View source for Social:Mongolian language

{{Short description|Official language of Mongolia}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Mongolian
| nativename       = {{ubl|{{lang|mn|монгол хэл}}|{{MongolUnicode|ᠮᠣᠩᠭᠣᠯ|lang=mn}} {{MongolUnicode|ᠬᠡᠯᠡ|lang=mn}}}}<!-- {{Phagspa|v|ꡏꡡꡃ ꡢꡡꡙ ꡁꡦ ꡙꡦ|style=height:40px}} does not align nicely with surrounding text. Alternatively, this phagspa sample shouldn't be misleadingly horizontal *here* given the prominence of the infobox. -->
{{lang|mn|Mongol}}<!-- {{Phagspa|v|ꡏꡡꡃ ꡢꡡꡙ ꡁꡦ ꡙꡦ|style=height:40px}} does not align nicely with surrounding text. Alternatively, this phagspa sample shouldn't be misleadingly horizontal *here* given the prominence of the infobox. -->
| pronunciation    = {{IPA-mn|ˈmɔɴ.ɢəɮ xiɮ|}}
| states           = Mongolian Plateau
| region           = All of Mongolia, [[Place:Inner Mongolia|Inner Mongolia]], Buryatia, Kalmykia; parts of Irkutsk Oblast, Zabaykalsky Krai in {{wipe|Russia}}; parts of Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, [[Place:Xinjiang|Xinjiang]], Gansu and Qinghai provinces in {{wipe|China}}; Issyk-Kul Region in Kyrgyzstan
| speakers         = {{sigfig|6.183130|2}} million
| ethnicity        = Mongols, Buryats
| date             = 1982–2020
| ref              = e26
| familycolor      = Altaic
| fam1             = [[Social:Mongolic languages|Mongolic]]
| fam2             = Central Mongolic
| fam3             = [[Social:Buryat language|Buryat]]–Mongolian
| ancestor         = [[Social:Proto-Mongolic language|Proto-Mongolic]]
| ancestor2        = [[Social:Middle Mongol|Middle Mongol]]ian
| ancestor3        = [[Social:Classical Mongolian language|Classical Mongolian]]
| dia1             = [[Social:Khalkha Mongolian|Khalkha]]
| dia2             = [[Social:Oirat language|Oirat]]
| dia3             = [[Social:Mongolian language in Inner Mongolia|Peripheral]]
| stand1           = [[Social:Khalkha Mongolian|Khalkha]] (Mongolia)
| stand2           = [[Social:Chakhar Mongolian|Chakhar]] (China)
| script           = {{plainlist|
* [[Social:Mongolian script|Traditional Mongolian]] (in China and Mongolia)
* [[Social:Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet|Mongolian Cyrillic]] (in Mongolia and Russia)
* Mongolian Braille
* [[Social:ʼPhags-pa script|ʼPhags-pa]] (historical, among others)}}
| nation           = {{ubl|{{MGL}}|{{CHN}}}}
* [[Place:Inner Mongolia|Inner Mongolia]]<ref>{{cite web |title= China |url = http://www.ethnologue.com/country/CN/status|website= Ethnologue}}</ref>
* [[Place:Xinjiang|Xinjiang]]
** Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture
** Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture
** Hoboksar Mongol Autonomous County
* Qinghai
** Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture
| agency           = {{ubl|Mongolia:|State Language Council,<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.edulaws.pmis.gov.mn/edulaws/web/index.php?modules=law&viewid=2&law_id=189 |title = Törijn alban josny helnij tuhaj huul<nowiki>'</nowiki> |publisher= MongolianLaws.com|date= 2003-05-15 |access-date = 2009-03-27 |url-status = dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090822084246/http://www.edulaws.pmis.gov.mn/edulaws/web/index.php?modules=law&viewid=2&law_id=189 |archive-date= 2009-08-22}} The decisions of the council have to be ratified by the government.</ref>|China:|Council for Language and Literature Work<ref>"Mongγul kele bičig-ün aǰil-un ǰöblel". See Sečenbaγatur ''et al.'' (2005): 204.</ref>}}
| iso1             = mn
| iso2             = mon
| iso3             = mon
| lc1              = khk
| ld1              = Khalkha Mongolian
| lc2              = mvf
| ld2              = Peripheral Mongolian (part)
| lingua           = part of 44-BAA-b
| image            = 
| imagescale       = 
| map              = Idioma mongol.png
| mapalt           = Map of Mongolian Speakers in Asia.
| mapcaption       = Map of where Mongolian is spoken.
| notice           = IPA
| glotto           = mong1331
| glottorefname    = Mongolian
}}

'''Mongolian'''{{NoteTag|
* [[Social:Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet|Mongolian Cyrillic]]: {{Lang|khk-Cyrl|монгол хэл}}, {{Transl|khk|mongol khel}}
* Traditional [[Social:Mongolian script|Mongolian script]]: {{MongolUnicode|ᠮᠣᠩᠭᠣᠯ|lang=mn}} {{MongolUnicode|ᠬᠡᠯᠡ|lang=mn}}, {{Transl|mvf|moŋɣol kele}}
** Image: {{Mousetext|[[File:Monggol kele.svg|25px|text-top]]|mongɣol kele}}}} is the principal language of the Mongolic language family that originated in the Mongolian Plateau. It is spoken by ethnic Mongols and other closely related Mongolic peoples who are native to modern Mongolia and surrounding parts of East and North Asia. Mongolian is the official language of Mongolia and Inner Mongolia and a recognized language of [[Place:Xinjiang|Xinjiang]] and Qinghai.

The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 6.2 million, including the vast majority of the residents of Mongolia and many of the ethnic Mongol residents of the Inner Mongolia of {{wipe|China}}.<ref name=e26/> In Mongolia, [[Social:Khalkha Mongolian|Khalkha Mongolian]] is predominant, and is currently written in both [[Social:Cyrillic script|Cyrillic]] and the [[Social:Mongolian script|traditional Mongolian script]]. In [[Place:Inner Mongolia|Inner Mongolia]], it is [[Social:Dialect|dialect]]ally more diverse and written in the traditional Mongolian script. However, Mongols in both countries often use the Latin script for convenience on the Internet.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mongolian scripts and writing culture |url=https://www.mongolianz.com/post/2017/09/18/mongolian-scripts-and-writing-culture-1/ |website=MONGOLIANZ |date=2017}}</ref>

In the discussion of grammar to follow, the variety of Mongolian treated is the standard written Khalkha formalized in the writing conventions and in grammar as taught in schools, but much of it is also valid for vernacular (spoken) Khalkha and other Mongolian dialects, especially [[Social:Chakhar Mongolian|Chakhar Mongolian]].

Some classify several other Mongolic languages like [[Social:Buryat language|Buryat]] and [[Social:Oirat language|Oirat]] as varieties of Mongolian, but this classification is not in line with the current international standard.

Mongolian is a language with [[Social:Vowel harmony|vowel harmony]] and a complex syllabic structure compared to other Mongolic languages, allowing clusters of up to three consonants syllable-finally. It is a typical [[Social:Agglutinative language|agglutinative language]] that relies on suffix chains in the verbal and nominal domains. While there is a basic word order, [[Social:Subject–object–verb|subject–object–predicate]], ordering among [[Social:Noun phrase|noun phrase]]s is relatively free, as grammatical roles are indicated by a system of about eight grammatical cases. There are five voices. Verbs are marked for voice, aspect, [[Social:Grammatical tense|tense]] and [[Philosophy:Modality (natural language)|epistemic modality]]/[[Philosophy:Evidentiality|evidentiality]]. In sentence linking, a special role is played by converbs.

Modern Mongolian evolved from [[Social:Middle Mongol|Middle Mongol]], the language spoken in the Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries. In the transition, a major shift in the vowel-harmony paradigm occurred, long vowels developed, the case system changed slightly, and the verbal system was restructured. Mongolian is related to the extinct [[Social:Khitan language|Khitan language]]. It was believed that Mongolian was related to [[Social:Turkic languages|Turkic]], [[Social:Tungusic languages|Tungusic]], [[Social:Korean language|Korean]] and [[Social:Japonic languages|Japonic languages]] but this view is now seen as obsolete by a majority of (but not all) comparative linguists. These languages have been grouped under the [[Social:Altaic languages|Altaic language family]] and contrasted with the Mainland Southeast Asia linguistic area. However, instead of a common genetic origin, Clauson, Doerfer, and Shcherbak proposed that Turkic, Mongolic and Tungusic languages form a language ''Sprachbund'', rather than common origin.<ref name=clauson56>{{cite journal|first=Gerard|last=Clauson|year=1956|url=http://altaica.ru/LIBRARY/CLAUSON/Clauson_against.pdf|title=The case against the Altaic theory|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303202637/http://altaica.ru/LIBRARY/CLAUSON/Clauson_against.pdf|archive-date=2016-03-03|journal=Central Asiatic Journal|volume=2|pages=181–187}}</ref> Mongolian literature is well attested in written form from the 13th century but has earlier Mongolic precursors in the literature of the Khitan and other [[Social:Xianbei|Xianbei]] peoples. The Bugut inscription dated to 584 CE and the Inscription of Hüis Tolgoi dated to 604–620 CE appear to be the oldest substantial Mongolic or Para-Mongolic texts discovered.

== Name ==
Writers such as Owen Lattimore referred to Mongolian as "the Mongol language".<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Harris |first1=Chauncy D. |last2=Sanders |first2=Alan J.K. |last3=Lattimore |first3=Owen |author-link3=Owen Lattimore |last4=Ray |first4=Michael |last5=Pletcher |first5=Kenneth |last6=McKenna |first6=Amy |last7=Murray |first7=Lorraine |date=2023-03-14 |title=Mongolia |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Mongolia |access-date=2023-05-11 |publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en}}</ref>

== History ==
[[File:Phagspa imperial edict dragon year.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.59|alt=White page with black Phags-pa characters and two seals, one being in the middle of and one on the right sight of the text. All lines start at the top of the page|Edict of Yesün Temür Khan, Emperor Taiding of Yuan (1328). Only the 'Phags-pa script retains the complete Middle Mongol vowel system.<ref>Svantesson ''et al.'' (2005): 111.</ref>]]

The earliest surviving Mongolian text may be the {{ill|Stele of Yisüngge|ru|Чингисов_камень}}, a report on sports composed in [[Social:Mongolian script|Mongolian script]] on stone, which is most often dated at 1224 or 1225.<ref>Garudi (2002): 7, but see Rachewiltz (1976)</ref> The Mongolian-[[Social:Armenian language|Armenian]] wordlist of 55 words compiled by Kirakos of Gandzak (13th century) is the first written record of Mongolian words.<ref>Djahukyan (1991): 2368</ref> From the 13th to the 15th centuries, Mongolian language texts were written in four scripts (not counting some vocabulary written in Western scripts): Uyghur Mongolian (UM) script (an adaptation of the [[Social:Uyghur language|Uyghur]] alphabet), [[Social:'Phags-pa script|'Phags-pa script]] (Ph) (used in decrees), [[Social:Chinese characters|Chinese]] (SM) (''The Secret History of the Mongols''), and Arabic (AM) (used in dictionaries).<ref>Rybatzki (2003b): 58.</ref> While they are the earliest texts available, these texts have come to be called "[[Social:Middle Mongol language|Middle Mongol]]" in scholarly practice.<ref>See Rachewiltz 1999 for a critical review of the terminology used in periodizations of Mongolic; Svantesson ''et al.'' (2005): 98–99 attempt a revision of this terminology for the early period.</ref> The documents in UM script show some distinct linguistic characteristics and are therefore often distinguished by terming their language "Preclassical Mongolian".<ref>Rybatzki (2003b): 57.</ref>

The Yuan dynasty referred to the Mongolian language in Chinese as "Guoyu" ({{zh|t=國語}}), which means "National language", a term also used by other non-Han dynasties to refer to their languages such as the [[Social:Manchu language|Manchu language]] during the Qing dynasty, the [[Social:Jurchen language|Jurchen language]] during the Jin dynasty (1115–1234), the [[Social:Khitan language|Khitan language]] during the Liao dynasty, and the [[Social:Xianbei#Language|Xianbei language]] during the Northern Wei period.

The next distinct period is [[Social:Classical Mongolian language|Classical Mongolian]], which is dated from the 17th to the 19th century. This is a written language with a high degree of standardization in orthography and syntax that sets it quite apart from the subsequent Modern Mongolian. The most notable documents in this language are the Mongolian Kangyur and Tengyur<ref>Janhunen (2003a): 32.</ref> as well as several chronicles.<ref>Okada (1984)</ref> In 1686, the [[Social:Soyombo alphabet|Soyombo alphabet]] ([[Religion:Buddhist texts|Buddhist texts]]) was created, giving distinctive evidence on early classical Mongolian phonological peculiarities.<ref>Nadmid (1967): 98–102.</ref>

== Geographic distribution ==
{{seealso|Mongolian language in Inner Mongolia}}
Mongolian is the official national language of Mongolia, where it is spoken (but not always written) by nearly 3.6 million people (2014 estimate),<ref name="Mongolian">{{cite book|last1=Janhunen|first1=Juha|title=Mongolian|date=November 29, 2012|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company|page=11|chapter=1}}</ref> and the official provincial language (both spoken and written forms) of [[Place:Inner Mongolia|Inner Mongolia]], China, where there are at least 4.1 million ethnic Mongols.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Tsung|first1=Linda|title=Language Power and Hierarchy: Multilingual Education in China|date=October 27, 2014|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic|page=59|chapter=3}}</ref> Across the whole of China, the language is spoken by roughly half of the country's 5.8 million ethnic Mongols (2005 estimate)<ref name="Mongolian"/> However, the exact number of Mongolian speakers in China is unknown, as there is no data available on the language proficiency of that country's citizens. The use of Mongolian in Inner Mongolia has witnessed periods of decline and revival over the last few hundred years. The language experienced a decline during the late Qing period, a revival between 1947 and 1965, a second decline between 1966 and 1976, a second revival between 1977 and 1992, and a third decline between 1995 and 2012.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Tsung|first1=Linda|title=Language Power and Hierarchy: Multilingual Education in China|date=October 27, 2014|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic|chapter=3}}</ref> However, in spite of the decline of the Mongolian language in some of Inner Mongolia's urban areas and educational spheres, the ethnic identity of the urbanized Chinese-speaking Mongols is most likely going to survive due to the presence of urban ethnic communities.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Iredale|first1=Robyn|last2=Bilik|first2=Naran|last3=Fei|first3=Guo|title=China's Minorities on the Move: Selected Case Studies|date=August 2, 2003|page=84|chapter=4}}</ref> The multilingual situation in Inner Mongolia does not appear to obstruct efforts by ethnic Mongols to preserve their language.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Janhunen|first1=Juha|title=Mongolian|date=November 29, 2012|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company|page=16|chapter=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Otsuka|first1=Hitomi|title=More Morphologies: Contributions to the Festival of Languages, Bremen, 17 Sep to 7 Oct, 2009|date=30 Nov 2012|page=99|chapter=6}}</ref> Although an unknown number of Mongols in China, such as the Tumets, may have completely or partially lost the ability to speak their language, they are still registered as ethnic Mongols and continue to identify themselves as ethnic Mongols.<ref name="Mongolian"/><ref>{{cite book|last1=Iredale|first1=Robyn|title=China's Minorities on the Move: Selected Case Studies|date=August 2, 2003|publisher=Routledge|pages=56, 64–67|chapter=3}}</ref> The children of inter-ethnic Mongol-Chinese marriages also claim to be and are registered as ethnic Mongols so they can benefit from the preferential policies for minorities in education, healthcare, family planning, school admissions, the hiring and promotion, the financing and taxation of businesses, and regional infrastructural support given to ethnic minorities in China.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Janhunen|first1=Juha|title=Mongolian|date=November 29, 2012|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company|page=11|chapter=1}}{{cite book|last1=Iredale|first1=Robyn|last2=Bilik|first2=Naran|last3=Fei|first3=Guo|title=China's Minorities on the Move: Selected Case Studies|date=August 2, 2003|page=61|chapter=3}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |date=December 24, 2007|author=Barry Sautman |title=Preferential policies for ethnic minorities in China|journal=Nationalism and Ethnic Politics |volume=4 |issue=1–2 |pages=86–118 |doi=10.1080/13537119808428530 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13537119808428530#:~:text=Preferential%20policies%20for%20ethnic%20minorities%20in%20China%20are%20implemented%20in,businesses%2C%20and%20regional%20infrastructural%20support. |access-date=2 August 2022 }}</ref> In 2020, the Chinese government required three subjects — language and literature, politics, and history — to be taught in Mandarin in Mongolian-language primary and secondary schools in the Inner Mongolia since September, which caused widespread protests among ethnic Mongol communities.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Shih |first1=Gerry |title=Chinese authorities face widespread anger in Inner Mongolia after requiring Mandarin-language classes |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/chinese-authorities-face-widespread-anger-in-inner-mongolia-after-requiring-mandarin-language-classes/2020/08/31/3ba5a938-eb5b-11ea-bd08-1b10132b458f_story.html |access-date=1 September 2020 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=August 31, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Qin |first1=Amy |title=Curbs on Mongolian Language Teaching Prompt Large Protests in China |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/31/world/asia/china-protest-mongolian-language-schools.html |access-date=1 September 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=August 31, 2020}}</ref> These protests were quickly suppressed by the Chinese government.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Feng |first1=Emily |title=Parents Keep Children Home As China Limits Mongolian Language In The Classroom |url=https://www.npr.org/2020/09/16/912623822/parents-keep-children-home-as-china-limits-mongolian-language-in-the-classroom |access-date=17 September 2020 |work=NPR |date=16 September 2020}}</ref> Mandarin has been deemed the only language of instruction for all subjects as of September 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-13 |title=China Enforces Ban on Mongolian Language in Schools, Books |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/china-enforces-ban-on-mongolian-language-in-schools-books/7267310.html |access-date=2023-09-18 |website=VOA |language=en}}</ref>

