View source for Buryat language

{{Short description|Mongolic language of Buryatia (Russia) and neighbouring areas}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Buryat
| altname          = Buriat
| nativename       = {{lang|bua-Cyrl|буряад хэлэн}} {{lang|bua-Latn|buryaad khelen}}<br/>{{mongolUnicode|ᠪᠤᠷᠢᠶᠠᠳ<br/>ᠮᠣᠩᠭᠣᠯ<br/>ᠬᠡᠯᠡᠨ|lang=bua}}
| states           = Eastern [[Russia]] ([[Buryatia|Buryatia Republic]], [[Ust-Orda Buryat Okrug|Ust-Orda Buryatia]], [[Agin-Buryat Okrug|Agin Buryatia]]), northern [[Mongolia]], [[Northeast China]] ([[Hulunbuir]], [[Inner Mongolia]])
| ethnicity        = [[Buryats]], [[Barga Mongols]]
| speakers         = {{sigfig|436,300|2}}
| date             = 2017–2020
| ref              = e26
| familycolor      = Altaic
| fam1             = [[Mongolic languages|Mongolic]]
| fam2             = Central Mongolic
| fam3             = Buryat–[[Mongolian language|Mongolian]]
| nation           = [[Buryatia]] (Russia)
| script           = [[Cyrillic]], [[Mongolian script|Mongolian]], [[Vagindra script|Vagindra]], [[Latin script|Latin]]
| iso2             = bua
| iso2comment      = Buriat<!--name as listed at ISO 639-2 Registration Authority-->
| iso3             = bua
| iso3comment      = Buriat<!--name as listed at ISO 639-3 Registration Authority-->
| lc1              = bxu
| ld1              = Inner Mongolian (China) Buriat<!--name as listed at ISO 639-3 Registration Authority-->
| lc2              = bxm
| ld2              = Mongolia Buriat<!--name as listed at ISO 639-3 Registration Authority-->
| lc3              = bxr
| ld3              = Russia Buriat<!--name as listed at ISO 639-3 Registration Authority-->
| glotto           = buri1258
| glottorefname    = Buriat<!--name as listed at Glottolog-->
| notice           = IPA
| map              = Idioma buriato.png
| mapcaption       = {{image reference needed|date=December 2022}}
| map2             = Lang Status 60-DE.svg
| mapcaption2      = {{center|{{small|Buryat is classified as Definitely Endangered by the [[UNESCO]] ''[[Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger]]''}}}}
| pronunciation    = {{IPA|[bʊˈrʲaːt xɤ̞.ˈlɤ̞ŋ]}}
}}
[[File:Examples of Buriad usage in Aginskoie public space.jpg|thumb|300px|Examples of Buryat usage in Aginskoie public space]]
'''Buryat''' or '''Buriat''',<ref name=e26/><ref>{{cite web| editor-last1= Hammarström| editor-first1 = Harald| editor-last2 = Forke| editor-first2 = Robert| editor-last3 = Haspelmath| editor-first3 = Martin| editor-last4 = Bank| editor-first4 = Sebastian| year = 2020|title = Buriat | work = [[Glottolog]] 4.3| url = https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/buri1258}}</ref>{{NoteTag|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|ʊr|i|æ|t}};<ref>Laurie Bauer, 2007, ''The Linguistics Student’s Handbook'', Edinburgh</ref> [[Cyrillic-derived alphabets#Buryat|Buryat Cyrillic]]: {{lang|bua-Cyrl|буряад хэлэн}}, {{lang|bua-Latn|buryaad khelen}}, {{IPA|mn|bʊˈrʲaːt xɤ̞.ˈlɤ̞ŋ|pron}}}} known in foreign sources as the '''Bargu-Buryat dialect''' of [[Mongolian language|Mongolian]], and in pre-1956 Soviet sources as '''Buryat-Mongolian''',{{NoteTag|In China, the Buryat language is classified as the Bargu-Buryat dialect of the Mongolian language.}}<ref>''Тодаева Б. Х.'' Монгольские языки и диалекты Китая. Moscow, 1960.</ref> is a variety of the [[Mongolic languages]] spoken by the [[Buryats]] and [[Barga Mongols|Bargas]] that is classified either as a language or major [[dialect]] group of Mongolian.

