Ruanruan language
| Ruan-ruan | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Rouran Khaganate |
| Region | Mongolia and northern China |
| Era | 4th century AD – 6th century AD |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | None (mis) |
| Glottolog | None |
Ruanruan (Chinese: 蠕蠕; also called Rouran) is an unclassified extinct language of Mongolia and northern China, spoken in the Rouran Khaganate from the 4th to the 6th centuries AD, considered a likely early precursor to Mongolic.[1]
Peter A. Boodberg claimed in 1935 that the Ruanruan language was Mongolic by analysing Chinese transcriptions of Ruan-ruan names.[2] Atwood (2013) notes that Rourans calqued the Sogdian word pūr "son" into their language as *k’obun (Chinese transliteration: 去汾 MC *kʰɨʌH-bɨun > Mandarin qùfén); which, according to Atwood, is cognate with Middle Mongol kö'ün "son".[3] Alexander Vovin noted that Old Turkic had borrowed some words from an unknown non-Altaic language that might have been Ruan-ruan,[4] arguing that if so, the language would be non-Altaic language, unrelated to its neighbours and possibly a language isolate, though evidence was scant.[2] In 2019, with the emergence of new evidence through the analysis of the Brāhmī Bugut and Khüis Tolgoi, Vovin changed his view, suggesting Ruan-ruan was, in fact a Mongolic language, close but not identical to Middle Mongolian.[1] Pamela Kyle Crossley (2019) wrote that the Rouran language itself has remained a puzzle, and leading linguists consider it a possible isolate.[5]
Phonology[]
Features of Ruan-ruan included:[2]
- no mid vowels
- presence of initial l-
- final consonantal cluster -nd unusual for any "Altaic" languages
Morphology[]
Ruan-ruan had the feminine gender suffix -tu-.[2]
Lexicon[]
Ruan-ruan vocabulary included:[2][6]
- küskü – 'rat'
- ud – 'ox'
- luu – 'dragon' < Middle Chinese luŋ – 'dragon'
- yund – 'horse' < Old Turkic: