Ц ц, Ч ч, Ш ш, Щ щ, Ы ы, Э э, Ю ю, Я я, Ь ь, Й й, [[ä]], [[ö]], [[ӱ]], [[ң]], [[ӝ]]'''. Above the long vowels was supposed to put a line (macron), but in practice this was not done. Also, despite the absence of an approved project, the letter '''ъ''' was used to designate unclear vowels. From January 1926, the newspaper '''[[Halmg unn (newspaper)|«Ulan Halmg»]]''' ([[:ru:Хальмг унн|ru]]) began to be printed on this alphabet.{{sfn|Номинханов|1976|pp=52-54}} The basis of the emerging Kalmyk literary language was the Torgut dialect, but later the norm began to focus not only on the Torgut, but also on the Derbet dialect.<ref name="Пям">{{cite book| title = Письменные языки мира: Языки Российской Федерации |location= М. |date = 2000 |volume= 1 | pages = 171}}</ref> Sometimes in the editions of that time, the letter ''ң'' was replaced by '''ҥ''' or '''н̈''', and the letters ''Е е, Ж ж, Ф Ф, Щ щ'' were not officially included in the alphabet.<ref>{{cite book| author = Л. Нармаев | title = Сарул мӧр | edition =  {{nowrap|5000 экз}} |location= М. |date = 1925 |publisher= СССР келен улсин аха издательство | pages = 31}}</ref>

September 7, 1926 at a meeting at the Kalmyk pedagogical school in Astrakhan, it was decided to make changes to the alphabet. So, all additional letters were canceled, and instead of them entered '''D d, V v, H h'''. In June 1927, this alphabet was introduced into official use, but much of the literature and press was still published in the alphabet of 1924.{{sfn|Номинханов|1976|pp=60-64}}

On February 5–8, 1928, a regular meeting on Kalmyk writing was held, at which the alphabet was reformed again. The letters ''D d, V v, H h'' were canceled, and the letter '''Ә ә''' was entered to indicate unclear vowels. It was decided to denote the long vowels by doubling the corresponding letters. This alphabet was used until 1930.{{sfn|Номинханов|1976|pp=68-70}}

=== Latin alphabet ===
In the late 1920s, the process of [[Latinisation in the Soviet Union|romanization of writing]] began in the USSR. In the course of this process in January 1930, the IX Kalmyk Regional Congress of Soviets legalized the new Latinized alphabet of the Kalmyk language. Its actual use began in newspapers from the end of September of the same year.{{sfn|Номинханов|1976|pp=78-79}} In this alphabet, the letters were arranged in the following order:{{sfn|Номинханов|1976|p=79}} '''A a, B b, C c, Ç ç, D d, E e, Ә ә, G g, H h, I i, j, K k, L l, M m, N n, ꞑ, O o, Ө ө, P p, R r, S s, Ş ş, F f, Y y, Z z, Ƶ ƶ, U u, T t, V v, X x, ь'''.

On January 10–17, 1931, at a conference held in Moscow, scientists of the Mongolian group of peoples decided to change the phonetic meaning of the two letters of the Kalmyk script, as well as change the alphabetical order of the letters. In May of the same year, the III Kalmyk Regional Conference on Language and Writing, which was held in [[Elista]], confirmed this decision. The alphabet took the following form:{{sfn|Номинханов|1976|pp=82-86}}

{| style="font-family:Arial Unicode MS; font-size:1.4em; border-color:#000000; border-width:1px; border-style:solid; border-collapse:collapse; background-color:#F8F8EF"
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |A a
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |B b
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |C c
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ç ç
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |D d
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |E e
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ə ə
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |F f
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |G g
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |H h
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |I i
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |J j
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |K k
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |L l
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |M m
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |N n
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ꞑ ꞑ
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |O o
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ө ө
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |P p
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |R r
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |S s
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ş ş
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |T t
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |U u
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |V v
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |X x
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Y y
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Z z
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ƶ ƶ
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ь ь
|
|
|
| 
|}

The letter ''Ь ь'', unlike most other Soviet Latinized alphabets, denoted palatalization.<ref>{{cite book|title=Новый член алфавитной унии|work=Культура и письменность Востока|year=1930|chapter=По поводу проекта латинизации калмыцкого алфавита|location=Баку|chapter-url=http://dlib.rsl.ru/viewer/01005509739#?page=200|volume=VI|pages=200–201}}</ref> In this form, the alphabet existed until 1938.

