View source for Dungan language

{{short description|Sinitic language spoken in Central Asia}}
{{redirect-distinguish|Hui language|Huizhou Chinese|Tongan language}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Dungan
| nativename       = {{lang|dng|Хуэйзў йүян}} {{small|{{lang|zh|回族語言}}}} {{small|{{lang|zh-arab|خُوِزُو یُوِیًا}}}}
| pronunciation    = {{IPA|cmn|xwɛ̌jt͡sû ʝŷʝɛ̃̌|}}
| states           = [[Central Asia]]
| region           =  [[Chüy Valley|Chu Valley]] ([[Kyrgyzstan]], [[Kazakhstan]]), [[Altai Krai]], [[Rovensky District, Saratov Oblast|Saratov Oblast (Rovensky District)]] ([[Russia]]), [[Fergana Valley]] ([[Uzbekistan]])
| ethnicity        = [[Dungan people|Dungan]]
| speakers         = {{sigfig|145,200|3}}
| date             = 2009–2021
| ref              = e27
| familycolor      = Sino-Tibetan
| fam2             = [[Sinitic languages|Sinitic]]
| fam3             = [[Chinese language|Chinese]]
| fam4             = [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]]
| fam5             = [[Central Plains Mandarin]]
| script           = [[Cyrillic script|Cyrillic]] (official)<br>[[Chinese characters]] (obsolete)<br>[[Xiao'erjing]] (obsolete)<br>[[Latin script|Latin]] (historical)
| iso3             = dng
| glotto           = dung1253
| glottorefname    = Dungan
| notice           = IPA}}
{{Infobox Chinese
| s = 东干语
| t = 東干語
| p = Dōnggānyǔ
| w = Tung<sup>1</sup>kan<sup>1</sup> yü<sup>3</sup>
| mi = {{IPAc-cmn|d|ong|1|.|g|an|1|-|yu|3}}
| xej = دْوقًا يُوِ
| rus = Дунганский язык
| rusr = Dunganskij jazyk
| lang1 = Kyrgyz
| lang1_content = {{lang|ky|Дунган тили}}<br>{{lang|ky-arab|دۇنعان تىلى}}<br>{{lang|ky-latn|Dungan tili}}
| lang2 = Kazakh
| lang2_content = {{lang|kk|Дүнген тілі}}<br>{{lang|kk-arab|دۇنگەن تىلى}}<br>{{lang|kk-latn|Düngen tılı}}
| dungan = Хуэйзў йүян
| dungan-han = 回族語言 (''Huízú yǔyán''; ''{{Tone superscript|Hui2-tsu2 yü3-yen2}}'')
| dungan-xej = خُوِزُو یُوِیًا}}

'''Dungan''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|ʊ|ŋ|ɡ|ɑː|n}} or {{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|ʌ|ŋ|g|ə|n}}) is a [[Sinitic languages|Sinitic language]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/language/dng|title = Dungan}}</ref> spoken primarily in the [[Chüy Valley|Chu Valley]] of southeastern [[Kazakhstan]] and northern [[Kyrgyzstan]]. It is the native language of the [[Dungan people]], a [[Hui people|Hui]] subgroup that fled [[Qing China]] in the 19th century. It evolved from the [[Central Plains Mandarin]] variety spoken in [[Gansu]] and [[Shaanxi]]. It is the only [[Sino-Tibetan language]] to be officially written in the [[Cyrillic script]]. In addition, the Dungan language contains loanwords and archaisms not found in other modern varieties of Mandarin.

== History ==
The Dungan people of [[Kazakhstan]] and [[Kyrgyzstan]] (with smaller groups living in other post-Soviet states) are the descendants of several groups of the [[Hui people]] that migrated to the region in the 1870s and the 1880s after the defeat of the [[Dungan Revolt (1862–1877)|Dungan revolt]] in Northwestern China. The Hui of Northwestern China (often referred to as "Dungans" or "Tungani" by 19th-century western writers, as well as by some [[Turkic peoples]]) would normally speak the same Mandarin dialect as the Han people in the same area<ref name=g393>[[Dru C. Gladney]], ''Muslim Chinese: Ethnic Nationalism in the People's Republic''. 1st ed.: Harvard University Press, 1991, {{ISBN|0-674-59495-9}}; 2nd ed., 1996. {{ISBN|0-674-59497-5}}. Pages 393-394 in the 1991 edition. The following pages in this book, 321–395, are occupied by "A Select Glossary of Hui Chinese Islamic Terms", into which Gladney included only words (many found in older publications) that he could verify as known or recognized by people in at least some Hui communities he visited.</ref> (or in the area from which the particular Hui community had been resettled). At the same time, due to their unique history, their speech would be rich in [[Islam]]ic or Islam-influenced terminology, based on loanwords from Arabic, Persian and Turkic languages, as well as translations of them into Chinese.<ref name=g393/> The Hui traders in the bazaars would be able to use Arabic or Persian numbers when talking between themselves, to keep their communications secret from Han bystanders.<ref>Gladney (1991), p. 68</ref> While not constituting a separate language, these words, phrases and turns of speech, known as ''Huihui hua'' ({{lang|dng|回回話}}, "Hui speech"), served as markers of group identity.<ref name=g393/> As early 20th century travellers in Northwestern China would note, "the [[Mohammedan]] Chinese have to some extent a vocabulary and always a style and manner of speech, all their own".<ref>[[Owen Lattimore]], ''The Desert Road to Turkestan''. London, Methuen & Co, ca. 1928–1929. Page 196.</ref>

