Mongolian Education and Science Vocabulary

Introduction. The article deals with semantics and etymology of several basic terms of Mongolian culture vocabulary relating to education and science. Goals. The study shall primarily describe how the lexical layer in question was formed, and trace the sources of such borrowings. Materials and methods. The materials were collected from Mongolian-Russian and Mongolian explanatory dictionaries via continuous sampling. The identified lexemes were checked against corresponding entries to Mongolic / Turkic etymological dictionaries and bilingual dictionaries of Sanskrit, Chinese, and Tibetan. Results. Some of the analyzed words happen to have been borrowed into Mongolian from Uighur, but Uighur was not the ultimate source of the lexemes: Mong. шавь ‘disciple, pupil’ < Uig. šabï had come to Uighur from Sanskrit via Chinese; Mong. багш ‘teacher’ < Uig. baqšı and Mong. бичиг ‘writings’ < Uig. bitig are originally Chinese; Mong. ном ‘book’ < Uig. nom had come to Uighur from Greek via Sogdian. Some other words, such as Mong. боловсрол ‘education’, эрдэмтэн ‘scientist’, ухаан ‘intelligence’ (in шинжлэх ухаан ‘science’), оюутан ‘student’ ― have common Turko-Mongolic (bol- ‘become’, uqa- ‘comprehend’) or even common Altaic (ere- ‘male’, oyu- ‘mind’) stems, but their new semantics referring to various phenomena of education and science appeared comparatively recently, to a large extent, as a result of attempts to find new words for the notions introduced by Chinese culture and Uighur Buddhism. The words зүй and судлал, as well as derivatives from the stem sur- belong to common Mongolic lexis. Conclusions. Most of the analyzed words were borrowed into Mongolian from Uighur as part of religious vocabulary. Some of these terms originally derive from Chinese, Sanskrit or even Greek. Indigenous Mongolic lexemes are derivatives from sur- ‘to study’, and the terms зүй ‘theory’ and судлал ‘study’ that are used as parts of science names.

1. Androsov V. P. Indo-Tibetan Buddhism: An Encyclopedic Dictionary. Moscow: Orientalia, 2011. 448 p. (In Russ.)

2. Bakhshi (Бахши). On: Vologda Oblast Universal Scientific Library. Great Soviet Encyclopedia. Available at: https://www.booksite.ru/fulltext/1/001/008/102/005.htm (accessed: 18 November 2023). (In Russ.)

3. Baskakov N. A. (ed.) Karakalpak-Russian Dictionary. Moscow: State Publishing House of Foreign and Soviet Languages, 1958. 892 p. (In Kar. and Russ.)

4. Baskakov N. A. Russian Family Names of Turkic Origin. Moscow: Nauka, 1979. 203 p. (In Russ.)

5. Baskakov N. A., Garryev B. A., Khamzaev M. Ya. (eds.) Turkmen-Russian Dictionary. Moscow: Sovetskaya Entsiklopediya, 1968. 832 p. (In Turkm. and Russ.)

6. Bektayev K. Unabridged Kazakh-Russian / Russian-Kazakh Dictionary. Almaty: Altyn Kazyna, 1995. 703 p. (In Kaz. and Russ.)

7. Burdukov A. V. Russian-Mongolian Phrase Book. N. Poppe (foreword, grammar). Leningrad: Leningrad Institute of Eastern Languages, 1935. 320 p. (In Russ. and Mong.)

8. Dondokova D. D. Buryat Spiritual Vocabulary. Ulan-Ude: Buryat Scientific Center (SB RAS), 2003. 136 p. (In Bur. and Russ.)

9. Dugarov B. S. A book phenomenon in Turk-Mongolian epos: Buddhism’ influence and Altaian-Buryatian parallels. Proceedings of Altai State Academy of Culture and Arts. 2017. No. 1(11). Pp. 82–88. (In Russ.)

10. Dybo A. V., Kukanova V. V., Mirzaeva S. V., Bembeev E. V., Mushaev V. N., Khoninov V. N. Words Denoting the Sky in Mongolic Languages: Etymology and Semantics. Oriental Studies. 2022. Vol. 15. No. 6. Pp. 1333–1351. (In Russ.) DOI: 10.22162/2619-0990-2022-64-6-1333-1351

11. Gerasimovich L. K. Mongolian Literature, Thirteenth to Early Twentieth Centuries: Lecture Materials. Elista: Dzhangar, 2006. 362 p. (In Russ.)