There is no romanization standard for Kalmyk, but a modified version of either the [[BGN/PCGN romanization of Russian]] or the [[Common Turkic Alphabet]] is used in practice.

=== Modern Cyrillic alphabet ===
In the second half of the 1930s, the USSR began the process of translating scripts into Cyrillic. The Latin script was in turn [[cyrillisation|replaced]] by another Cyrillic script in 1938. Initially, the Kalmyk Cyrillic alphabet included all the letters of the Russian alphabet, as well as '''Ä ä, Гъ гъ, Дж дж, Нъ нъ, Ö ö, Ӱ ӱ'''. In 1941, the alphabet was reformed again - the outline of additional letters was changed.{{sfn|Номинханов|1976|p=130}} However, due to the [[deportation of the Kalmyks]] that followed soon, the transition to a new version of the alphabet was carried out only after their rehabilitation - in the late 1950s.<ref>{{cite book| author = Р. С. Гиляревский, В. С. Гривин | title = Определитель языков мира по письменностям | edition = 2-е  |location= М. |date = 1961 |publisher= Изд-во восточной литературы | pages = 64}}</ref> These script reforms effectively disrupted the Oirat literary tradition.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www6.gencat.net/llengcat/noves/hm01hivern-primavera/internacional/kornou4_9.htm#3#3 |title=Noves Sl. Hivern-Primavera 2001. Language Policy and Minority Language Planning in Russia (4) |website=www6.gencat.net |access-date=11 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120717012018/http://www6.gencat.net/llengcat/noves/hm01hivern-primavera/internacional/kornou4_9.htm#3 |archive-date=17 July 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The modern Cyrillic alphabet used for the Kalmyk language is as follows:
{| style="font-family:Arial Unicode MS; font-size:1.4em; border-color:#000000; border-width:1px; border-style:solid; border-collapse:collapse; background-color:#F8F8EF"
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |А а
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ә ә
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Б б
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |В в
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Г г
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Һ һ
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Д д
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Е е
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ё ё
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ж ж
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Җ җ
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |З з
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |И и
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Й й
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |К к
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Л л
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |М м
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Н н
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ң ң
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |О о
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ө ө
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |П п
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Р р
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |С с
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Т т
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |У у
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ү ү
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ф ф
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Х х
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ц ц
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ч ч
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ш ш
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Щ щ
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ъ ъ
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ы ы
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ь ь
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Э э
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ю ю
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Я я
|
|
|
|}

Since the [[Tatar alphabet]] is identical to the Kalmyk alphabet (both featuring the same additional letters to the Russian one), Kalmyks using Windows use Tatar keyboard layouts to type Kalmyk. Kalmyk-specific keyboard layouts, however, are available on Android and Linux systems.

