The Mongolian Education, Language, and Numeral System

Andrew Romine

Period 4

History of Education

Originally, only Buddhist monks Higher education was only available in cities Philosophy, doctrine, and protocol of Buddhism

were taught

Chinese Collapse

Secular education began after 1911 China collapsed at this time

Mongolian languages began to be used for teaching Only 47 enrollees in

Yihe Huree in 1912

Development

Although 55% of party members were illiterate, things were progressing

2.7% of children were in secular schools 13% were in monastery schools 1968 was the first time that all adults were

considered literate 20% of the state budget was towards

education

Further Education

Many Mongolians had to travel to the Soviet Union or Eastern Europe for higher level schooling

Many children did not choose to do this

Current Education Many children do not make it through primary

school It is difficult to educate nomadic children Mongolians believe that a woman’s job is to

care for the family and the man’s is to run the herd

Mostly boys drop

out of school

Basic Language History Mongolian is a subfamily of Altaic

Altaic is mostly spoken in Asia The language is named for the Altai Shan, where

some believe it originated

Discovery of Turkic

Johann von Strahlenberg, a Swedish officer, realized the link between Turkic, Mongolian, and Manchu-Tungus

Sub-languages

Two main language groups: Western and Eastern Western languages are Oryat and Kalmyk Eastern Languages are Buryat and Mongol There are some outlying

languages but they have

no written language

Early Mongolian

A unified Mongolian language was recreated by linguists Unsure of origin Appeared to be spoken in the 12th century

Middle Mongolian

Middle Mongolian was used from 13th to 16th century Spread by Genghis Khan Outlying Mongolian languages were created from

conquest and destruction

Written Text

Written Text began in the 13th century This was the beginning of the pre-classical

period

Classical Period

The Classical Period was from the

17th to 18th century Ushered in by

Buddhism

Modern Mongolian

Modern Mongolian languages have been used since the 17th century

Lost many archaic features present in outlying languages

Full Written Text

It was not until the 19th century that the modern Mongolian languages (Buryat, Mongol, Oryat, and Kalmyk) gained a written text

Famous Mongolian

Many people enjoy Mongolian custom and language

Some famous movies are: Prince Tsogt, 1948 State of Dogs, 1998 The Story of the Weeping Camel, 2003

Basic Mongolian Numerals

Mongolian Numerals are most likely based on of Tibetan script

Mongolian numerals are only used on the tögrög banknotes In Mongolia, the Chinese numeral system is used The Chinese numbers, as well as Mongolian

numerals, correspond to the Arabic number system