Salar language

Salar is a Turkic language spoken by the Salar people, who mainly live in the provinces of Qinghai and Gansu in China; some also live in Ili, Xinjiang. It is a primary branch and an eastern outlier of the Oghuz branch of Turkic, the other Oghuz languages (Turkish, Azerbaijani, Turkmen) being spoken mostly in West-Central Asia. The Salar number about 105,000 people, about 70,000[7] (2002) speak the Salar language; under 20,000[7] monolinguals.

Salar
Salırça
撒拉语
Native toChina
RegionQinghai, Gansu
Native speakers
70,000 (2002)[1]
Turkish-based Latin and Chinese characters
Official status
Official language in
 China
Language codes
ISO 639-3slr
Glottologsala1264
ELPSalar[6]

According to Salar tradition and Chinese chronics, the Salars are the descendants of the Salur tribe, belonging to the Oghuz Turk tribe of the Western Turkic Khaganate. During the Tang dynasty, the Salur tribe dwelt within China's borders and lived since then in the Qinghai-Gansu border region.[8][9] Contemporary Salar has some influence from Chinese and Amdo Tibetan.

Status

The Salar language is the official language in all Salar autonomous areas.[5] Such autonomous areas are the Xunhua Salar Autonomous County and the Jishishan Bonan, Dongxiang and Salar Autonomous County.

Phonology

Salar phonology has been influenced by Chinese and Tibetan. In addition, /k, q/ and /ɡ, ɢ/ have become separate phonemes due to loanwords, as it has in other Turkic languages.[10]

Consonants[10]
Labial Dental Retroflex Alveolopalatal Velar Uvular Glottal
Plosive p b t d k ɡ q ɢ
Affricate t͡ʂ d͡ʐ t͡ɕ d͡ʑ
Fricative f (v) s z ʂ ɕ x ʁ h
Nasal m n
Approximant w l r j

Salar vowels are as in Turkish, with the back vowels /a, ