Janhunen J. The Mongolic Languages

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370 THE MONGOLIC LANGUAGES

which is attested without assimilation in Dagur, Moghol, and the Gansu-Qinghai

complex, cf. Dagur eus, Moghol (colloquial) ebasun ~ (literary) ibasun, Mongghul wesi.

(9) Regressive assimilation of *O-U > *U-U

This development is basically restricted to Ordos, but it is sporadically observed also

elsewhere, especially in Moghol and the Gansu-Qinghai complex, cf. e.g. *ödür ‘day’ >

Ordos üdür; *modu/n ‘tree, wood’ > Ordos mudu, Moghol mudun ~ modun ~ madun,

Shira Yughur muden, Mangghuer mutu, Santa mutun (but Bonan motung; note that in

exactly this item, Dagur mood and Mongghul moodi display an unexplained lengthening

of the root vowel).

(10) Paradigmatic neutralization of *ö > (*)ü

In the rotated vowel systems, *ö has been the vowel most likely to lose its status as a sep-

arate phoneme. As a systematic development, *ö has merged with *ü in Dagur,

Khamnigan Mongol, Buryat, and several dialects of Mongol proper, cf. e.g. *köl ‘foot’ >

Dagur kuly, Khamnigan Mongol kul, Buryat xül, Mongol proper xöl ~ (*)xül. Sporadic

merger between *ö and *ü is observed also elsewhere, especially in the Gansu-Qinghai

complex.

(11) Paradigmatic neutralization of *u > (*)o

Another consequence of vowel rotation, this neutralization is systematically observed

only in Dagur, e.g. *usu/n ‘water’ vs. *tosu/n ‘oil’ > Dagur os vs. tos. As a sporadic or

contextually restricted phenomenon, the development *o > (*)u is more common, cf. e.g.

*ungsi- ~ *umsi- ‘to read’ > Mongol proper (Khalkha)

unsh- ~ (Chakhar) umsh- ~

(Khorchin) omsh-.

(12) Paradigmatic neutralization of *ö *ü > (*)o (*)u

Due to this development, the rounded front vowels *ö *ü have been eliminated as sepa-

rate phonemes in Moghol, Mongghul, Mangghuer, Bonan, and Santa (but not in Shira

Yughur). Moreover, the qualities (*)o (< *o & *ö) vs. (*)u (< *u & *ü) are often con-

fused, though the paradigmatic opposition is retained, cf. e.g. Moghol *köl ‘foot’ > kol ~

kul (with further variants) vs. *ükü- ‘to die’ > uku- ~ oku- (with further variants).

(13) Monophthongization of *A(x)U

After the loss of intervocalic *x (already in Proto-Mongolic), diphthongoid sequences of

the type *AU were initially retained intact, as attested in Middle Mongol. This stage is

still regularly preserved in Dagur and Moghol, e.g. *axula/n ‘mountain’ > Dagur aul,

Moghol aula ~ oula. In some items, diphthongoid sequences are also present in the

Gansu-Qinghai complex (with the exception of Shira Yughur), e.g. *saxu- ‘to sit’ >

Dagur sau-, Moghol sau- ~ sou- (with further variants), Mongghul sau- (sau-) ~ suu-,

Mangghuer sau- (sao-), Bonan seu- ~ suu-, Santa sau- (sao-). Otherwise, the sequences

have been monophthongized, yielding OO (= *oo *öö) in Khamnigan Mongol and UU

(= *uu *üü) elsewhere, cf. e.g. Khamnigan Mongol oola vs. Mongol proper uul ‘moun-

tain’. Occasional irregular developments are present especially in the Gansu-Qinghai

complex, cf. e.g. Bonan siiter ‘shadow’, apparently from *seider vs. Common Mongolic

*seüder.