== Classification and varieties ==
[[File:MongolicLanguagesGraph.svg|thumb|250px|Modern Mongolian's place on the chronological tree of Mongolic languages]]

Mongolian belongs to the [[Social:Mongolic languages|Mongolic languages]]. The delimitation of the Mongolian language within Mongolic is a much disputed theoretical problem, one whose resolution is impeded by the fact that existing data for the major [[Social:Variety (linguistics)|varieties]] is not easily arrangeable according to a common set of linguistic criteria. Such data might account for the historical development of the Mongolian dialect continuum, as well as for its [[Social:Sociolinguistics|sociolinguistic]] qualities. Though phonological and lexical studies are comparatively well developed,<ref>See especially Rinčjen (1979), Amaržargal (1988), Coloo (1988) and for a general bibliography on Mongolic phonology Svantesson ''et al.'' (2005): 218–229.</ref> the basis has yet to be laid for a comparative [[Social:Morphology (linguistics)|morphosyntactic]] study, for example between such highly diverse varieties as [[Social:Khalkha Mongolian|Khalkha]] and Khorchin.<ref>See Ashimura (2002) for a rare piece of research into dialect morphosyntax that shows significant differences between Khalkha and Khorchin.</ref><ref>Janhunen (2003): 189.</ref>

In Juha Janhunen's book titled ''Mongolian'', he groups the Mongolic language family into four distinct linguistic branches:<ref name=":1" />

* the Dagur branch, made up of just the [[Social:Dagur language|Dagur language]], which is spoken in the northeast area of [[Place:Manchuria|Manchuria]] in China, specifically in Morin Dawa Daur Autonomous Banner of Hulunbuir, and in Meilisi Daur District of Qiqihar, Heilongjiang;
* the Moghol branch, made up of just the [[Social:Moghol language|Moghol language]], spoken in Afghanistan, and is possibly extinct;
* the Shirongolic (or Southern Mongolic) branch, made up of roughly seven languages, which are spoken in the [[Place:Amdo|Amdo]] region of [[Place:Tibet|Tibet]];
* the Common Mongolic (or Central Mongolic) branch, made up of roughly six language varieties, to which '''Mongolian proper''' belongs.

The Common Mongolic branch is grouped in the following way:<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Janhunen|first=Juha A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SAlwcg9ioPMC&pg=PA4|title=Mongolian|date=2012|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing|isbn=978-90-272-3820-7|pages=3|language=en}}</ref>

* [[Social:Khalkha Mongolian|Khalkha]] ({{lang|mn-latn|Halh}}) is spoken in Mongolia, but some dialects (e.g. [[Social:Chakhar Mongolian|Cahar]]) are also spoken in the [[Place:Inner Mongolia|Inner Mongolia]] region of {{wipe|China}}.
* [[Social:Khorchin Mongolian|Khorchin]] ({{lang|mn-latn|Horchin}}) is spoken to the east in eastern Inner Mongolia and [[Place:Manchuria|Manchuria]].
* [[Social:Ordos Mongolian|Ordos]] is spoken to the south, in Ordos City in Inner Mongolia.
* [[Social:Oirat language|Oirat]], is spoken to the west, in [[Earth:Dzungaria|Dzungaria]].
* [[Social:Khamnigan Mongol|Khamnigan]] ({{lang|mn-latn|Hamnigan}}) is spoken in northeast Mongolia and in northwest of Manchuria.
* [[Social:Buryat language|Buryat]] ({{lang|mn-latn|Buriad}}) is spoken to the north, in the Republic of Buryatia of {{wipe|Russia}}, as well as in the Barga region of Hulun Buir League in Inner Mongolia.

There is no disagreement that the Khalkha dialect of the Mongolian state is Mongolian.<ref>For an exact delimitation of Khalkha, see Amaržargal (1988): 24–25.</ref> However, the status of certain varieties in the Common Mongolic group—whether they are languages distinct from Mongolian or just dialects of it—is disputed. There are at least three such varieties: [[Social:Oirat language|Oirat]] (including the [[Social:Kalmyk Oirat|Kalmyk variety]]) and [[Social:Buryat language|Buryat]], both of which are spoken in Russia, Mongolia, and China; and [[Social:Ordos Mongolian|Ordos]], spoken around Inner Mongolia's Ordos City.<ref>See Janhunen (ed.) (2003) and Sečenbaγatur ''et al.'' (2005) for two classificatory schemes.</ref> The influential classification of Sanžeev (1953) proposed a "Mongolian language" consisting of just the three dialects Khalkha, [[Social:Chakhar Mongolian|Chakhar]], and Ordos, with Buryat and Oirat judged to be independent languages.<ref>Sanžeev (1953): 27–61, especially 55.</ref> On the other hand, Luvsanvandan (1959) proposed a much broader "Mongolian language" consisting of a Central dialect (Khalkha, Chakhar, Ordos), an Eastern dialect (Kharchin, Khorchin), a Western dialect (Oirat, Kalmyk), and a Northern dialect (consisting of two Buryat varieties).<ref>Quoted from Sečenbaγatur ''et al.'' (2005): 167–168.</ref> Additionally, the ''Language Policy in the People's Republic of China: Theory and Practice Since 1949'', states that Mongolian can be classified into four dialects: the Khalkha dialect in the middle, the Horcin-Haracin dialect in the East, Oriat-Hilimag in the west, and Bargu–Buriyad in the north.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-XDdBgAAQBAJ&q=Language+Policy+in+the+People%E2%80%99s+Republic+of+China+The+Use+and+Development+of+Mongol+and+its+Writing+Systems+in+China&pg=PA288|title=Language Policy in the People's Republic of China: Theory and Practice Since 1949|last1=Zhou|first1=Minglang|last2=Sun|first2=Hongkai|date=2006-04-11|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-1-4020-8039-5|language=en}}</ref>

Some Western scholars<ref>Janhunen (2003)</ref> propose that the relatively well researched Ordos variety is an independent language due to its conservative syllable structure and [[Social:Phoneme|phoneme]] inventory. While the placement of a variety like Alasha,<ref>Sečenbaγatur ''et al.'' (2005): 265–266.</ref> which is under the cultural influence of Inner Mongolia but historically tied to Oirat, and of other border varieties like Darkhad would very likely remain problematic in any classification,<ref>Sečenbaγatur ''et al.'' (2005): 266 classify Alasha as a variety of Southern Mongolian according to morphological criteria, while Svantesson ''et al.'' (2005): 148 classify it as a variety of Oirat according to phonological criteria. For a discussion of opinions on the classification of Darkhad, see Sanžaa and Tujaa (2001): 33–34.</ref> the central problem remains the question of how to classify Chakhar, Khalkha, and Khorchin in relation to each other and in relation to Buryat and Oirat.<ref>Sečenbaγatur ''et al.'' (2005): 166–73, 184–195.</ref><ref>Janhunen (2003): 180.</ref> The split of {{IPA|[tʃ]}} into {{IPA|[tʃ]}} before *i and {{IPA|[ts]}} before all other reconstructed vowels, which is found in Mongolia but not in Inner Mongolia, is often cited as a fundamental distinction,<ref>Svantesson ''et al.'' (2005): 143, Poppe (1955): 110–115.</ref> for example [[Social:Proto-Mongolic|Proto-Mongolic]] {{IPA|*tʃil}}, Khalkha {{IPA|/tʃiɮ/}}, Chakhar {{IPA|/tʃil/}} 'year' versus Proto-Mongolic {{IPA|*tʃøhelen}}, Khalkha {{IPA|/tsoːɮəŋ/}}, Chakhar {{IPA|/tʃoːləŋ/}} 'few'.<ref>Svantesson ''et al.'' (2006): 159–160; the difference between the [l]s might just be due to the impossibility of reconstructing something as precise as {{IPA|[ɮ]}} for Proto-Mongolic and imprecision or convenience in notation for Chakhar, Dobu (1983).</ref> On the other hand, the split between the past tense verbal suffixes -{{IPA|/sŋ/}} in the Central varieties v. -{{IPA|/dʒɛː/}} in the Eastern varieties<ref>e.g. ''bi tegün-i taniǰei'' I him know.{{smallcaps|past}} 'I knew him' is accepted and ?''Bi öčögedür iregsen'' rejected by Chuluu (1998): 140, 165; in Khalkha, by contrast, the first sentence would not appear with the meaning attributed to it, while the second is perfectly acceptable.</ref> is usually seen as a merely [[Stochastic|stochastic]] difference.<ref>See, for example, Činggeltei (1959). This split is blurred by the school grammar, which treats several dialectal varieties as one coherent grammatical system; e.g. Činggeltei (1979, 1999). This understanding is in turn reflected in the undecided treatment of -{{IPA|/sŋ/}} in research work like Bayančoγtu (2002): 306.</ref>

In Inner Mongolia, official language policy divides the Mongolian language into three dialects: [[Social:Mongolian language in Inner Mongolia|Standard Mongolian of Inner Mongolia]], Oirat, and Barghu-Buryat. The Standard Mongolian of Inner Mongolia is said to consist of Chakhar, Ordos, [[Social:Baarin Mongolian|Baarin]], Khorchin, Kharchin, and Alasha. The authorities have synthesized a [[Social:Standard language|literary standard]] for Mongolian in whose grammar is said to be based on the Standard Mongolian of Inner Mongolia and whose pronunciation is based on the Chakhar dialect as spoken in the Plain Blue Banner.<ref>Sečenbaγatur ''et al.'' (2005): 85. "Öbür mongγul ayalγu bol dumdadu ulus-un mongγul kelen-ü saγuri ayalγu bolqu büged dumdadu ulus-un mongγul kelen-ü barimǰiy-a abiy-a ni čaqar aman ayalγun-du saγurilaγsan bayidaγ."</ref> Dialectologically, however, western Mongolian dialects in Inner Mongolia are closer to Khalkha than they are to eastern Mongolian dialects in Inner Mongolia: e.g. Chakhar is closer to Khalkha than to Khorchin.<ref>Janhunen 2003d.</ref>

=== List of dialects ===
Juha Janhunen (2003: 179)<ref>Janhunen, Juha (2003). ''The Mongolic Languages''. p. 179. Routledge Language Family Series 5. London: Routledge.</ref> lists the following Mongol dialects, most of which are spoken in [[Place:Inner Mongolia|Inner Mongolia]].
*'''Tongliao''' group
**Horchin
**Jasagtu
**Jarut
**Jalait
**Dörbet
**Gorlos
*'''Juu Uda''' group
**Aru Horchin
**Baarin
**Ongniut
**Naiman
**Aohan
*'''Josotu''' group
**Harachin
**Tümet
*'''Ulan cab''' group
**[[Social:Chakhar Mongolian|Cahar]]
**Urat
**Darhan
**Muumingan
**Dörben Küüket
**Keshigten
*'''Shilingol''' group
**Üdzümüchin
**Huuchit
**Abaga
**Abaganar
**Sönit
*'''Outer Mongolian''' group
**[[Social:Khalkha Mongolian|Halh]]
**Hotogoit
**Darhad
**Congol
**Sartul
**Dariganga

===Standard varieties===
There are two standard varieties of Mongolian.

==== Mongolia ====
Standard Mongolian in the state of Mongolia is based on the northern [[Social:Khalkha Mongolian|Khalkha Mongolian]] dialects, which include the dialect of [[Place:Ulaanbaatar|Ulaanbaatar]], and is written in the Mongolian Cyrillic script.<ref>Svantesson ''et al.'' (2005): 9-10</ref>

==== China ====
Standard Mongolian in Inner Mongolia is based on the [[Social:Chakhar Mongolian|Chakhar Mongolian]] of the Khalkha dialect group,<ref>Svantesson ''et al.'' (2005): 9-10</ref> spoken in the Shuluun Huh/Zhènglán Banner,<ref>Dàobù 1982, p. 2.</ref> and is written in the traditional Mongolian script.

The number of Mongolian speakers in China is still larger than in the state of Mongolia,<ref>Juha Janhunen (Hg.): ''The Mongolic Languages''. London / New York: Routledge, 2003; ISBN 0-7007-1133-3; S.&nbsp;xviii.</ref> where the majority of Mongolians in China speak one of the [[Social:Khorchin Mongolian|Khorchin dialects]], or rather more than two million of them speak the Khorchin dialect itself as their mother tongue, so that the Khorchin dialect group has about as many speakers as the Khalkha dialect group in the State of Mongolia. Nevertheless, the Chakhar dialect, which today has only about 100,000 native speakers and belongs to the Khalkha dialect group, is the basis of standard Mongolian in China.<ref>Svantesson ''et al.'' (2005): 11-12</ref>

==== Differences ====
The characteristic differences in the pronunciation of the two standard varieties include the umlauts in Inner Mongolia and the palatalized consonants in Mongolia (see below) as well as the splitting of the Middle Mongol affricates *{{IPA|ʧ}} ({{MongolUnicode|ᠴ|valign=middle|font-size=1.6em}} ''{{Transl|Mong|č}}'') and *{{IPA|ʤ}} ({{MongolUnicode|ᠵ|valign=middle|font-size=1.6em}} ''{{Transl|Mong|ǰ}}'') into {{IPA|ʦ}} ({{Lang|mn|ц}} {{Transl|mn|c}}) and {{IPA|ʣ}} ({{Lang|mn|з}} {{Transl|mn|z}}) versus {{IPA|ʧ}} ({{Lang|mn|ч}} {{Transl|mn|č}}) and {{IPA|ʤ}} ({{Lang|mn|ж}} {{Transl|mn|ž}}) in Mongolia:<ref>Mongolian language. In: Christopher P. Atwood: ''Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire''. New York: Facts On File, 2004; ISBN 0-8160-4671-9; S.&nbsp;373 und Владимирцов 1988 (1929) p. 390; examples harmonized to {{MongolUnicode|ᠮᠣᠨᠭᠭᠣᠯ<br />ᠬᠢᠲᠠᠳ<br />ᠲᠣᠯᠢ}} / {{lang|zh-Hans|《蒙汉词典》}} 1999 and {{MongolUnicode|ᠭᠠᠯᠰᠠᠩᠫᠤᠩᠰᠣᠭ}} / Галсанпунцаг 2004.</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
! Middle Mongol !! Inner Mongolia !! Mongolia !! Meaning
|-
| *{{IPA|ʧisu}} {{MongolUnicode|ᠴᠢᠰᠤ|lang=xng|font-size=1.6em}} ''{{Transl|Mong|čisu}}'' || [{{IPA|ʧʊs}}] {{MongolUnicode|ᠴᠢᠰᠤ|lang=mvf|font-size=1.6em}} ''{{Transl|Mong|čisu}}'' || [{{IPA|ʦʊs}}] {{Lang|mn|цус}} {{Transl|mn|cus}} || blood
|-
| *{{IPA|ʤam}} {{MongolUnicode|ᠵᠠᠮ|lang=xng|font-size=1.6em}} ''{{Transl|Mong|ǰam}}'' || [{{IPA|ʤɑm}}] {{MongolUnicode|ᠵᠠᠮ|lang=mvf|font-size=1.6em}} ''{{Transl|Mong|ǰam}}'' || [{{IPA|dzɑm}}] {{Lang|mn|зам}} {{Transl|mn|zam}} || street
|-
| *{{IPA|oʧixu}} {{MongolUnicode|ᠣᠴᠢᠬᠤ|lang=xng|font-size=1.6em}} ''{{Transl|Mong|očiqu}}'' || [{{IPA|ɔʧɪx}}] {{MongolUnicode|ᠣᠴᠢᠬᠤ|lang=mvf|font-size=1.6em}} ''{{Transl|Mong|očiqu}}'' || [{{IPA|ɔʧɪx}}] {{Lang|mn|очих}} {{Transl|mn|očix}} || to go
|-
| *{{IPA|ʤime}} {{MongolUnicode|ᠵᠢᠮ&nbsp;ᠡ|lang=xng|font-size=1.6em}} ''{{Transl|Mong|ǰim-e}}'' || [{{IPA|ʤim}}] {{MongolUnicode|ᠵᠢᠮ&nbsp;ᠡ|lang=mvf|font-size=1.6em}} ''{{Transl|Mong|ǰim-e}}'' || [{{IPA|ʤim}}] {{Lang|mn|жим}} {{Transl|mn|žim}} || path
|}
Aside from these differences in pronunciation, there are also differences in vocabulary and language use: in the state of Mongolia more [[Social:Loanword|loanword]]s from [[Social:Russian language|Russian]] are being used, while in Inner Mongolia more loanwords from [[Social:Chinese language|Chinese]] have been adopted.<ref>Atwood p.&nbsp;374.</ref>

== Phonology ==
{{Listen
 |filename     = MOV00979.ogv
 |title        = Mongolians speaking Khalkh
 |description  = Modern day Mongolians speaking Khalkh, the dominant dialect of Mongolian. Recorded in Tavan Har, Mongolia 
}}

The following description is based primarily on the Khalkha dialect as spoken in [[Place:Ulaanbaatar|Ulaanbaatar]], Mongolia's capital. The phonologies of other varieties such as Ordos, Khorchin, and even Chakhar, differ considerably.<ref>Sečenbaγatur ''et al.'' (2005): 249–384.</ref> This section discusses the [[Social:Phonology|phonology]] of Khalkha Mongolian with subsections on Vowels, Consonants, Phonotactics and Stress.

