Khalkha Mongolian

The Khalkha dialect^[a] is a dialect of central Mongolian widely spoken in Mongolia. According to some classifications, the Khalkha dialect includes Inner Mongolian varieties such as Shiliin gol, Ulaanchab and Sönid.^[3] As it was the basis for the Cyrillic orthography of Mongolian,^[4] it is de facto the national language of Mongolia.^[5] The name of the dialect is related to the name of the Khalkha Mongols and the Khalkha River.

Khalkha
Халх аялгуу/Khalkh ayalguu/ᠬᠠᠯᠬ᠎ᠠ ᠠᠶᠠᠯᠭᠤ
Pronunciation	[χaɬχ ai̯ɮɢʊ́]
Native to	Mongolia, Russia[1]
Region	widespread in Mongolia
Ethnicity	Khalkha Mongols
Native speakers	2.9 million (2020 Census)[2]
Language family	Mongolic Central Buryat–Mongolian Mongolian Khalkha
Dialects	see below
Writing system	Cyrillic script
Language codes
ISO 639-3	khk
Glottolog	halh1238

There are certain differences between normative (standardised form of Khalkha) and spoken Khalkha. For example, the normative language uses proximal demonstratives based on the word stem ʉː/n- (except for the nominative in [i̠n] and the accusative which takes the stem ʉːn-)^[6] and thus exhibits the same developmental tendency as exhibited by Oirat.^[7] On the other hand, the spoken language also makes use of paradigms that are based on the stems inʉːn- and inĕn-.^[8] This seems to agree with the use in Chakhar Mongolian.^[9] The same holds for the distal demonstrative /tir/.^[10]

Khalkha may roughly be divided into Northern and Southern Khalkha, which would include Sönid, etc. Both varieties share affricate depalatalization, namely, /tʃ/ > /ts/ and /tʃʰ/ > /tsʰ/ except before *i, while Southern Khalkha patterns with Chakhar and Ordos Mongolian in that it exhibits a dissimilating deaspiration; e.g. *tʰatʰa > /tatʰ/.^[11] However, Mongolian scholars more often hold that the border between Khalkha and Chakhar is the border between the Mongolian state and the Chakhar area of Inner Mongolia of China.^[12]

Especially in the speech of younger speakers, /p/ (or /w/) > [ɸ] may take place, as in written Mongolian qabtasu > Sünid [ɢaptʰǎs] ~ [ɢaɸtʰǎs] 'cover (of a book)'.^[13]

One of the classifications of Khalkha dialect in Mongolia divides it into 3 subdialects: Central, Western and Eastern. The orthography of the Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet is essentially based on the Central Khalkha dialect. Among the main differences is the pronunciation of initial letter х in feminine words which is in Central Khalkha pronounced as it is written, in Western Khalkha as h, and in Eastern Khalkha as g; e.g. хөтөл khötöl (Central Khalkha), көтөл kötöl (Western Khalkha), гөтөл götöl (Eastern Khalkha). The initial letter х is pronounced in masculine words in Western Khalkha as /h/ (almost not heard) if the following consonant is voiceless, and is pronounced as /ɢ/ (and devoiced to /q/) in Eastern Khalkha; e.g. хутга khutga [χó̙tʰɵ̙q] (Central Khalkha), hутага khutaga [hʊ́tʰəɣ] (Western Khalkha), гутага gutaga [ɢʊ́tʰəq] (Eastern Khalkha). Initial /tʰ/ is unaspirated in Eastern Khalkha; e.g. талх talkh [tʰaɬχ] (Central Khalkha), талқ talq [tʰaɬq] (Western Khalkha), далх dalkh [taɬχ] (Eastern Khalkha).

Grouping of Khalkha dialects

In Juha Janhunen's book Mongolian, he groups the Khalkha dialects into the following 19:^[14]

• Outer Mongolia:
  • Central
    • Khalkha Proper dialect
      • Northern Khalkha
      • Southern Khalkha
      • Ulaanbaatar dialect of Khalkha
  • Northern:
    • Khotogoid dialect
    • Darkhad dialect
  • Southeastern:
    • Dariganga dialect
• Russia:
  • Tsongol (ru)
  • Sartuul
    • officially, both are classified as "Buryat" dialects.
• Inner Mongolia:
  • Ulaanchab dialects:
    • Chakhar dialect
    • Urad dialect
    • Darkhan dialect
    • Dörbhön Khuukhed dialect
    • Muumingan dialect
    • Khishigten dialect
• Shilingol dialects:
  • Udzumuchin dialect
  • Khuuchit dialect
  • Abaga dialect
  • Abaganar dialect
  • Sunud dialect

Notes

1. Mongolian: Халх аялгуу / Khalkh ayalguu / ᠬᠠᠯᠬ᠎ᠠ ᠠᠶᠠᠯᠭᠤ [χaɬχ ai̯ɮɢʊ́]