(14) Monophthongization of *V( y)i

The sequences *a( y)i *o( y)i *u( y)i as well as *ö( y)i *ü( y)i are generally preserved

intact in Modern Mongolic, although monophthongoid realizations are possible at the

phonetic level, as in Ordos and Buryat. At the phonemic level, the long palatal monoph-

thongs ää öö üü may be postulated for those idioms that also have the corresponding

short segments due to umlaut, i.e. Oirat and the umlaut dialects of Mongol proper, cf. e.g.

*sa(y)in ‘good’ > Mongghul sain, Khalkha saing, vs. Khorchin sääng, Oirat sään. Other

kinds of monophthongization are occasionally observed in Moghol and the Gansu-

Qinghai complex, cf. e.g. Bonan sang ‘good’. The sequence *e( y)i has merged with

*i(x)i all over Mongol proper, Ordos, Oirat, and Eastern Buryat, but normally not else-

where, cf. e.g. *ke( y)i/n ‘air; wind’ > Oirat kii, Mongol proper xii vs. Dagur kein (xein),

Khamnigan Mongol kei, Western Buryat kei, Moghol

kei ~ kai, Mangghuer kei, Santa kei

(but Bonan kii).

(15) Neutralization of *ixa and *ixe

In Dagur and Khamnigan Mongol (probably due to areally shared Tungusic influence),

the sequences *ixa (> *iya) and *ixe (> *iye) yield a single phonetically palatal but har-

monically neutral diphthongoid sequence (ie) or long vowel (éé). In non-initial syllables,

the development is observed in both languages, e.g. *tarixa/n (> *tariya/n) ‘field’ >

Dagur and Khamnigan Mongol tarie (taréé), while in the initial syllable it is only valid

in Khamnigan Mongol, e.g. *nixa- ‘to glue’> Khamnigan Mongol nie- , cf. Buryat nyaa-

(with palatal breaking), Khalkha naa- (with prebreaking).

(16) Vowel reduction

The three-way vowel contrasts between short (single) *A vs. *U vs. *i in non-initial syl-

lables are preserved in Khamnigan Mongol, Ordos, Moghol, and the Gansu-Qinghai

complex, though Shira Yughur and Mongghul show a slight tendency of phonetic reduc-

tion. The contrasts are also preserved dialectally in Western Buryat, while Eastern Buryat

has merged *U with *A, cf. e.g. *tabu/n ‘five’ > Khamnigan Mongol tabu/n vs. Eastern

Buryat taba/n. Mongol proper and Oirat have additionally reduced the distinction

between *A and *i into a non-distinctive neutral vowel e, which, moreover, has tended

to be lost, resulting in medial and final consonant clusters, e.g. *gudamji ‘street’ >

Khalkha gudmj. A similar reduction and loss has taken place word-finally in Dagur, but

in medial position Dagur still preserves the original contrasts.

(17) Loss of distinctive vowel length

Long vowels originated in Middle Mongol by way of contraction due to the loss of inter-

vocalic *x. Most Modern Mongolic languages still preserve the correlation between long

(double) and short (single) vowels. Distinctive vowel length has, however, been

INTRA-MONGOLIC TAXONOMY 371

completely lost in Moghol, Mangghuer, and Santa. Sporadic shortening of long vowels

is common also in Shira Yughur, Mongghul, and Bonan. As a consequence of the reduc-

tion of short vowels, the long vowels of non-initial syllables in Mongol proper and Oirat

may be assumed to have been shortened, e.g. *(x)ulaan ‘red’ > Khalkha ulang. The

quantitative correlation is, however, retained in the initial syllable.

(18) Initial clusters

As a unique phenomenon in Mongolic, the loss of short vowels in the initial syllable has

created a system of initial consonant clusters in three languages of the Gansu-Qinghai

region: Shira Yughur, Mongghul, and Bonan, cf. e.g. *umba- ‘to swim’ > Shira Yughur

mba-, *erdem ‘virtue’ > Mongghul rdem, *sidü/n ‘tooth’ > Bonan rtung. There are also

other examples of initial vowel loss with phonotactic consequences, e.g. *ire- ‘to come’ >

Mongghul ire- ~ re-, Bonan and Mangghuer re- (with r in the otherwise atypical initial

position).

