Khorchin Mongolian
{{Short description|Dialect of Mongolian spoken in eastern Inner Mongolia}}
{{Infobox language
| name = Khorchin
| ethnicity = 2.08 million Khorchin Mongols (2000)
| familycolor = Altaic
| fam1 = Mongolic
| fam2 = Central Mongolic
| fam4 = Mongolian
| fam5 = Peripheral Mongolian
| speakers = >1 million
| date = no date
| region = Hinggan League, Inner Mongolia
| states = China
| glotto = none
| ietf = mvf-u-sd-cnnm22
}}
The Khorchin dialect (Mongolian {{MongolUnicode|ᠬᠣᠷᠴᠢᠨ|lang=mn|valign=bottom}} {{transl|Mong|Qorčin}}, Chinese 科尔沁 Kē'ěrqìn) is a variety of Mongolian spoken in the east of Inner Mongolia, namely in Hinggan League, in the north, north-east and east of Hinggan and in all but the south of the Tongliao region.Sečenbaγatur et al. 2005: 565 There were 2.08 million Khorchin Mongols in China in 2000,Sečenbaγatur et al. 2005: 317 so the Khorchin dialect may well have more than one million speakers, making it the largest dialect of Inner Mongolia.
Phonology
= Consonants =
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Khorchin consonant phonemesBayančoγtu 2002: Todurqayilalta 2-3.{{efn|Bayančoγtu sometimes uses other symbols.}} ! colspan="2"| ! Labial ! Coronal ! Palatal ! Velar |
| colspan="2"| Nasal
| {{IPA link|m}} | {{IPA link|n}} | | {{IPA link|ŋ}} |
|---|
| rowspan="2"| Stop
! {{small|voiceless}} | {{IPA link|p}} | {{IPA link|t}} | {{IPA link|t͡ʃ}} | {{IPA link|k}} |
| {{small|aspirated}}
| {{IPA|pʰ}} | {{IPA|tʰ}} | | {{IPA|kʰ}} |
| colspan="2"| Fricative
| | {{IPA link|s}} | {{IPA link|ʃ}} | {{IPA link|x}} |
| colspan="2"| Approximant
| {{IPA link|w}} | {{IPA link|l}} | {{IPA link|j}} | |
| colspan="2"| Trill
| | {{IPA link|r}} | | |
Historical {{IPA|/t͡ʃʰ/}} has become modern {{IPA|/ʃ/}}, and in some varieties, {{IPA|/s/}} is replaced by {{IPA|/tʰ/}}.Sečenbaγatur et al. 2005: 327 Then, *u (<*{{IPA|ʊ}}<*u) has regressively assimilated to {{IPA|/ɑ/}} before *p, e.g. *putaha (Written Mongolian budaγ-a) > pata ‘rice’.Qai yan 2005: 92 However, less systematic changes that pertain only to a number of words are far more notable, e.g. {{IPA|*t͡ʃʰital}} 'capacity'> Khorchin {{IPA|/xɛtl/}}.Bayančoγtu 2002: 79 This last example also illustrates that Khorchin allows for the consonant nuclei {{IPA|/l/}} and {{IPA|/n/}} (cp. {{IPA|[ɔln]}} 'many').Bayančoγtu 2002: 109-110
= Vowels =
{{IPA|/ɑ/, /ɑː/, /ɛ/, /ɛː/, /ʊ/, /ʊː/, /u/, /uː/, /y/, /yː/, /i/, /iː/, /ɔ/, /ɔː/, /œ/, /œː/, /ə/,/əː/, /ɚ/}}Bayančoγtu 2002: 1, 80.{{efn|Bayančoγtu also assumes a phoneme /ё/ (~ {{IPA|[ɤ]}}), but following the analysis of Svantesson et al. 2005 that claims that Mongolian (except for Ordos) only distinguishes phonemic and non-phonemic vowels in non-initial syllables, we arrive at an analysis where {{IPA|[ɤ]}} and {{IPA|[ə]}} are in complementary distribution, thus constituting a single phoneme. We thus arrive at the similar phoneme system as that of Sečenbaγatur et al. 2005: 317 who, however, don't mention the vowel {{IPA|/ɚ/}} that is restricted to loanwords and doesn't play a role in the vowel harmony system of Khorchin.}}
