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Khitan language

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Khitan

Native tonortheastern China, southeastern Mongolia
RegionNorthern
Extinctc. 1243 (Yelü Chucai, last person known who could speak and write Khitan)
Khitan large script and Khitan small script
Language codes
ISO 639-3zkt
zkt
Glottologkita1247

Khitan or Kitan ( in large script or in small, Khitai;[2] Chinese: t 契丹語, Qìdānyǔ), also known as Liao, is a now-extinct language once spoken by the Khitan people (4th to 13th century). It was the official language of the Liao dynasty (907–1125) and the Qara Khitai (1124–1218).

Classification

Khitan appears to have been related to the Mongolic languages;[3] Juha Janhunen states, "[T]he 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."[1]

Alexander Vovin (2017)[4] notes that Khitan has many Koreanic loanwords, pointing to intensive contact between Korean and Khitans. Both of the Korean's Goryeo dynasty and Khitan's Liao dynasty claimed themselves to be successors of Goguryeo, thus it is possible to assume the Koreanic words in Khitan are derived 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.[1] The small script, which was a syllabary, was used until the Jurchen-speaking Jin dynasty (1115–1234) replaced it[clarification needed] in 1191.[5] The large script was logographic like Chinese.

Records

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.[6][7][8][9]

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.[10] The following is a list of words in these closed systems that are similar to Mongolic. Mongolian equivalents are given after the English translation:

Seasons

Khitan Translation Mongolian script modern Mongolian pronunciation
heu.ur spring qabur havar
ju.un summer jun zun
n.am.ur autumn namur namar
u.ul winter ebül övöl

Numerals

Khitan Translation Mongolian script modern Mongolian pronunciation
*omc one onca 'unique' onts (unique)
j.ur.er second jirin 'two' jirin (two), jiremsen (double/pregnant)
hu.ur.er third gurba 'three' gurav, gurvan, guramsan (triple)
durer/duren fourth dörben döröv, dörvön
tau five tabun tav, tavan
t.ad.o.ho fifth tabu-daki tav dahi
*nil six jirgugan zurgaa (innovation "jir'gur" or 2x3)
da.lo.er seventh dologa 'seven' doloo
nyo.i eight nayim 'eight' naim
*is, onyo nine yesü yüs, yüsön
jau hundred jagun zuu, zuun
ming thousand minggan myanga, myangan

Compared with Khitan, The Tungusic numerals of the Jurchen language differ significantly: three=ilan, five=shunja, seven=nadan, nine=uyun, hundred=tangu.

Animals

Khitan Translation Mongolian script modern Mongolian pronunciation
te.qo.a chicken taqiya tahia
ni.qo dog noqai nohoi
s.au.a bird sibuga shuvuu
em.a goat imaga yamaa
tau.li.a rabbit taulai tuulai
mo.ri horse mori mori
uni cow üniye ünee
mu.ho.o snake mogoi mogoi

Directions

Khitan Translation Mongolian script modern Mongolian pronunciation
ud.ur east doruna dorno
dzi.ge.n left jegün züün
bo.ra.ian right baragun baruun
dau.ur.un middle dumda dund
xe.du.un horizontal köndelen höndölön
ja.cen.i border jaqa zasan, zaag

Time

Khitan Translation Mongolian script modern Mongolian pronunciation
suni night söni shönö
un.n/un.e now,present önö önöö

Personal relations

Khitan Translation Mongolian script modern Mongolian pronunciation
c.i.is blood cisu tsus
mo ku female eme em
deu younger brother degü düü
n.ai.ci friend nayija naiz
na.ha.an uncle nagaca nagats
s.ia/s.en good sayin sain
g.en.un sadness, regret genü='to regret' in the letter of Arghun Khan) genen, gem
ku person kümün hün, hümün

Tribal administration

Khitan Translation Mongolian script
cau.ur war cagur, as in "tsa'urgalan dairakh"
nai/nai.d heads, officials "-d" is a plural suffix=noyan, noyad for plural
t.em- to bestow a title temdeg 'sign'
k.em decree kem kemjiye 'law/norm'
us.gi letter üseg
ui matter üile
qudug blessed qutug
xe.se.ge part, section, province keseg
ming.an military unit of thousand minggan

Basic verbs

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

Natural objects

Khitan Translation Mongolian script modern Mongolian pronunciation
eu.ul cloud egüle üül
s.eu.ka dew sigüderi shüüder
sair moon sara sar
nair sun nara nar
m.em/m.ng silver mönggö möng

The Liaoshi records in Chapter 53:

國語謂是日為「討賽咿兒」。「討」五；「賽咿兒」，月也。

In the national (Khitan) language this day (5th day of the 5th lunar month) is called 'Tao Saiyier'. 'Tao' means five; 'Saiyier' means moon/month.

'Tao Saiyier' corresponds to Mongolian 'tavan sar' (fifth moon/month). The Turkic Kyrgyz equivalent would be 'beshinchi ay' while the Manchu (Tungusic) equivalent would be 'sunja biya'.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Janhunen 2006, p. 393.
  2. ^ "Khitan" at Omniglot.
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ Vovin, Alexander (June 2017). "Koreanic loanwords in Khitan and their importance in the decipherment of the latter". Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae. 70 (2): 207–215. doi:10.1556/062.2017.70.2.4. ISSN 0001-6446.
  5. ^ Janhunen 2006, p. 395.
  6. ^ 遼史/卷116 卷116.
  7. ^ pp. 123-125 Howorth, H. H.. 1881. “The Northern Frontagers of China. Part V. The Khitai or Khitans”. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland 13 (2). Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland: 121–82. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25196875.
  8. ^ Wilkinson, Endymion Porter (2000). Chinese History: A Manual. Vol. Volume 52 of Harvard Yenching Institute Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard-Yenching Institute monograph series (illustrated, revised ed.). Harvard Univ Asia Center. p. 864. ISBN 0674002490. ISSN 0073-084X. Retrieved 24 April 2014. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  9. ^ Heming Yong; Jing Peng (14 August 2008). Chinese Lexicography : A History from 1046 BC to AD 1911: A History from 1046 BC to AD 1911. OUP Oxford. pp. 382–. ISBN 978-0-19-156167-2.
  10. ^ Kane, Daniel The Kitan language and script 2009, Leiden, The Netherlands

Bibliography

Juha Janhunen (2006). The Mongolic Languages. Routledge. p. 393. ISBN 978-1-135-79690-7.

Further reading

External links

Look up Category:Khitan language in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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