(19) Consonant palatalization

As an alternative to umlaut, several dialects of Mongol proper, notably Khalkha, have

introduced a series of palatalized consonants, which basically reflect the impact of a sub-

sequently lost *i, e.g. *mori/n ‘horse’ > Khorchin mör vs. Khalkha mory. A similar sys-

tem of palatalization is also present in Dagur, which additionally has a parallel system of

labialized consonants. Another factor that has favoured the distinctive status of the

palatalized consonants is palatal breaking, a feature that unites Dagur and Mongol proper

with Buryat. By contrast, neither palatalization nor umlaut is present in Khamnigan

Mongol, Moghol, and the Gansu-Qinghai complex.

(20) The distinction *k *g vs. *q *gh

This distinction, which arose in Late Pre-Proto-Mongolic due to the neutralization of the

high unrounded vowels *i & *ï > *i, was apparently still valid in Middle Mongol but has

been lost in almost all Modern Mongolic languages. The only modern languages that

retain traces of the distinction are Moghol and Santa, cf. e.g. *kïmusu/n > *qimusu/n

‘fingernail’ > Moghol qimsun, Santa ghimusun. It may be noted that, independently of

the original background, a new opposition between k g and q gh has arisen in several

Mongolic languages, including Oirat, Mongghul, Mangghuer, and Bonan.

(21) Obstruent dissimilation

This feature is present in the southern dialects of Mongol proper (Ulan Tsab, Shilingol,

Juu Uda, and Southern Khalkha), Ordos, and Mongghul, as well as, less regularly, in the

other languages of the Gansu-Qinghai complex. Most typically, it is a question of the

weakening of an initial obstruent before a medial strong obstruent, e.g. *casu/n ‘snow’ >

Mongol proper cas ~ jas, Ordos jasu, Shira Yughur jasen, Bonan (dialectal) jasung,

Santa casun (chasun) ~ jasun (

zhasun). Another manifestation of the same phenomenon

is the strength metathesis of obstruents, which is most systematically observed in

Mongghul, e.g. *bicig ‘writing’ > Mongghul pujig ‘book’.

372 THE MONGOLIC LANGUAGES

(22) Loss of initial *x

Unlike medial *x, initial *x was still retained in Middle Mongol, and its loss in most of

the Modern Mongolic languages may be seen as a Post-Proto-Mongolic innovation. The

segment is preserved in Dagur and the Gansu-Qinghai complex, cf. e.g. *xulaxan >

*xulaan ‘red’ > Dagur xulaang, Shira Yughur hlaan, Mongghul fulaan, Mangghuer

xulang, Bonan fulang, Santa xulang (hulan).

(23) Prothesis of *x (*h)

Because of the impact of the phenomenon of strength metathesis, in which an initial zero

anlaut (Ø) is functionally equal to a weak obstruent, the Gansu-Qinghai languages show

examples of a secondary prothetic *x (*h), e.g. *ükü- ‘to die’ > Dagur ugu- vs. Shira

Yughur hkü-, Mongghul fugu-, Bonan hku-, Santa fugu-. This is one of the most impor-

tant phonological innovations that unite the Gansu-Qinghai languages into a coherent

areal (and possibly genetic) group.

(24) Spirantization of *k

This development obviously took place in two waves, the first of which affected *k

(= *q) before original back vowels, as observed in all Modern Mongolic languages with

the exception of Khamnigan Mongol, Western Buryat, Moghol, Mangghuer, and Santa,

cf. e.g. *kara ‘black’ > Eastern Buryat and Ordos xara, Mongol proper and Oirat xar,

Mongghul xara (hara) vs. Moghol qara ~ qarå, Mangghuer and Santa qara (khara).