== Alphabet matching table ==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|-
! Modern<br />Cyrillic !! [[Latinisation in the Soviet Union|Latin]]<br />(1930s) !! Cyrillic<br />(1920-30s) !! [[Clear script]] !! Letter name !! [[International phonetic alphabet|IPA]] !! Cyrillic transliteration<ref>{{cite web|title=ГОСТ 7.79-2000|url=http://www.ifap.ru/library/gost/7792000.pdf|work=Правила транслитерации кирилловского письма латинским алфавитом|publisher=Межгосударственный совет по стандартизации, метрологии и сертификации}}</ref>{{Rp|pages= 9, 16}}
|-
| А а || A a || А а || <big>{{MongolUnicode|ᠠ|valign=middle}}</big> || а || a || A a
|-
| Ә ә || Ə ə || Ä ä (1938–41)<br />Я я (1928–30)<br />d (1926–28)<br />Ä ä (1924–26) || — || ә || æ || A̋ a̋
|-
| Б б || B в || Б б || <big>{{MongolUnicode|ᡋ|valign=middle}}</big> || бэ || b, bʲ || B b
|-
| В в || V v || В в || <big>{{MongolUnicode|ᡖ|valign=middle}}</big> || вэ || v, vʲ || V v
|-
| Г г || G g || Г г || <big>{{MongolUnicode|ᡙ|valign=middle}}</big> || гэ || ɡ, ɡʲ, ɢ || G g
|-
| Һ һ || H h || Гъ гъ (1938–41)<br />Г г (1928–30)<br />Һ һ (1926–28)<br />Г г (1924–26) || <big>{{MongolUnicode|ᡎ|valign=middle}}</big> || һа || ɣ || Ḥ ḥ
|-
| Д д || D d || Д д || <big>{{MongolUnicode|ᡑ|valign=middle}}</big> || дэ || d, dʲ || D d
|-
| Е е || E e || Е е || — || е || (j)e || E e*
|-
| Ё ё<br />(in Russian loanwords only) || — || — || — || ё || jo || Ë ë**
|-
| Ж ж<br />(in Russian loanwords only) || Ƶ ƶ || Ж ж || — || жэ || ʒ ||Z̆ z̆
|-
| Җ җ || Ƶ ƶ || Дж дж (1938–41)<br />Ж ж (1928–30)<br />Дж дж (1926–28)<br />Ӝ ӝ (1924–26) || <big>{{MongolUnicode|ᡚ|valign=middle}}</big> || җә || ʤ ||Z̦̆ z̦̆
|-
| З з || Z z || З з || <big>{{MongolUnicode|ᡓ|valign=middle}}</big> || зэ || z || Z z
|-
| И и || I i || И и || <big>{{MongolUnicode|ᡅ|valign=middle}}</big> || и || i || I i
|-
| Й й || J j || Й й || <big>{{MongolUnicode|ᡕ|valign=middle}}</big> || ахр и || j || J j
|-
| К к || K k || К к || <big>{{MongolUnicode|ᡘ|valign=middle}}</big> , <big>{{MongolUnicode|ᡗ|valign=middle}}</big> || кэ || k, kʲ || K k
|-
| Л л || L l || Л л || <big>{{MongolUnicode|ᠯ|valign=middle}}</big> || эль || l, lʲ || L l
|-
| М м || M m || М м || <big>{{MongolUnicode|ᡏ|valign=middle}}</big> || эм || m, mʲ || M m
|-
| Н н || N n || Н н || <big>{{MongolUnicode|ᠨ|valign=middle}}</big> || эн|| n, nʲ || N n
|-
| Ң ң || Ꞑ ꞑ || Нъ нъ (1938–41)<br />Нг нг (1926–30)<br />Ң ң (1924–26) || <big>{{MongolUnicode|ᡊ|valign=middle}}</big> || аң || ŋ || {{Gray|Ñ ñ}}<!-- Unclear transliteration in source (possible(?) alternatives: n̦ ṇ ǹ ń).  -->
|-
| О о || O o || О о || <big>{{MongolUnicode|ᡆ|valign=middle}}</big> || о || o || O o
|-
| Ө ө || Ө ө || Ö ö (1938–41)<br />Э э (1928–30)<br />v (1926–28)<br />Ö ö (1924–26) || <big>{{MongolUnicode|ᡈ|valign=middle}}</big> || ө || ø || Ô ô
|-
| П п<br />(in Russian loanwords only) || P p || П п || <big>{{MongolUnicode|ᡌ|valign=middle}}</big> || пэ || (p), (pʲ) || P p
|-
| Р р || R r || Р р || <big>{{MongolUnicode|ᠷ|valign=middle}}</big> || эр || r, rʲ || R r
|-
| С с || S s || С с || <big>{{MongolUnicode|ᠰ|valign=middle}}</big> || эс || s || S s
|-
| Т т || T t || Т т || <big>{{MongolUnicode|ᡐ|valign=middle}}</big> || тэ || t, tʲ || T t
|-
| У у || U u || У у || <big>{{MongolUnicode|ᡇ|valign=middle}}</big> || у || u || U u
|-
| Ү ү || Y y || Ӱ ӱ (1938–41)<br />Ю ю (1926–30)<br />Ӱ ӱ (1924–26) || <big>{{MongolUnicode|ᡉ|valign=middle}}</big> || ү || y || Ù ù
|-
| Ф ф<br />(in Russian loanwords only) || F f || Ф ф || — || эф || (f) || F f
|-
| Х х || X x || Х х || <big>{{MongolUnicode|ᡍ|valign=middle}}</big> || ха || x, xʲ || H h
|-
| Ц ц || C c (1931–38)<br />Ç ç (1930–31) || Ц ц || <big>{{MongolUnicode|ᡔ|valign=middle}}</big> || цэ || ts || C c
|-
| Ч ч || Ç ç (1931–38)<br />C c (1930–31) || Ч ч || <big>{{MongolUnicode|ᡒ|valign=middle}}</big> || чэ || tʃ || Č č
|-
| Ш ш || Ş ş || Ш ш || <big>{{MongolUnicode|ᠱ|valign=middle}}</big> || ша || ʃ || S̆ s̆
|-
| Щ щ<br />(in Russian loanwords only) || — || Щ щ || — || ща || (ɕː) || Ŝ ŝ
|-
| Ъ ъ || — || — || — || үзгин нерәдлһн || — || —
|-
| Ы ы || — || Ы ы || — || ы || i || Y y
|-
| Ь ь || Ь ь || Ь ь || — || җөөлн темдг || ʲ || '
|-
| Э э || E e || Э э || <big>{{MongolUnicode|ᡄ|valign=middle}}</big> || э ||e || È è***
|-
| Ю ю || — || Ю ю || — || ю || jʊ || Û û
|-
| Я я || — || Я я || — || я || ja || Â â
|}
<nowiki>*</nowiki> Pronounced /je/ at the beginning of words and /e/ otherwise. Only appears at the beginning of a word in Russian loanwords.<br>
<nowiki>**</nowiki> This sound combination exists in native Kalmyk words, but is spelled "йо".<br>
<nowiki>***</nowiki> Only appears at the beginning of words.