=== Vowels ===
The standard language has seven monophthong vowel phonemes. They are aligned into three [[Social:Vowel harmony|vowel harmony]] groups by a parameter called ATR (advanced tongue root); the groups are −ATR, +ATR, and neutral. This alignment seems to have superseded an alignment according to oral backness. However, some scholars still describe Mongolian as being characterized by a distinction between front vowels and back vowels, and the front vowel spellings 'ö' and 'ü' are still often used in the West to indicate two vowels which were historically front. The Mongolian vowel system also has rounding harmony.

Length is phonemic for vowels, and except short [e], which has merged into short [i],<ref>{{Cite book |title=The phonology of Mongolian |date=2005 |publisher=Oxford University press |isbn=978-0-19-926017-1 |series=The phonology of the world's languages |location=Oxford (GB)}}</ref> each of the other six phonemes occurs both short and long. Phonetically, short {{IPA|/o/}} has become centralised to the central vowel {{IPA|[ɵ]}}.

In the following table, the seven vowel phonemes, with their length variants, are arranged and described phonetically. The vowels in the Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet are: 
:{| class="wikitable"
|+
![[Social:Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet|Mongolian Cyrillic]]
![[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]
!Romanization
|-
|а, аа
|[{{IPA link|a}}, {{IPA link|aː}}]
|a, aa
|-
|и, ий/ы
|[{{IPA link|i}}, {{IPA link|iː}}]
|i, ii
|-
|о, оо
|[{{IPA link|ɔ}}, {{IPA link|ɔː}}]
|o, oo
|-
|ө, өө
|[{{IPA link|ɵ}}, {{IPA link|oː}}] /{{IPA link|o}}, {{IPA link|oː}}/
|ö, öö
|-
|у, уу
|[{{IPA link|ʊ}}, {{IPA link| ʊː}}]
|u, uu
|-
|ү, үү
|[{{IPA link|u}}, {{IPA link|uː}}]
|ü, üü
|-
|э, ээ
|[{{IPA link|i}}, {{IPA link|eː}}]
|e, ee
|}
:{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
!
! colspan="2" |Front
! colspan="2" |Central
! colspan="2" |Back
|-
!
! Short
! Long
! Short
! Long
! Short
! Long
|-
! style="text-align: left;" |Close
|{{IPA link|i}}
|{{IPA link|iː}}
|
|
|{{IPA link|u}}
|{{IPA link|uː}}
|-
! style="text-align: left;" |Near-Close
|
|
|
|
|{{IPA link|ʊ}}
|{{IPA link|ʊː}}
|-
! style="text-align: left;" |Close-Mid
|
|{{IPA link|eː}}
|{{IPA link|ɵ}}
|
|
|{{IPA link|oː}}
|-
! style="text-align: left;" |Open-mid
|
|
|
|
|{{IPA link|ɔ}}
|{{IPA link|ɔː}}
|-
! style="text-align: left;" |Open
|
|
|{{IPA link|a}}
|{{IPA link|aː}}
|
|
|}

Khalkha also has four diphthongs: historically {{IPA|/ui, ʊi, ɔi, ai/}} but are pronounced more like {{IPA|[ʉe̯, ʊe̯, ɞe̯, æe̯]}};<ref>Svantesson ''et al.'' (2005): 22</ref> e.g. ой in {{lang|mn|нохой}} ({{lang|mn-latn|nohoi}}) {{IPA|[nɔ̙ˈχɞe̯]}} 'dog', ай in {{lang|mn|далай}} ({{lang|mn-latn|dalai}}) {{IPA|[taˈɮæe̯]}} sea', уй in {{lang|mn|уйлах}} ({{lang|mn-latn|uilah}}) {{IPA|[ˈʊe̯ɮɐχ]}} 'to cry', үй in {{lang|mn|үйлдвэр}} ({{lang|mn-latn|üildver}}) {{IPA|[ˈʉe̯ɮtw̜ɘr]}} 'factory', эй in {{lang|mn|хэрэгтэй}} ({{lang|mn-latn|heregtei}}) {{IPA|[çiɾɪxˈtʰe]}} 'necessary'. There are three additional rising diphthongs {{IPA|/ia/}} (иа), {{IPA|/ʊa/}} (уа) {{IPA|/ei/}} (эй); e.g. иа in {{lang|mn|амиараа}} ({{lang|mn-latn|amiaraa}}) {{IPA|[aˈmʲæɾa]}} 'individually', уа in {{lang|mn|хуаран}} ({{lang|mn-latn|huaran}}) {{IPA|[ˈχʷaɾɐɴ]}} 'barracks'.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Sanders|first=Alan J. K.|title=Colloquial Mongolian : the complete course for beginners|isbn=978-1-317-30598-9|pages=13|oclc=919495714|date=2015-08-14|publisher=Routledge }}</ref>

==== Allophones ====
This table below lists vowel allophones (short vowels allophones in non-initial positions are used interchangeably with schwa):<ref>Svantesson ''et al.'' (2005): 1</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="3" | Short
! Initial positions
| {{IPA|[a]}}
| {{IPA|[e]}}
| {{IPA|[i]}}
| {{IPA|[ɔ]}}
| {{IPA|[o]}}
| {{IPA|[ʊ]}}
| {{IPA|[u]}}
|-
! rowspan="2" | Non-initial positions
| {{IPA|[ă]}}
| {{IPA|[ĕ]}}
| {{IPA|[ĭ]}}
| {{IPA|[ɔ̆]}}
| {{IPA|[ŏ]}}
| {{IPA|[ʊ̆]}}
| {{IPA|[ŭ]}}
|-
| colspan="7" | {{IPA|[ə]}}
|-
! rowspan="2" | Long
! Initial positions
| {{IPA|[aː]}}
| {{IPA|[eː]}}
| {{IPA|[iː]}}
| {{IPA|[ɔː]}}
| {{IPA|[oː]}}
| {{IPA|[ʊː]}}
| {{IPA|[uː]}}
|-
! Non-initial positions
| {{IPA|[a]}}
| {{IPA|[e]}}
| {{IPA|[i]}}
| {{IPA|[ɔ]}}
| {{IPA|[o]}}
| {{IPA|[ʊ]}}
| {{IPA|[u]}}
|}

==== ATR harmony ====
Mongolian divides vowels into three groups in a system of [[Social:Vowel harmony|vowel harmony]]:

:{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
!
! +ATR ("front")
! −ATR ("back")
! Neutral
|-
|IPA
| {{IPA|e, u, o}}
| {{IPA|a, ʊ, ɔ}}
|{{IPA|i}}
|-
|Cyrillic
|э, ү, ө
|а, у, о
|и, ы and й
|}

For historical reasons, these have been traditionally labeled as "front" vowels and "back" vowels, as /o/ and /u/ developed from /ø/ and /y/, while /ɔ/ and /ʊ/ developed from /o/ and /u/ in Middle Mongolian. Indeed, in Mongolian [[Social:Romanization|romanization]]s, the vowels {{IPA|/o/}} and {{IPA|/u/}} are often conventionally rendered as {{angle bracket|ö}} and {{angle bracket|ü}}, while the vowels {{IPA|/ɔ/}} and {{IPA|/ʊ/}} are expressed as {{angle bracket|o}} and {{angle bracket|u}}. However, for modern Mongolian phonology, it is more appropriate to instead characterize the two vowel-harmony groups by the dimension of tongue root position. There is also one neutral vowel, {{IPA|/i/}}, not belonging to either group.

All the vowels in a noncompound word, including all its suffixes, must belong to the same group. If the first vowel is −ATR, then every vowel of the word must be either {{IPA|/i/}} or a −ATR vowel. Likewise, if the first vowel is a +ATR vowel, then every vowel of the word must be either {{IPA|/i/}} or a +ATR vowel. In the case of suffixes, which must change their vowels to conform to different words, two patterns predominate. Some suffixes contain an archiphoneme {{IPA|/A/}} that can be realized as {{IPA|/a, ɔ, e, o/}}; e.g.

*{{IPA|/orx/}} 'household' + {{IPA|-Ar}} (instrumental) → {{IPA|/orxor/}} 'by a household'
*{{IPA|/xarʊɮ/}} 'sentry' + {{IPA|-Ar}} (instrumental) → {{IPA|/xarʊɮar/}} 'by a sentry'

Other suffixes can occur in {{IPA|/U/}} being realized as {{IPA|/ʊ, u/}}, in which case all −ATR vowels lead to {{IPA|/ʊ/}} and all +ATR vowels lead to {{IPA|/u/}}; e.g.

*{{IPA|/aw/}} 'to take"l' + {{IPA|-Uɮ}} (causative) → {{IPA|/awʊɮ/}}

If the only vowel in the word stem is {{IPA|/i/}}, the suffixes will use the +ATR suffix forms.<ref>Svantesson ''et al.'' (2005): 43–50.</ref>

==== Rounding harmony ====
Mongolian also has rounding harmony, which does not apply to close vowels. If a stem contains {{IPA|/o/}} (or {{IPA|/ɔ/}}), a suffix that is specified for an open vowel will have {{IPA|[o]}} (or {{IPA|[ɔ]}}, respectively) as well. However, this process is blocked by the presence of {{IPA|/u/}} (or {{IPA|/ʊ/}}) and {{IPA|/ei/}}; e.g. {{IPA|/ɔr-ɮɔ/}} 'came in', but {{IPA|/ɔr-ʊɮ-ɮa/}} 'inserted'.<ref>Svantesson ''et al.'' (2005): 46–47, 50–51.</ref>

==== Vowel length ====
The pronunciation of long and short vowels depends on the syllable's position in the word. In word-initial syllables, there is a [[Social:Phoneme|phonemic]] contrast in vowel length. A long vowel has about 208% the length of a short vowel. In word-medial and word-final syllables, formerly long vowels are now only 127% as long as short vowels in initial syllables, but they are still distinct from initial-syllable short vowels. Short vowels in noninitial syllables differ from short vowels in initial syllables by being only 71% as long and by being centralized in articulation. As they are nonphonemic, their position is determined according to phonotactic requirements.<ref>Svantesson ''et al.'' (2005): 1–7, 22–24, 73–75.</ref>

=== Consonants ===
The following table lists the consonants of Khalkha Mongolian. The consonants enclosed in parentheses occur only in loanwords.<ref>Svantesson ''et al.'' 2005: 25–30.</ref> The occurrence of palatalized consonant phonemes, except {{IPA|/tʃ/}} {{IPA|/tʃʰ/}} {{IPA|/ʃ/}} {{IPA|/j/}}, is restricted to words with [−ATR] vowels.<ref>Svantesson ''et al.'' (2005): 20–21, where it is actually stated that they are phonemic only in such words; in Svantesson's analysis, [−ATR] corresponds to "pharyngeal" and [+ATR]—to "nonpharyngeal".</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center
! colspan=2 rowspan=2|
! colspan=2|Labial
! colspan=2|Dental
! colspan=2|Velar
! rowspan=2|Uvular
|- style="font-size: x-small;"
! plain || pal.
! plain || pal.
! plain || pal.
|-
! colspan=2| Nasal
| {{IPA link|m}} || {{IPA link|mʲ}}
| {{IPA link|n}} || {{IPA link|nʲ}}
| {{IPA link|ŋ}} ||
|
|-
! rowspan="2" |Plosive
!<small>unaspirated</small>
| {{IPA link|p}} || {{IPA link|pʲ}}
| {{IPA link|t}} || {{IPA link|tʲ}}
| {{IPA link|ɡ}} || {{IPA link|ɡʲ}}
| {{IPA link|ɢ}}
|-
! <small>aspirated</small>
| ({{IPA link|pʰ}}) || ({{IPA link|pʲʰ}})
| {{IPA link|tʰ}} || {{IPA link|tʲʰ}}
| ({{IPA link|kʰ}}) || ({{IPA link|kʲʰ}})
|
|-
! rowspan="2" |Affricate
!<small>unaspirated</small>
| ||
| {{IPA link|ts}} || {{IPA link|tʃ}}
| ||
|
|-
!<small>aspirated</small>
| ||
| {{IPA link|tsʰ}} || {{IPA link|tʃʰ}}
| ||
|
|-
! rowspan="2" |Fricative
!<small>central</small>
| ({{IPA link|f}}) ||
| {{IPA link|s}} || {{IPA link|ʃ}}
| {{IPA link|x}} || {{IPA link|xʲ}}
|
|-
!<small>lateral</small>
| ||
| {{IPA link|ɮ}} || {{IPA link|ɮʲ}}
| ||
|
|-
! colspan="2" |Trill
| ||
| {{IPA link|r}} || {{IPA link|rʲ}}
| ||
|
|-
! colspan="2" | Approximant
| {{IPA link|w̜}} || {{IPA link|w̜ʲ}}
| || {{IPA link|j}}
| ||
|
|}

A rare feature among the world's languages, Mongolian has neither a voiced lateral approximant, such as {{IPA|[l]}}, nor the voiceless velar plosive {{IPA|[k]}}; instead, it has a voiced alveolar lateral fricative, {{IPA|/ɮ/}}, which is often realized as voiceless {{IPA|[ɬ]}}.<ref>Karlsson (2005): 17</ref> In word-final position, {{IPA|/n/}} (if not followed by a vowel in historical forms) is realized as {{IPA|[ŋ]}}. Aspirated consonants are preaspirated in medial and word-final contexts, devoicing preceding consonants and vowels. Devoiced short vowels are often deleted.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://journals.lub.lu.se/index.php/LWPL/article/viewFile/2341/1916|title=Vowels in Mongolian speech: deletions and epenthesis |author=Anastasia Mukhanova Karlsson|access-date=2014-07-26}}</ref>

=== Syllable structure and phonotactics ===
The maximal syllable is CVVCCC, where the last C is a word-final suffix. A single short vowel rarely appears in syllable-final position. If a word was monosyllabic historically, *CV has become CVV. In native words, the following consonants do not occur word-initially: {{IPA|/w̜/}}, {{IPA|/ɮ/}}, {{IPA|/r/}}, {{IPA|/w̜ʲ/}}, {{IPA|/ɮʲ/}}, {{IPA|/rʲ/}}, {{IPA|/tʰʲ/}}, and {{IPA|/tʲ/}}. {{IPA|[ŋ]}} is restricted to codas (else it becomes {{IPA|[n]}}), and {{IPA|/p/}} and {{IPA|/pʲ/}} do not occur in codas for historical reasons. For two-consonant clusters, the following restrictions obtain:

* a palatalized consonant can be preceded only by another palatalized consonant or sometimes by {{IPA|/ɢ/}} and {{IPA|/ʃ/}}
* {{IPA|/ŋ/}} may precede only {{IPA|/ʃ, x, ɡ, ɡʲ/}} and {{IPA|/ɢ/}}
* {{IPA|/j/}} does not seem to appear in second position
* {{IPA|/p/}} and {{IPA|/pʲ/}} do not occur as first consonant and as second consonant only if preceded by {{IPA|/m/}} or {{IPA|/ɮ/}} or their palatalized counterparts.

Clusters that do not conform to these restrictions will be broken up by an epenthetic nonphonemic vowel in a syllabification that takes place from right to left. For instance, {{lang|mn-latn|hoyor}} 'two', {{lang|mn-latn|azhil}} 'work', and {{lang|mn-latn|saarmag}} 'neutral' are, phonemically, {{IPA|/xɔjr/}}, {{IPA|/atʃɮ/}}, and {{IPA|/saːrmɡ/}} respectively. In such cases, an epenthetic vowel is inserted to prevent disallowed consonant clusters. Thus, in the examples given above, the words are phonetically {{IPA|[ˈxɔjɔ̆r]}}, {{IPA|[ˈatʃĭɮ]}}, and {{IPA|[ˈsaːrmăɢ]}}. The phonetic form of the epenthetic vowel follows from vowel harmony triggered by the vowel in the preceding syllable. Usually it is a centralized version of the same sound, with the following exceptions: preceding {{IPA|/u/}} produces {{IPA|[e]}}; {{IPA|/i/}} will be ignored if there is a nonneutral vowel earlier in the word; and a postalveolar or palatalized consonant will be followed by an epenthetic {{IPA|[i]}}, as in {{IPA|[ˈatʃĭɮ]}}.<ref>Svantesson ''et al.'' (2005): 62–72.</ref>

=== Stress ===
Stress in Mongolian is nonphonemic (does not distinguish different meanings) and thus is considered to depend entirely on syllable structure. But scholarly opinions on stress placement diverge sharply.<ref>Svantesson ''et al.'' (2005): 95–97</ref> Most native linguists, regardless of which dialect they speak, claim that stress falls on the first syllable. Between 1941 and 1975, several Western scholars proposed that the leftmost heavy syllable gets the stress. Yet other positions were taken in works published between 1835 and 1915.

