Middle Mongol

Originating from Genghis Khan's home region of Northeastern Mongolia, it diversified into several Mongolic languages after the collapse of the empire.

Middle Mongolian closely resembles Proto-Mongolic, the reconstructed last common ancestor of the modern Mongolic languages, which dates it to shortly after the time when Genghis Khan united a number of tribes under his command and formed the Khamag Mongol.

Although the existence of an earlier ("old") Mongol clan federation in Mongolia during the 12th century is historical, there is no surviving language material from that period.

[7] The temporal delimitation of Middle Mongol causes some problems[vague] as shown in definitions ranging from the 13th until the early 15th[8] or until the late 16th century.

[9] This discrepancy arises from the lack of documents written in the Mongolian language from between the early 15th and late 16th centuries.

It is not clear whether these two delimitations constitute conscious decisions about the classification of e.g. a small text from 1453 with less than 120 words[10] or whether the vaster definition is just intended to fill up the time gap for which little proper evidence is available.

It is a sports report written in Mongolian writing that was already fairly conventionalized then and most often dated between 1224 and 1225.

[12] However, Igor de Rachewiltz argues that it is unlikely that the stele was erected at the place where it was found in the year of the event it describes, suggesting that it is more likely to have been erected about a quarter of a century later, when Yisüngge had gained more substantial political power.

If so, the earliest surviving Mongolian monument would be an edict of Töregene Khatun of 1240[13] and the oldest surviving text arguably The Secret History of the Mongols, a document that must originally have been written in Mongolian script in 1252,[14] but which only survives in an edited version as a textbook for learning Mongolian from the Ming dynasty, thus reflecting the pronunciation of Middle Mongol from the second half of the 14th century.

[19] The main difference to older approaches[20] is that ⟨γ⟩ is identified with /h/ and /ɡ/ (sometimes as [p] before /u/ and /y/), so that *pʰ[21] for Proto-Mongolic cannot be reconstructed from internal evidence that used to be based solely on word-initial /h/ and the then rather incomplete data from Monguor.

[24] In transliteration, /ø/ and /y/ are commonly indicated as ⟨ö⟩ and ⟨ü⟩, respectively; /t͡ʃ/, /d͡ʒ/ and /ʃ/ are written ⟨c⟩ (or ⟨č⟩), ⟨j⟩ and ⟨sh⟩ (or ⟨š⟩); /j/ is denoted by ⟨y⟩; /ŋ/ is spelt ⟨ng⟩; and /ɢ/ may be expressed by ⟨gh⟩ (or ⟨γ⟩).

[31] The dative-locative may denote not only an indirect object, but also local and temporal expressions, both static and dynamic.

[34] The genitive does the same in the superlative degree construction: irgen-ü sayin haran 'the best of the people', lit.

Its shape varies depending on phonological factors and the genitive ending of vowel stems is also changed in front of it: The personal pronouns exhibit an inclusive-exclusive distinction.

[53] belgüteiBelgüteiteyinsočabčiqdajuchop-PASS-CVB-IMPERFbö’etbe-CVB-PRFbelgütei teyin čabčiqdaju bö’etBelgütei so chop-PASS-CVB-IMPERF be-CVB-PRF‘Belgütei, having been chopped in that manner’ke’ütson-PLminumyqatkhan-PLbolju’ubecome-PASTke’ekdemüisay-PASS-PRSbiIke’üt minu qat bolju’u ke’ekdemüi bison-PL my khan-PL become-PAST say-PASS-PRS I‘I am told that my sons have become khans’ma’uibadsetki’esüthink-CVB-CONDenethismetülikečisubanblood-one's ownqarqaqdasucome out-PASS-voluntativema’ui setki’esü ene metü čisuban qarqaqdasubad think-CVB-COND this like {blood-one's own} {come out-PASS-voluntative}‘If I think evil I shall be subject to letting out my blood like this’ or ‘Now if I think evil ..., let my blood be shed like this!’[54]naimanaNaiman (tribal name)-DATirgepeopleorqobanhomestead-one's ownemewomankö’übenson-one's ownda’uliqdabapillage-PASTbiInaimana irge orqoban eme kö’üben da’uliqdaba bi{Naiman (tribal name)-DAT} people {homestead-one's own} woman {son-one's own} pillage-PAST I‘I have been spoiled by the Naiman in respect of my people and folk and wives and sons’[55]In §131, Belgütei is negatively affected by an unknown actor.