As the Dungans in the Russian Empire — and even more so in the Soviet Union — were isolated from China, their language experienced significant influence from the [[Russian language|Russian]] and the Turkic languages of their neighbors.

In the Soviet Union, a written standard of the Dungan language was developed, based on a dialect of the [[Gansu|Gansu Province]], rather than the Beijing base of [[Standard Chinese]]. The language was used in the schools in Dungan villages. In the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] time there were several school textbooks published for studying the Dungan language, a three volume Russian–Dungan dictionary (14,000 words), the Dungan–Russian dictionary, [[linguistics]] monographs on the language and books in Dungan. The first Dungan-language newspaper was established in 1932; it continues publication today in weekly form.

When [[Dru C. Gladney]], who had spent some years working with the Hui people in China, met with Dungans in [[Almaty]] in 1988, he described the experience as speaking "in a hybrid Gansu dialect that combined Turkish and Russian lexical items".<ref>Gladney, pp 33, 102</ref>

== Mutual intelligibility with Mandarin dialects ==
There is a varying degree of mutual intelligibility between Dungan and various Mandarin dialects. The [[Central Plains Mandarin]] varieties and [[Jin Chinese]] are both understood by Dungans. On the other hand, Dungan speakers like [[Iasyr Shivaza]] and others have reported that people who speak the [[Beijing dialect|Beijing Mandarin dialect]] can understand Dungan, but Dungans could not understand Beijing Mandarin.<ref name="notes">{{cite journal|first=Svetlana|last=Rimsky-Korsakoff Dyer|title=Soviet Dungan nationalism: a few comments on their origin and language|journal=Monumenta Serica|volume=33|year=1977|pages=349–362|doi=10.1080/02549948.1977.11745054}} p. 351.</ref>

== Geographical distribution ==
Dungan is spoken primarily in [[Kyrgyzstan]], with speakers in [[Russia]], [[Kazakhstan]] and [[Uzbekistan]] as well. The Dungan ethnic group are the descendants of refugees from China who migrated west into Central Asia.

According to the Soviet census statistics from 1970 to 1989, the Dungan maintained the use of their ethnic language much more successfully than other minority ethnic groups in Central Asia; however, in the post-Soviet period, the proportion of Dungans speaking the Dungan language as their native language appears to have fallen sharply.

{| style="margin: 3em auto 3em auto" class="wikitable sortable"
|+'''Dungan speakers by population'''
|-
! Year !! Dungan [[First language|L1]] !! Russian [[Second language|L2]] !! Total Dungan population !! Source
|-
! 1970
| 36,445 (94.3%) || 18,566 (48.0%) || 38,644 || [https://web.archive.org/web/20060903124153/http://www.hum.uit.no/a/trond/s70.html Soviet census]
|-
! 1979
| 49,020 (94.8%) || 32,429 (62.7%) || 51,694 || [https://web.archive.org/web/20060903124204/http://www.hum.uit.no/a/trond/s79.html Soviet census]
|-
! 1989
| 65,698 (94.8%) || 49,075 (70.8%) || 69,323 || [https://web.archive.org/web/20060903124216/http://www.hum.uit.no/a/trond/s89.html Soviet census]
|-
! 2001
| 41,400 (41.4%) || N/A || 100,000 || [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=dng Ethnologue]
|}

== Phonology ==
In basic structure and vocabulary, the Dungan language is not very different from [[Mandarin Chinese]], specifically a variety of [[Zhongyuan Mandarin]] (not Lan-Yin Mandarin) spoken in the southern part of the province of Gansu and the western part of the valley of [[Guanzhong]] in the province of [[Shaanxi]]. Like other [[Varieties of Chinese|Chinese varieties]], Dungan is [[Tone (linguistics)|tonal]]. There are two main dialects, one with 4 tones and the other, considered standard, with 3 tones in the final position in phonetic words and 4 tones in the nonfinal position.