12. Golstunsky K. F. Mongolian-Russian Dictionary. Vol. 1. St. Petersburg: A. Ikonnikov, 1895. 268 p. (In Mong. and Russ.)

13. Golstunsky K. F. Mongolian-Russian Dictionary. Vol. 2. St. Petersburg: A. Ikonnikov, 1894. 423 p. (In Mong. and Russ.)

14. Kharkova E. Yu. Ten classical sciences in Tibetan Buddhist culture. Review of the Russian Christian Academy for the Humanities. 2009. Vol. 10. No. 3. Pp. 97–108. (In Russ.)

15. Kowalewski O. Mongolian-Russian-French Dictionary. Vol. 1: A–Ü. Kazan: Imperial Kazan University, 1844. XIII, 594 p. (In Mong., Russ. and Fr.)

16. Kowalewski O. Mongolian-Russian-French Dictionary. Vol. 2: NA–SÜ. Kazan: Imperial Kazan University, 1846. Pp. 595–1545. (In Mong., Russ. and Fr.)

17. Kukanova V. V., Mushaev V. N., Khoninov V. N. Astronomical terms in Mongolic languages: Materials for an etymological dictionary reviewed. Oriental Studies. 2020. Vol. 13. No. 6. Pp. 1652–1666. (In Russ.) DOI: 10.22162/2619-0990-2020-52-6-1652-1666

18. Kuzmin S. L. On the problem of the “serfs of clerical lords” in pre-revolutionary Mongolia. Vostok (Oriens). 2018. No. 1. Pp. 23–30. (In Russ.) DOI: 10.7868/S086919081801003X

19. Levitskaya L. S. et al. Etymological Dictionary of Turkic Languages. In 7 vols. Vol. 7: Common and Intra-Turkic Word Stems Beginning with the Letters ‘L’, ‘M’, ‘N’, ‘P’, ‘S’. Moscow: Vostochnaya Literatura RAN, 2003. 446 p. (In Turk., Russ., etc.)

20. Madvaliev A.et al. (eds.) Explanatory Dictionary of the Uzbek Language. In 5 vols. Vol. 1: A–Д. Tashkent: Encyclopedia of Uzbekistan, 2006. 680 p. (In Uzb.)

21. Nadelyaev V. M., Nasilov D. M., Tenishev E. R., Shcherbak A. M. (eds.) Dictionary of Old Turkic. Leningrad: Nauka, 1969. 677 p. (In Old Turk. and Russ.)

22. Nugteren H. Linguistic aspects of the term shaman in northern Eurasia. In: Advanced Studies on the Archaeology and History of Hunting. Vol. 2.1–2.2: Advanced Studies in Ancient Iconography II. Kiel, Hamburg: Wachholtz, 2020. Pp. 135–145. (In Eng.)

23. Nugteren H. Mongolic Phonology and the Qinghai-Gansu Languages. Utrecht: LOT (Netherlands National Graduate School of Linguistics), 2011. 563 p. (In Eng.)

24. Ölmez M. Uyghurism in ‘Phags-pa documents (According to Tumurtogoo). The Journal of Northern Cultures Studies. 2018. Vol. 9. Pp. 1–18. (In Eng.)

25. Pyurbeev G. Ts. (ed.) Unabridged Academic Mongolian-Russian Dictionary. In 4 vols. Vol. 1: A–Г. Moscow: Academia, 2001. 520 p. (In Mong. and Russ.)

26. Pyurbeev G. Ts. (ed.) Unabridged Academic Mongolian-Russian Dictionary. In 4 vols. Vol. 2: Д–О. Moscow: Academia, 2001. 536 p. (In Mong. and Russ.)

27. Pyurbeev G. Ts. (ed.) Unabridged Academic Mongolian-Russian Dictionary. In 4 vols. Vol. 3: Ө–Ф. Moscow: Academia, 2001. 440 p. (In Mong. and Russ.)

28. Pyurbeev G. Ts. (ed.) Unabridged Academic Mongolian-Russian Dictionary. In 4 vols. Vol. 4: Х–Я. Moscow: Academia, 2002. 532 p. (In Mong. and Russ.)

29. Rakhimov T. R. Chinese Elements in Modern Uyghur: A Dictionary. Moscow: Nauka ― GRVL, 1970. 352 p. (In Chin., Uyg. and Russ.)

