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| Khitan | |
|---|---|
| Kitan | |
.svg) .svg) | |
| Native to | NortheasternChina, southeasternMongolia, eastern Siberia |
| Region | Northern andEastern Asia |
| Extinct | literary form in 1244 with the death ofYelü Chucai, last person known who could speak and write Khitan |
Serbi–Mongolic?
| |
| Khitan large script andKhitan small script | |
| Official status | |
Official language in | Liao dynasty,Qara Khitai |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | zkt |
zkt | |
| Glottolog | kita1247 |
Khitan orKitan ( inlarge script or insmall,Khitai;[2]Chinese:契丹語,Qìdānyǔ), also known asLiao, is an extinct language once spoken inNortheast Asia by theKhitan people (4th to 13th century CE). It was the official language of theLiao Empire (907–1125) and theQara Khitai (1124–1218). Owing to a narrow corpus of known words and a partially undeciphered script, the language has yet to be completely reconstructed.[3]
Khitan appears to have been related to theMongolic languages;[4]Juha Janhunen states: "Today, however, the 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 aPara-Mongolic language."[1]
Alexander Vovin (2017) argues that Khitan has severalKoreanic loanwords.[5] Since both the KoreanGoryeo dynasty and the KhitanLiao dynasty claimed to be successors ofGoguryeo, it is possible that the Koreanic words in Khitan were borrowed from thelanguage of Goguryeo.[5]
Khitan was written using two mutually exclusivewriting systems known as theKhitan large script and theKhitan small script.[1] The small script, which was asyllabary, was used until theJurchen-speakingJin dynasty (1115–1234) replaced it with theJurchen script in 1191.[6] The large script waslogographic like Chinese.
Prior to the 19th century, only one Khitan text, the Langjun inscription, was known to scholarship in China; however, the inscription was thought by Ming and Qing scholars to be written in the Jurchen script.[3]
TheHistory of Liao contains a volume of Khitan words transcribed inChinese characters titled "Glossary of National Language" (國語解). It is found in Chapter 116.[7][8][9][10]
TheQianlong Emperor of theQing dynasty erroneously identified the Khitan people and their language with theSolons, leading him to use theSolon language to "correct" Chinese character transcriptions of Khitan names in theHistory of Liao in hisImperial 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 likeManchu of the Qing,Classical Mongolian during theYuan dynasty, Jurchen during the Jin, andXianbei during theNorthern Wei. Even today,Mandarin is referred to inTaiwan as Guoyu.
There are several closed systems of Khitan lexical items for which systematic information is available.[3] The following is a list of words in these closed systems that are similar to Mongolic. Mongolian andDaur equivalents are given after the English translation:
| Khitan | Translation | Mongolian script[11] | modern Mongolian pronunciation | Daur |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| heu.ur | spring | qabur | havar | haor |
| ju.un | summer | ǰun | zun | najir |
| n.am.ur | autumn | namur | namar | namar |
| u.ul | winter | ebül | övöl | uwul |
| Khitan | Translation | Mongolian script | modern Mongolian pronunciation | Daur |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| *omc | one | onča 'unique' | onts (unique) | enqu |
| j.ur.er | second | ǰirin 'two' | jirin (two), jiremsen (double/pregnant) | jieeq |
| hu.ur.er | third | ɣurba 'three' | gurav, gurvan, guramsan (triple) | guarab |
| durer/duren | fourth | dörben | döröv, dörvön | durub |
| tau | five | tabun | tav, tavan | taawu |
| t.ad.o.ho | fifth | tabu-daki | tav dahi | taawudar |
| *nil | six | ǰirɣuɣan | zurgaa (innovation "jir'gur" or 2x3) | jirwoo |
| da.lo.er | seventh | doluɣ-a 'seven' | doloo | doloo |
| n.ie.em | eight | naima 'eight' | naim | naim |
| *is | nine | yisü | yüs, yüsön | is |
| par (p.ar) | ten | arban | arav | harbin |
| jau | hundred | ǰaɣun | zuu, zuun | jao |
| ming | thousand | mingɣan | myanga, myangan | mianga |
| Khitan | Translation | Mongolian script | modern Mongolian pronunciation | Daur |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| te.qo.a | chicken | taqiy-a | tahia | kakraa |
| ni.qo | dog | noqai | nohoi | nowu |
| s.au.a | bird | sibaɣu | shuvuu | degii |
| em.a | goat | imaɣ-a | yamaa | imaa |
| tau.li.a | rabbit | taulai | tuulai | tauli |
| mo.ri | horse | mori | mori | mori |
| uni | cow | üniy-e | ünee | unie |
| mu.ho.o | snake | moɣoi | mogoi | mowo |
| Khitan | Translation | Mongolian script | modern Mongolian pronunciation | Daur |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ud.ur | east | dorun-a | dorno | garkui |
| dzi.ge.n | left | ǰegün | züün | solwoi |
| bo.ra.ian | right | baraɣun | baruun | baran |
| dau.ur.un | middle | dumda | dund | duand |
| xe.du.un | horizontal | köndelen | höndölön | |
| ja.cen.i | border | ǰaqa | zasan, zaag | jag |
| Khitan | Translation | Mongolian script | modern Mongolian pronunciation | Daur |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| suni | night | söni | shönö | suni |
| un.n/un.e | now, present | önö | önöö | nee |
| Khitan | Translation | Mongolian script | modern Mongolian pronunciation | Daur |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| c.i.is | blood | čisu | tsus | qos |
| mo ku | female | em-e | em | emwun |
| deu | younger sibling | degüü | düü | deu |
| n.ai.ci | friend | nayiǰa | naiz | guq |
| na.ha.an | uncle | naɣača | nagats | naoq |
| s.ia/s.en | good | sayin | sain | sain |
| g.en.un | sadness, regret | genü='to regret' in the letter ofArghun Khan) | genen, gem | gemxbei |
| ku | person | kümün | hün, hümün | huu |
| Khitan | Translation | Mongolian script | Daur |
|---|---|---|---|
| cau.ur | war | čagur, as in "tsa'urgalan dairakh" | quagur |
| nai/nai.d | heads, officials | "-d" is a plural suffix=noyan, noyad for plural | noyin |
| t.em- | to bestow a title | temdeg 'sign' | temgeet |
| k.em | decree | kem kemjiye 'law/norm' | hes |
| us.gi | letter | üseg | jiexgen |
| ui | matter | üyile | urgil |
| qudug | blessed | qutuɣ | hireebei |
| xe.se.ge | part, section, province | keseg | meyen |
| ming.an | military unit of thousand | minggan | miangan |
| Khitan | Translation | Mongolian script |
|---|---|---|
| p.o | become | bol- |
| p.o.ju | raise(intr.) | bos- |
| on.a.an | fall | una- |
| x.ui.ri.ge.ei | transfer | kür-ge- |
| u- | give | ög- |
| sa- | to reside | sagu- |
| a- | be | a- 'live', as in "aj ahui" |
| Khitan | Translation | Mongolian script | modern Mongolian pronunciation | Daur |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| eu.ul | cloud | egüle | üül | eulen |
| s.eu.ka | dew | sigüderi | shüüder | suider |
| sair | moon | sara | sar | saruul |
| nair | sun | nara | nar | nar |
| m.em/m.ng | silver | mönggö | möng | mungu |
TheLiaoshi 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).