=== Consonants ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+Consonant phonemes of Dungan
! colspan="2" |
![[Labial consonant|Labial]]
![[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
![[Retroflex consonant|Retroflex]]
!([[Alveolo-palatal consonant|Alveolo]]-)[[Alveolo-palatal consonant|<br>palatal]]
![[Velar consonant|Velar]]
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
|{{IPA link|m}}
|{{IPA link|n}}
|
|
|{{IPA link|ŋ}}
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Stop consonant|Stop]]
![[Tenuis consonant|{{small|voiceless}}]]
|{{IPA link|p}}
|{{IPA link|t}}
|
|
|{{IPA link|k}}
|-
![[Aspirated consonant|{{small|aspirated}}]]
|{{IPA link|pʰ}}
|{{IPA link|tʰ}}
|
|
|{{IPA link|kʰ}}
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Affricate consonant|Affricate]]
![[Tenuis consonant|{{small|voiceless}}]]
|
|{{IPA link|t͡s}}
|{{IPA link|ʈ͡ʂ}}
|{{IPA link|t͡ɕ}}
|
|-
![[Aspirated consonant|{{small|aspirated}}]]
|
|{{IPA link|t͡sʰ}}
|{{IPA link|ʈ͡ʂʰ}}
|{{IPA link|t͡ɕʰ}}
|
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
![[Voicelessness|{{small|voiceless}}]]
|{{IPA link|f}}
|{{IPA link|s̪|s}}
|{{IPA link|ʂ}}
|{{IPA link|ɕ}}
|{{IPA link|x}}
|-
![[Voice (phonetics)|{{small|voiced}}]]
| rowspan="2" |{{IPA link|v}}
|
|{{IPA link|ʐ}}
|{{IPA link|ʝ}}
|
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Approximant]]
|{{IPA link|l}}
|{{IPA link|ɻ}}
|
|
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:1em;text-align:center;"
|+ '''Consonant table with orthography'''
|-
! colspan="4" align="center" |[[Tenuis consonant|Unaspirated]]
|
! colspan="4" align="center" |[[Aspiration (phonetics)|Aspirated]]
|
! colspan="4" align="center" |[[Nasal stop|Nasal]]
|
! colspan="4" align="center" |[[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
|
! colspan="4" align="center" |[[Voice (phonetics)|Voiced]]
|-
!Cyrillic
!Latin
!Pinyin
!IPA
|
!Cyrillic
!Latin
!Pinyin
!IPA
|
!Cyrillic
!Latin
!Pinyin
!IPA
|
!Cyrillic
!Latin
!Pinyin
!IPA
|
!Cyrillic
!Latin
!Pinyin
!IPA
|-
!б
|b
|b
|{{IPAblink|p}}
|
!п
|p
|p
|{{IPAblink|pʰ}}
|
!м
|m
|m
|{{IPAblink|m}}
|
!ф
|f
|f
|{{IPAblink|f}}
|
!в
|v
|w
|{{IPAblink|v}}, {{IPAblink|w}}
|-
!д
|d
|d
|{{IPAblink|t}}
|
!т
|t
|t
|{{IPAblink|tʰ}}
|
!н
|n
|n
|{{IPAblink|n}}
|
!
|
|
|
|
!л
|l
|l
|{{IPAblink|l}}
|-
!з
|z
|z
|{{IPAblink|t͡s}}
|
!ц
|c
|c
|{{IPAblink|t͡sʰ}}
|
!
|
|
|
|
!с
|s
|s
|{{IPAblink|s}}
|
!р
| rowspan="2" |r
| rowspan="2" |r
|{{IPAblink|ɻ}}
|-
! rowspan="2" |җ
| rowspan="2" |j
|zh
|{{IPAblink|t͡ʂ}}
|
! rowspan="2" |ч
| rowspan="2" |ch
|ch
|{{IPAblink|t͡ʂʰ}}
|
!
|
|
|
|
!ш
| rowspan="2" |sh
|sh
|{{IPAblink|ʂ}}
|
!ж
|{{IPAblink|ʐ}}
|-
|j
|{{IPAblink|t͡ɕ}}
|
|q
|{{IPAblink|t͡ɕʰ}}
|
!
|
|
|
|
!щ
|x
|{{IPAblink|ɕ}}
|
!й
|y
|y
|{{IPAblink|ʝ}}
|-
!г
|g
|g
|{{IPAblink|k}}
|
!к
|k
|k
|{{IPAblink|kʰ}}
|
!ң
|ng
|ng
|{{IPAblink|ŋ}}
|
!х
|h
|h
|{{IPAblink|x}}
|
!
|
|
|
|}
*{{IPA|/ŋ/}} can also be heard as a voiced fricative {{IPA|[ɣ]}} among other Gansw dialects.
*{{IPA|/v/}} can be heard as {{IPA|[w]}} in the Şanşi dialects.

