The Linguist

@CIOL_Linguists SUMMER 2024 The Linguist 33 OPINION & COMMENT instance, Mongolia's capital 'Ulaanbaatar' is written 'Ulaghan baghatur', which was the archaic pronunciation and spelling. During the 17th to 19th centuries, Mongol bichig was widely used to translate Buddhist texts, as well as for official inscriptions, poetry, documents, literature, written versions of oral traditions and family records. Knowledge of the script was restricted largely to political and religious elites, while ordinary people were mostly illiterate. Under Soviet pressure to spread communist ideology and education, Mongolia adopted the Cyrillic script in the 1940s. It was significantly easier to learn and literacy greatly improved. One cannot transliterate modern Mongolian into Mongol bichig letter by letter; you have to learn the archaic spellings and grammar. However, continuity between the modern and older forms of the Mongolian language is a fundamental feature of the history and evolution of Mongol culture. Not being able to read Mongol bichig cuts Mongolians off from their literary and historical roots. Mongolia's sense of national identity has strengthened following the retreat of Soviet influence and Mongolia's entry into the wider community of nations. Since communism ended in the 1990s, there have been efforts to revive the use of Mongol bichig as a core feature of that unique identity. Revival efforts When communist China was founded, the government decided to retain Mongol bichig, with Chinese, as the two official languages of Inner Mongolia. In this way, Inner Mongolia became the surviving heartland of Mongol bichig, maintaining widespread literacy in the script across generations. A new Chinese nationalist policy restricting the use of Mongolian and banning Mongol script in schools now threatens the local Script, we consider how the survival identity is tied to its writing system global concern. What will be the fate of this ancient script and its connection to spoken Mongolian in the future? A brief history At the start of the 13th century, advised by the Uyghur scribe Tata Tonga, Chinggis Khaan adopted the Uyghur script (which was derived from Sogdian) as the official writing system for the entire Mongolian state. As a result, it is sometimes called Uyghur script, but I will refer to it as Mongol bichig. The earliest-known monument inscribed in Mongol bichig is the stone Stele of Chinggis Khaan, dated around 1224. Its five lines of text commemorate the archery skills of Chinggis's nephew. Written vertically, the new script transcribed Mongolian as it was at the time and retains its pronunciation, spelling and grammar. As a result, there is a significant difference between modern standard spoken Mongolian and how the language is written in Mongol bichig. For in a script? CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE The statue of Chinggis Khaan in front of the main government building in Ulaanbaatar. The inscription reads 'Heavenly Ruler Chinggis Khaan Founder of the Great Mongolian State' (main image); a notice at Choijin Lama Temple Museum with Mongol bichig, cyrillic and English text side by side (above); and 'Mongol bichig' written in the script (below). It isn't possible to include words in Mongol bichig in the main article because it is written vertically

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