== Geographic distribution ==
The majority of Buryat speakers live in [[Russia]] along the northern border of [[Mongolia]]. In Russia, it is an official language in the [[Buryatia|Republic of Buryatia]] and was an official language in the former [[Ust-Orda Buryat Autonomous Okrug|Ust-Orda Buryatia]] and [[Agin-Buryat Autonomous Okrug|Aga Buryatia]] [[Autonomous okrugs of Russia|autonomous okrugs]].<ref>Skribnik 2003: 102, 105</ref> In the Russian census of 2002, 353,113 people out of an ethnic population of 445,175 reported speaking Buryat (72.3%). Some other 15,694 can also speak Buryat, mostly ethnic Russians.<ref>[[Russian Census (2002)]]</ref> Buryats in Russia have a separate [[literary language|literary standard]], written in a [[Cyrillic alphabets#Buryat|Cyrillic alphabet]].<ref>Skribnik 2003: 105</ref> It is based on the Russian alphabet with three additional letters: [[Ue (Cyrillic)|Ү/ү]], [[Oe (Cyrillic)|Ө/ө]] and [[Һ|Һ/һ]].

There are at least 100,000 ethnic Buryats in [[Mongolia]] and [[Inner Mongolia]], [[China]], as well.<ref>Skribnik 2003: 102</ref>

==Dialects==
The delimitation of Buryat mostly concerns its relationship to its immediate neighbors, Mongolian proper and [[Khamnigan Mongol|Khamnigan]]. While Khamnigan is sometimes regarded as a dialect of Buryat, this is not supported by [[isoglosses]]. The same holds for Tsongol and Sartul dialects, which rather group with [[Khalkha Mongolian]] to which they historically belong. Buryat dialects are:

* Khori group east of Lake Baikal comprising Khori, Aga, Tugnui, and North Selenga dialects. Khori is also spoken by most Buryats in Mongolia and a few speakers in [[Hulunbuir]].
* Lower Uda (Nizhneudinsk) dialect, the dialect situated furthest to the west and which shows the strongest influence from [[Turkic languages|Turkic]]
* Alar–Tunka group comprising Alar, Tunka–Oka, Zakamna, and Unga in the southwest of [[Lake Baikal]]. Tunka extends into Mongolia.
* Ekhirit–Bulagat group in the Ust’-Orda National District comprising Ekhirit–Bulagat, Bokhan, Ol’khon, Barguzin, and Baikal–Kudara
* Bargut group in Hulunbuir (which is historically known as Barga), comprising Old Bargut and New Bargut<ref>Skribnik 2003: 104</ref>

Based on loan vocabulary, a division might be drawn between Russia Buryat, Mongolia Buryat and Inner Mongolian Buryat.<ref>Gordon (ed.) 2005</ref> However, as the influence of Russian is much stronger in the dialects traditionally spoken west of Lake Baikal, a division might rather be drawn between the Khori and Bargut group on the one hand and the other three groups on the other hand.<ref>Skribnik 2003: 102, 104</ref>

==Phonology==
Buryat has the [[vowel]] [[phoneme]]s {{IPA|/i, ʉ, e, a, u, o, ɔ/}} (plus a few diphthongs),<ref>{{harvnb|Poppe|1960|p=8}}</ref> and the [[consonant]] phonemes {{IPA|/b, g, d, tʰ, m, n, x, l, r/}} (each with a corresponding [[Palatalization (phonetics)|palatalized]] phoneme) and {{IPA|/s, ʃ, z, ʒ, h, j/}}.<ref>{{harvcoltxt|Svantesson|Tsendina|Karlsson|Franzén|2005|p=146}}</ref><ref>{{harvcoltxt|Svantesson|Tsendina|Karlsson|Franzén|2005|p=146}}; the status of [ŋ] is problematic, see {{harvcoltxt|Skribnik|2003|p=107}}. In Poppe 1960's description, places of vowel articulation are somewhat more fronted.</ref> These vowels are restricted in their occurrence according to [[vowel harmony]].<ref>{{harvcoltxt|Skribnik|2003|p=107}}</ref> The basic syllable structure is (C)V(C) in careful articulation, but word-final CC clusters may occur in more rapid speech if short vowels of non-initial syllables get dropped.<ref>{{harvnb|Poppe|1960|pp=13–14}}</ref>

=== Vowels ===
{| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center
|-
! 
! [[Front vowel|Front]]
! [[Central vowel|Central]]
! colspan="2" | [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{IPA link|i}} {{IPA link|iː}}<br/>‹и ии›
| {{IPA link|ʉ}} {{IPA link|ʉː}}<br/>‹ү үү›
|
| {{IPA link|u}} {{IPA link|uː}}<br/>‹у уу›
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Mid vowel|Mid]]
| rowspan="2" | {{IPA link|eː}}<br/>‹ээ›
| rowspan="2" |({{IPA link|ə}})
| {{IPA link|ɤ}} ‹э›
| {{IPA link|oː}}<br/>‹өө›
|-
|
| {{IPA link|ɔ}} {{IPA link|ɔː}}<br/>‹о оо›
|-
![[Open vowel|Open]]
|
| {{IPA link|a}} {{IPA link|aː}}<br/>‹а аа›
|
|
|}
{{notelist}}