Walker (1997)<ref>elaborating on Bosson (1964) and Poppe (1970).</ref> proposes that stress falls on the rightmost heavy syllable unless this syllable is word-final:

:{|
| H'''ˈH'''LL || {{lang|mn|бай'''гуу'''лагдах}} || {{IPA|[pæ.ˈɢʊ.ɮəɢ.təx]}} || 'to be organized'
|-
| LH'''ˈH'''L || {{lang|mn|хөндий'''рүү'''лэн}} || {{IPA|[xɵn.ti.ˈɾu.ɮəŋ]}} || 'separating' (adverbial)
|-
| LHH'''ˈH'''L || {{lang|mn|Улаанбаат'''рын'''хан}} || {{IPA|[ʊ.ɮan.paːtʰ.ˈrin.xəŋ]}} || 'the residents of Ulaanbaatar'
|-
| H'''ˈH'''H || {{lang|mn|уур'''тай'''гаар}} || {{IPA|[ʊːr.ˈtʰæ.ɢar]}} || 'angrily'
|-
| '''ˈH'''LH || {{lang|mn|'''уйт'''гартай}} || {{IPA|[ˈʊɪtʰ.ɢər.tʰæ]}} || 'sad'
|}

A "heavy syllable" is defined as one that is at least the length of a full vowel; short word-initial syllables are thereby excluded. If a word is bisyllabic and the only heavy syllable is word-final, it gets stressed anyway. In cases where there is only one phonemic short word-initial syllable, even this syllable can get the stress:<ref>Walker's evidence is collected from one native informant, examples from Poppe (1970) and consultation with James Bosson. She defines stress in terms of pitch, duration and intensity. The analysis pertains to the Khalkha dialect. The phonemic analysis in the examples is adjusted to Svantesson ''et al.'' (2005).</ref>

:{|
| L'''ˈH''' || {{lang|mn|га'''луу'''}} || {{IPA|[ɢa.ˈɮʊ]}} || 'goose'
|-
| '''ˈL'''L || {{lang|mn|'''унш'''сан}} || {{IPA|[ˈʊnʃ.səɴ]}} || 'having read'
|}

More recently, the most extensive collection of phonetic data so far in Mongolian studies has been applied to a partial account of stress placement in the closely related Chakhar dialect.<ref>Harnud [Köke] (2003).</ref><ref>Harnud (2003) was reviewed by J. Brown in ''Journal of the International Phonetic Association'' (December 2006). 36(2): 205–207.</ref> The conclusion is drawn that di- and trisyllabic words with a short first syllable are stressed on the second syllable. But if their first syllable is long, then the data for different acoustic parameters seems to support conflicting conclusions: [[Physics:Intensity|intensity]] data often seems to indicate that the first syllable is stressed, while [[Physics:Fundamental frequency|F0]] seems to indicate that it is the second syllable that is stressed.<ref>Harnud [Köke] (2003): 44–54, 94–100.</ref>

== Grammar ==
The grammar in this article is also based primarily on Khalkha Mongolian. Unlike the phonology, most of what is said about morphology and syntax also holds true for Chakhar,<ref>Sečenbaγatur (2003)</ref> while Khorchin is somewhat more diverse.<ref>Bayančoγtu (2002)</ref>

=== Morphology ===
Modern Mongolian is an agglutinative—almost exclusively suffixing—language, with the only exception being reduplication.<ref>Svantesson ''et al.'' (2005): 58–59.</ref> Mongolian also does not have gendered nouns, or definite articles like "the".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.linguamongolia.com/gram1.html?LMCL=SOaskU|title=Grammar|website=www.linguamongolia.com|access-date=2020-02-11}}</ref> Most of the suffixes consist of a single [[Social:Morpheme|morpheme]]. There are many derivational morphemes.<ref>Sečen (2004).</ref> For example, the word {{Transl|mn|baiguullagiinh}} consists of the root {{Transl|mn|bai}} 'to be', an epenthetic ‑{{Transl|mn|g}}‑, the [[Social:Causative|causative]] ‑{{Transl|mn|uul}}‑ (hence 'to found'), the derivative suffix ‑{{Transl|mn|laga}} that forms nouns created by the action (like -''ation'' in ''organisation'') and the complex suffix ‑{{Transl|mn|iinh}} denoting something that belongs to the modified word (‑{{Transl|mn|iin}} would be genitive).

Nominal compounds are quite frequent. Some derivational verbal suffixes are rather productive, e.g. {{Transl|mn|yarih}} 'to speak', {{Transl|mn|yarilc}} 'to speak with each other'. Formally, the independent words derived using verbal suffixes can roughly be divided into three classes: final verbs, which can only be used sentence-finally, i.e. ‑{{Transl|mn|na}} (mainly future or generic statements) or ‑{{Transl|mn|ö}} (second person imperative);<ref>Luvsanvandan (ed.) (1987): 151–153, 161–163.</ref> participles (often called "verbal nouns"), which can be used clause-finally or attributively, i.e. ‑{{Transl|mn|san}} (perfect-past)<ref>Hashimoto (1993).</ref> or ‑{{Transl|mn|maar}} 'want to'; and converbs, which can link clauses or function adverbially, i.e. ‑{{Transl|mn|zh}} (qualifies for any adverbial function or neutrally connects two sentences) or ‑{{Transl|mn|tal}} (the action of the main [[Social:Clause|clause]] takes place until the action expressed by the suffixed verb begins).<ref>Luvsanvandan (ed.) (1987): 103–104, 124–125, 130–131.</ref>

=== Nouns ===
Roughly speaking, Mongolian has between seven and nine cases: nominative ([[Social:Markedness|unmarked]]), genitive, dative-locative, accusative, ablative, instrumental, comitative, privative and directive, though the final two are not always considered part of the case paradigm.<ref>Tsedendamba and Möömöö (1997): 222–232.</ref><ref name=":1" /> If a direct object is definite, it must take the accusative, while it must take the nominative if it is indefinite.<ref>Guntsetseg (2008): 61. The exact conditions of use for indefinite specific direct objects have not yet been specified in detail, but they appear to be related to animacy and textual context.</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303336972|title=Differential object marking in Mongolian|last=Guntsetseg|first=Dolgor|date=January 2008|website=Research Gate|access-date=14 March 2020}}</ref> In addition to case, a number of postpositions exist that usually govern the genitive, dative-locative, comitative and privative cases, including a marked form of the nominative (which can itself then take further case forms). There is also a possible attributive case (when a noun is used attributively), which is unmarked in most nouns but takes the suffix ‑{{Lang|mn|н}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|n}}) when the stem has an unstable nasal.<ref>Sečenbaγatur (2003): 32–46.</ref> Nouns can also take a reflexive-possessive [[Social:Suffix|suffix]], indicating that the marked noun is possessed by the subject of the sentence: {{Transl|mn|bi najz-aa avar-san}} I friend-{{smallcaps|reflexive-possessive}} save-{{smallcaps|perfect}} "I saved my friend".<ref>Tsedendamba and Möömöö (1997): 234–241.</ref> However, there are also somewhat noun-like adjectives to which case suffixes seemingly cannot be attached directly unless there is ellipsis.<ref>For a pioneering approach to this problem, see Sajto (1999).</ref>

:{| class="wikitable"
|-
|+Mongolian noun cases<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.languagesgulper.com/eng/Mongolian.html|title=Mongolian|website=Languages Gulper|access-date=1 June 2019}}</ref>
|-
! Case !! Suffix !! English preposition 
!Example (Cyrillic)!! Transliteration !! Translation
|-
| nominative || – || – 
|ном|| {{Transl|mn|nom}} || book
|-
| accusative || <ul><li>‑{{Lang|mn|г}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|g}})</li><li>‑{{Lang|mn|ыг}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|iig}}), ‑{{Lang|mn|ийг}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|iig}})</li></ul> || – 
| {{Lang|mn|номыг}} || {{Transl|mn|nomiig}} || the book (as object)
|-
| genitive || <ul><li>‑{{Lang|mn|н}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|n}})</li><li>‑{{Lang|mn|ы}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|ii}}), ‑{{Lang|mn|ий}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|ii}})</li><li>‑{{Lang|mn|ын}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|iin}}), ‑{{Lang|mn|ийн}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|iin}})</li><li>‑{{Lang|mn|гийн}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|giin}})</li><li>‑{{Lang|mn|ны}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|nii}}), ‑{{Lang|mn|ний}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|nii}})</li><li>‑{{Lang|mn|ины}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|inii}}), ‑{{Lang|mn|иний}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|inii}})</li></ul> || of 
| {{Lang|mn|номын}} || {{Transl|mn|nomiin}} || of (a) book; book's
|-
| dative-locative|| <ul><li>‑{{Lang|mn|д}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|d}})</li><li>‑{{Lang|mn|т}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|t}})</li><li>‑{{Lang|mn|ад}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|ad}}), ‑{{Lang|mn|од}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|od}}), ‑{{Lang|mn|өд}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|öd}}), ‑{{Lang|mn|эд}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|ed}})</li><li>‑{{Lang|mn|ид}} (‑{{Transl|mn|id}})</li><li>‑{{Lang|mn|нд}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|nd}})</li><li>‑{{Lang|mn|анд}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|and}}), ‑{{Lang|mn|онд}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|ond}}), ‑{{Lang|mn|өнд}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|önd}}), ‑{{Lang|mn|энд}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|end}})</li><li>‑{{Lang|mn|инд}} (‑{{Transl|mn|ind}})</li></ul> || on, to, at, in 
| {{Lang|mn|номд}} || {{Transl|mn|nomd|}} || in (a) book
|-
| ablative || <ul><li>‑{{Lang|mn|аас}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|aas}}), ‑{{Lang|mn|оос}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|oos}}), ‑{{Lang|mn|өөс}} (‑{{Transl|mn|öös}}), ‑{{Lang|mn|ээс}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|ees}})</li><li>‑{{Lang|mn|иас}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|ias}}), ‑{{Lang|mn|иос}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|ios}}), ‑{{Lang|mn|иөс}} (‑{{Transl|mn|iös}}), ‑{{Lang|mn|иэс}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|ies}})</li><li>‑{{Lang|mn|наас}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|naas}}), ‑{{Lang|mn|ноос}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|noos}}), ‑{{Lang|mn|нөөс}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|nöös}}), ‑{{Lang|mn|нээс}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|nees}})</li></ul> || from 
| {{Lang|mn|номоос}} || {{Transl|mn|nomoos}} || from (a) book
|-
| instrumental || <ul><li>‑{{Lang|mn|аар}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|aar}}), ‑{{Lang|mn|оор}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|oor}}), ‑{{Lang|mn|өөр}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|öör}}), ‑{{Lang|mn|ээр}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|eer}})</li><li>‑{{Lang|mn|иар}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|iar}}), ‑{{Lang|mn|иор}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|ior}}), ‑{{Lang|mn|иөр}} (‑{{Transl|mn|iör}}), ‑{{Lang|mn|иэр}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|ier}})</li></ul> || with, using 
| {{Lang|mn|номоор}} || {{Transl|mn|nomoor}} || with (e.g. by means of a) book
|-
| comitative || <ul><li>‑{{Lang|mn|тай}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|tay}}), ‑{{Lang|mn|той}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|toy}}), ‑{{Lang|mn|тэй}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|tey}})</li></ul> || together with 
| {{Lang|mn|номтой}} || {{Transl|mn|nomtoi}} || with (e.g. alongside a) book
|-
| privative || <ul><li>‑{{Lang|mn|гүй}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|güy}})</li></ul> || without || {{Lang|mn|номгүй}} || {{Transl|mn|nomgüy}} || without (a) book
|-
| directive || <ul><li>{{Lang|mn|руу}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|ruu}}), {{Lang|mn|рүү}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|rüü}})</li><li>{{Lang|mn|луу}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|luu}}), {{Lang|mn|лүү}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|lüü}})</li></ul> || towards || {{Lang|mn|ном руу}} || {{Transl|mn|nom ruu}} || towards (a) book
|}

''The rules governing the morphology of Mongolian case endings are intricate, and so the rules given below are only indicative. In many situations, further (more general) rules must also be taken into account in order to produce the correct form: these include the presence of an unstable nasal or unstable velar, as well as the rules governing when a penultimate vowel should be deleted from the stem with certain case endings (e.g. ''{{Lang|mn|цэрэг}}''&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|tsereg}}) → ''{{Lang|mn|цэргийн}}''&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|tsergiin}})). The additional morphological rules specific to loanwords are not covered.''

==== Nominative case ====
The nominative case is used when a noun (or other part of speech acting as one) is the subject of the sentence, and the agent of whatever action (not just physically) takes place in the sentence. In Mongolian, the nominative case does not have an ending.

==== Accusative case ====
The accusative case is used when a noun acts as a direct object (or just "object"), and receives action from a transitive verb. It is formed by:
# ‑{{Lang|mn|г}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|g}}) after stems ending in long vowels or diphthongs, or when a stem ending in {{Lang|mn|н}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|n}}) has an unstable velar (unstable g).
# ‑{{Lang|mn|ыг}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|iig}}) after back vowel stems ending in unpalatalized consonants (except {{Lang|mn|г}} and {{Lang|mn|к}}), short vowels (except {{Lang|mn|и}}) or iotated vowels.
# ‑{{Lang|mn|ийг}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|iig}}) after front vowel stems ending in consonants, short vowels or iotated vowels; and after all stems ending in the palatalized consonants {{Lang|mn|ж}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|j}}), {{Lang|mn|ч}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|ch}}) and {{Lang|mn|ш}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|sh}}), as well as {{Lang|mn|г}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|g}}), {{Lang|mn|к}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|k}}), {{Lang|mn|и}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|i}}) or {{Lang|mn|ь}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|i}}).
:''Note: If the stem ends in a short vowel or ''{{Lang|mn|ь}}''&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|i}}), it is replaced by the suffix.''

==== Genitive case ====
The genitive case is used to show possession of something.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gaunt, John.|title=Modern Mongolian : a course-book|date=2006|publisher=Routledge|isbn=0-7007-1305-0|pages=xxv (13 depending on ebook/physical book) / xxvi (14 depending on ebook/physical book)|oclc=615102455}}</ref>

*For regular stems, it is formed by:
*# ‑{{lang|mn|н}}&nbsp;(‑{{transl|mn|n}}) after stems ending in the diphthongs {{Lang|mn|ай}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|ai}}), {{Lang|mn|ой}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|oi}}), {{Lang|mn|эй}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|ei}}), {{Lang|mn|яй}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|yai}}), {{Lang|mn|ёй}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|yoi}}) or {{Lang|mn|ей}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|yei}}), or the long vowel {{Lang|mn|ий}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|ii}}).
*# ‑{{lang|mn|ы}}&nbsp;(‑{{transl|mn|ii}}) after back vowel stems ending in {{Lang|mn|н}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|n}}).
*# ‑{{lang|mn|ий}}&nbsp;(‑{{transl|mn|ii}}) after front vowel stems ending in {{Lang|mn|н}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|n}}).
*# ‑{{Lang|mn|ын}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|iin}}) after back vowel stems ending in unpalatalized consonants (except {{Lang|mn|н}}, {{Lang|mn|г}} and {{Lang|mn|к}}), short vowels (except {{Lang|mn|и}}) or iotated vowels.
*# ‑{{Lang|mn|ийн}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|iin}}) after front vowel stems ending in consonants (other than {{Lang|mn|н}}), short vowels or iotated vowels; and after all stems ending in the palatalized consonants {{Lang|mn|ж}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|j}}), {{Lang|mn|ч}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|ch}}) and {{Lang|mn|ш}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|sh}}), as well as {{Lang|mn|г}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|g}}), {{Lang|mn|к}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|k}}), {{Lang|mn|и}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|i}}) or {{Lang|mn|ь}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|i}}).
*# ‑{{lang|mn|гийн}}&nbsp;(‑{{transl|mn|giin}}) after stems ending in a long vowel (other than {{Lang|mn|ий}}), or after the diphthongs {{Lang|mn|иа}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|ia}}), {{Lang|mn|ио}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|io}}) or {{Lang|mn|иу}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|iu}}).
*:''Note: If the stem ends in a short vowel or ''{{Lang|mn|ь}}''&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|i}}), it is replaced by the suffix.''

*For stems with an unstable nasal (unstable n), it is formed by:
*# ‑{{lang|mn|ны}}&nbsp;(‑{{transl|mn|nii}}) after back vowel stems (other than those ending in {{Lang|mn|и}} or {{Lang|mn|ь}}).
*# ‑{{lang|mn|ний}}&nbsp;(‑{{transl|mn|nii}}) after front vowel stems (other than those ending in {{Lang|mn|и}} or {{Lang|mn|ь}}).
*# ‑{{lang|mn|ины}}&nbsp;(‑{{transl|mn|inii}}) after back vowel stems ending in {{Lang|mn|и}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|i}}) or {{Lang|mn|ь}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|i}}).
*# ‑{{lang|mn|иний}}&nbsp;(‑{{transl|mn|inii}}) after front vowel stems ending in {{Lang|mn|и}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|i}}) or {{Lang|mn|ь}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|i}}).
*:''Note: If the stem ends in ''{{Lang|mn|и}}''&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|i}}) or ''{{Lang|mn|ь}}''&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|i}}), it is replaced by the suffix.''