=== Vowels ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! rowspan="2" |Medial
! colspan="12" |Nucleus
|-
!{{IPA|∅}}
!{{IPA|a}}
!ɤ
!ɛ
!ɔ
!ʊ
!əj
!{{IPA|∅}}̃
!æ̃
!ɔ̃
!ʊ̃
!ɚ
|-
!{{IPA|∅}}
|ɨ
|a
|ɤ
|ɛ
|ɔ
|ʊ
|əj
|ə̃
|æ̃
|ɔ̃
|ʊ̃
|ɚ
|-
!j
|i
|ja
|je
|
|jɔ
|jɤw
|
|ĩ
|jɛ̃
|jɔ̃
|
|
|-
!w
|u
|wa
|wɤ
|wɛ
|wɔ
|u
|wəj, wɛj
|
|wæ̃
|wɔ̃
|ũ
|
|-
!ɥ
|y
|ɥa
|ɥe
|
|
|
|
|ỹ
|yɛ̃
|
|
|
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:1em;text-align:center;"
|+ '''Vowel table'''
|-
!Cyrillic
!Latin
!Pinyin
!IPA
|
!Cyrillic
!Latin
!Pinyin
!IPA
|
!Cyrillic
!Latin
!Pinyin
!IPA
|
!Cyrillic
!Latin
!Pinyin
!IPA
|-
!ы
|î
|i
|{{IPA|[ɨ]}}
|
!и
|i
|i
|{{IPA|[i]}}, {{IPA|[ɪi]}}
|
!ў
|û
|u
|{{IPA|[u]}}, {{IPA|[ɤu]}}
|
!ү
|ü
|ü, u
|{{IPA|[y]}}
|-
!а
|a
|a
|{{IPA|[a]}}
|
!я
|ia (ya)
|ia (ya)
|{{IPA|[ja]}}
|
!уа
|ua
|ua
|{{IPA|[wa]}}
|
!үa
|üa
|üa
|{{IPA|[ɥa]}}
|-
!ә
|ê
|e
|{{IPA|[ɤ]}}
|
!е
|ie (ye)
|{{Not a typo|ie}} (ye)
|{{IPA|[je]}}
|
!уә
|uê
|ue
|{{IPA|[wɤ]}}
|
!үә
|üe
|üe
|{{IPA|[ɥe]}}
|-
!э
|e
|ê, ai
|{{IPA|[ɛ]}}
|
!
|
|
|
|
!уэ
|ue
|uai
|{{IPA|[wɛ]}}
|
!
|
|
|
|-
!о
|o
|ao
|{{IPA|[ɔ]}}
|
!ё
|io (yo)
|iao (yao)
|{{IPA|[jɔ]}}
|
!уэй
|uei
|ui
|{{IPA|[wɛj]}}
|
!
|
|
|
|-
!ый
|îi
|ei
|{{IPA|[əj]}}
|
!
|
|
|
|
!уй
|ui
|wei
|{{IPA|[wəj]}}
|
!
|
|
|
|-
!у
|u
|ou
|{{IPA|[ʊ]}}
|
!ю
|iu (yu)
|iu (you)
|{{IPA|[jɤw]}}
|
!уо
|uo
|uo
|{{IPA|[wɔ]}}
|
!
|
|
|
|-
!ан
|an
|an
|{{IPA|[æ̃]}}
|
!ян
|ian (yan)
|ian (yan)
|{{IPA|[jɛ̃]}}
|
!уан
|uan
|uan
|{{IPA|[wæ̃]}}
|
!үан
|üan
|(j/q/x/y)üan
|{{IPA|[yɛ̃]}}
|-
!он
|on
|ang
|{{IPA|[ɔ̃]}}
|
!ён
|ion (yon)
|iang (yang)
|{{IPA|[jɔ̃]}}
|
!уон
|uon
|uang
|{{IPA|[wɔ̃]}}
|
!
|
|
|
|-
!ын
|în
|eng, en
|{{IPA|[ə̃~ɤ̃]}}
|
!ин
|in
|ing, in
|{{IPA|[ĩ]}}, {{IPA|[ɪĩ]}}
|
!ун
|un
|ong
|{{IPA|[ʊ̃]}}, {{IPA|[ʊə̃]}}
|
!үн
|ün
|iong, ün
|{{IPA|[ỹ]}}
|-
!эр
|er
|er
|{{IPA|[ɚ~əɻ]}}
|
!
|
|
|
|
!ўн
|ûn
|ung
|{{IPA|[ũ]}}
|
!
|
|
|
|}
*{{IPA|/ə˞/}} can be heard as {{IPA|[ɯ˞]}} in Kyrgyzstan.

