Tag: Mongolian language

At Home in Mongolian This article was first published in The Linguist 62/3 in September 2023.https://www.ciol.org.uk/sites/default/files/TheLinguist-Autumn23.pdf Over thirty years have passed since Mongolia opened up to the free world, but its national culture and language remain comparatively unknown. Many people still picture Mongolia as a vast expanse of grassy steppe across which nomadic herders wander at will in search of better grazing. This romantic notion poses challenges to linguists and others keen to correct embedded cultural misconceptions. Mongolia is in fact the 19th largest country by area in the world.  About 40% of its 3.4 million total population are herders. Many of the remainder live in the capital. To provide insights to the culture, I would like to take you on a journey through the key cultural concepts ‘dwelling place’ and ‘home’ starting with my favourite poem, ‘Bi Mongol Hun’ (‘I am a Mongol’) by Ch. Chimed. The first verse, in my translation reads: “I, born in a herdsman’s ger (yurt)   From which dried-dung smoke...