Learn to speak Mongolian  

Mongolian Language

Mongolian CD-ROM
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Where does Mongolian come from?
The Mongolian language is a member of the Ural-Altaic family of languages, and the downward-script is the result of Kyrgyz' influences around 840 AD. The original Mongolian alphabet was adapted from that of the Uigurs in the 13th Century. It was used in Outer Mongolia until 1941, and is still used among Mongolian speakers in China.

Standard Mongolian is often referred to as Khalkha which distinguishes it from related languages and dialects. These include Buryat and Kalmyk, spoken in Russia.

How many people speak Mongolian?
In Mongolia proper (traditionally known as Outer Mongolia) there are about 2.5 million speakers. In the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region of China (traditionally known as Inner Mongolia) there are about 5 million. Another 200,000 speakers live in northwest China and about 50,000 in Manchuria.

In how many countries?
Mongolian is spoken in Mongolia and China

Mongolian Culture

Mongolian Music and Dance
Mongolia, with its relatively small population, has a strikingly rich and varied traditional musical culture. It combines archaic elements dating from ancient times with musical traditions connected with borrowings dating from later periods. Traditional music was influenced deeply by the lifestyles and economy, as well as by the beliefs of the Mongols. Many specific features of Mongolian music, the way the sound is produced vocally, the timbre and colouring of the sound, the way musical instruments are played all of this is determined by the close relationship of music to the natural environment and by the Mongol's notions about the essence of music and its purpose. It is a reflection of the relationship between people and nature as seen through the patterns of its inherited and evolving logic.

Mongolian Food and Drink
The main meats are mutton and beef. In the cities shops sell: beef, hamburger, smoked hammocks, sausages, hot dogs, and chicken. The Mongol chickens have been described as 'very athletic'. The city of Ulaanbaatar is offering more variety, but in the countryside only mutton, yak, horsemeat, beef, and camel meat are available.

The staple grain food is called bordzig, which is a soft pastry made from wheat that is deep fried.

Chinese and Russian teas are the two most available beverages. They come in "bricks" made from the left over leaves and stems that are hard pressed into a block. Pieces are then chipped off into water. Airag is a fermented horses milk that has an alcohol content of about 3%. Many Mongolians distil it further to produce shimiin arkhi and get it up to 12%.

With the Russian influences also comes their love of vodka. There is a big social pressure to drink, especially on men. In the countryside the most common tea is a salty milk tea, that is an acquired taste. In the winter much needed fat and sometimes mutton will be included in the tea.

Mongolian Attractions
The Gobi Desert museums, Buddhist culture, camels, horseback riding, trekking, mountaineering, fishing and temples.

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