Ruanruan language
| Ruan-ruan | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Rouran Khaganate |
| Region | Mongolia and northern China |
| Era | 4th century AD – 6th century AD |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | None (mis) |
| Glottolog | None |
Ruanruan (Chinese: 蠕蠕; also called Rouran) is an unclassified extinct language of Mongolia and northern China, spoken in the Rouran Khaganate from the 4th to the 6th centuries AD, considered a likely early precursor to Mongolic.[1]
Peter A. Boodberg claimed in 1935 that the Ruanruan language was Mongolic by analysing Chinese transcriptions of Ruan-ruan names.[2] Atwood (2013) notes that Rourans calqued the Sogdian word pūr "son" into their language as *k’obun (Chinese transliteration: 去汾 MC *kʰɨʌH-bɨun > Mandarin qùfén); which, according to Atwood, is cognate with Middle Mongol kö'ün "son".[3] Alexander Vovin noted that Old Turkic had borrowed some words from an unknown non-Altaic language that might have been Ruan-ruan,[4] arguing that if so, the language would be non-Altaic language, unrelated to its neighbours and possibly a language isolate, though evidence was scant.[2] In 2019, with the emergence of new evidence through the analysis of the Brāhmī Bugut and Khüis Tolgoi, Vovin changed his view, suggesting Ruan-ruan was, in fact a Mongolic language, close but not identical to Middle Mongolian.[1] Pamela Kyle Crossley (2019) wrote that the Rouran language itself has remained a puzzle, and leading linguists consider it a possible isolate.[5]
Phonology[edit]
Features of Ruan-ruan included:[2]
- no mid vowels
- presence of initial l-
- final consonantal cluster -nd unusual for any "Altaic" languages
Morphology[edit]
Ruan-ruan had the feminine gender suffix -tu-.[2]
Lexicon[edit]
Ruan-ruan vocabulary included:[2][6]
- küskü – 'rat'
- ud – 'ox'
- luu – 'dragon' < Middle Chinese luŋ – 'dragon'
- yund – 'horse' < Old Turkic: 𐰖𐰆𐰣𐱃, romanized: yunt - 'horse'[7]
- laγzïn – 'pig'
- qaγan – 'emperor'
- qan – 'khan'
- qaγatun – 'empress'
- qatun – 'khan's wife'
- aq – 'dung'
- and – 'oath' < Old Turkic: 𐰦, romanized: ant 'oath'
- beg – 'elder'
- bitig – 'inscription'
- bod – 'people'
- drö – 'law'
- küǰü – 'strength'
- ordu – 'camp'
- tal- – 'to plunder'
- törö – 'to be born'
- türǖg – 'Turk'
References[edit]
- ^ a b Vovin, Alexander (2019). "A Sketch of the Earliest Mongolic Language: the Brāhmī Bugut and Khüis Tolgoi Inscriptions". International Journal of Eurasian Linguistics. 1 (1): 162–197. doi:10.1163/25898833-12340008. ISSN 2589-8825.
- ^ a b c d e Vovin, Alexander (3–5 December 2010). "Once Again on the Ruanruan Language". Ötüken'den İstanbul'a Türkçenin 1290 Yılı (720–2010) Sempozyumu From Ötüken to Istanbul, 1290 Years of Turkish (720–2010).
- ^ Christopher P., Atwood (2013). "Some Early Inner Asian Terms Related to the Imperial Family and the Comitatus". Central Asiatic Journal. Harrassowitz Verlag. 56: 49–86.
- ^ Vovin, Alexander (2004). "Some thoughts on the origins of the old Turkic 12-year animal cycle". Central Asiatic Journal. 48 (1): 118–132. ISSN 0008-9192.
- ^ Crossley, Pamela Kyle (2019). Hammer and Anvil: Nomad Rulers at the Forge of the Modern World. p. 49.
- ^ Alexander Vovin, (2019), A Sketch of the Earliest Mongolic Language:the Brāhmī Bugut and Khüis Tolgoi Inscriptions, p. 162-197
- ^ Clauson, Gerard (1972), “yunt”, in An Etymological Dictionary of pre-thirteenth-century Turkish, Oxford: Clarendon Press, page 946