Occasional items with a preserved *k (= *q) are also present in Dagur, e.g. *kuca- ‘to

bark’ > Dagur koc- vs. Khalkha xuts-. The second wave affected *k before original front

vowels, as observed in Mongol proper and Eastern Buryat (with Bargut), dialectally also

in Ordos and sporadically in Dagur, cf. e.g. *köl ‘foot’ > Buryat xül, Mongol proper xöl,

Ordos köl

~ xöl. Strictly speaking, the development *k > x has become phonemic only

with the appearance of a new distinctive k, which may not have happened in some of the

idioms concerned.

(25) Deaffrication of *c

In Buryat and the Khorchin group of Mongol dialects, *c is spirantized before any vowel,

e.g. *cagaxan ‘white’ > Buryat sagaan, Khorchin shagang vs. Khalkha tsaghang, Dagur

cigaang; *cisu/n ‘blood’ > Buryat shuhang, Khorchin shus vs. Khalkha tsus, Dagur cos.

The phenomenon is also attested sporadically in Dagur before the vowel *i, e.g.

*cimöge/n ‘marrow’ > Dagur shimug vs. Khalkha cömg.

(26) Deaffrication of *j

Basically a parallel of the development *c > s, the development *j > z has a different dis-

tribution, in that it is absent in Khorchin and the New Bargut dialect of Buryat, while it

is present, at least phonetically, in most dialects of Oirat (including Kalmuck), e.g. *jaxu-

‘to bite’ > Buryat zuu-, Oirat zuu- ~ dzuu- vs. Khalkha dzuu- (zuu-), New Bargut dzuu-.

In Buryat, but not in Oirat, the phenomenon affects also the position before *i, e.g. *jil

‘year’ > Buryat zhil.

INTRA-MONGOLIC TAXONOMY 373

(27) Spirantization of *b *g

Intervocalic *b and *g are phonetically spirantized in all Modern Mongolic languages,

though the tendency seems to remain marginal in Moghol. In some languages, as in

Mongol proper, the phenomenon is also observed in other medial (preconsonantal) and

final (prepausal) positions. It is, however, not immediately clear to what extent the

tendency is phonologically relevant. The development *b > w, for instance, would seem

to be potentially phonological in idioms that, from other sources, have introduced the

continuant phoneme w, e.g. *tabu/n ‘five’ > Mongol proper taw (cf. wang ‘king’).

However, few Mongolic languages show any evidence of an actual contrast between

medial *b and *w, suggesting that [w] should synchronically perhaps still be regarded as

an allophone of b. In the absence of any conclusive criteria, it may be tentatively

assumed that medial *b > w is phonological in Dagur, Mongol proper, Ordos, Oirat, and

the Gansu-Qinghai complex, but not in Khamnigan Mongol, Buryat, or Moghol. The

situation concerning the status of medial *g remains to be investigated.

(28) The development *s > h

This development, which essentially involves the weakening (desibilization) of *s in pre-

vocalic position is diagnostic for Buryat and (the Urulga dialect of ) Khamnigan Mongol,

e.g. *sara/n ‘moon’ > Buryat and Khamnigan Mongol hara; *yasu/n ‘bone’ > Buryat

yaha, Khamnigan Mongol yahu.

(29) The development *s > d

Complementary to the prevocalic development *s > h, the development *s > d is con-

fined to the syllable-final position in the same languages, e.g. *bos- ‘to rise’ >

Khamnigan Mongol and Buryat bod-. A similar tendency was already present in Middle

Mongol, e.g. *exüs- > e’üs- ~ e’üt- ‘to undertake’, and it is also observed in some of the

eastern dialects of Mongol proper (Tümet). It is, moreover, possible that the Dagur

rhotacism *s (& *d & *g & *b) > r was preceded by the development *s > *d. As a

unique and apparently unrelated phenomenon, the Jalait-Dörbet dialect of Mongol proper

(Khorchin group) has the full paradigmatic neutralization *s > t, e.g. *sara

‘moon’ >

Jalait-Dörbet tar (vs. sar in all other dialects of Mongol proper).