Other lengthened vowel sounds that are written as diphthongs, namely {{lang|bua|ай}} ({{Transliteration|bua|aj}}), {{lang|bua|ой}} ({{Transliteration|bua|oj}}), and {{lang|bua|үй}} ({{Transliteration|bua|yj}}), are heard as {{IPA|[ɛː œː yː]}}. Also, {{lang|bua|эй}} ({{Transliteration|bua|ej}}) is also rendered homophonous with {{lang|bua|ээ}} ({{Transliteration|bua|ee}}).
The digraph {{lang|bua|уй}} ({{Transliteration|bua|uj}}) is read as the diphthong {{IPA|[u̟ɪ]}}.<ref>{{harvnb|Sanzheev|1962|p=9}}</ref>

In unstressed syllables, {{IPA|/a/}} and {{IPA|/ɔ/}} become {{IPA|[ɐ]}}, while unstressed {{IPA|/ɤ/}} becomes {{IPA|[ə]}}. These tend to disappear in fast speech.<ref>{{harvnb|Poppe|1960|pp=8–9}}</ref>

=== Consonants ===
{| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center
! colspan="2" rowspan="2" |
! colspan="2" |[[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! colspan="2" |[[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! rowspan="2" |[[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! colspan="2" |[[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! rowspan="2" |[[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
!<small>plain</small>
![[Palatalization (phonetics)|<small>pal.</small>]]
!<small>plain</small>
![[Palatalization (phonetics)|<small>pal.</small>]]
!<small>plain</small>
![[Palatalization (phonetics)|<small>pal.</small>]]
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Stop consonant|Plosive]]
!<small>[[Aspirated consonant|aspirated]]</small>
|
|
|{{IPA link|tʰ}}
|{{IPA link|tʰʲ}}
|
|
|
|
|-
!<small>voiced</small>
|{{IPA link|b}}
|{{IPA link|bʲ}}
|{{IPA link|d}}
|{{IPA link|dʲ}}
|
|{{IPA link|ɡ}}
|{{IPA link|ɡʲ}}
|
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
!<small>voiceless</small>
|
|
|{{IPA link|s}}
|
|{{IPA link|ʃ}}
|{{IPA link|x}}
|{{IPA link|xʲ}}
|{{IPA link|h}}
|-
!<small>voiced</small>
|
|
|{{IPA link|z}}
|
|{{IPA link|ʒ}}
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
|{{IPA link|m}}
|{{IPA link|mʲ}}
|{{IPA link|n}}
|{{IPA link|nʲ}}
|
|({{IPA link|ŋ}}){{efn|{{IPAblink|ŋ}} only occurs as an allophone of {{IPAslink|n}}.}}
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Lateral consonant|Lateral]]
|
|
|{{IPA link|l}}
|{{IPA link|lʲ}}
|
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Rhotic consonant|Rhotic]]
|
|
|{{IPA link|r}}
|{{IPA link|rʲ}}
|
|
|
|
|- align="center"
! colspan="2" |[[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
| colspan="2" |{{IPA link|w}}
|
|
|{{IPA link|j}}
|
|
|
|}
{{notelist}}

Voiced plosives are half-voiced syllable finally on the first syllable ({{Transliteration|bua|xob}} {{IPA|[xɔb̥]}} {{gloss|calumny}}, {{Transliteration|bua|xobto}} {{IPA|[xɔb̥tʰɐ]}} {{gloss|chest}}), but completely devoiced on the second syllable onwards ({{Transliteration|bua|tyleb}} {{IPA|[tʰʉləp]}} {{gloss|shape}}, {{Transliteration|bua|harapša}} {{IPA|[harɐpʃɐ]}} {{gloss|shed}}).<ref>{{harvnb|Poppe|1960|p=9}}</ref> Velar stops are "postvelarized" in words containing back vowel harmony: {{Transliteration|bua|'''g'''ar}} {{IPA|[ɢar̥]}} {{gloss|hand}}, {{Transliteration|bua|xo'''g'''}} {{IPA|[xɔɢ̥]}} {{gloss|trash}}, but not as in {{Transliteration|bua|'''g'''er}} {{IPA|[gɤr̥]}} {{gloss|house}}, {{Transliteration|bua|tee'''g'''}} {{IPA|[tʰeːg̊]}} {{gloss|cross-beam}}. Also, {{IPA|/g/}} becomes {{IPA|[ʁ]}} between back vowels ({{Transliteration|bua|jaa'''g'''aab}} {{IPA|[jaːʁaːp]}} {{gloss|what has happened?}}).<ref>{{harvnb|Poppe|1960|p=11}}</ref> The phoneme {{IPA|/n/}} becomes {{IPA|[ŋ]}} before velar consonants, while word finally it may cause [[nasal vowel|nasalization]] of the preceding vowel ({{Transliteration|bua|a'''n'''xa'''n'''}} {{IPA|[aŋxɐŋ ~ aŋxɐ̃]}} {{gloss|beginning}}) In the Aga dialect, {{IPA|/s/}} and {{IPA|/z/}} are pronounced as non-sibilants {{IPA|[θ]}} and {{IPA|[ð]}}, respectively. {{IPA|/tʃ/}} in loans was often substituted by simple {{IPA|/ʃ/}}.<ref>{{harvnb|Poppe|1960|p=12}}</ref> {{IPA|/r/}} is devoiced to {{IPA|[r̥]}} before voiceless consonants.<ref>{{harvnb|Poppe|1960|p=13}}</ref>

