Monguor language

The Monguor language (Chinese: 土族语; pinyin: Tǔzúyǔ; also written Mongour and Mongor) is a Mongolic language belonging to the Shirongolic branch. It is used by the Monguor people and is part of a special language area called the Gansu–Qinghai sprachbund, also known as the Amdo sprachbund.

There are several dialects of Monguor, and some experts think it might actually be two separate languages: Mongghul, spoken mainly in Huzhu Tu Autonomous County, and Mangghuer, spoken in Minhe Hui and Tu Autonomous County. Both of these dialects have been shaped by nearby languages. Mongghul has been influenced by Amdo Tibetan, while Mangghuer has been affected by Sinitic languages and local Chinese varieties such as the Gangou language.

Phonology

Vowels

Vowel sounds can change when they come before certain letters. Some vowels like /i/, /e/, and /u/ can become softer in different places in a word.

Consonants

Some consonant sounds can change depending on where they appear in a word. For example, the sound /χ/ might sound like [h] or [x] in different words. The sound /ɻ/ can sound different too, like a soft [ʐ] at the start of a stressed word, a quick flap [ɾ] between vowels, or a rhotic [ə˞] at the end of a syllable. The sound /j/ can also change in stressed syllables to sound like [ʝ].

Writing system

In 1958, a Cyrillic-based alphabet was created for the Monguor language, but it wasn’t used much because of political reasons.

Later, from the 1970s to the 1980s, a Latin alphabet based on Pinyin was developed. This alphabet has 31 letters.

Numerals

Some numbers in the Mongghul dialect come from Mongolian, but people who speak Mangghuer usually count using Chinese numbers. For example, the Mongolian script uses the word arban for "ten", but older forms show that other words might have been used in the past.