*For stems with an unstable velar (unstable g), it is formed by ‑{{lang|mn|гийн}}&nbsp;(‑{{transl|mn|giin}}).

==== Dative-locative case ====
The dative-locative case is used to show the location of something, or to specify that something is in something else.<ref name="Gaunt, John. 2006"/>

*For regular stems or those with an unstable velar (unstable g), it is formed by:
*# ‑{{Lang|mn|д}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|d}}) after stems ending in vowels or the vocalized consonants {{Lang|mn|л}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|l}}), {{Lang|mn|м}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|m}}) and {{Lang|mn|н}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|n}}), and a small number of stems ending in {{Lang|mn|в}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|v}}) and {{Lang|mn|р}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|r}}).
*# ‑{{Lang|mn|т}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|t}}) after stems ending in {{Lang|mn|г}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|g}}) and {{Lang|mn|к}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|k}}), most stems ending in {{Lang|mn|в}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|v}}) and {{Lang|mn|р}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|r}}), and stems ending in {{Lang|mn|с}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|s}}) when it is preceded by a vowel.
*# ‑{{Lang|mn|ид}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|id}}) after stems ending in the palatalized consonants {{Lang|mn|ж}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|j}}), {{Lang|mn|ч}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|ch}}) and {{Lang|mn|ш}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|sh}}).
*# ‑{{Lang|mn|ад}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|ad}}), ‑{{Lang|mn|од}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|od}}), ‑{{Lang|mn|өд}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|öd}}) or ‑{{Lang|mn|эд}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|ed}}) after all other stems (depending on the vowel harmony of the stem).

*For stems with an unstable nasal (unstable n), it is formed by:
*# ‑{{Lang|mn|нд}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|nd}}) after stems ending in vowels.
*# ‑{{Lang|mn|инд}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|ind}}) after stems ending in the palatalized consonants {{Lang|mn|ж}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|j}}), {{Lang|mn|ч}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|ch}}) and {{Lang|mn|ш}}&nbsp;({{Transl|mn|sh}}).
*# ‑{{Lang|mn|анд}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|and}}), ‑{{Lang|mn|онд}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|ond}}), ‑{{Lang|mn|өнд}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|önd}}) or ‑{{Lang|mn|энд}}&nbsp;(‑{{Transl|mn|end}}) after all other stems (depending on the vowel harmony of the stem).

==== Plurals ====
Source:<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sites.google.com/site/linguistics35/home/mongolian-grammar#TOC-Plural|title=Mongolian Grammar - Linguistics 35|website=sites.google.com|access-date=2020-02-11}}</ref>

Plurality may be left unmarked, but there are overt plurality markers, some of which are restricted to humans. A noun that is modified by a numeral usually does not take any plural affix.<ref>Tsedendamba and Möömöö (1997): 210–219, Sečenbaγatur (2003): 23–29.</ref> There are four ways of forming plurals in Mongolian:

# Some plurals are formed by adding -{{lang|mn|нууд}} ''-nuud'' or -{{lang|mn|нүүд}} ''-nüüd''. If the last vowel of the previous word is a (a), o (y), or ɔ (o), then -{{lang|mn|нууд}} is used; e.g. {{lang|mn|харx}} ''harh'' 'rat' becomes {{lang|mn|xapхнууд}} ''harhnuud'' 'rats'. If the last vowel of the previous word is e (э), ʊ (ө), ü (ү), or i (и) then {{lang|mn|нүүд}} is used; e.g. {{lang|mn|нүд}} ''nüd'' 'eye' becomes {{lang|mn|нүднүүд}} ''nüdnüüd'' 'eyes'.
# In other plurals, just -{{lang|mn|ууд}} ''-uud'' or -{{lang|mn|үүд}} ''-üüd'' is added without the "n"; e.g. {{lang|mn|хот}} ''hot'' 'city' becomes {{lang|mn|хотууд}} ''hotuud'' 'cities', and {{lang|mn|ээж}} ''eezh'' 'mother' becomes {{lang|mn|ээжүүд}} ''eezhüüd'' 'mothers'.
# Another way of forming plurals is by adding -{{lang|mn|нар}} ''-nar''; e.g. {{lang|mn|багш}} ''bagsh'' 'teacher' becomes {{lang|mn|багш нар}} ''bagsh nar'' 'teachers'. 
# The final way is an irregular form used: {{lang|mn|хүн}} ''hün'' 'person' becomes {{lang|mn|хүмүүс}} ''hümüüs'' 'people'.

=== Pronouns ===
Personal pronouns exist for the first and second person, while the old demonstrative pronouns have come to form third person (proximal and distal) pronouns. Other word (sub-)classes include interrogative pronouns, conjunctions (which take participles), spatials, and particles, the last being rather numerous.<ref>This is a simplified treatment of word classes. For a more precise treatment within the descriptive framework common in Inner Mongolia, see Sečenbaγatur (2003).</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Personal Pronouns<ref>{{cite web|url=http://learn101.org/mongolian_grammar.php|title= Mongolian Grammar|website=Learn101.org|access-date=1 June 2019}}</ref>
|-
! colspan="3" | 
! Nominative<br>{{small|(subject)}}
! Accusative<br>{{small|(object)}}
! Genitive<br>{{small|(possession)}}
! Oblique stem<br>{{small|(all other cases)}}
|-
! rowspan="3" | 1st person
! colspan="2" | singular
|-
! rowspan="2" | plural
! exclusive
|-
! inclusive
|-
! rowspan="3" | 2nd person
! rowspan="2" | singular
! familiar
|-
! polite
|
|-
! colspan="2" | plural
| –
|-
! rowspan="2" | 3rd person
! colspan="2" | singular
| –
|-
! colspan="2" | plural
| –
|}

=== Negation ===
Negation is mostly expressed by ''-güi'' (-{{lang|mn|гүй}}) after participles and by the negation particle ''bish'' ({{lang|mn|биш}}) after nouns and adjectives; negation particles preceding the verb (for example in converbal constructions) exist, but tend to be replaced by analytical constructions.<ref>For the historic background of negation, see Yu (1991). For a phenomenology, see Bjambasan (2001).</ref>

=== Numbers ===
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Pronunciation and writing of numbers in text
|-
! N !! Text in Mongolian !! N !! Text in Mongolian!! N !! Text in Mongolian
|-
| 0 || {{lang|mn|тэг}} ''teg'' || 10 || {{lang|mn|арав}} ''arav'' || 20 || {{lang|mn|хорь}}, ''hori''
|-
| 1 || {{lang|mn|нэг}} ''neg'' || 11 || {{lang|mn|арван нэг}} ''arvan neg'' || 30 || {{lang|mn|гуч}} ''guch''
|-
| 2 || {{lang|mn|хоёр}} ''hoyor'' || 12 || {{lang|mn|арван хоёр}} ''arvan hoyor'' || 40 || {{lang|mn|дөч}} ''döch''
|-
| 3 || {{lang|mn|гурав}} ''gurav'' || 13 || {{lang|mn|арван гурав}} ''arvan gurav'' || 50 || {{lang|mn|тавь}} ''tavi''
|-
| 4 || {{lang|mn|дөрөв}} ''döröv'' || 14 || {{lang|mn|арван дөрөв}} ''arvan döröv'' || 60 || {{lang|mn|жар}} ''zhar''
|-
| 5 || {{lang|mn|тав}} ''tav'' || 15 || {{lang|mn|арван тав}} ''arvan tav'' || 70 || {{lang|mn|дал}} ''dal''
|-
| 6 || {{lang|mn|зургаа}} ''zurgaa'' || 16 || {{lang|mn|арван зургаа}} ''arvan zurgaa'' || 80 || {{lang|mn|ная}} ''naya''
|-
| 7 || {{lang|mn|долоо}} ''doloo'' || 17 || {{lang|mn|арван долоо}} ''arvan doloo'' || 90 || {{lang|mn|ер}} ''yer''
|-
| 8 || {{lang|mn|найм}} ''naim'' || 18 || {{lang|mn|арван найм}} ''arvan naim'' || 100 || {{lang|mn|нэг зуу}} ''neg zuu''
|-
| 9 || {{lang|mn|ес}} ''yös'' || 19 || {{lang|mn|арван ес}} ''arvan yös'' || 200 || {{lang|mn|хоёр зуу}} ''hoyor zuu''
|}

=== Forming questions ===
When asking questions in Mongolian, a question marker is used to show a question is being asked. There are different question markers for yes/no questions and for information questions. For yes/no questions, {{lang|mn|уу}} and {{lang|mn|үү}} are used when the last word ends in a short vowel or a consonant, and their use depends on the vowel harmony of the previous word. When the last word ends in a long vowel or a diphthong, then {{lang|mn|юу}} and {{lang|mn|юү}} are used (again depending on vowel harmony). For information questions (questions asking for information with an interrogative word like who, what, when, where, why, etc.), the question particles are {{lang|mn|вэ}} and {{lang|mn|бэ}}, depending on the last sound in the previous word.

# Yes/No Question Particles -{{lang|mn|уу/үү/юу/юү}} ({{transl|mn|uu/üü/yuu/yuü}})
# Open Ended Question Particles -{{lang|mn|бэ/вэ}} ({{transl|mn|be/ve}})

'''Basic interrogative pronouns''' -{{lang|mn|юу}} ({{transl|mn|yuu}} 'what'), -{{lang|mn|хаана}} ({{transl|mn|haana}} 'where'), {{lang|mn|хэн}} ({{transl|mn|hen}} 'who'), {{lang|mn|яагаад}} ({{transl|mn|yaagaad}} 'why'), {{lang|mn|яаж}} ({{transl|mn|yaazh}} 'how'), {{lang|mn|хэзээ}} ({{transl|mn|hezee}} 'when'), {{lang|mn|ямар}} ({{transl|mn|yamar}} 'what kind')

=== Verbs ===
In Mongolian, verbs have a stem and an ending. For example, the stems {{lang|mn|бай-}} {{transl|mn|bai-}}, {{lang|mn|сур-}} {{transl|mn|sur-}}, and {{lang|mn|үзэ-}} {{transl|mn|üze-}} are suffixed with {{lang|mn|-х}} {{transl|mn|-h}}, {{lang|mn|-ах}} {{transl|mn|-ah}}, and {{lang|mn|-х}} {{transl|mn|-h}} respectively: {{lang|mn|байx}} {{transl|mn|baih}}, {{lang|mn|сурax}} {{transl|mn|surah}}, and {{lang|mn|үзэx}} {{transl|mn|üzeh}}. These are the infinitive or dictionary forms.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last1=Gaunt|first1=John|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nYCVMYOAMKEC|title=Modern Mongolian: A Course-book|last2=Bayarmandakh|first2=L.|last3=Chuluunbaatar|first3=L.|date=2004|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-0-7007-1305-9|pages=xv/13 (depending on ebook or physical / xvi/14|language=en}}</ref> The present/future tense is formed by adding {{lang|mn|-на}} {{transl|mn|-na}}, {{lang|mn|-но}} {{transl|mn|-no}}, {{lang|mn|-нэ}} {{transl|mn|-ne}}, or {{lang|mn|-нө}} {{transl|mn|-nö}} to the stem, for example {{lang|mn|сурна}} {{transl|mn|surna}} 'I/you/he/she/we/they (will) study'. {{lang|mn|байна}} {{transl|mn|baina}} is the present/future tense verb for 'to be'; likewise, {{lang|mn|уншина}} {{transl|mn|unshina}} is 'to read', and {{lang|mn|үзнэ}} {{transl|mn|üzne}} is 'to see'. The final vowel is barely pronounced and is not pronounced at all if the word after begins with a vowel, so {{lang|mn|сайн байна уу}} {{transl|mn|sain bain uu}} is pronounced {{IPA|[sæe̯m‿pæe̯n‿ʊː]}} 'hello, how are you?'.<ref name=":0" />

# Past Tense {{lang|mn|-сан/-сон/-сэн/-сөн}} ({{transl|mn|-san/-son/-sen/-sön}})
# Informed Past Tense (any point in past) {{lang|mn|-в}} ({{transl|mn|-v}})
# Informed Past Tense (not long ago) {{lang|mn|-лаа/-лоо/-лээ/-лөө}} ({{transl|mn|-laa/-loo/-lee/-löö}})
# Non-Informed Past Tense (generally a slightly to relatively more distant past) {{lang|mn|-жээ/-чээ}} ({{transl|mn|-zhee/-chee}})
# Present Perfect Tense {{lang|mn|-даг/-дог/-дэг/-дөг}} ({{transl|mn|-dag/-dog/-deg/-dög}})
# Present Progressive Tense {{lang|mn|-ж/-ч байна}} ({{transl|mn|-zh/-ch baina}})
# (Reflective) Present Progressive Tense {{lang|mn|-аа/-оо/-ээ/-өө}} ({{transl|mn|-aa/-oo/-ee/-öö}})
# Simple Present Tense {{lang|mn|-на/-но/-нэ/-нө}} ({{transl|mn|-na/-no/-ne/-nö}})
# Simple Future {{lang|mn|-х (болно)}} ({{transl|mn|-h (bolno)}})
# Infinitive {{lang|mn|-х}} ({{transl|mn|-h}})

=== Negation ===
There are several ways to form negatives in Mongolian.<ref name="Gaunt, John. 2006">{{Cite book|last=Gaunt, John.|title=Modern Mongolian : a course-book|date=2006|publisher=Routledge|isbn=0-7007-1305-0|oclc=615102455}}</ref> For example:

# {{lang|mn|биш}} ({{transl|mn|bish}}) – the negative form of the verb 'to be' ({{lang|mn|байх}} {{transl|mn|baih}}) – {{lang|mn|биш}} means 'is/are not'.
# -{{lang|mn|гүй}} ({{transl|mn|güi}}). This suffix is added to verbs, so {{lang|mn|явах}} ({{transl|mn|yawah}} 'go/will go') becomes {{lang|mn|явахгүй}} ({{transl|mn|yawahgüi}} 'do not go/will not go').
# {{lang|mn|үгүй}} ({{transl|mn|ügüi}}) is the word for 'no'.
# {{lang|mn|битгий}} ({{transl|mn|bitgii}}) is used for negative imperatives; e.g. {{lang|mn|битгий яваарай}} ({{transl|mn|bitgii yawaarai}} 'don't go')
# {{lang|mn|бүү}} ({{transl|mn|büü}}) is the formal version of {{lang|mn|битгий}}.

==Syntax==

=== Differential case marking ===
Mongolian uses differential case marking, being a regular differential object marking (DOM) language. DOM emerges from a complicated interaction of factors such as referentiality, animacy and [[Social:Topic and comment|topicality]].

Mongolian also exhibits a specific type of differential subject marking (DSM), in which the subjects of embedded clauses (including adverbial clauses) occur with accusative case.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Guntsetseg|first=Dolgor|title=Differential Case Marking in Mongolian|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303336972|access-date=16 March 2020|website=Research Gate}}</ref>

===Phrase structure===
The [[Social:Noun phrase|noun phrase]] has the order: demonstrative pronoun/[[Philosophy:Numeral (linguistics)|numeral]], adjective, noun.<ref>Guntsetseg (2008): 55.</ref><ref name=":2" /> Attributive sentences precede the whole NP. Titles or occupations of people, low numerals indicating groups, and focus clitics are put behind the head noun.<ref>Tserenpil and Kullmann (2005): 237, 347.</ref> Possessive pronouns (in different forms) may either precede or follow the NP.<ref>Svantesson (2003): 164–165.</ref> Examples:

{{interlinear|indent=3
|bid-nii uulz-san ter saihan zaluu-gaas ch
|we-GEN meet-PRF that beautiful young.man-ABL FOC
|'even from that beautiful young man that we have met'}}

{{interlinear|indent=3
|Dorzh bagsh maan
|Dorj teacher our
|'our teacher Dorj'}}

The verbal phrase consists of the [[Philosophy:Predicate (grammar)|predicate]] in the center, preceded by its complements and by the adverbials modifying it and followed (mainly if the predicate is sentence-final) by modal particles,<ref>Mönh-Amgalan (1998).</ref> as in the following example with predicate ''bichsen'':

{{interlinear|indent=3
|ter hel-eh-güi-geer üün-iig bich-sen shüü
|s/he without:saying it-ACC write-PRF PTC
|'s/he wrote it without saying [so] [i.e. without saying that s/he would do so, or that s/he had done so], I can assure you.'}}

In this clause the adverbial, ''helehgüigeer'' 'without saying [so]' must precede the predicate's complement, ''üüniig'' 'it-{{smallcaps|accusative}}' in order to avoid syntactic ambiguity, since ''helehgüigeer'' is itself derived from a verb and hence an ''üüniig'' preceding it could be construed as its complement. If the adverbial was an adjective such as ''hurdan'' 'fast', it could optionally immediately precede the predicate. There are also cases in which the adverb must immediately precede the predicate.<ref>Sečenbaγatur (2003): 167.</ref>

For Khalkha, the most complete treatment of the verbal forms is by Luvsanvandan (ed.) (1987). However, the analysis of predication presented here, while valid for Khalkha, is adapted from the description of Khorchin.<ref>Matsuoka (2007)</ref>

Most often, of course, the predicate consists of a verb. However, there are several types of nominal predicative constructions, with or without a copula.<ref>Hashimoto (2004)</ref> Auxiliaries that express direction and [[Social:Lexical aspect|aktionsart]] (among other meanings) can with the assistance of a linking converb occupy the immediate postverbal position; e.g.
{{interlinear|indent=3
|uuzh orhison
|drink-CVB leave-PERF
|'drank up'}}

The next position is filled by converb suffixes in connection with the auxiliary, ''baj-'' 'to be', e.g.
{{interlinear|indent=3
|ter güizh baina
|'she is running'}}

Suffixes occupying this position express grammatical aspect; e.g. progressive and resultative. In the next position, participles followed by ''baj-'' may follow, e.g.,
{{interlinear|indent=3
|ter irsen baina
|'he has come'}}

Here, an explicit perfect and habituality can be marked, which is aspectual in meaning as well. This position may be occupied by multiple suffixes in a single predication, and it can still be followed by a converbal Progressive. The last position is occupied by suffixes that express tense, evidentiality, modality, and aspect.