Vowel constructs that can be used as independent syllable without consonants are shown in parentheses. There are [[rhotacised vowel]]s, as well as some syllables only seen in loan words from Russian, Arabic, Kyrgyz, etc., in addition to the above table.

=== Tones ===
Tones in Dungan are marked with nothing (tone 1), a [[ъ]] (tone 2) and [[ь]] (tone 3).<ref name="omniglot.com">{{Cite web|url=https://www.omniglot.com/chinese/dungan.htm|title=Dungan language, alphabet and pronunciation|website=www.omniglot.com|access-date=2019-11-18}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+ '''Tonal comparison between Dungan and Mandarin'''
|-
! rowspan="2" align="center" |[[Standard Chinese phonology#Tones|Standard Chinese tone number]]
! rowspan="2" align="center" |Dungan [[tone number]]
! rowspan="2" align="center" |[[Tone name]]
! colspan="2" align="center" |Dungan example
! colspan="2" align="center" |[[Chinese character]]
! colspan="2" align="center" |Gansu-Dungan
! colspan="2" align="center" |Shaanxi-Dungan
! colspan="2" align="center" |[[Standard Chinese]]
! rowspan="2" align="center" |References
|-
!Orthography
!IPA
!Orthography
!IPA
! align="center" |Pitch pattern
! align="center" |[[Tone contour]]
! align="center" |Pitch pattern
! align="center" |[[Tone contour]]
! align="center" |Pitch pattern
! align="center" |[[Tone contour]]
|-
| align="center" |1
| rowspan="2" align="center" |1
| align="center" |陰平<br>(yīnpíng)
| align="center" |хуа
|/xwǎ/
| align="center" |花
|/xwá/
| rowspan="2" align="center" |Rising
| rowspan="2" align="center" |{{IPA|˨˦}} (24)
| align="center" |Falling
| align="center" |{{IPA|˥˩}} (51)
| align="center" |High
| align="center" |{{IPA|˥}} (55)
| rowspan="2" |Standard Gansu-Dungan does not distinguish tone 1 and tone 2 only in the final position of phonetic words.
|-
| align="center" |2
| align="center" |陽平<br>(yángpíng)
| align="center" |хуа
|/xwǎ/
| align="center" |華
|/xwǎ/
| align="center" |Rising
| align="center" |{{IPA|˨˦}} (24)
| align="center" |Rising
| align="center" |{{IPA|˧˥}} (35)
|-
| align="center" |3
| align="center" |2
| align="center" |上聲<br>(shǎngshēng)
| align="center" |вə(ъ)
|/vɤ̂/
| align="center" |我
|/wò/
| align="center" |Falling
| align="center" |{{IPA|˥˩}} (51)
| align="center" |Falling
| align="center" |{{IPA|˥˧}} (53)
| align="center" |Low/dipping
| align="center" |{{IPA|˩, ˨˩˦}} (1, 214)
||
|-
| align="center" |4
| align="center" |3
| align="center" |去聲<br>(qùshēng)
| align="center" |чў(ь)
|/t͡ɕú/
| align="center" |去
|/t͡ɕŷ/
| align="center" |High
| align="center" |{{IPA|˦}} (44)
| align="center" |High
| align="center" |{{IPA|˦}} (44)
| align="center" |Falling
| align="center" |{{IPA|˥˨}} (52)
||Some syllables originating in tone 4 fall into tone 1 in modern Mandarin.
|-
| align="center" |0
| align="center" |0
| align="center" |輕聲
(qīngshēng)
| align="center" |зы
|/t͡sɨ/
| align="center" |子
|/t͡sɹ̩/
| align="center" |Short
| align="center" |Varies
| align="center" |Short
| align="center" |Varies
| align="center" |Short
| align="center" |Varies
||Actual pitch depends on the preceding syllable.
|}

== Writing system ==
{{main|Dungan alphabets}}

The modern Dungan language is the only Chinese language that is written in the Cyrillic alphabet, as they lived under Soviet rule. It is a Russian-based alphabet plus five additional letters: [[Ә]], [[Җ]], [[Ң]], [[Ў]] and [[Ү]]. As such, it differs from the [[Cyrillization of Chinese|Palladius System]] that is normally used in Russia to render Chinese in Cyrillic.