=== Stress ===
Lexical [[Stress (linguistics)|stress]] (word accent) falls on the last [[Syllable weight|heavy]] nonfinal [[syllable]] when one exists. Otherwise, it falls on the word-final heavy syllable when one exists. If there are no heavy syllables, then the initial syllable is stressed. Heavy syllables without primary stress receive [[secondary stress]]:<ref name="auto">{{harvcoltxt|Walker| 1997}}{{page needed|date=March 2024}}</ref>

:{|class="wikitable"
!Stress pattern !! IPA !! Gloss
|-
| ˌHˈ'''H'''L || {{IPA|[ˌøːɡˈʃøːxe]}} || "to act encouragingly"
|-
| LˌHˈ'''H'''L || {{IPA|[naˌmaːˈtuːlxa]}} || "to cause to be covered with leaves"
|-
| ˌHLˌHˈ'''H'''L || {{IPA|[ˌbuːzaˌnuːˈdiːje]}} || "steamed dumplings (accusative)"
|-
| ˌHˈ'''H'''LLL || {{IPA|[ˌtaːˈruːlaɡdaxa]}} || "to be adapted to"
|-
| ˈ'''H'''ˌH || {{IPA|[ˈboːˌsoː]}} || "bet"
|-
| Lˈ'''H'''ˌH || {{IPA|[daˈlaiˌɡaːr]}} || "by sea"
|-
| Lˈ'''H'''LˌH || {{IPA|[xuˈdaːliŋɡˌdaː]}} || "to the husband's parents"
|-
| LˌHˈ'''H'''ˌH || {{IPA|[daˌlaiˈɡaːˌraː]}} || "by one's own sea"
|-
| ˌHLˈ'''H'''ˌH || {{IPA|[ˌxyːxenˈɡeːˌreː]}} || "by one's own girl"
|-
| L'''ˈH''' || {{IPA|[xaˈdaːr]}} || "through the mountain"
|-
| ˈ'''L'''L || {{IPA|[ˈxada]}} || "mountain"<ref>{{harvcoltxt|Walker|1997|pp=27–28}}</ref>
|}

Secondary stress may also occur on word-initial [[Syllable weight|light]] syllables without primary stress, but further research is required. The stress pattern is the same as in [[Khalkha Mongolian]].<ref name="auto"/>

== Writing systems ==
{{confusing|section|date=September 2023}}
{{Multiple image|direction=vertical|width=250
|image1=Буряад-Монголон унэн 1925.jpeg
|image2=Buriaad-mongaliin ynen.jpg
|image3=Buriaad-Mongoliin ynen.jpg
|image4=Бурят-Монголой үнэн.jpg
|image5=Буряад үнэн.jpg
|footer= The evolution of the Buryat writing on the example of the newspaper headline [[Buryad Unen|Buryad Ünen]]}}
Buryat has been a literary language since the 17th century. Buryats have changed the literary base of their written language three times in order to approach the living spoken language, first using the [[Mongolian script]], switching to Latin in 1930, and finally Cyrillic in 1939, which is currently used.

=== Mongolian ===
From the end of the 17th century, [[Mongolian script|Classical Mongolian]] was used in clerical and religious practice. The language of the end of the 17th—19th centuries is conventionally referred to as the Old Buryat literary and written language.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}

Before the October Revolution, clerical records of the Western Buryats were made mainly in the [[Russian language]], and not by the Buryats themselves, but by representatives of the tsarist administration, the so-called clerks. The old Mongolian script was used only by ancestral nobility, lamas and traders Relations with Tuva, Outer and Inner Mongolia.<ref>''Окладников А. П.'' Очерки из истории западных бурят-монголов.</ref>

In 1905, on the basis of the Old Mongolian script, [[Agvan Dorzhiev]] developed a script known as ''[[Vagindra script|Vagindra]]'', which by 1910 had at least a dozen books printed. However, use of vagindra was not widespread.

