Rouran language

Rouran
Rouran
Ruanruan, Ruan-ruan, Juan-juan
Native to	Rouran Khaganate
Region	Mongoliaandnorthern China
Era	4th century AD – 6th century AD
Language family	Unclassified,possibly (Para-)Mongolicorisolate
Language codes
ISO 639-3	None(mis)
Glottolog	None

Rouran(Chinese:Nhu nhiên), also calledRuanruan,Ruan-ruanorJuan-juan(Chinese:Nhuyễn nhuyễn), is an unclassifiedextinct languageofMongoliaandnorthern China,spoken in theRouran Khaganatefrom the 4th to the 6th centuries AD, considered a likely early precursor toMongolic.^[1]

Peter A. Boodbergclaimed in 1935 that the Rouran language was Mongolic by analysing Chinese transcriptions of Rouran names.^[2]Atwood (2013) notes that RouranscalquedtheSogdianwordpūr"son" into their language as *kʻobun(Chinese transliteration: Khứ phầnMC*kʰɨʌ^H-bɨun>Mandarinqùfén); which, according to Atwood, is cognate withMiddle Mongolkö'ün"son".^[3]Alexander Vovinnoted thatOld Turkichad borrowed some words from an unknown non-Altaicsprachbundlanguage that might have been Rouran,^[4]arguing that if so, the language would be non-Altaic,and possibly alanguage isolate,though evidence was scant.^[2]In 2019, with the emergence of new evidence through the analysis of theBrāhmī BugutandKhüis Tolgoi,Vovin changed his view, suggesting Rouran was, in fact, aMongolic language,close but not identical toMiddle Mongolian.^[1]

Phonology

Features of Rouran included:^[2]

no mid vowels
presence of initiall-
final consonantal cluster-ndunusual for any"Altaic" languages

Morphology

Rouran had the feminine gender suffix-tu-.^[2]

Lexicon

Rouran vocabulary included:^[2]^[1]

küskü– 'rat'
ud– 'ox'
luu– 'dragon' <Middle Chineseluŋ– 'dragon'
yund– 'horse' <Old Turkic:𐰖𐰆𐰣𐱃,romanized:yunt- 'horse'^[5]
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' <Old Turkic:𐰋𐰃𐱅𐰏,romanized:bitig'inscription, book'
bod– 'people' <Old Turkic:𐰉𐰆𐰑,romanized:bod'clan, tribe, kin'
drö– 'law'
küǰü– 'strength' <Old Turkic:𐰚𐰇𐰲,romanized:küč'strength, power'
ordu– 'camp'
tal-– 'to plunder'
törö– 'to be born'
türǖg– 'Turk'

References

^^a ^b ^cVovin, 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.S2CID 198833565.
^^a ^b ^c ^d ^eVovin, 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.56.Harrassowitz Verlag: 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.
^Clauson, Gerard (1972). "yunt".An Etymological Dictionary of pre-thirteenth-century Turkish.Oxford:Clarendon Press.p. 946.

[Vovin_2019_162–197-1] 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.S2CID 198833565.

[Vovin2010-2] 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).

[3] Christopher P., Atwood (2013)."Some Early Inner Asian Terms Related to the Imperial Family and the Comitatus".Central Asiatic Journal.56.Harrassowitz Verlag: 49–86.

[Vovin2004-4] 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.

[5] Clauson, Gerard (1972). "yunt".An Etymological Dictionary of pre-thirteenth-century Turkish.Oxford:Clarendon Press.p. 946.

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