[[File:Dungan-books-2450.jpg|thumb|right|Books in Dungan or about Dungan (in Russian or English). Most of them were published in [[Bishkek|Frunze]], [[Kirghiz SSR]]
in the 1970s and 80s]]
[[Image:E8016-Milyanfan-museum.jpg|thumb|right|Bilingual sign in Dungan and Russian respectively, at the home of Soviet war hero {{ill|Mansuz Vanakhun|ru|Ванахун, Манзус}}]]
{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto;text-align:center;"
|+'''Modern Dungan alphabet and letter pronunciations'''
|-
! Cyrillic !! [[А]]/а !! [[Б]]/б !! [[В]]/в !! [[Г]]/г !! [[Д]]/д !! [[Е]]/е !! [[Ё]]/ё !! [[Ә]]/ә !! [[Ж]]/ж !! [[Җ]]/җ !! [[З]]/з !! [[И]]/и !! [[Й]]/й !! [[К]]/к
|-
| Name || a || бэ || вэ || гэ || дэ || e || ё || ә || жэ ||| җe ||| зэ ||| и || йи || кa
|-
| IPA || {{IPA|[a]}} || {{IPA|[pɛ]}} || {{IPA|[vɛ]}} || {{IPA|[kɛ]}} || {{IPA|[tɛ]}} || {{IPA|[je]}} || {{IPA|[jɔ]}} || {{IPA|[ɤ]}} || {{IPA|[ʐɛ]}} || {{IPA|[t͡ɕʲe]}} || {{IPA|[t͡sɛ]}} || {{IPA|[i]}} || {{IPA|[ʝi]}} || {{IPA|[kʰa]}}
|-
| Latin || a || be || ve || ge || de || ye || yo || ê || re || jie || ze || i || yi || ka
|-
! Cyrillic !! [[Л]]/л !! [[М]]/м !! [[Н]]/н !! [[Ң]]/ң !! [[О]]/о !! [[П]]/п !! [[Р]]/р !! [[С]]/с !! [[Т]]/т !! [[У]]/у !! [[Ў]]/ў !! [[Ү]]/ү !! [[Ф]]/ф !! [[Х]]/х
|-
| Name || эль || эм || эн || ың || o || пэ || эр || эc ||| тэ ||| у ||| ў || ү || эф || xa
|-
| IPA || {{IPA|[ɛlʲ]}} || {{IPA|[ɛm]}} || {{IPA|[ɛn]}} || {{IPA|[ɨŋ]}} || {{IPA|[ɔ]}} || {{IPA|[pʰɛ]}} || {{IPA|[əɻ]}} || {{IPA|[ɛs]}} || {{IPA|[tʰɛ]}} || {{IPA|[ʊw]}} || {{IPA|[u]}} || {{IPA|[y]}} || {{IPA|[ɛf]}} || {{IPA|[xa]}}
|-
| Latin || el || em || en || îng || o || pe || er || es || te || u || û || ü || ef || ha
|-
! Cyrillic !! [[Ц]]/ц !! [[Ч]]/ч !! [[Ш]]/ш !! [[Щ]]/щ !! [[Ъ]]/ъ !! [[Ы]]/ы !! [[Ь]]/ь !! [[Э]]/э !! [[Ю]]/ю !! [[Я]]/я
|-
| Name || цэ || чэ || шa || щa || нин xo || ы || ван xo || э ||| ю ||| йa
|-
| IPA || {{IPA|[t͡sʰɛ]}} || {{IPA|[t͡ʂʰɛ]}} || {{IPA|[ʂa]}} || {{IPA|[ɕa]}} || {{IPA|[nʲɪ̃ xɔ]}} || {{IPA|[ɨ]}} || {{IPA|[vã xɔ]}} || {{IPA|[ɛ]}} || {{IPA|[jʊw]}} || {{IPA|[ja]}}
|-
| Latin || ce || che || sha || sh(i)a || nin ho || î || van ho || e || yu || ya
|}
*The letters ъ and ь are only used to write Russian loanwords and tone markings on children's primers dictionaries.<ref name="omniglot.com" />{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=April 2025}}