=== Latin ===
[[File:Алфавит Агвана Доржиева.PNG|thumb|Vagindra, the alphabet proposed by Agvan Dorzhiev.]]

In 1926, an organized scientific [[Latinisation in the Soviet Union|development]] of the Buryat Latinized writing began in the [[USSR]]. In 1929, the draft Buryat alphabet was created. It contained the following letters: '''A a, B b, C c, Ç ç, D d, E e, Ә ә, Ɔ ɔ, G g, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, R r, S s, Ş ş, T t, U u, Y y, Z z, Ƶ ƶ, H h, F f, V v'''.<ref>{{cite book| author = Барадин Б. | title = Вопросы повышения бурят-монгольской языковой культуры |location= Баку |date = 1929 |publisher= Изд-во ЦК НТА | pages = 33}}</ref> However, this project was not approved. In February 1930, a new version of the Latinized alphabet was approved. It contained letters of the standard Latin alphabet (except for '''h, q, x'''), digraphs '''ch, sh, zh''', and also the letter '''ө'''. But in January 1931, its modified version was officially adopted, unified with other alphabets of peoples within the [[USSR]].

;Buryat Latin alphabet (1931–39)

{| style="font-family:Arial Unicode MS; font-size:1.4em; border-color:#000000; border-width:1px; border-style:solid; border-collapse:collapse; background-color:#F8F8EF"
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | A a
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | B b
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | C c
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ç ç
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | D d
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | E e
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | F f
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | G g
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | H h
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | I i
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | J j
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | K k
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | L l
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | M m
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | N n
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | O o
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ө ө
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | P p
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | R r
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | S s
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ş ş
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | T t
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | U u
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | V v
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | X x<ref name="b">Letter established in 1937</ref>
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Y y
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Z z
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ƶ ƶ
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | ь<ref name="b"/>
|
|
|
|}

=== Cyrillic ===
In 1939, the Latinized alphabet was [[Cyrillization|replaced]] by [[Cyrillic]] with the addition of three special letters ('''Ү ү, Ө ө, Һ һ''').

;Modern Buryat Cyrillic alphabet since 1939
{| style="font-family:Arial Unicode MS; font-size:1.4em; border-color:#000000; border-width:1px; border-style:solid; border-collapse:collapse; background-color:#F8F8EF"
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | А а
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Б б
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | В в
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Г г
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Д д
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Е е
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ё ё
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ж ж
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | З з
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | И и
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Й й
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | К к
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Л л
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | М м
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Н н
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | О о
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[Ө|Ө ө]]
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | П п
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Р р
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | С с
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Т т
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | У у
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[Ү|Ү ү]]
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ф ф
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Х х
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[Һ|Һ һ]]
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ц ц
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ч ч
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ш ш
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Щ щ
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ъ ъ
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ы ы
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ь ь
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Э э
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ю ю
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Я я
|
|
|
|}
Finally, in 1936, the Khorinsky oriental dialect, close and accessible to most native speakers, was chosen as the basis of the literary language at the linguistic conference in [[Ulan-Ude]].

