Ruanruan (Chinese: 蠕蠕; also called Rouran) is an unclassified extinct language of Mongolia and northern China, spoken in the Rouran Khaganate from the 4th to the 6th centuries AD, considered a likely early precursor to Mongolic.[1]

Peter A. Boodberg claimed in 1935 that the Ruanruan language was Mongolic by analysing Chinese transcriptions of Ruan-ruan names.[2] Atwood (2013) notes that Rourans calqued the Sogdian word pūr "son" into their language as *k’obun (Chinese transliteration: 去汾 MC *kʰɨʌ^H-bɨun > Mandarin qùfén); which, according to Atwood, is cognate with Middle Mongol kö'ün "son".[3] Alexander Vovin noted that Old Turkic had borrowed some words from an unknown non-Altaic language that might have been Ruan-ruan,[4] arguing that if so, the language would be non-Altaic language, unrelated to its neighbours and possibly a language isolate, though evidence was scant.[2] In 2019, with the emergence of new evidence through the analysis of the Brāhmī Bugut and Khüis Tolgoi, Vovin changed his view, suggesting Ruan-ruan was, in fact a Mongolic language, close but not identical to Middle Mongolian.[1] Pamela Kyle Crossley (2019) wrote that the Rouran language itself has remained a puzzle, and leading linguists consider it a possible isolate.[5]

Phonology

Features of Ruan-ruan included:[2]

• no mid vowels
• presence of initial l-
• final consonantal cluster -nd unusual for any "Altaic" languages

Morphology

Ruan-ruan had the feminine gender suffix -tu-.[2]

Lexicon

Ruan-ruan vocabulary included:[2][1]

• küskü – 'rat'
• ud – 'ox'
• luu – 'dragon' < Middle Chinese luŋ – 'dragon'
• yund – 'horse' < Old Turkic: 𐰖𐰆𐰣𐱃, romanized: yunt - 'horse'[6]
• laγzïn – 'pig'
• qaγan – 'emperor'
• qan – 'khan'
• qaγatun – 'empress'
• qatun – 'khan's wife'
• aq – 'dung'
• and – 'oath' < Old Turkic: 𐰦, romanized: ant 'oath'
• beg – 'elder'
• bitig – 'inscription'
• bod – 'people'
• drö – 'law'
• küǰü – 'strength' < Old Turkic: 𐰚𐰇𐰲, romanized: küč 'strength, power'
• ordu – 'camp'
• tal- – 'to plunder'
• törö – 'to be born'
• türǖg – 'Turk'

References