===Clauses===
Unmarked phrase order is subject–object–predicate.<ref>Guntsetseg (2008): 54.</ref><ref name=":2" /> While the predicate generally has to remain in clause-final position, the other phrases are free to change order or to wholly disappear.<ref>Tserenpil and Kullmann (2005): 88, 363–364.</ref> The topic tends to be placed clause-initially, new information rather at the end of the clause.<ref>Apatoczky (2005)</ref> Topic can be overtly marked with ''bol'', which can also mark contrastive focus,<ref>Hammar (1983): 45–80.</ref> overt additive focus ('even, also') can be marked with the clitic ''ch'',<ref>Kang (2000)</ref> and overt restrictive focus with the clitic ''l'' ('only').<ref>Tserenpil and Kullmann (2005): 348–349.</ref>

The inventory of voices in Mongolian consists of passive, [[Social:Causative|causative]], reciprocal, plurative, and cooperative. In a passive sentence, the verb takes the suffix -''gd''- and the agent takes either dative or instrumental case, the first of which is more common. In the causative, the verb takes the suffix -''uul''-, the causee (the person caused to do something) in a transitive action (e.g. 'raise') takes dative or instrumental case, and the causee in an intransitive action (e.g. 'rise') takes accusative case. Causative morphology is also used in some passive contexts:

{{interlinear|indent=3
|Bi tüün-d huurt-san
|I that.one-DAT fool-CAUS-PRF
|'I was fooled by her/him'.}}

The semantic attribute of animacy is syntactically important: thus the sentence, 'the bread was eaten by me', which is acceptable in English, would not be acceptable in Mongolian. The reciprocal voice is marked by -''ld''-, the plurative by -''cgaa''-, and the cooperative by -''lc''-.<ref>Sečenbaγatur (2003): 116–123.</ref>

Mongolian allows for adjectival depictives that relate to either the subject or the direct object, e.g. ''Liena nücgen untdag'' 'Lena sleeps naked', while adjectival resultatives are marginal.<ref>Brosig (2009)</ref>

=== Complex sentences ===
One way to conjoin clauses is to have the first clause end in a converb, as in the following example using the converb ''-bol'':

{{interlinear|indent=3
|bid üün-iig ol-bol cham-d ög-nö
|we it-ACC find-COND.CVB you.FAM-DAT give-FUT
|'if we find it we'll give it to you'}}

Some verbal nouns in the dative (or less often in the instrumental) function very similar to converbs:<ref>Svantesson (2003): 172.</ref> e.g. replacing ''olbol'' in the preceding sentence with ''olohod'' find-{{smallcaps|imperfective-dative}} yields 'when we find it we'll give it to you'. Quite often, postpositions govern complete clauses. In contrast, conjunctions take verbal nouns without case:<ref>See Sečenbaγatur (2003): 176–182 (who uses the term "postposition" for both and the term "conjunction" for junctors).</ref>

{{interlinear|indent=3|abbreviations=WIT:witnessed
|yadar-san uchraas unt-laa
|become.tired-PRF because sleep-WIT.PAST
|'I slept because I was tired'}}

Finally, there is a class of particles, usually clause-initial, that are distinct from conjunctions but that also relate clauses:

{{interlinear|indent=3
|bi olson, harin chamd ögöhgüi
|I find-PRF but you-DAT give-IPFV-NEG
| 'I've found it, but I won't give it to you'.}}

Mongolian has a [[Social:Complementizer|complementizer]] auxiliary verb ''ge''- very similar to [[Social:Japanese language|Japanese]] ''to iu''. ''ge''- literally means 'to say' and in converbal form ''gezh'' precedes either a psych verb or a verb of saying. As a verbal noun like ''gedeg'' (with ''ni'') it can form a subset of complement clauses. As ''gene'' it may function as an [[Philosophy:Evidentiality|evidentialis]] marker.<ref>Sečenbaγatur (2003): 152–153.</ref>

Mongolian clauses tend to be combined paratactically, which sometimes gives rise to sentence structures which are subordinative despite resembling coordinative structures in European languages:<ref>Johanson (1995)</ref>

{{interlinear|indent=3
|ter ir-eed namaig üns-sen
|that.one come-CVB I.ACC kiss-PRF
|'S/he came and kissed me.'}}

In the subordinate clause the subject, if different from the subject of main clause, sometimes has to take accusative or genitive case.<ref>Mizuno (1995)</ref> There is marginal occurrence of subjects taking ablative case as well.<ref>Pürev-Očir (1997): 131.</ref> Subjects of attributive clauses in which the head has a function (as is the case for all English relative clauses) usually require that if the subject is not the head, then it take the genitive,<ref>Sečenbaγatur (2003): 36.</ref> e.g. ''tüünii idsen hool'' that.one-{{smallcaps|genitive}} eat-{{smallcaps|perfect}} meal 'the meal that s/he had eaten'.

== Loanwords and coined words ==
Mongolian first adopted [[Social:Loanword|loanword]]s from many languages including [[Social:Old Turkic|Old Turkic]], [[Social:Sanskrit|Sanskrit]] (these often via [[Social:Uyghur language|Uyghur]]), [[Social:Persian language|Persian]], [[Social:Arabic language|Arabic]], [[Social:Classical Tibetan|Tibetan]],<ref>Temürčereng (2004): 86–99.</ref> [[Social:Tungusic languages|Tungusic]], and [[Social:Chinese language|Chinese]].<ref>Svantesson (2003): 127.</ref> However, more recent loanwords come from [[Social:Russian language|Russian]], [[Social:English language|English]],<ref>Temürčereng (2004): 99–102.</ref> and [[Social:Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin Chinese]] (mainly in Inner Mongolia).<ref>Öbür mongγul-un yeke surγaγuli (2005): 792–793.</ref> Language commissions of the Mongolian state continuously translate new [[Social:Terminology|terminology]] into Mongolian,<ref>{{citation |author=Baabar|title=Yum bolgon nertei|work=Ödriin sonin|date=2008-12-09}}</ref> so as the Mongolian vocabulary now has {{lang|mn-Latn|yerönhiilögch}} 'president' ('generalizer') and {{lang|mn-Latn|shar airah}} 'beer' ('yellow kumys'). There are several [[Social:Calque|loan translations]], e.g. {{lang|mn-Latn|galt tereg}} 'train' ('fire cart') from Chinese {{lang|zh-Latn|huǒchē}} ({{lang|zh|火车}} 'fire cart') 'train'.<ref>Öbür mongγul-un yeke surγaγuli (2005): 828.</ref> Other loan translations include {{lang|mn-Latn|mön chanar}} 'essence' from Chinese {{lang|zh-Latn|shízhì}} ({{lang|zh|实质}} 'true quality'), {{lang|mn-Latn|hün am}} 'population' from Chinese {{lang|zh-Latn|rénkǒu}} ({{lang|zh|人口}} 'person mouth'), {{lang|mn-Latn|erdene shish}} 'corn, maize' from Chinese {{lang|zh-Latn|yùmǐ}} ({{lang|zh|玉米}} 'jade rice') and {{lang|mn-Latn|bügd nairamdah uls}} 'republic' from Chinese {{lang|zh-Latn|gònghéguó}} ({{lang|zh|共和国}} 'public collaboration nation').

* Sanskrit loanwords include {{lang|mn-Latn|shashin}} ({{lang|sa|शशन}} {{lang|sa-Latn|sasana}} 'religion'), {{lang|mn-Latn|sansar}} ({{lang|sa|सँसार}} {{lang|sa-Latn|sansāra}} 'space'), {{lang|mn-Latn|awiyas}} ({{lang|sa|अभ्यास}} {{lang|sa-Latn|abhyasa}} 'talent'), {{lang|mn-Latn|buyan}} ({{lang|sa|पुण्य}} {{lang|sa-Latn|punya}} 'good deeds'), {{lang|mn-Latn|agshin}} ({{lang|sa|क्षण}} {{lang|sa-Latn|kšana}} 'instant'), {{lang|mn-Latn|tiw}} ({{lang|sa|द्वीप}} {{lang|sa-Latn|dvipa}} 'continent'), {{lang|mn-Latn|garig}} ({{lang|sa|ग्रह}} {{lang|sa-Latn|graha}} 'planet'), {{lang|mn-Latn|cadig}} ({{lang|sa|जातक}} {{lang|sa-Latn|jātaka}} 'tales, stories'), {{lang|mn-Latn|shüleg}} ({{lang|sa|श्लोक}} {{lang|sa-Latn|šloka}} 'poems, verses'), {{lang|mn-Latn|badag}} ({{lang|sa|पदक}} {{lang|sa-Latn|padaka}} 'strophe'), {{lang|mn-Latn|arshan}} ({{lang|sa|रसायन}} {{lang|sa-Latn|rašayana}} 'mineral water, nectar'), {{lang|mn-Latn|shastir}} ({{lang|sa|शास्त्र}} {{lang|sa-Latn|shastra}} 'chronicle'), {{lang|mn-Latn|bud}} ({{lang|sa|बुध}} {{lang|sa-Latn|budh}} '[[Astronomy:Mercury (planet)|Mercury]]'), {{lang|mn-Latn|sugar}} ({{lang|sa|शुक्र}} {{lang|sa-Latn|shukra}} '[[Astronomy:Venus|Venus]]'), {{lang|mn-Latn|barhasvadi}} ({{lang|sa|वृहस्पति}} {{lang|sa-Latn|vrihaspati}} '[[Astronomy:Jupiter|Jupiter]]'), and {{lang|mn-Latn|sanchir}} ({{lang|sa|शनि}} {{lang|sa-Latn|shani}} '[[Astronomy:Saturn|Saturn]]').
* Persian loanwords include {{lang|mn-Latn|anar}} ({{lang|fa-Latn|anar}} 'amethyst'), {{lang|mn-Latn|arhi}} ({{lang|fa-Latn|araq}} 'brandy', ultimately from Arabic), {{lang|mn-Latn|baishin}} ({{lang|fa-Latn|pishivân}} 'building'), {{lang|mn-Latn|bars}} ({{lang|fa-Latn|fars}} 'tiger'), {{lang|mn-Latn|bers}} ({{lang|fa-Latn|farzin}} 'chess queen/female tiger'), {{lang|mn-Latn|bold}} ({{lang|fa-Latn|pulâd}} 'steel'), {{lang|mn-Latn|bolor}} ({{lang|fa-Latn|bolur}} 'crystal'), {{lang|mn-Latn|gunzhid}} ({{lang|fa-Latn|konjod}} 'sesame'), {{lang|mn-Latn|gindan}} ({{lang|fa-Latn|zendân}} 'prison'), {{lang|mn-Latn|dari}} ({{lang|fa-Latn|dâru}} 'powder/gunpowder, medicine'), {{lang|mn-Latn|duran}} ({{lang|fa-Latn|dur}} 'telescope'), {{lang|mn-Latn|duranbai}} ({{lang|fa-Latn|durbin}} 'telescope/microscope'), {{lang|mn-Latn|dewter}} ({{lang|fa-Latn|daftar}} 'notebook'), {{lang|mn-Latn|hurmast}} ({{lang|fa-Latn|[[Religion:Ahura Mazda|Ohrmazd]]}} 'high God'), {{lang|mn-Latn|sawan}} ({{lang|fa-Latn|sâbun}} 'soap'), {{lang|mn-Latn|sandal}} ({{lang|fa-Latn|sandali}} 'stool'), and {{lang|mn-Latn|com}} ({{lang|fa-Latn|jâm}} 'cup').
* Chinese loanwords include {{lang|mn-Latn|banz}} ({{lang|zh|板子}} ''bǎnzi'' 'board'), {{lang|mn-Latn|laa}} ({{lang|zh|蜡}} ''là'' 'candle'), {{lang|mn-Latn|luuwan}} ({{lang|zh|萝卜}} ''lúobo'' 'radish'), {{lang|mn-Latn|huluu}} ({{lang|zh|葫芦}} ''húlu'' 'gourd'), {{lang|mn-Latn|denlüü}} ({{lang|zh|灯路}} ''dēnglù'' 'lamp'), {{lang|mn-Latn|chiiden}} ({{lang|zh|汽灯}} ''qìdēng'' 'electric lamp'), {{lang|mn-Latn|biir}} ({{lang|zh|笔儿}} ''bǐr'' 'paintbrush'), {{lang|mn-Latn|gambanz}} ({{lang|zh|斩板子}} ''zhǎnbǎnzi'' 'cutting board'), {{lang|mn-Latn|chinzhuu}} ({{lang|zh|青椒}} ''qīngjiāo'' 'pepper'), {{lang|mn-Latn|zhuucai}} ({{lang|zh|韭菜}} ''jiǔcài'' 'leek'), {{lang|mn-Latn|moog}} ({{lang|zh|蘑菇}} ''mógu'' 'mushroom'), {{lang|mn-Latn|cuu}} ({{lang|zh|醋}} ''cù'' 'vinegar, soy sauce'), {{lang|mn-Latn|baicaa}} ({{lang|zh|白菜}} ''báicài'' 'cabbage'), {{lang|mn-Latn|mantuu}} ({{lang|zh|馒头}} ''mántou'' 'steamed bun'), {{lang|mn-Latn|naimaa/maimaa}} ({{lang|zh|买卖}} ''mǎimài'' 'trade'), {{lang|mn-Latn|goimon}} ({{lang|zh|挂面}} ''gùamiàn'' 'noodles'), {{lang|mn-Latn|dan}} ({{lang|zh|单}} ''dān'' 'single'), {{lang|mn-Latn|gan}} ({{lang|zh|钢}} ''gāng'' 'steel'), {{lang|mn-Latn|lantuu}} ({{lang|zh|榔头}} ''lángtou'' 'sledgehammer'), {{lang|mn-Latn|conh}} ({{lang|zh|窗户}} ''chūanghu'' 'window'), {{lang|mn-Latn|buuz}} ({{lang|zh|包子}} ''bāozi'' 'dumplings'), {{lang|mn-Latn|huushuur}} ({{lang|zh|火烧儿}} ''hǔoshāor'' 'fried dumpling'), {{lang|mn-Latn|zutan}} ({{lang|zh|乳脂汤}} ''rǔzhītāng'' 'cream soup'), {{lang|mn-Latn|bantan}} ({{lang|zh|粉汤}} ''fěntāng'' 'flour soup'), {{lang|mn-Latn|zhan}} ({{lang|zh|酱}} ''jiàng'' 'soy'), {{lang|mn-Latn|wan}} ({{lang|zh|王}} ''wáng'' 'king'), {{lang|mn-Latn|günzh}} ({{lang|zh|公主}} ''gōngzhǔ'' 'princess'), {{lang|mn-Latn|gün}} ({{lang|zh|公}} ''gōng'' 'duke'), {{lang|mn-Latn|zhanzhin}} ({{lang|zh|将军}} ''jiāngjūn'' 'general'), {{lang|mn-Latn|taigan}} ({{lang|zh|太监}} ''tàijiàn'' 'eunuch'), {{lang|mn-Latn|pyanz}} ({{lang|zh|片子}} ''piànzi'' 'recorded disc'), {{lang|mn-Latn|guanz}} ({{lang|zh|馆子}} ''guǎnzi'' 'restaurant'), {{lang|mn-Latn|lianhua}} ({{lang|zh|莲花}} ''liánhuā'' 'lotus'), {{lang|mn-Latn|huar}} ({{lang|zh|花儿}} ''huār'' 'flower'), {{lang|mn-Latn|toor}} ({{lang|zh|桃儿}} ''táor'' 'peach'), {{lang|mn-Latn|intoor}} ({{lang|zh|樱桃儿}} ''yīngtáor'' 'cherry'), {{lang|mn-Latn|zeel}} ({{lang|zh|借}} ''jiè'' 'borrow, lend'), {{lang|mn-Latn|wandui}} ({{lang|zh|豌豆}} ''wāndòu'' 'pea'), {{lang|mn-Latn|yanz}} ({{lang|zh|样子}} ''yàngzi'' 'manner, appearance'), {{lang|mn-Latn|shinzh}} ({{lang|zh|性质}} ''xìngzhì'' 'characteristic'), {{lang|mn-Latn|liir}} ({{lang|zh|梨儿}} ''lír'' 'pear'), {{lang|mn-Latn|bai}} ({{lang|zh|牌}} ''páizi'' 'target'), {{lang|mn-Latn|zhin(g)}} ({{lang|zh|斤}} ''jīn'' 'weight'), {{lang|mn-Latn|bin(g)}} ({{lang|zh|饼}} ''bǐng'' 'pancake'), {{lang|mn-Latn|huanli}} ({{lang|zh|皇历}} ''huángli'' 'calendar'), {{lang|mn-Latn|shaazan}} ({{lang|zh|烧瓷}} ''shāocí'' 'porcelain'), {{lang|mn-Latn|hantaaz}} ({{lang|zh|砍兜肚}} ''kǎndōudu'' 'sleeveless vest'), {{lang|mn-Latn|püntüüz}} ({{lang|zh|粉条子}} ''fěntiáozi'' 'potato noodles'), and {{lang|mn-Latn|cai}} ({{lang|zh|茶}} ''chá'' 'tea').