=== Buryat alphabet table ===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center"
|+Buryat scripts<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eki.ee/knab/lat/kblbua.pdf|title=Buryat romanization|date=2012-09-26|publisher=Institute of the Estonian Language|language=en|accessdate=2016-01-20|archive-date=2015-04-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150427195919/http://www.eki.ee/knab/lat/kblbua.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
! Cyrillic<br />(с. 1939) !! Latin<br />(1930–1939) !! Latin<br />(1910) !! Mongolian
(pre-1910)
|-
| А а || A a || A a || {{MongolUnicode|ᠠ}}
|-
| Б б || B b || B b || {{MongolUnicode|ᠪ}}
|-
| В в || V v || - || {{MongolUnicode|ᠸ}}
|-
| Г г || G g || G g || {{MongolUnicode|ᠭ}}
|-
| Д д || D d || D d || {{MongolUnicode|ᠳ}}
|-
| Е е || - || - || -
|-
| Ё ё || - || - || -
|-
| Ж ж || Ƶ ƶ || J j || {{MongolUnicode|ᠵ}}
|-
| З з || Z z || Z z || -
|-
| И и || I i || I i || {{MongolUnicode|ᠢ}}
|-
| Й й || J j || Y y || {{MongolUnicode|ᠶ}}
|-
| К к || K k || - || {{MongolUnicode|ᠺ}}
|-
| Л л || L l || L l || {{MongolUnicode|ᠯ}}
|-
| М м || M m || M m || {{MongolUnicode|ᠮ}}
|-
| Н н || N n || N n || {{MongolUnicode|ᠨ}}, {{MongolUnicode|ᠩ}}
|-
| О о || O o || O o || {{MongolUnicode|ᠣ}}
|-
| Ө ө || Ө ө || Eo eo || {{MongolUnicode|ᠥ}}
|-
| П п || P p || P p || {{MongolUnicode|ᠫ}}
|-
| Р р || R r || R r || {{MongolUnicode|ᠷ}}
|-
| С с || S s || C c || {{MongolUnicode|ᠰ}}
|-
| Т т || T t || T t || {{MongolUnicode|ᠲ}}
|-
| У у || U u || U u || {{MongolUnicode|ᠣ}}
|-
| Ү ү || Y y || Eu eu || {{MongolUnicode|ᠥ}}
|-
| Ф ф || F f || - || -
|-
| Х х || H h, K k || H h || {{MongolUnicode|ᠬ}}
|-
| Һ һ || X x || X x || {{MongolUnicode|ᠾ}}
|-
| Ц ц || C c || C c || -
|-
| Ч ч || Ç ç || - || {{MongolUnicode|ᠴ}}
|-
| Ш ш || Ş ş || S s || {{MongolUnicode|ᠱ}}
|-
| Щ щ || - || - || -
|-
| Ъ ъ || - || - || -
|-
| Ы ы || Ь ь || - || -
|-
| Ь ь || - || - || -
|-
| Э э || E e || E e || {{MongolUnicode|ᠡ}}
|-
| Ю ю || - || - || -
|-
| Я я || - || - || -
|}

== Grammar ==
Buryat is an [[Subject–object–verb|SOV]] language that makes exclusive use of [[postpositions]]. Buryat is equipped with eight grammatical cases:
[[nominative]], [[accusative]], [[genitive]], [[Instrumental case|instrumental]], [[ablative]], [[comitative]], [[dative]]-[[locative]] and a particular oblique form of the stem.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.transparent.com/learn-buriat/overview.html |title=Overview of the Buriat Language |work=Learn the Buriat Language & Culture |publisher=Transparent Language |access-date=4 Nov 2011 }}</ref>

==Numerals==
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!rowspan=2| ||rowspan=2|English||rowspan=2|[[Classical Mongolian language|Classical<br/> Mongolian]]||rowspan=2|[[Mongolian language|Khalkha]]||colspan=2|Buryat
|-
!Latin !! Cyrillic
|-
|1||one||{{lang|cmg-Latn|nige}}||{{lang|khk-Latn|neg}}||{{Transliteration|bua|negen}}||{{lang|bua|нэгэн}}
|-
|2||two||{{lang|cmg-Latn|qoyar}}||{{lang|khk-Latn|khoyor}}||{{Transliteration|bua|khoyor}}||{{lang|bua|хоёр}}
|-
|3||three||{{lang|cmg-Latn|hurba(n)}}||{{lang|khk-Latn|gurav}}||{{Transliteration|bua|gurban}}||{{lang|bua|гурбан}}
|-
|4||four||{{lang|cmg-Latn|dörbe(n)}}||{{lang|khk-Latn|döröv}}||{{Transliteration|bua|dürben}}||{{lang|bua|дүрбэн}}
|-
|5||five||{{lang|cmg-Latn|tabu}}||{{lang|khk-Latn|tav}}||{{Transliteration|bua|taban}}||{{lang|bua|табан}}
|-
|6||six||{{lang|cmg-Latn|jirguga(n)}}||{{lang|khk-Latn|zurgaa}}||{{Transliteration|bua|zurgaan}}||{{lang|bua|зургаан}}
|-
|7||seven||{{lang|cmg-Latn|doluga(n)}}||{{lang|khk-Latn|doloo}}||{{Transliteration|bua|doloon}}||{{lang|bua|долоон}}
|-
|8||eight||{{lang|cmg-Latn|naima(n)}}||{{lang|khk-Latn|naim}}||{{Transliteration|bua|naiman}}||{{lang|bua|найман}}
|-
|9||nine||{{lang|cmg-Latn|yisü}}||{{lang|khk-Latn|yos}}||{{Transliteration|bua|yühen}}||{{lang|bua|юһэн}}
|-
|10||ten||{{lang|cmg-Latn|arba(n)}}||{{lang|khk-Latn|arav}}||{{Transliteration|bua|arban}}||{{lang|bua|арбан}}
|}