== Example text ==

This text is from [[State Anthem of the Republic of Kalmykia]].
{| class="wikitable" style="table-layout:fixed;width:100%"
! Kalmyk in Cyrillic script (modern)
! Kalmyk in Cyrillic script (1924-1926)
! Kalmyk in Cyrillic script (1926-1928)
! Kalmyk in Latin script (1931–1938)
! Kalmyk in Latin script (experimental)
! English
|-
| Сарул сәәхн Хальмг Таңһч<br>
Сансн тоотан күцәнә,<br>
Авта җирһлин бат җолаг<br>
Алдр һартан атхна.

Улан залата хальмг улс,<br>
Улата теегән кеерүлий!<br>
Төрскн нутгтан күчән нерәдәд,<br>
Толһа менд җирһий!

Олн келн-әмтнлә хамдан<br>
Уралан Таңһчин зүткнә<br>
Иньгллтин залин өндр герлд<br>
Иргч мана батрна.

Улан залата хальмг улс,<br>
Улата теегән кеерүлий!<br>
Төрскн нутгтан күчән нерәдәд,<br>
Толһа менд җирһий!

Баатр-чиирг үрдәр туурад,<br>
Буурл теемг өснә.<br>
Сурһуль-номдан килмҗән өдәг,<br>
Сул нерән дуудулна.

Улан залата хальмг улс,<br>
Улата теегән кеерүлий!<br>
Төрскн нутгтан күчән нерәдәд,<br>
Толһа менд җирһий!<br>
| Сарул сääхн Хальмг Таңгч<br>
Сансн тоотан күцäнä,<br>
Авта ӝирглин бат ӝолаг<br>
Алдр гартан атхна.

Улан залата хальмг улс,<br>
Улата теегäн кеерӱлий!<br>
Тöрскн нутгтан кӱчäн нерäдäд,<br>
Толга менд ӝиргий!

Олн келн-äмтнлä хамдан<br>
Уралан Таңгчин зӱткнä<br>
Иньгллтин залин öндр герлд<br>
Иргч мана батрна.

Улан залата хальмг улс,<br>
Улата теегäн кеерӱлий!<br>
Тöрскн нутгтан кӱчäн нерäдäд,<br>
Толга менд ӝиргий!

Баатр-чиирг ӱрдäр туурад,<br>
Буурл теемг öснä.<br>
Сургуль-номдан килмӝäн öдäг,<br>
Сул нерäн дуудулна.

Улан залата хальмг улс,<br>
Улата теегäн кеерӱлий!<br>
Тöрскн нутгтан кӱчäн нерäдäд,<br>
Толга менд ӝиргий!<br>
| Сарул сddхн Хальмг Тангһч<br>
Сансн тоотан кюцdнd,<br>
Авта джирһлин бат джолаг<br>
Алдр һартан атхна.

Улан залата хальмг улс,<br>
Улата теегdн кеерюлий!<br>
Тvрскн нутгтан кючdн нерdдdд,<br>
Толһа менд джирһий!

Олн келн-dмтнлd хамдан<br>
Уралан Тангһчин зюткнd<br>
Иньгллтин залин vндр герлд<br>
Иргч мана батрна.

Улан залата хальмг улс,<br>
Улата теегdн кеерюлий!<br>
Тvрскн нутгтан кючdн нерdдdд,<br>
Толһа менд джирһий!