The agent may be marked by the dative (-a and -da, but in contrast to Classical Mongolian never -dur) or the nominative: ÖgödeiÖgödeiqahanKhanebetčinillnessgürtejüreach-PASS-CVB-IMPERFÖgödei qahan ebetčin gürtejüÖgödei Khan illness reach-PASS-CVB-IMPERF‘Ögödei Khan being befallen by an illness’qalqashieldkenewho-DATboldaquyubecome-PASS-PRESbiIqalqa kene boldaquyu bishield who-DAT become-PASS-PRES I‘By whom shall the office of shield be done for me?’[56]In both of these examples, the verb stems to which the passive subject is suffixed are intransitive.

Passive suffixes get suffixed to phrases, not verbal stems, e.g.: JamuqaJamuqanökötte'encompanion-DAT-one's ownbarijuseize-CVB-IMPERFirekdejücome-PASS-CVB-IMPERFJamuqa nökötte'en bariju irekdejüJamuqa {companion-DAT-one's own} seize-CVB-IMPERF come-PASS-CVB-IMPERF'Jamuqa, being seized by his companions and forced to come (unto Genghis Khan)'[57]In modern Mongolian, neither the passivization of ir- nor the suffixing of passive suffixes to phrases are possible, so the modern translation of §200 runs: JamuhaJamuhanöhöddööfriend-DAT-one's ownbarigdažseize-PASS-CVB-IMPERFireed[58]come-CVB-IMPERFJamuha nöhöddöö barigdaž ireed[58]Jamuha {friend-DAT-one's own} seize-PASS-CVB-IMPERF come-CVB-IMPERFNext to the passive, there is also a causative that is, however, less notable.

In contrast to the passive suffix, the causative suffix does not attach to a phrase, but to single verbs (as long as they denote different actions):[59] Temüjin-iTemüjin-ACCmorila’uljumount a horse-CAUS-CVB-IMPERFTemüjin-i morila’uljuTemüjin-ACC {mount a horse-CAUS-CVB-IMPERF}'they had Temüjin mount a horse'mori-yanhorse-one's ownKököčüKököčüaqtači-da'ankeeper of geldings-DAT-one's ownbari’ulju’uiseize-CAUS-PASTmori-yan Kököčü aqtači-da'an bari’ulju’ui{horse-one's own} Kököčü {keeper of geldings-DAT-one's own} seize-CAUS-PAST'He gave his horse to his equerry Kököčü to hold'[60]qarčiqai-barhawk-INSTRbari’uluqsanseize-CAUS-PERF-PTCPnoqutduck-PLqarčiqai-bar bari’uluqsan noquthawk-INSTR seize-CAUS-PERF-PTCP duck-PL'the ducks ... caught by his hawk'[61]berined-iyendaughter-in-law-one's ownberile’üljüto daughter-in-law-CVB-IMPERFötökle’üljüpresent_ötög-c iqu’urda’uljuplay_qu'ur-c iberined-iyen berile’üljü ötökle’üljü qu’urda’ulju{daughter-in-law-one's own} {to daughter-in-law-CVB-IMPERF} present_ötög-c i play_qu'ur-c i'She had her daughter-in-law perform the rites pertaining to a daughter in law, ordered that the ceremonial wine be drunk and the horse fiddle be played, and ...'[62] 'making the daughters in law perform the rites of a daughter in law, making one to present the ötög,[63] making one to play the qu'ur'[64]Next to these morphemes, Middle Mongol also had suffixes to express reciprocal and cooperative meaning, namely -ldu- ~ -lda- and -lča-.

[66] There are a number of enclitic particles:[67] uu after consonants There are three preposed negative particles used with verb forms:[67] Identity with nominal parts of speech is negated by means of the word busu (busi), pl.

'five hundred'; in these cases, the second component may also optionally stand in the plural, e.g. 500 tabun ja'ut.