==Buryat language reforms in the Soviet Union==
In September 1931, a joint plenum of the Central Committee and the Central Control Commission of the CPSU (B) was held, which, in line with the decisions of the Central Committee, formulated a course for the construction of a socialist in content and national in form culture of the Buryat people. In the activities of the Institute of Culture, they saw a distortion of the party line in the development of the main issues of national and cultural construction and gave basic guidelines for the Institute's further work. In particular, it was noted that the Old Mongolian writing system penetrated Buryatia from Mongolia along with [[Tibetan Buddhism]] and, before the revolution, "served in the hands of [[Dalai Lama|the Lama]], [[Noyan|Noyonat]], and [[kulak]]s as an instrument of oppression of illiterate workers." The theory of creating a pan-Mongolian language was recognized as [[Pan-Mongolism|pan-Mongolian]] and counterrevolutionary. The Institute of Culture was tasked with compiling a new literary language based on the East Buryat (primarily Selenga) dialect. In the early 1930s, the internationalization of the Buryat language and the active introduction of Russian-language revolutionary Marxist terms into it began.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/yazykovaya-situatsiya-v-respublike-buryatiya/viewer|title= Языковая ситуация в Республике Бурятия}} {{in lang|ru}}</ref>

During the next reform in 1936, there was a reorientation to the Khorin dialect. The reform coincided with the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, so it was intended to isolate the Buryats from the rest of the Mongol world.  In 1939, the Buryat language was translated into the Cyrillic alphabet,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.networklanguages.com/interesting-facts-about-the-buryat-language|title= Interesting Facts About the Buryat Language}}</ref> a process that coincided with active repression of the Buryat intelligentsia, including scholars and statesmen who had been involved in the language reform. Among them were publicist and literary critic Dampilon, one of the leaders of the Buryat-Mongolian Writers' Union Solbone Tuya, editor of the [[Buryad Unen|Buriaad-Mongaliin ynen]] newspaper B. Vancikov and others. They were accused of "polluting the Buryat language with [[Pan-Mongolism|Pan-Mongolian]] and Lama-religious terms," as well as of counter-revolutionary, Pan-Mongolian distortions of the works of the classics of Marxism-Leninism, and of Mongolizing their native language, namely, "translating into Mongolian with the selection of reactionary Buddhist feudal-theocratic, Khan Wan words that are incomprehensible and inaccessible to the population of Soviet Buryatia."<ref name="sibreal.org">{{cite web|url=https://www.sibreal.org/a/29168546.html|title= "В Кремле не хотят, чтобы мы осознали свое единство"|date= 23 April 2018}} {{in lang|ru}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/zhivaya-rech-v-buryatii-k-probleme-izucheniya-sotsiolingvisticheskiy-obzor/viewer|title= Живая речь в Бурятии: к проблеме изучения (социолингвистический обзор)}} {{in lang|ru}}</ref>

Since 1938, Russian was introduced as a compulsory language from the 1st grade, thus consolidating Buryat-Russian bilingualism. Changes in the spelling, alphabet and literary norms on which the language is based reduced the prestige of the Buryat language, consolidating Russian domination in the region. In the 1940s, the Soviet Union completely stopped printing in the Old Mongolian language. The so-called "Pan-Mongolian" words, which were actually Mongolian and Tibetan, were massively replaced by "international" words, i.e. Russian.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/yazykovoe-stroitelstvo-v-buryat-mongolskoy-assr-v-1920-1930-e-gody/viewer|title= "Языковое строительство" в бурят-монгольской АССР в 1920-1930-е годы}} {{in lang|ru}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/469f38d01a.html|title= Chronology for Buryat in Russia}}</ref>

=== Artificial Russification ===
The Buryats are the indigenous people of the Republic of Buryatia, yet today the majority of the republic's residents are of Russian nationality. According to the 1989 All-Union Population Census, the region was home to about 1,038,000 people, including 726,200 Russians (70%) and 249,500 Buryats (24%). Twenty years later, according to the 2010 All-Russian Census, 461,400 Buryats lived in Russia. The permanent population of Buryatia amounted to about 972,000 people, including 630,780 (66.1%) Russians and 286,840 (30%) Buryats.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://scalar.usc.edu/works/buryat-language-in-irkutsk/------information-about-the-buryat-language|title= Information about the Buryat Language|newspaper= Язык И Культура Современных Бурят}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/etnicheskaya-identichnost-i-yazykovoe-soznanie-nositeley-buryatskogo-yazyka-sotsio-i-psiholingvisticheskie-issledovani/viewer|title= Этническая идентичность и языковое сознание носителей бурятского языка: социо- и психолингвистические исследования}} {{in lang|ru}}</ref>