Dungan is unique in that it is one of the few [[varieties of Chinese]] that is not normally written using [[Chinese characters]]. Though it may be seen written in Chinese characters, this writing system is now considered obsolete. Originally, the Dungan, as descendants of the [[Hui people|Hui]], wrote their language in an Arabic-based alphabet known as [[Xiao'erjing]]. The [[Soviet Union]] banned all Arabic scripts in 1925,<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Dietrich | first1 = Ayşe |title = Soviet and Post-soviet Language Policies in The Central Asian Republics and The Status of Russian | s2cid = 173988643 | journal = Ayk.gov.tr }}</ref> which led to a [[Latin script|Latin]] orthography based on [[Yañalif]]. The Latin orthography lasted until 1940, when the Soviet government [[Cyrillisation in the Soviet Union|promulgated]] the current [[Cyrillic script|Cyrillic]]-based system. Xiao'erjing is now virtually extinct in Dungan society, but it remains in limited use by some Hui communities in China.

The writing system is based on the standard 3-tone dialect. Tone marks or numbering do not appear in general-purpose writing, but are specified in dictionaries, even for [[loanword]]s. The tones are specified using the soft sign, hard sign, or none.

=== Comparison with Palladius system ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
![[Pinyin]]
![[Cyrillization of Chinese from pinyin|Palladiy]]
!Dungan
|
!Pinyin
!Palladiy
!Dungan
|
!Pinyin
!Palladiy
!Dungan
|
!Pinyin
!Palladiy
!Dungan
|-
!b
|б
|б
|
!p
|п
|п
|
!m
|м
|м
|
!f
|ф
|ф
|-
!d
|д
|д
|
!t
|т
|т
|
!n
|н
|н / л
|
!l
|л
|л
|-
!z
|цз
|з
|
!c
|ц
|ц
|
!s
|с
|с
|
|
|
|
|-
!j
|цз(ь)
|җ(ь)
|
!q
|ц(ь)
|ч(ь)
|
!x
|с(ь)
|щ(ь)
|
|
|
|
|-
!zh
|чж
|җ
|
!ch
|ч
|ч
|
!sh
|ш
|ш / с / ф
|
!r
|ж
|ж
|-
!g
|г
|г
|
!k
|к
|к
|
|
|
|
|
!h
|х
|х
|-
|}

== Grammar ==

=== Classifiers ===
{{Further|Chinese classifier}}

Chinese varieties usually have different [[Classifier (linguistics)|classifiers]] for different types of nouns, with northern varieties tending to have fewer classifiers than southern ones. {{lang|zh|{{linktext|個}}}} ({{IPA|dng|kə|}}) is the only classifier found in the Dungan language, though not the only [[measure word]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Yue |first=Anne O. |title=The Sino-Tibetan languages |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-7007-1129-1 |editor1-last=Thurgood |editor1-first=Graham |pages=84–125 |chapter=Chinese dialects: grammar |editor2-last=LaPolla |editor2-first=Randy J. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YlyuDQAAQBAJ&q=dunganese&pg=PT175}}</ref>

== Vocabulary ==
The [[basilect]]s of Gansu/Shaanxi Mandarin and Dungan are largely [[mutual intelligibility|mutually intelligible]]; Chinese journalists conversant in one of those Mandarin dialects report that they can make themselves understood when communicating with Dungan speakers. However, even at the level of basic vocabulary, Dungan contains many words not present in modern Mandarin dialects, such as [[Russian language|Russian]], [[Arabic language|Arabic]], [[Turkic languages|Turkic]], and [[Persian language|Persian]] [[loanwords]]. Svetlana suggests that the Arabic, Turkic and Persian influences are limited mostly to common personal names (such as [[Fatima]] and [[Mohamed|Mukhamed]]) and to days of the week. About 9% of Dungan words are Russian in origin.<ref name="notes" /> Furthermore, Dungan contains some archaic [[Qing dynasty]]-era Chinese vocabulary. Because of this, some Dungan vocabulary may sound archaic to Chinese people. For example, they refer to a President as an "[[Emperor of China|Emperor]]" (Хуаңды/皇帝, ''huan'g-di'') and call government offices ''[[yamen]]'' (ямын/衙門, ''ya-min''), a term for mandarins' offices in ancient China.<ref>{{cite news |date=2004-07-09 |title=The "Shaanxi Village" in Kazakhstan |url=http://en.chinabroadcast.cn/1857/2004-7-9/53@130293.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060424085207/http://en.chinabroadcast.cn/1857/2004-7-9/53@130293.htm |archive-date=2006-04-24 |publisher=China Radio International - CRIENGLISH.com}}</ref>