(30) Palatalization of *s

The palatalizing effect of *i (< *i & *ï ) on a preceding *s is a phenomenon observed in

all Modern Mongolic languages as well as in Middle Mongol (but not in Written

Mongol). Although this phenomenon, consequently, does not single out any particular

Mongolic language as more innovative than the others, there are differences in the

phonemic relationships between *s and *sh. Most importantly, s and sh can in some cases

synchronically contrast before (a long) i, as in Khalkha shiid- ‘to decide’ (< *siid-) vs.

siil- ‘to carve’ (< *seile-), suggesting that the development *si > shi has become fully

phonological. It is more difficult to establish what languages, exactly, have reached this

stage, but languages in which the sequence *si still appears to remain phonologically

unaltered include, at least, Khamnigan Mongol, Ordos, and Moghol.

374 THE MONGOLIC LANGUAGES

(31) Palatalization of *t *d and *k

Apart from the Late Pre-Proto-Mongolic developments *ti > *ci and *di > *ji, a new

palatalization of *t and *d before (*)i has taken place in Santa under the influence of the

local Chinese dialects, e.g. *dexere ‘on (top of )’ > *deere > *dere > Mongghul dere vs.

Santa *diere > jiere. On the other hand, *k is palatalized before *i in Mongghul, e.g.

Mongghul cidar (qidar) ‘Chinese’ vs. Santa qidei (khidei) < *kida- (*kïda-). This latter

palatalization is also observed in Santa, as it would seem, before an original palatal *i,

e.g. *kirüxe ‘saw’ > Mongghul ciruu (qiruu), Santa cireu (qirou).

(32) Merger of final *n and *ng

This feature is connected with the neutralization (archiphonemization) of word-final and

syllable-final nasal distinctions. The actual mechanisms vary from language to language.

Dagur, for instance, has originally merged all the three nasals *m *n *ng in all syllable-

final positions, while Khamnigan Mongol, Buryat, and Mongol proper merge only *n

and *ng. In the languages of the Gansu-Qinghai complex, the positional relationships of

*n and *ng have been influenced by the Tibetan and Chinese rules of syllable structure.

Languages that retain the distinction between final *n and *ng are Ordos, Oirat, Moghol,

Shira Yughur, and (less clearly) Mongghul. The morphophonological difference between

*n and *n/g (> n/gg) is retained more widely.

MORPHOLOGICAL FEATURES

In the following list of taxonomically relevant morphological features (33–74), the

morphosyntactic properties of forms are also considered. The features are listed starting

with nominal categories.

(33) The unstable */n

The unstable *

/n of the basic (nominative) form of nouns is retained in Buryat, Oirat

(with Kalmuck), Moghol, and Shira Yughur, e.g. *usu/n ‘water’ > Buryat uha/n, Oirat

usn, Moghol usun, Shira Yughur qusun vs. Khamnigan Mongol uhu, Dagur os, Khalkha

us, Ordos usu, Mongghul sdzu (szu), Mangghuer fudzu (fuzu), Bonan se, Santa usu. The

representation in Bonan and Santa is, however, not consistent, in that some words have

been lexicalized with */n preserved, e.g. *modu/n ‘tree; wood’ > Bonan motung, Santa

mutun.

(34) Simple plural markers

The two principal simple plural markers in Mongolic are *.s and *.d. Due to the syllable-

final neutralization *s > *d the two markers cannot be phonologically distinguished

in Dagur, Khamnigan Mongol, and Buryat. The only other language for which *.s seems

to be unattested is Bonan, though its presence in Santa is also rudimentary. The marker

*.d is not attested in any language of the Gansu-Qinghai complex. More importantly,

Shira Yughur, Mongghul, and Mangghuer are mutually linked by the common innova-

tion that the marker *.s (Shira Yughur .s, Mongghul -s.gi, Mangghuer si) has in them

received the status of the main (or only) plural suffix. In a similar way, Bonan and Santa

INTRA-MONGOLIC TAXONOMY 375

have developed a regular inflexional plural marked by *-la (of disputed origin). Another

language with a tendency of marking the plural in a uniform way is Dagur (*-sul, from

Tungusic). This distribution suggests that the reduction in the number of plural suffixes

is due to external influences (Turkic in the Gansu-Qinghai complex and Tungusic in

Dagur). Foreign plural markers (of Persian-Arabic and Turkic origin) are also used to

some extent in Moghol, especially in loanwords.