30. Rassadin V. I., Trofimova S. M., Balzhinimaeva B. D., Mazarchuk A. V., Davaasuren B., Chuluunbaatar L., Mukharinov V. M. Traditional Household Vocabulary of Mongolic Languages from a Comparative Historical Perspective: The Case of Khalkha Mongolia, Buryat and Kalmyk. Elista: Gorodovikov Kalmyk State University, 2019. 168 p. (In Russ.)

31. Rassadin V. I., Trofimova S. M., Bold L. Turkic-Mongolian parallels among the terms of spiritual culture in Mongolian languages. Siberian Journal of Philology. 2018. No. 3. Pp. 222–231. (In Russ.) DOI: 10.17223/18137083/64/20

32. Sanskrit-English / English-Sanskrit Dictionary. On: Learn Sanskrit CC. Available at: https://www.learnsanskrit.cc/ (accessed: 18 November 2023). (In Sans. and Eng.)

33. Sanzheev G. D., Orlovskaya M. N., Shevernina Z. V. Etymological Dictionary of Mongolic Languages. In 3 vols. G. Sanzheev et al. (eds.). Vol. 1: A–E. Moscow: Institute of Oriental Studies (RAS), 2015. 224 p. (In Mong., Russ., etc.)

34. Sanzheev G. D., Orlovskaya M. N., Shevernina Z. V. Etymological Dictionary of Mongolic Languages. In 3 vols. G. Sanzheev et al. (eds.). Vol. 3: Q–Z. Moscow: Institute of Oriental Studies (RAS), 2018. 240 p. (In Mong., Russ., etc.)

35. Sevortyan E. V. Etymological Dictionary of Turkic Languages. In 7 vols. Vol. 1: Common and Intra-Turkic Word Stems Beginning with Vowels. Moscow: Nauka, 1974. 768 p. (In Turk., Russ., etc.)

36. Sevortyan E. V. Etymological Dictionary of Turkic Languages. In 7 vols. Vol. 2: Common and Intra-Turkic Word Stems Beginning with the Letter ‘B’. N. Gadzhieva (ed.). Moscow: Nauka, 1978. 349 p. (In Turk., Russ., etc.)

37. Shcherbak A. M. More on causes of structural phonetic differences in Turko-Mongolian lexical parallels. In: Studies in Oriental Linguistics. Moscow: GRVL, 1974. Pp. 340–350. (In Russ.)

38. Skrynnikova T. D. Duties of shabinars in Mongolia. In: Petrosyan Yu. A. (ed.) Peoples of the East: Written Monuments and Issues of Cultural History. Scientific session proceedings (Leningrad, December 1979). Pt. 1 (1). Moscow: Nauka ― GRVL, 1981. Pp. 153–157. (In Russ.)

39. System of Educational Programs. On: National University of Mongolia (website). Available at: https://hutulbur.num.edu.mn/publ/php/program_list.php (accessed: 16 November 2023). (In Mong.)

40. Tibetan Translation Tool. Version 3.3.0 (15 November 2019). On: Tibetan and Himalayan Library (THL). Available at: https://www.thlib.org/reference/dictionaries/tibetan-dictionary/translate.php (accessed: 19 November 2023). (In Tib. and Eng.)

41. Tumurtogoo D. (ed.) Mongolian Monuments in Uighur-Mongolian Script (XIII–XVI Centuries): Introduction, Transcription and Bibliography. Taipei: Institute of Linguistics, Academia Sinica, 2006. 722 p. (In Mong. and Eng.)

42. Unabridged Chinese-Russian Dictionary. On: China — Language, Life, Education, Work, Business (open-access editable dictionary). Available at: https://bkrs.info/ (accessed: 23 November 2023). (In Chin and Russ.)

43. Yanjindolgor O. A. (comp.) Explanatory Dictionary of the Mongolian Language. Kh. Bayarsaikhan (ed.). Ulaanbaatar: Monsudar, 2011. 1890 p. (In Mong.)

44. Yudakhin K. K. (comp.) Kyrgyz-Russian Dictionary. Vol. 1: A–K. Frunze: Kyrgyz Soviet Encyclopedia, 503 p. (In Kyrg. and Russ.)

45. Yudin V. P. et al. (eds.) Uyghur-Russian Dictionary. A. Kaidarov (grammar note). Alma-Ata: Kazakh SSR Academy of Sciences, 1961. 328 p. (In Uyg. and Russ.)