The large vowel system developed through the depalatalization of consonants that phonemicized formerly allomorphic vowels, hence {{IPA|/œ/}} and {{IPA|/ɛ/}}. On the other hand, *ö is absent, e.g. Proto-Mongolic {{IPA|*ɵŋke}} > Kalmyk {{IPA|/ɵŋ/}}, Khalkha {{IPA|/oŋk/}} 'colour',Svantesson et al. 2005:135, 171 but Khorchin {{IPA|/uŋ/}}, thus merging with {{IPA|/u/}}.Bayančoγtu 2002: 15 {{IPA|/y/}} is absent in the native words of some varieties and {{IPA|/ɚ/}} is completely restricted to loanwords from Chinese,Bayančoγtu 2002: 28-29 but as these make up a very substantial part of Khorchin vocabulary, it is not feasible to postulate a separate loanword phonology. This also resulted in a vowel harmony system that is rather different from Chakhar and Khalkha: {{IPA|/u/}} may appear in non-initial syllables of words without regard for vowel harmony, as may {{IPA|/ɛ/}} (e.g. {{IPA|/ɑtu/}} 'horses' and {{IPA|/untʰɛ/}} 'expensive';Bayančoγtu 2002: 89, 91 Khalkha would have {{IPA|/ɑtʊ/}} 'horses' and {{IPA|/untʰe/}}). On the other hand, {{IPA|/u/}} still determines a word as front-vocalic when appearing in the first syllable, which doesn't hold for {{IPA|/ɛ/}} and {{IPA|/i/}}.Sečenbaγatur et al. 2005: 328-329 In some subdialects, {{IPA|/ɛ/}} and {{IPA|/œ/}} which originated from palatalized {{IPA|/a/}} and {{IPA|/ɔ/}}, have changed vowel harmony class according to their acoustic properties and become front vowels in the system, and the same holds for their long counterparts. E.g. *mori-bar 'by horse' > Khorchin {{IPA|[mœːrœr]}} vs. Jalaid subdialect {{IPA|[mœːrər]}}.Bayančoγtu 2002: 93
Morphology
Khorchin uses the old comitative {{IPA|/-lɛ/}} to delimit an action within a certain time. A similar function is fulfilled by the suffix {{IPA|/-ɑri/}} that is, however, restricted to environments in the past stratum.Bayančoγtu 2002: 149 In contrast to other Mongolian varieties, in Khorchin Chinese verbs can be directly borrowed; other varieties have to borrow Chinese verbs as Mongolian nouns and then derive these to verbs. Compare the new loan {{IPA|/t͡ʃɑŋlu-/}} 'to ask for money' < zhāngluó (张罗) with the older loan {{IPA|/t͡ʃəːl-/}} 'to borrow' < jiè (借)Bayančoγtu 2002: 529, 531-532 that is present in all Mongolian varieties and contains the derivational suffix {{IPA|/-l-/}}.
Notes
{{Notelist}}
References
= Citations =
{{Reflist}}
= Sources =
- Bayančoγtu (2002): Qorčin aman ayalγun-u sudulul. Kökeqota: Öbür mongγul-un yeke surγaγuli-yin keblel-ün qoriy-a.
- Qai yan (2003): Qorčin aman ayalγu ba aru qorčin aman ayalγun-u abiyan-u ǰarim neyitelig ončaliγ. In: Öbür mongγul-un ündüsüten-ü yeke surγaγuli 2005/3: 91-94.
- Sečenbaγatur et al. (2005): Mongγul kelen-ü nutuγ-un ayalγun-u sinǰilel-ün uduridqal. Kökeqota: Öbür mongγul-un arad-un keblel-ün qoriy-a.
- Svantesson, Jan-Olof, Anna Tsendina, Anastasia Karlsson, Vivan Franzén (2005): The Phonology of Mongolian. New York: Oxford University Press.
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{{Mongolic languages}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khorchin Dialect}}