(35) Complex plural markers

Complex plural markers like *.UUd, *.dUUd, *.nUUd, *.mUUd, *.ciUd are not attested

in the languages of the Gansu-Qinghai complex (except Shira Yughur), suggesting that

they may represent innovations that never reached these languages. The same is true of

the marker *.nAr, which is also absent in Moghol.

(36) Singular marking

Mongghul, Mangghuer, and Bonan mark singularity with the help of the suffix *-nige <

*+nige/n ‘one’. Bonan has also a kind of paucal form, as in Bonan more ‘horse’ : sg.

more-n’ge ‘a horse’ : pauc. more-ghula ‘some horses’ : pl. more-la ‘horses’.

(37) Merger of genitive and accusative

The genitive and accusative cases have converged into a single syncretic connective case

in two parts of the family: Dagur in the northeast and the Gansu-Qinghai complex in the

south. A similar tendency is present, but not completed, in Western Buryat and Moghol.

In Dagur and Shira Yughur the connective marker still appears in several variants

depending on the stem type of the noun, while in the other languages of the Gansu-

Qinghai complex the connective is always marked by the single uniform marker (*)-ni.

(38) Merger of accusative and dative

With the exception of Santa, the languages that have the syncretic connective case retain

a distinction between the genitive and the accusative in the declension of the singular

first and second person pronouns. In deviation from this pattern, however, Mongghul,

Mangghuer, and Bonan show a tendency to merge the accusative and dative forms of the

personal pronouns. This merger is fully completed in Bonan (for all personal pronouns,

both singular and plural), while it remains partial in Mangghuer (only in the singular) and

Mongghul (only in the first person singular).

(39) Accusative in *-g

Possibly in order to avoid the convergence of the genitive and accusative cases, the

(apparently secondary) element *-g has been added to the accusative forms in Mongol

proper, Ordos, and Oirat (with Kalmuck), as in Khalkha ger ‘yurt’ : acc. ger-i-g.

Dialectally, especially in Mongol proper and Ordos, there is some variation in the use of

*-g after different stem types.

376 THE MONGOLIC LANGUAGES

(40) Dative in *-DU > -Di

The non-reflexive dative markers in all Modern Mongolic languages go back to the

Proto-Mongolic shape *-DU, in which the vowel has been regularly reduced in Buryat

(> -DA), or lost (> -D) in Dagur, Mongol proper and Oirat. The reduction of the suffix

vowel in Bonan (> -da ~ -de) and Santa (> -de) cannot be regarded as fully regular, but

it is likely to be due to the analogical influence of other case markers (cf. e.g. the abla-

tive marker in -sa ~ -se). As a special development, the dative marker has the shape -Di

in Shira Yughur and (Halchigol) Mongghul. This seems to reflect to a more general

(sporadic) phonological tendency in these two languages (*U > i in non-initial syllables).

(41) Loss of instrumental case

The Common Mongolic instrumental case in *-xAr > *-AAr is not attested in Mongghul,

Mangghuer, Bonan, and Santa. Although theoretically this could mean that the instrumental

was never present in these languages, it is more likely that it was secondarily lost. In

Mongghul and Mangghuer, the function of the instrumental is filled by the comitative in

*-lUxA > *-lAA > *-la, while in Bonan and Santa (marginally also in Mangghuer) the secondary

sociative marker *+ghwala > Bonan -ghala ~ -ghale = Santa -ghwala ~ -ghala is used.