Since the days of the Russian Empire, the Russian authorities have made efforts to destroy the national and cultural identity of the Buryats. For example, in today's Russia, the territories inhabited by ethnic Buryats are divided between the Republic of Buryatia and the Ust-Ordyn Buryat District in the Irkutsk Oblast, as well as the Aginsky Buryat District in the Trans-Baikal Territory. In addition to these administrative-territorial units, Buryats live in some other neighboring districts of the Irkutsk Oblast and Trans-Baikal Territory.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1879366520902863|title= The All-Buryat Congress for the Spiritual Rebirth and Consolidation of the Nation: Siberian politics in the final year of the USSR|date= 2020|doi= 10.1177/1879366520902863|last1= Chakars|first1= Melissa|journal= Journal of Eurasian Studies|volume= 11|pages= 62–71|doi-access= free}}</ref><ref name="sibreal.org"/>

One of the reasons for the artificial division of Buryats into different administrative units was the fight against so-called "pan-Mongolism" and "Buryat nationalism" that began in the 1920s. In an effort to break the cultural, linguistic, and historical ties of the Buryat-Mongols with Mongolia, the Soviet and later Russian authorities pursued a decisive policy of Russification, the settlement of the Republic of Buryatia by Russians, the replacement of the Mongolian script with the Cyrillic alphabet, and so on. At the moment, UNESCO has officially included the Buryat language in the Red Book of Endangered Languages. According to the 2010 All-Russian Census, 130,500 people in the Republic of Buryatia spoke Buryat, or only 13.4% of the total population. Currently, the process of reducing the spheres of use of the Buryat language continues. Russian is compulsory in Buryat schools, while Buryat is optional. There is a lack of Buryat-language publications, TV channels, periodicals, etc.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/yazykovaya-situatsiya-v-respublike-buryatiya/viewer
|title= Языковая ситуация в Республике Бурятия}} {{in lang|ru}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/buryatskiy-yazyk-v-globalnoy-yazykovoy-sisteme/viewer
|title= Бурятский язык в глобальной языковой системе}} {{in lang|ru}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{notelist}}
{{reflist|group="note"}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book|last=Poppe|first=Nicholas|title=Buriat grammar|series=Uralic and Altaic series|volume=2|year=1960|publisher=Indiana University|location=Bloomington}}
* {{cite book|last=Skribnik|first=Elena|date=2003|chapter=Buryat|editor=Juha Janhunen|title=The Mongolic languages|location=London|publisher=Routledge|pages=102–128}}
* {{cite book|last1=Svantesson|first1=Jan-Olof|first2=Anna |last2=Tsendina|first3= Anastasia |last3=Karlsson|first4=Vivan|last4=Franzén|date=2005|title=The Phonology of Mongolian|location=New York|publisher=Oxford University Press}}
* {{citation|last=Walker|first=Rachel|year=1997|title=Mongolian stress, licensing, and factorial typology|url=https://roa.rutgers.edu/article/view/183}}
* {{cite web
|url         = http://altaica.ru/LIBRARY/mong/BuriatGrammar.pdf
|script-title=ru:Грамматика бурятского языка. Фонетика и морфология
|last    = Санжеев | first = Г. Д.
|year        = 1962
|language    = ru
|trans-title=Sanzheev, G.D. Grammar of Buryat. Phonetics and morphology
|format      = PDF, 23 Mb
|ref = {{SfnRef|Sanzheev|1962}}
}}

*([[Russian language|ru]]) Н. Н. Поппе, ''Бурят-монгольское языкознание'', Л., Изд-во АН СССР, 1933
* ''Anthology of Buryat folklore'', Pushkinskiĭ dom, 2000 (CD)

==External links==
{{InterWiki|code=bxr|Buryat}}
{{Portal|Russia|Soviet Union}}
* [http://buryat-lang.ru/ Russian-Buryat On-Line Dictionary]
* [http://www.buryatia.org/modules.php?name=Encyclopedia&op=list_content&eid=4 Russian-Buryat On-Line Dictionary (concise)]

{{Languages of China}}
{{Languages of Russia}}
{{Languages of Mongolia}}
{{Mongolic languages}}
{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buryat Language}}
[[Category:Buryat language| ]]
[[Category:Agglutinative languages]]
[[Category:Central Mongolic languages]]
[[Category:Definitely endangered languages]]
[[Category:Subject–object–verb languages]]
[[Category:Indigenous languages of Siberia]]
[[Category:Languages of Mongolia]]
[[Category:Languages of China]]
[[Category:Buryat people]]
[[Category:Buryat culture]]
[[Category:Languages written in Cyrillic script]]
[[Category:Endangered languages of China]]