Баатр-чиирг юрдdр туурад,<br>
Буурл теемг vснd.<br>
Сурһуль-номдан килмджdн vдdг,<br>
Сул нерdн дуудулна.

Улан залата хальмг улс,<br>
Улата теегdн кеерюлий!<br>
Тvрскн нутгтан кючdн нерdдdд,<br>
Толһа менд джирһий!<br>
| Sarul səəxn Xalьmg Taꞑhç<br>
Sansn tootan kycənə,<br>
Avta ƶirhlin ʙat ƶolag<br>
Aldr hartan atxna.

Ulan zalata xalьmg uls,<br>
Ulata teegən keerylij!<br>
Tɵrskn nutgtan kyçən nerədəd,<br>
Tolha mend ƶirhij!

Oln keln-əmtnlə xamdan<br>
Uralan Taꞑhcin zytknə<br>
Inьglltin zalin ɵndr gerld<br>
Irgç mana ʙatrna!

Ulan zalata xalьmg uls,<br>
Ulata teegən keerylij!<br>
Tɵrskn nutgtan kyçən nerədəd,<br>
Tolha mend ƶirhij!

Baatr-çiirg yrdər tuurad,<br>
Buurl teemg ɵsnə.<br>
Surhulь-nomdan kilmƶən ɵdəg,<br>
Sul nerən duudulna.

Ulan zalata xalьmg uls,<br>
Ulata teegən keerylij!<br>
Tɵrskn nutgtan kyçən nerədəd,<br>
Tolha mend ƶirhij!<br>
| Sarul səəhn Haľmg Tañğç<br>
Sansn tótan küţənə,<br>
Avta cirğlin bat colag<br>
Aldr ğartan athna.

Ulan zalata haľmg uls,<br>
Ulata tégən kérüliy!<br>
Törksn nutgtan küçən nerədəd,<br>
Tolğa mend cirğiy!

Oln keln-əmtnlə hamdan<br>
Uralan Tañğçin zütknə<br>
Iňgĺtin zalin öndr gerld<br>
Irgç mana batrna.

Ulan zalata haľmg uls,<br>
Ulata tégən kérüliy!<br>
Törksn nutgtan küçən nerədəd,<br>
Tolğa mend cirğiy!

Bátr-çírg ürdər túrad,<br>
Búrl témg ösnə.<br>
Surğuľ-nomdan kilmcən ödəg,<br>
Sul nerən dúdulna.

Ulan zalata haľmg uls,<br>
Ulata tégən kérüliy!<br>
Törksn nutgtan küçən nerədəd,<br>
Tolğa mend cirğiy!<br>
| Bright and beautiful Kalmyk Republic<br>
Fulfills everything it wishes for.<br>
It holds in its glorious hands<br>
Strong reins of harmonious life.

Kalmyks with Ulan-Zala,<br>
Let's adorn our natal steppes!<br>
Let's devote our power to the homeland,<br>
and live long happily!

With all the peoples of different languages,<br>
The Republic is pushing forward.<br>
In the high light of the friendship flame,<br>
Our future is getting stronger.

Kalmyks with Ulan-Zala,<br>
Let's adorn our natal steppes!<br>
Let's devote our power to the homeland,<br>
and live long happily!

Heroic children have succeeded,<br>
The steppe has emerged.<br>
Putting effort into learning,<br>
They're putting up the free name.

Kalmyks with Ulan-Zala,<br>
Let's adorn our natal steppes!<br>
Let's devote our power to the homeland,<br>
and live long happily!<br>
|}

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

===Works cited===
* {{cite book |first=Ц. Д. |last=Номинханов |title=Очерк истории калмыцкой письменности |trans-title=Essay on the history of Kalmyk writing |location=Мoscow |publisher=Наука |date=1976}}

==External links==
{{interWiki|code=xal|Kalmyk Oirat}}
*{{Wikivoyage inline|Kalmyk phrasebook}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20041224191946/http://www6.gencat.net/llengcat/noves/hm01hivern-primavera/internacional/kornou1_9.htm Article on language policy and history in Kalmykia]
*[http://словарь.хальмгтангч.рф Russian-Kalmyk On-Line Dictionary]

{{Languages of Russia}}
{{Languages of the Caucasus}}
{{Mongolic languages}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalmyk Language}}
[[Category:Agglutinative languages]]
[[Category:Central Mongolic languages]]
[[Category:Languages of Russia]]
[[Category:Kalmykia]]
[[Category:Kalmyk language| ]]
[[Category:Mongolic languages]]