(42) Loss of comitative case

The Common Mongolic comitative case in *-lUxA > *-lAA is not attested in Dagur,

Khamnigan Mongol, Buryat, most dialects of Mongol proper, and Bonan. The normal

replacement for the comitative is the Common Mongolic possessive case in *-tAi, which

is also present in most of the languages that still retain the comitative. The only lan-

guages that do not have the possessive case are Moghol, Shira Yughur, Bonan, and Santa,

though all of them do know the derivative use of the same suffix. In the languages of the

Gansu-Qinghai complex the functions of the comitative, possessive, and instrumental are

partly confused. Bonan, which is the Mongolic language with the most reduced case

paradigm, uses the sociative in -ghala ~ -ghale also as a comitative.

(43) Marginal case forms

Apart from the main case paradigm, several Mongolic languages have marginal adver-

bial case forms, which are used with various restrictions. Two Common Mongolic mar-

ginal cases are the terminative and the directive. The terminative marker is *-cAA in

Middle Mongol, Buryat, Mongol proper, Ordos, and Oirat (with Kalmuck), while the

directive marker is *-rUU in Buryat (Bargut), Mongol proper, and Ordos, or *-UUr in

Oirat (with Kalmuck) and Shira Yughur. The relationship of the directive with the pros-

ecutive in */g-UUr remains unclear. The prosecutive is attested in pronominal expres-

sions in several languages, e.g. Buryat xaa/g-uur ‘which way’, but the only language in

which it seems to have entered the regular case paradigm is Santa (-ghun). Another form

with a directive function has the marker -ji in Mongghul and Mangghuer. The locative in

-ri ~ -ra is unique to Mongghul.

(44) Analytic case markers

The strength of the suffixal bond of the case markers varies among the Mongolic lan-

guages. The bond is weak in the Gansu-Qinghai complex (except in Shira Yughur), and

INTRA-MONGOLIC TAXONOMY 377

especially in Mangghuer the case markers have become loose postposition-like clitics.

A similar situation is observed in Moghol, in which the local case markers are also

attested as prepositions. The genitive and accusative in Moghol are often expressed by

constructions borrowed from Persian.

(45) Ordinal numerals

The collectives in *.xUlA are the only type of numeral derivative attested in all Mongolic

languages (though with some reservations for Santa). Other numeral derivatives, includ-

ing the ordinals, have a more limited distribution. The ordinal suffix *.DUxAr >

*.dUgAAr is attested in Dagur, Khamnigan Mongol, Mongol proper, Ordos, and Oirat

(with Kalmuck), while *.dA-ki is attested in Khamnigan Mongol, Buryat, and Mongol

proper. Language-specific ordinal suffixes include Oirat .dgc, Moghol .i and .ah, Shira

Yughur .cAAr, and Mongghul .dar ~ .dari. Analytic ordinal constructions and prefixes

(borrowed from Chinese and Tibetan) are used in Mangghuer, Bonan, and Santa.

(46) Distributive numerals

The Common Mongolic suffix *.xAd for distributive (approximative) numerals is attested

in all Mongolic languages except in Moghol, Mongghul, Mangghuer, Bonan, and Santa.

Secondary distributive suffixes include Dagur .tel and Santa .jia. In Mongghul, the

collectives in .la are also used as distributives.

(47) Multiplicative numerals

The Common Mongolic suffix *.tA for multiplicative numerals is attested in Dagur,

Mongol proper, Ordos, Oirat (with Kalmuck), and Moghol. In the other languages, the

distributives are mainly expressed by numeral reduplication.

(48) Numeral classifiers

The Chinese system of numeral classifiers has been adopted by Mangghuer and Santa.

At the same time, the original Mongolic numeral stems have been largely replaced by the

Chinese set of cardinal numerals in these languages. The only Mongolic numeral still

actively used in Mangghuer is the item for ‘one’, while Santa also retains the other basic

numerals of the first decade. Similarly, the numerals for higher numbers (above 30) have

been replaced by borrowings from Tibetan in (Qinghai) Bonan. Moghol has replaced the

original basic numerals for ‘six’, ‘eight’, and ‘nine’ by items of unknown origin.