Furthermore, the [[acrolect]]s of Dungan and Gansu/Shaanxi Mandarin have diverged significantly due to time and cultural influences. During the 20th century, translators and intellectuals introduced many [[neologism]]s and [[calque]]s into the Chinese language, especially for political and technical concepts. However, the Dungan, cut off from the mainstream of Chinese discourse by orthographic barriers, instead borrowed words for those same concepts from Russian, with which they came into contact through government and higher education. As a result of these borrowings, the equivalent standard Chinese terms are not widely known or understood among the Dungan.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Mair |first=Victor |author-link=Victor H. Mair |date=May 1990 |title=Implications of the Soviet Dungan Script for Chinese Language Reform |url=http://www.pinyin.info/readings/texts/dungan.html |journal=Sino-Platonic Papers |issue=18}}</ref>

== Media ==
A number of books in the Dungan language, which includes textbooks, Dungan-Russian and Russian-Dungan dictionaries, a Dungan etymological dictionary, collections of folk tales, original and translated fiction, and poetry have been published in Kyrgyzstan. Usual print runs were no more than a few hundred copies. A newspaper in Dungan has been published as well.

Many literary works of Dungan poet [[Iasyr Shivaza]] have been translated into Russian, Standard Chinese and a number of other languages, with print runs in some of them been much higher than in the original Dungan. English translations of some of them, along with the original Dungan text, are available in the book by S. Rimsky-Korsakoff (1991).

== See also ==
* [[Cyrillization of Chinese]]

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
; General references
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite journal |given=Svetlana |surname=Rimsky-Korsakoff |author-link=Svetlana Rimsky-Korsakoff |title = Soviet Dungan: The Chinese language of Central Asia: alphabet, phonology, morphology |journal=Monumenta Serica |volume=26 |year=1967 |pages=352–421 |jstor=40725857 |doi = 10.1080/02549948.1967.11744973 }}
* Svetlana Rimsky-Korsakoff Dyer, ''[[Iasyr Shivaza]]: The Life and Works of a Soviet Dungan Poet''. 1991. {{ISBN|3-631-43963-6}}. (Contains a detailed bibliography and ample samples of Shivaza works', some in the original Cyrillic Dungan, although most in a specialized transcription, with English and sometimes standard Chinese translations).
* Olga I. Zavjalova. "Some Phonological Aspects of the Dungan Dialects." Computational Analyses of Asian and African Languages. Tokyo, 1978. No. 9. Pp.&nbsp;1–24. (Contains an experimental analysis of Dungan tones).
* Olga Zavyalova. “Dungan Language.” Encyclopedia of Chinese Language and Linguistics. General Editor Rint Sybesma. Vol. 2. Leiden–Boston: Brill, 2017. pp.&nbsp;141–148. 
* Hai Feng (海峰). 《中亚东干语言研究》 (''Zhongya Donggan yuyan yanjiu—A Study of the Dungan Language of Central Asia''.) Urumchi, 2003. {{ISBN|7-5631-1789-X}}. (Description of the Dungan language by a professor of Xinjiang University).
* {{cite book |title = Dungan–English Dictionary |last=Salmi |first=Olli |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-78869-154-3 |publisher = Eastbridge Books |location = Manchester, England }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Incubator|code= dng}}
*[http://www.pinyin.info/readings/texts/dungan.html "Implications of the Soviet Dungan Script for Chinese Language Reform"]: long essay on Dungan, with sample texts
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060425081258/http://www.omniglot.com/writing/dungan.htm Dungan writing system in Omniglot]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060424085207/http://en.chinabroadcast.cn/1857/2004-7-9/53@130293.htm The Shaanxi Village in Kazakhstan]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20081020191853/http://www.hum.uit.no/a/trond/sintr.html Soviet census data for mother tongue and second language, in English]
*[http://www.tsalo.fi/dungan/Dungan%20as%20Chinese%20Dialect.html Central Asian Dungan as a Chinese Dialect]
{{Sino-Tibetan languages}}
{{Languages of Kazakhstan}}
{{Languages of Kyrgyzstan}}
{{Chinese language}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dungan Language}}
[[Category:Dungan]]
[[Category:Mandarin Chinese]]
[[Category:Languages of Kyrgyzstan]]
[[Category:Languages of Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:Languages of Russia]]
[[Category:Languages of Tajikistan]]
[[Category:Languages of Uzbekistan]]
[[Category:Languages written in Cyrillic script]]
[[Category:Endangered languages of Asia]]
[[Category:Endangered languages of Tajikistan]]
[[Category:Endangered Sino-Tibetan languages]]