In the 20th century, many Russian loanwords entered the Mongolian language, including {{lang|mn-Latn|doktor}} 'doctor', {{lang|mn-Latn|shokolad}} 'chocolate', {{lang|mn-Latn|wagon}} 'train wagon', {{lang|mn-Latn|kalendar}} 'calendar', {{lang|mn-Latn|sistem}} 'system', {{lang|mn-Latn|podwoolk}} (from {{lang|ru-Latn|futbolka}} 'T-shirt'), and {{lang|mn-Latn|mashin}} 'car'.

In more recent times, due to socio-political reforms, Mongolian has loaned various words from English; some of which have gradually evolved as official terms: {{lang|mn-Latn|menezhment}} 'management', {{lang|mn-Latn|komputer}} 'computer', {{lang|mn-Latn|fail}} 'file', {{lang|mn-Latn|marketing}} 'marketing', {{lang|mn-Latn|kredit}} 'credit', {{lang|mn-Latn|onlain}} 'online', and {{lang|mn-Latn|mesezh}} 'message'. Most of these are confined to the Mongolian state.{{cn|date=May 2022}}

Other languages have borrowed words from Mongolian. Examples (Mongolian in brackets) include [[Social:Persian language|Persian]] کشيكچى {{lang|fa-latn|kešikci}} (from {{lang|mn-latn|heshig}} 'royal guard'), {{lang|fa|قرقاول}} {{lang|fa-latn|qarqâvol}} (from {{lang|mn-latn|girgawl}} 'pheasant'), {{lang|fa|جیبه}} {{lang|fa-latn|jibe}} (from {{lang|mn-latn|zhebseg}} 'iron armour'), {{lang|fa|داروغه}} {{lang|fa-latn|dâruqe}} (from {{lang|mn-latn|darga}} 'chief of commandant'), {{lang|fa|قیچی}} {{lang|fa-latn|qeyci}} (from {{lang|mn-latn|kayichi}} 'scissors'); [[Social:Uzbek language|Uzbek]] {{lang|uz|orol}} (from {{lang|mn-latn|aral}} 'island'); Chinese 衚衕 ''hutong'' (from {{lang|mn-latn|gudum}} 'passageway'), 站赤 ''zhanchi'' (from {{lang|mn-latn|zhamchi}} 'courier/post station'); Middle Chinese 犢 ''duk'' (from {{lang|mn-latn|tugul}} 'calf'); [[Social:Korean language|Korean]] {{lang|ko|수라}} {{lang|ko-latn|sura}} (from {{lang|mn-latn|shüle}} 'royal meal'), {{lang|ko|악대}} {{lang|ko-latn|akdae}} (from {{lang|mn-latn|agta}} 'castrated animal'), {{lang|ko|업진}} {{lang|ko-latn|eobjin}} (from {{lang|mn-latn|ebchigün}} 'chest of an animal'); [[Social:Old English|Old English]] ''cocer'' (from {{lang|mn-latn|köküür}} 'container'); [[Social:Old French|Old French]] ''quivre'' (from {{lang|mn-latn|köküür}} 'container'); Old High German ''Baldrian'' (from {{lang|mn-latn|balchirgan-a}} 'valerian plant'). ''Köküür'' and ''balchirgan-a'' are thought to have been brought to Europe by the [[Social:Huns|Huns]] or Pannonian Avars.

Despite having a diverse range of loanwords, Mongolian dialects such as Khalkha and Khorchin, within a comparative vocabulary of 452 words of Common Mongolic vocabulary, retain as many as 95% of these native words, contrasting e.g. with Southern Mongolic languages at 39–77% retentions.<ref>Rybatzki (2003a): 385–387</ref>

== Writing systems ==
[[File:Nova N 176 folio 9.jpg|thumb|right|Nova N 176 found in Kyrgyzstan. The manuscript (dating to the 12th century Western Liao) is written in the Mongolic Khitan language using cursive Khitan large script. It has 127 leaves and 15,000 characters.]]
[[File:Ulan Bator 14.JPG|thumb|right|Mongolian script and Mongolian Cyrillic on Sukhbaatar's statue in Ulaanbaatar]]

Mongolian has been written in a variety of alphabets, making it a language with one of the largest number of scripts used historically. The earliest stages of Mongolian ([[Social:Xianbei|Xianbei]], Wuhuan languages) may have used an indigenous runic script as indicated by Chinese sources. The [[Social:Khitan large script|Khitan large script]] adopted in 920 CE is an early Mongol (or according to some, para-Mongolic) script.

The traditional [[Social:Mongolian script|Mongolian script]] was first adopted by Temüjin in 1204, who recognized the need to represent his own people's language. It developed from the [[Social:Old Uyghur alphabet|Uyghur script]] when several members of the Uyghur elite who were brought into the Mongol confederation early on shared their knowledge of their written language with the Mongol imperial clan. Among the Uyghurs sharing that knowledge were [[Social:Tata-tonga|Tata-tonga]] ({{lang-zh|t=塔塔統阿}}), Bilge Buqa (比俚伽普華), Kara Igach Buyruk (哈剌亦哈赤北魯), and Mengsus (孟速思).<ref>{{cite journal|title=Uyghur Technologists of Writing and Literacy in Mongol China|last=Brose|first=Michael C.|journal=T'oung Pao|publisher=[[Company:Brill Publishers|Brill Publishers]]|date=2005|series=Second Series|volume=91|issue=4/5|pages=397, 406|doi=10.1163/156853205774910106|jstor=4529015}}</ref> From that time, the script underwent some minor disambiguations and supplementation.

Between 1930 and 1932, a short-lived attempt was made to introduce the Latin script in the Mongolian state. In 1941, the Latin alphabet was adopted, though it lasted only two months.<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QnwSEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA79|chapter=5. Official script changes in socialist Mongolia|title=Socialist and Post–Socialist Mongolia: Nation, Identity, and Culture|last=Saruul-Erdene|first=Myagmar|publisher=[[Company:Routledge|Routledge]]|date=2021-03-04|access-date=2021-11-16|pages=79–83|isbn=978-1-000-33715-0}}</ref>

The Mongolian Cyrillic script was the result of the spreading of Russian influence following the expansion of the [[Place:Russian Empire|Russian Empire]]. The establishment of [[Place:Soviet Union|Soviet Union]] helped the influence continue, and the Cyrillic alphabet was slowly introduced with the effort by Russian/Soviet linguists in collaboration with their Mongolian counterparts. It was made mandatory by government decree in 1941. It has been argued that the introduction of the [[Social:Cyrillic script|Cyrillic script]], with its smaller discrepancy between written and spoken form, contributed to the success of the large-scale government [[Philosophy:Literacy|literacy]] campaign, which increased the literacy rate from 17.3% to 73.5% between 1941 and 1950.<ref name=unesco>Batchuluun Yembuu, Khulan Munkh-Erdene (2005). [http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001462/146207e.pdf Literacy country study: Mongolia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230105103206/https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000146207_eng |date=2023-01-05 }}. Background paper prepared for the Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2006.
Literacy for Life. P.7-8]</ref> Earlier government campaigns to eradicate illiteracy, employing the traditional script, had only managed to raise literacy from 3.0% to 17.3% between 1921 and 1940.<ref name=unesco/> From 1991 to 1994, an attempt at reintroducing the traditional alphabet failed in the face of popular resistance.<ref>Svantesson ''et al.'' (2005): 34, 40–41.</ref> In informal contexts of electronic text production, the use of the Latin alphabet is common.<ref name=MHK>{{cite web|author=Sühbaatar, B|url=http://www.infocon.mn/english/reference/GaligiinTuhai.htm|title=Mongol helnij kirill üsgijg latin üsgeer galiglah tuhaj|publisher=InfoCon|access-date=2009-01-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090129190356/http://www.infocon.mn/english/reference/GaligiinTuhai.htm|archive-date=2009-01-29|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In the People's Republic of China, Mongolian is the official language along with Mandarin Chinese in some regions, notably the entire [[Place:Inner Mongolia|Inner Mongolia]] Autonomous Region. The traditional alphabet has always been used there, although Cyrillic was considered briefly before the Sino-Soviet split.<ref>Svantesson ''et al.'' (2005): 34, 40.</ref> There are two types of written Mongolian used in China: the traditional Mongolian script, which is official among Mongols nationwide, and the [[Social:Clear Script|Clear Script]], used predominantly among Oirats in [[Place:Xinjiang|Xinjiang]].<ref>Sečenbaγatur ''et al.'' (2005): 398.</ref>

In March 2020, the Mongolian government announced plans to use both Cyrillic and the traditional Mongolian script in official documents by 2025.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mongolia to promote usage of traditional script|url=http://www.china.org.cn/arts/2020-03/19/content_75834583.htm|website=China.org.cn (March 19, 2020)}}</ref><ref>[https://www.montsame.mn/en/read/219358 Official documents to be recorded in both scripts from 2025] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805003025/https://www.montsame.mn/en/read/219358 |date=2020-08-05 }}, Montsame, 18 March 2020.</ref><ref>[http://mongolia.gogo.mn/r/146942 Mongolian Language Law is effective from July 1st] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220409222721/https://mongolia.gogo.mn/r/146942 |date=2022-04-09 }}, Gogo, 1 July 2015. "'''Misinterpretation 1:''' ''Use of cyrillic is to be terminated and only Mongolian script to be used.'' There is no provision in the law that states the termination of use of cyrillic. It clearly states that Mongolian script is to be added to the current use of cyrillic. Mongolian script will be introduced in stages and state and local government is to conduct their correspondence in both cyrillic and Mongolian script. This provision is to be effective starting 1 January 2025. ID, birth certificate, marriage certificate and education certificates are to be both in Mongolian cyrillic and Mongolian script and currently Mongolian script is being used in official letters of President, Prime Minister and Speaker of Parliament."</ref>

== Example text ==
Article 1 of the ''[[Philosophy:Universal Declaration of Human Rights|Universal Declaration of Human Rights]]'' in Mongolian, written in the [[Social:Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet|Cyrillic alphabet]]:<ref>{{cite web|title=Universal Declaration of Human Rights - Mongolian, Halh (Cyrillic)|website=unicode.org|url=https://unicode.org/udhr/d/udhr_khk.html}}</ref>
:Хүн бүр төрж мэндлэхэд эрх чөлөөтэй, адилхан нэр төртэй, ижил эрхтэй байдаг. Оюун ухаан, нандин чанар заяасан хүн гэгч өөр хоорондоо ахан дүүгийн үзэл санаагаар харьцах учиртай.

Article 1 of the ''Universal Declaration of Human Rights'' in Mongolian, written in the Mongolian Latin alphabet:
:''Hün bür törzh mendlehed erh chölöötei, adilhan ner törtei, izhil erhtei baidag. Oyuun uhaan nandin chanar zayaasan hün gegch öör hoorondoo ahan düügiin üzel sanaagaar haricah uchirtai.''

Article 1 of the ''Universal Declaration of Human Rights'' in Mongolian, written in the [[Social:Mongolian script|Mongolian script]]:<ref>{{cite web|website=unicode.org|url=https://unicode.org/udhr/d/udhr_khk_mong.html|title=UDHR - Mongolian, Halh (Mongolian) }}</ref>

:{{MongolUnicode|ᠬᠦᠮᠦᠨ ᠪᠦᠷ ᠲᠥᠷᠥᠵᠦ ᠮᠡᠨᠳᠡᠯᠡᠬᠦ ᠡᠷᠬᠡ ᠴᠢᠯᠥᠭᠡ ᠲᠡᠢ᠂|lang=mn}} {{MongolUnicode|ᠠᠳᠠᠯᠢᠬᠠᠨ ᠨᠡᠷ᠎ᠡ ᠲᠥᠷᠥ ᠲᠡᠢ᠂ ᠢᠵᠢᠯ ᠡᠷᠬᠡ ᠲᠡᠢ ᠪᠠᠢᠠᠭ᠃|lang=mn}} {{MongolUnicode|ᠣᠶᠤᠨ ᠤᠬᠠᠭᠠᠨ᠂ ᠨᠠᠨᠳᠢᠨ ᠴᠢᠨᠠᠷ ᠵᠠᠶᠠᠭᠠᠰᠠᠨ ᠬᠦᠮᠦᠨ ᠬᠡᠭᠴᠢ ᠥᠭᠡᠷ᠎ᠡ|lang=mn}} {{MongolUnicode|ᠬᠣᠭᠣᠷᠣᠨᠳᠣ᠎ᠨ ᠠᠬᠠᠨ ᠳᠡᠭᠦᠦ ᠢᠨ ᠦᠵᠢᠯ ᠰᠠᠨᠠᠭᠠ ᠥᠠᠷ ᠬᠠᠷᠢᠴᠠᠬᠥ ᠤᠴᠢᠷ ᠲᠠᠢ᠃|lang=mn}}

Article 1 of the ''Universal Declaration of Human Rights'' in English:<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights|title=Universal Declaration of Human Rights|newspaper=United Nations|last1=Nations |first1=United }}</ref>
:''All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.''

== See also ==
* Mongolian writing systems
**[[Social:Mongolian script|Mongolian script]]
***Galik alphabet
***[[Social:Clear Script|Todo alphabet]]
**[[Social:ʼPhags-pa script|ʼPhags-pa script]]
***[[Social:Horizontal square script|Horizontal square script]]
**[[Social:Soyombo script|Soyombo script]]
**Mongolian Latin alphabet
***SASM/GNC romanization § Mongolian
**[[Social:Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet|Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet]]
**[[Social:Mongolian transliteration of Chinese characters|Mongolian transliteration of Chinese characters]]
***{{ill|Sino–Mongolian Transliterations|zh|中蒙联合转写}}
**Mongolian Braille
* Mongolian Sign Language
* Mongolian name

== Notes ==
{{NoteFoot}}

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
''For some Mongolian authors, the Mongolian version of their name is also given in square brackets, e.g., "Harnud [Köke]". Köke is the author's native name. It is a practice common among Mongolian scholars, for purposes of publishing and being cited abroad, to adopt a surname based on one's patronymic, in this example "Harnud"; compare Mongolian name.''<br />
''Some library catalogs write Chinese language titles with each syllable separate, even syllables belonging to a single word.''

