Moghol language

Moghol (or Mogholi; ) is a critically endangered and possibly extinct Mongolic language spoken in the province of Herat, Afghanistan, in the villages of Kundur and Karez-i-Mulla. The speakers were the Moghol people, who numbered 2,000 members in the 1970s. They descend from the Mongol army of Genghis Khan who conquered Afghanistan (then part of the Khwarazmian Empire) in the 13th century.

In the 1970s, when the German scholar Michael Weiers did fieldwork on the language, few people spoke it, most knew it passively and most were older than 40. It is unknown if there are still speakers of the language, and it is listed as dormant by Ethnologue.

The language has been strongly influenced by Persian in its phonology, morphology and syntax, causing Weiers to state that it has the appearance of a "true Inner Asian creole language". !! Modern Mongolian

| 1 || one || nikah ~ nika/n || *nike/n || neg

| 2 || two || qeyår ~ qiar || *koxar ~ *koyar || khoyor

| 3 || three || ghorbån ~ qurban || *gurba/n || gurav

| 4 || four || dorbån ~ durba/n || *dörbe/n || döröv

| 5 || five || tåbun ~ tabun || *tabu/n || tav

| 6 || six || åsun ~ essun ~ jurghan ~ shish || *jirguxa/n || zurgaa

| 7 || seven || dålån ~ húft || *doluxa/n || doloo

| 8 || eight || sålån ~ húshtu || *na(y)ima/n || naym

| 9 || nine || tåsån ~ no || *yersü/n || yös

| 10 || ten || arbån ~ arban ~ dá|| *xarba/n || arav

Sample

Weiers noted down the following poem by the Moghol poet Abd Al-Qadir.

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Weiers' Moghol text:

English translation from Weiers' German:

</div>

Another Moghol poem or song of Abd Al-Qadir written in Arabic alphabet (from Weiers):

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Weiers' Moghol text:

English translation from Weiers' German:

</div>

Moghol language

Sample

See also

Notes

Further reading