(49) 1p. sg. pronoun

The first person singular pronoun shows several phonological and morphological devel-

opments of taxonomic relevance. The nominative and genitive stems *bi : *min- are

represented as bi ~ bu(-) : mun- in Shira Yughur and Mongghul. The dative (dative-

accusative) form *nama-dV > *namda serves as a general oblique stem in Shira Yughur

(nanda-), Mongghul (ndaa-), and Mangghuer (nangda-). In Buryat (Bargut), Mongol

proper, Ordos, and Oirat, the original oblique stem *nama- has also been partly replaced

378 THE MONGOLIC LANGUAGES

by the (truncated) dative stem *nada-. Idiosyncratic morphological simplifications are

present (also in the 2p. sg. pronoun) in Moghol, Bonan, and Santa.

(50) 1p. pl. pronouns

The original basic form *ba of the first person plural exclusive pronoun has been lost in

all Modern Mongolic languages with the exception of Dagur. Secondary nominatives,

based on the genitive stem *man-, are used in the exclusive function in Oirat (with

Kalmuck), Moghol, Bonan, and Santa. In the other languages, with the exception of

Shira Yughur, Mongghul, and Mangghuer, the exclusive/inclusive forms are kept distinct

in the oblique paradigms. The distinction has possibly also been secondarily recreated in

Shira Yughur.

(51) 3p. pronouns

Although rudimentarily attested in Middle Mongol and Written Oirat, the third person

pronouns sg. *i : pl. *a have been lost in all Modern Mongolic languages with the excep-

tion of Dagur. In Dagur, the original nominative forms have been replaced by the geni-

tive stems *in- : *an-, but the rest of the paradigm is more or less intact. In all other

languages, the function of the third person pronouns has been taken over by the demon-

stratives. As a specific innovation, the pronoun *nögüxe ‘that one; the other’ can be used

in reference to the third person in Mangghuer (nugu) and Bonan (nogo). Another item

that has received the function of a third person pronoun is *irgen ‘people’ > Shira Yughur

ergen, Mongghul rgan ~ gan, Mangghuer gan. The Santa third person pronoun he (hhe),

also used as a demonstrative, is etymologically obscure, but is unlikely to be connected

with the primary pronoun *i.

(52) Reflexive pronouns

The basic reflexive pronoun *öxer is preserved in its original function in all Mongolic

languages except the Gansu-Qinghai complex, in which it has been replaced by the noun

*ejen ‘master’. The latter is still used as a reflexive pronoun in Shira Yughur (ejen),

Mongghul (njeen), and Mangghuer ( jie), while its reflexes in Bonan (ojang ~ njang) and

Santa (ejen) appear in the function of a third person pronoun. On the other hand, the

reflexive pronoun *öxer : *öxer-exe/n is also present in Bonan (orung) and Santa (orun)

as a personal pronoun of reported speech, while the function of a reflexive pronoun is

synchronically filled by a Chinese borrowing (Bonan gooji, Santa gojia). In Khamnigan

Mongol, Buryat, Mongol proper (dialectally), Ordos, and Oirat (with Kalmuck), the noun

*beye ‘body’ : refl. *beye-xe/n can also be used as a reflexive pronoun. The reflexive

derivative *öxesü/n ‘(one)self’ appears in the function of a demonstrative or personal

pronoun (3p.) in Khamnigan Mongol and (Lower Uda) Western Buryat.

(53) Demonstrative pronouns

The oblique stems of the demonstrative pronouns *ene ‘this’vs. *tere ‘that’ can be divid-

ed into four types, each of which is attested in an areally restricted group of languages:

(i) the (original) type *exün-

> *üün- in Mongol proper, Ordos, Oirat (with Kalmuck),

INTRA-MONGOLIC TAXONOMY 379