; List of abbreviations used
''TULIP'' is in official use by some librarians; the remainder have been contrived for this listing.
:; Journals
:* ''KULIP'' = ''Kyūshū daigaku gengogaku ronshū'' [Kyushu University linguistics papers]
:* ''MKDKH'' = ''Muroran kōgyō daigaku kenkyū hōkoku'' [Memoirs of the Muroran Institute of Technology]
:* ''TULIP'' = ''Tōkyō daigaku gengogaku ronshū'' [Tokyo University linguistics papers]
:; Publishers
:* ÖMAKQ = Öbür mongγul-un arad-un keblel-ün qoriy-a {{bracket|Inner Mongolia People's Publishing House}}
:* ÖMSKKQ = Öbür mongγul-un surγan kümüǰil-ün keblel-ün qoriy-a {{bracket|Inner Mongolia Education Press}}
:* ÖMYSKQ = Öbür mongγul-un yeke surγaγuli-yin keblel-ün qoriy-a {{bracket|Inner Mongolia University Press}}
:* ŠUA = [Mongol Ulsyn] Šinžleh Uhaany Akademi {{bracket|[[Organization:Mongolian Academy of Sciences|Mongolian Academy of Sciences]] (MAS)}}

{{refbegin|35em}}
* {{in lang|mn}} Amaržargal, B. 1988. ''BNMAU dah' Mongol helnij nutgijn ajalguuny tol' bichig: halh ajalguu''. Ulaanbaatar: ŠUA.
* Apatóczky, Ákos Bertalan. 2005. On the problem of the subject markers of the Mongolian language. In Wú Xīnyīng, Chén Gānglóng (eds.), ''Miànxiàng xīn shìjìde ménggǔxué'' [The Mongolian studies in the new century : review and prospect]. Běijīng: Mínzú Chūbǎnshè. 334–343. {{ISBN|7-105-07208-3}}.
*{{in lang|ja}} Ashimura, Takashi. 2002. Mongorugo jarōto gengo no {{IPA|-lɛː}} no yōhō ni tsuite. ''TULIP'', 21: 147–200.
*{{in lang|mn}} Bajansan, Ž. and Š. Odontör. 1995. ''Hel šinžlelijn ner tom"joony züjlčilsen tajlbar toli''. Ulaanbaatar.
*{{in lang|mn}} Bayančoγtu. 2002. ''Qorčin aman ayalγun-u sudulul''. Kökeqota: ÖMYSKQ. {{ISBN|7-81074-391-0}}.
*{{in lang|mn}} Bjambasan, P. 2001. Mongol helnij ügüjsgeh har'caa ilerhijleh hereglüürüüd. ''Mongol hel, sojolijn surguul: Erdem šinžilgeenij bičig'', 18: 9–20.
* Bosson, James E. 1964. ''Modern Mongolian; a primer and reader''. Uralic and Altaic series; 38. Bloomington: Indiana University.
* Brosig, Benjamin. 2009. Depictives and resultatives in Modern Khalkh Mongolian. ''Hokkaidō gengo bunka kenkyū'', 7: 71–101.
* Chuluu, Ujiyediin. 1998. [https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/handle/1807/12389 ''Studies on Mongolian verb morphology''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230105103210/https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/handle/1807/12389 |date=2023-01-05 }}. Dissertation, University of Toronto.
*{{in lang|mn}} Činggeltei. 1999. ''Odu üj-e-jin mongγul kelen-ü ǰüi''. Kökeqota: ÖMAKQ. {{ISBN|7-204-04593-9}}.
*{{in lang|mn}} Coloo, Ž. 1988. ''BNMAU dah' mongol helnij nutgijn ajalguuny tol' bichig: ojrd ajalguu''. Ulaanbaatar: ŠUA.
*{{in lang|en}} Djahukyan, Gevork. (1991). Armenian Lexicography. In Franz Josef Hausmann (Ed.), ''An International Encyclopedia of Lexicography'' (pp.&nbsp;2367–2371). Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.
*{{in lang|zh}} [Dobu] Dàobù. 1983. ''Ménggǔyǔ jiǎnzhì. Běijīng: Mínzú.''
*{{in lang|mn}} Garudi. 2002. ''Dumdadu üy-e-yin mongγul kelen-ü bütüče-yin kelberi-yin sudulul''. Kökeqota: ÖMAKQ.
* Georg, Stefan, Peter A. Michalove, Alexis Manaster Ramer, Paul J. Sidwell. 1999. Telling general linguists about Altaic. ''Journal of Linguistics'', 35: 65–98.
* Guntsetseg, D. 2008. [http://elib.uni-stuttgart.de/opus/volltexte/2008/3548/pdf/SinSpeC1_4_Guntsetseg.pdf Differential Object Marking in Mongolian]. ''Working Papers of the SFB 732 Incremental Specification in Context'', 1: 53–69.
* Hammar, Lucia B. 1983. ''Syntactic and pragmatic options in Mongolian – a study of'' bol ''and'' n<nowiki>'</nowiki>. Ph.D. Thesis. Bloomington: Indiana University.
* [Köke] Harnud, Huhe. 2003. ''A Basic Study of Mongolian Prosody''. Helsinki: Publications of the Department of Phonetics, University of Helsinki. Series A; 45. Dissertation. {{ISBN|952-10-1347-8}}.
*{{in lang|ja}} Hashimoto, Kunihiko. 1993. <-san> no imiron. ''MKDKH'', 43: 49–94. Sapporo: Dō daigaku.
*{{in lang|ja}} Hashimoto, Kunihiko. 2004. [https://web.archive.org/web/20090225175439/http://mitlib.lib.muroran-it.ac.jp/kiyo/54go/54_toko04.pdf Mongorugo no kopyura kōbun no imi no ruikei]. ''Muroran kōdai kiyō'', 54: 91–100.
* Janhunen, Juha (ed.). 2003. ''The Mongolic languages''. London: Routledge. {{ISBN|0700711333}}
* Janhunen, Juha. 2003a. Written Mongol. In Janhunen 2003: 30–56.
* Janhunen, Juha. 2003b. Para-Mongolic. In Janhunen 2003: 391–402.
* Janhunen, Juha. 2003c. Proto-Mongolic. In Janhunen 2003: 1–29.
* Janhunen, Juha. 2003d. Mongol dialects. In Janhunen 2003: 177–191.
* Janhunen, Juha. 2006. Mongolic languages. In K. Brown (ed.), ''The encyclopedia of language & linguistics''. Amsterdam: Elsevier: 231–234.
* Johanson, Lars. 1995. On Turkic Converb Clauses. In Martin Haspelmath and Ekkehard König (eds.), ''Converbs in cross-linguistic perspective''. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter: 313–347. {{ISBN|978-3-11-014357-7}}.
*{{in lang|ko}} Kang, Sin Hyen. 2000. Tay.mong.kol.e chem.sa č-uy uy.mi.wa ki.nung. ''Monggolhak'' [Mongolian Studies], 10: 1–23. Seoul: Hanʼguk Monggol Hakhoe [Korean Association for Mongolian Studies].
* Karlsson, Anastasia Mukhanova. 2005. ''Rhythm and intonation in Halh Mongolian''. Ph.D. Thesis. Lund: Lund University. Series: Travaux de l'Institut de Linguistique de Lund; 46. Lund: Lund University. {{ISBN|91-974116-9-8}}.
* Ko, Seongyeon. 2011. Vowel Contrast and Vowel Harmony Shift in the Mongolic Languages. ''Language Research'', 47.1: 23–43.
*{{in lang|mn}} Luvsanvandan, Š. 1959. Mongol hel ajalguuny učir. ''Studia Mongolica'' [Mongolyn sudlal], 1.
*{{in lang|mn}} Luvsanvandan, Š. (ed.). 1987. (Authors: P. Bjambasan, C. Önörbajan, B. Pürev-Očir, Ž. Sanžaa, C. Žančivdorž) ''Orčin cagijn mongol helnij ügzüjn bajguulalt''. Ulaanbaatar: Ardyn bolovsrolyn jaamny surah bičig, setgüülijn negdsen rjedakcijn gazar.
*{{in lang|ja}} Matsuoka, Yūta. 2007. Gendai mongorugo no asupekuto to dōshi no genkaisei. ''KULIP'', 28: 39–68.
*{{in lang|ja}} Mizuno, Masanori. 1995. Gendai mongorugo no jūzokusetsushugo ni okeru kakusentaku. ''TULIP'', 14: 667–680.
*{{in lang|mn}} Mönh-Amgalan, J. 1998. ''Orčin tsagijn mongol helnij bajmžijn aj''. Ulaanbaatar: Moncame. {{ISBN|99929-951-2-2}}.
*{{in lang|mn}} Nadmid, Ž. 1967. ''Mongol hel, tüünij bičgijn tüühen högžlijn tovč tojm''. Ulaanbaatar: ŠUA.
*{{in lang|mn}} Norčin ''et al.'' (eds.) 1999. ''Mongγol kelen-ü toli''. Kökeqota: ÖMAKQ. {{ISBN|7-204-03423-6}}.
* Okada, Hidehiro. 1984. [http://repository.tufs.ac.jp/bitstream/10108/21717/1/jaas027008.pdf Mongol chronicles and Chinggisid genealogies] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230105103212/http://repository.tufs.ac.jp/bitstream/10108/21717/1/jaas027008.pdf |date=2023-01-05 }}. ''Journal of Asian and African studies'', 27: 147–154.
*{{in lang|mn}} Öbür mongγul-un yeke surγaγuli. 2005 [1964]. ''Odu üy-e-yin mongγul kele''. Kökeqota: ÖMAKQ. {{ISBN|7-204-07631-1}}.
* Poppe, Nicholas. 1955. ''Introduction to Mongolian comparative studies''. Helsinki: Finno-Ugrian Society.
* Poppe, Nicholas. 1970. ''Mongolian language handbook''. Washington D.C.: Center for Applied Linguistics.
*{{in lang|mn}} Pürev-Očir, B. 1997. ''Orčin cagijn mongol helnij ögüülberzüj''. Ulaanbaatar: n.a.
* Rachewiltz, Igor de. 1976. Some Remarks on the Stele of Yisuüngge. In Walter Heissig et al., ''Tractata Altaica – Denis Sinor, sexagenario optime de rebus altaicis merito dedicata''. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. pp.&nbsp;487–508.
* Rachewiltz, Igor de. 1999. Some reflections on so-called Written Mongolian. In: Helmut Eimer, Michael Hahn, Maria Schetelich, Peter Wyzlic (eds.). ''Studia Tibetica et Mongolica – Festschrift Manfred Taube''. Swisttal-Odendorf: Indica et Tibetica Verlag: 235–246.
*{{in lang|mn}} Rinchen, Byambyn (ed.). 1979. ''Mongol ard ulsyn ugsaatny sudlal helnij šinžlelijn atlas''. Ulaanbaatar: ŠUA.
* Rybatzki, Volker. 2003a. Intra-Mongolic Taxonomy. In Janhunen 2003: 364–390.
* Rybatzki, Volker. 2003b. Middle Mongol. In Janhunen 2003: 47–82.
*{{in lang|mn}} Sajto, Kosüke. 1999. Orčin čagyn mongol helnij "neršsen" temdeg nerijn onclog (temdeglel). ''Mongol ulsyn ih surguulijn Mongol sudlalyn surguul<nowiki>'</nowiki> Erdem šinžilgeenij bičig XV bot<nowiki>'</nowiki>'', 13: 95–111.
*{{in lang|mn}} Sanžaa, Ž. and D. Tujaa. 2001. Darhad ajalguuny urt egšgijg avialbaryn tövšind sudalsan n'. ''Mongol hel šinžlel'', 4: 33–50.
*{{in lang|ru}} Sanžeev, G. D. 1953. ''Sravnitel'naja grammatika mongol'skih jazykov''. Moskva: Akademija Nauk USSR.
*{{in lang|mn}} Sečen. 2004. ''Odu üy-e-yin mongγul bičig-ün kelen-ü üge bütügekü daγaburi-yin sudulul''. Kökeqota: ÖMASKKQ. {{ISBN|7-5311-4963-X}}.
* Sechenbaatar [Sečenbaγatur], Borjigin. 2003. ''The Chakhar dialect of Mongol: a morphological description''. Helsinki: Finno-Ugrian society. {{ISBN|952-5150-68-2}}.
*{{in lang|mn}} Sečenbaγatur, Qasgerel, Tuyaγ-a [Туяa], Bu. Jirannige, Wu Yingzhe, Činggeltei. 2005. ''Mongγul kelen-ü nutuγ-un ayalγun-u sinǰilel-ün uduridqal'' [A guide to the regional dialects of Mongolian]. Kökeqota: ÖMAKQ. {{ISBN|7-204-07621-4}}.
*{{in lang|zh}} Siqinchaoketu [=Sečenčoγtu]. 1999). ''Kangjiayu yanjiu''. Shanghai: Shanghai Yuandong Chubanshe.
* Slater, Keith. 2003. ''A grammar of Mangghuer''. London: RoutledgeCurzon. {{ISBN|978-0-7007-1471-1}}.
* Starostin, Sergei A., Anna V. Dybo, and Oleg A. Mudrak. 2003. ''Etymological Dictionary of the Altaic Languages'', 3 volumes. Leiden: Brill. {{ISBN|90-04-13153-1}}.
* Street, John C. 1957. ''The language of the Secret History of the Mongols''. New Haven: American Oriental Society. American Oriental series; 42.
* Street, John C. 2008. Middle Mongolian Past-tense ''-BA'' in the Secret History. ''Journal of the American Oriental Society 128 (3)'': 399–422.
* Svantesson, Jan-Olof. 2003. Khalkha. In Janhunen 2003: 154–176.
* Svantesson, Jan-Olof, Anna Tsendina, Anastasia Karlsson, Vivan Franzén. 2005. ''The Phonology of Mongolian''. New York: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-926017-6}}.
* {{in lang|mn}} Temürcereng, J̌. 2004. Mongγul kelen-ü üge-yin sang-un sudulul. Kökeqota: ÖMASKKQ. {{ISBN|7-5311-5893-0}}.
* {{in lang|mn}} Toγtambayar, L. 2006. ''Mongγul kelen-ü kele ǰüiǰigsen yabuča-yin tuqai sudulul''. Liyuuning-un ündüsüten-ü keblel-ün qoriy-a. {{ISBN|7-80722-206-9}}.
* {{in lang|mn}} Tömörtogoo, D. 1992. ''Mongol helnij tüühen helzüj''. Ulaanbaatar.
* {{in lang|mn}} Tömörtogoo, D. 2002. ''Mongol dörvölžin üsegijn durashalyn sudalgaa''. Ulaanbaatar: IAMS. {{ISBN|99929-56-24-0}}.
* {{in lang|mn}} Tsedendamba, Ts. and Sürengiin Möömöö (eds.). 1997. ''Orčin cagijn mongol hel''. Ulaanbaatar.
* Tserenpil, D. and R. Kullmann. 2005. ''Mongolian grammar''. Ulaanbaatar: Admon. {{ISBN|99929-0-445-3}}.
* {{in lang|mn}} Tümenčečeg. 1990. Dumdadu ǰaγun-u mongγul kelen-ü toγačin ögülekü tölüb-ün kelberi-nügüd ba tegün-ü ularil kögǰil. ''Öbür mongγul-un yeke surγaγuli'', 3: 102–120.
* {{cite journal |last = Vovin |first = Alexander |year= 2005 |title = The end of the Altaic controversy (review of Starostin ''et al.'' 2003) |journal = Central Asiatic Journal |volume = 49 |issue = 1 |pages = 71–132 }}
* Walker, Rachel. 1997. [http://roa.rutgers.edu/files/172-0197/172-0197-WALKER-0-1.PDF ''Mongolian stress, licensing, and factorial typology''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927031242/http://roa.rutgers.edu/files/172-0197/172-0197-WALKER-0-1.PDF |date=2011-09-27 }}. Rutgers Optimality Archive, ROA-172.
* {{in lang|de}} Weiers, Michael. 1969. ''Untersuchungen zu einer historischen Grammatik des präklassischen Schriftmongolisch''. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz. Asiatische Forschungen, 28. (Revision of 1966 dissertation submitted to the Universität Bonn.)
* Yu, Wonsoo. 1991. ''A study of Mongolian negation'' (Ph.D. thesis). Bloomington: Indiana University.
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
* Janhunen, Juha A. (2012): ''Mongolian.'' (London Oriental and African Language Library, 19.) Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. {{ISSN|1382-3485}}. {{ISBN|978-90-272-3820-7}}

;Traditional Mongolian script
* (ru) Schmidt, Isaak Jakob, [https://archive.org/details/grammatikamongol00schm/page/n5/mode/2up ''Грамматика монгольскaго языка (Grammatika mongolʹskago i︠a︡zyka)''], Saint-Petersburg, 1832
* (ru) Bobrovnikov, Aleksieĭ Aleksandrovich [https://books.google.com/books?id=H7c9AAAAYAAJ ''Грамматика монгольско-калмыцкого языка (Grammatika mongolʹsko-kalmyt͡skago i͡azyka)''], Kazan, 1849
* (de) Schmidt, Isaak Jakob, [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_qtMzxWTKkeQC/page/n5/mode/2up''Grammatik der mongolischen Sprache''], St. Petersburg, 1831
* (fr) Rémusat, Abel [https://books.google.com/books?id=aG5nAAAAcAAJ ''Récherches sur les langues tartares''], Paris, 1820
* (fr, ru) Kovalevskiĭ, Osip Mikhaĭlovich, [https://www.google.it/search?hl=it&tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=bibliogroup:%22Dictionnaire+mongol-russe-franca%CC%A7is%22 ''Dictionnaire Mongol-Russe-Franca̧is''], Volumes 1-3, Kazan 1844-46-49
* (fr) Soulié, Charles Georges, [https://archive.org/details/lmentsdegrammai00soulgoog/page/n9/mode/2up ''Éléments de grammaire mongole (dialecte ordoss)''], Paris, 1903
* (it) Puini, Carlo, [https://archive.org/details/puini-elementi-della-grammatica-mongolica-1878/page/n7/mode/2up ''Elementi della grammatica mongolica''], Firenze, 1878

== External links ==
{{InterWiki|code=mn}}
{{Incubator|code=mvf|language=Peripheral Mongolian}}
{{Wikibook|Mongolian}}
{{Wikivoyage|Mongolian phrasebook|Mongolian|a phrasebook}}
* [http://www.linguamongolia.com/ Lingua Mongolia (a website dedicated to the Mongolian language, mostly as written in the Mongolian Uyghur script)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319200601/http://www.linguamongolia.com/ |date=2022-03-19 }}
* [http://www.bolor-toli.com/ Bolor Mongolian-English dictionary]

{{-}}
{{Mongolic languages}}



{{DEFAULTSORT:Mongolian Language}}
[[Category:Agglutinative languages]]
[[Category:Languages of Russia]]
[[Category:Subject–object–verb languages]]

{{Sourceattribution|Mongolian language}}