Khitan

Native toNortheastern China, southeastern Mongolia, eastern Siberia
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: 契丹語, Qìdānyǔ), also known as Liao, is an extinct language once spoken in Northeast Asia by the Khitan people (4th to 13th century). It was the official language of the Liao Empire (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) argues that Khitan has several Koreanic loanwords.[4] Since both the Korean Goryeo dynasty and the Khitan Liao dynasty claimed to be successors of Goguryeo, it is possible that the Koreanic words in Khitan were borrowed from the language of Goguryeo.[4]

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 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 and Daur equivalents are given after the English translation:

Seasons

KhitanTranslationMongolian scriptmodern Mongolian pronunciation Daur
heu.urspringqaburhavar haor
ju.unsummerjunzun najir
n.am.urautumnnamurnamar namar
u.ulwinterebülövöl uwul

Numerals

KhitanTranslationMongolian scriptmodern Mongolian pronunciation Daur
*omconeonca 'unique'onts (unique) enqu
j.ur.ersecondjirin 'two'jirin (two), jiremsen (double/pregnant) jieeq
hu.ur.erthirdgurba 'three'gurav, gurvan, guramsan (triple) guarab
durer/durenfourthdörbendöröv, dörvön durub
taufivetabuntav, tavan taawu
t.ad.o.hofifthtabu-dakitav dahi taawudar
*nilsixjirguganzurgaa (innovation "jir'gur" or 2x3) jirwoo
da.lo.erseventhdologa 'seven'doloo doloo
n.ie.emeightnayim 'eight'naim naim
*isnineyesüyüs, yüsön is
par (p.ar)tenarbanarav harbin
jauhundredjagunzuu, zuun jao
mingthousandmingganmyanga, myangan mianga

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

Animals

KhitanTranslationMongolian scriptmodern Mongolian pronunciation Daur
te.qo.achickentaqiyatahia kakraa
ni.qodognoqainohoi nowu
s.au.abirdsibugashuvuu degii
em.agoatimagayamaa imaa
tau.li.arabbittaulaituulai tauli
mo.rihorsemorimori mori
unicowüniyeünee unie
mu.ho.osnakemogoimogoi mowo

Directions

KhitanTranslationMongolian scriptmodern Mongolian pronunciation Daur
ud.ureastdorunadorno garkui
dzi.ge.nleftjegünzüün solwoi
bo.ra.ianrightbaragunbaruun baran
dau.ur.unmiddledumdadund duand
xe.du.unhorizontalköndelenhöndölön
ja.cen.iborderjaqazasan, zaag jag

Time

KhitanTranslationMongolian scriptmodern Mongolian pronunciation Daur
suninightsönishönö suni
un.n/un.enow, presentönöönöö nee

Personal relations

KhitanTranslationMongolian scriptmodern Mongolian pronunciation Daur
c.i.isbloodcisutsus qos
mo kufemaleemeem emwun
deuyounger siblingdegüdüü deu
n.ai.cifriendnayijanaiz guq
na.ha.anunclenagacanagats naoq
s.ia/s.engoodsayinsain sain
g.en.unsadness, regretgenü='to regret' in the letter of Arghun Khan)genen, gem gemxbei
kupersonkümünhün, hümün huu

Tribal administration

KhitanTranslationMongolian script Daur
cau.urwarcagur, as in "tsa'urgalan dairakh" quagur
nai/nai.dheads, officials"-d" is a plural suffix=noyan, noyad for plural noyin
t.em-to bestow a titletemdeg 'sign' temgeet
k.emdecreekem kemjiye 'law/norm' hes
us.giletterüseg jiexgen
uimatterüile urgil
qudugblessedqutug hireebei
xe.se.gepart, section, provincekeseg meyen
ming.anmilitary unit of thousandminggan miangan

Basic verbs

KhitanTranslationMongolian script
p.obecomebol-
p.o.juraise(intr.)bos-
on.a.anfalluna-
x.ui.ri.ge.eitransferkür-ge-
u-giveög-
sa-to residesagu-
a-bea- 'live', as in "aj ahui"

Natural objects

KhitanTranslationMongolian scriptmodern Mongolian pronunciation Daur
eu.ulcloudegüleüül eulen
s.eu.kadewsigüderishüüder suider
sairmoonsarasar saruul
nairsunnaranar nar
m.em/m.ngsilvermönggömöng mungu

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'.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Janhunen 2006, p. 393.
  2. "Khitan". Omniglot. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  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. 1 2 Vovin 2017, p. 207.
  5. Janhunen 2006, p. 395.
  6. 遼史/卷116 卷116.
  7. 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): 123–125. doi:10.1017/S0035869X00017780. JSTOR 25196875. S2CID 162589769.
  8. Wilkinson, Endymion Porter (2000). Chinese History: A Manual (illustrated, revised ed.). Cambridge: Harvard University Asia Center. p. 864. ISBN 0-674-00249-0.
  9. Yong, Heming; Peng, Jing (2008). Chinese Lexicography: A History from 1046 BC to AD 1911. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 382–. ISBN 978-0-19-953982-6.
  10. Kane, Daniel A. (2009). The Kitan Language and Script. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-16829-9.

Bibliography

Further reading

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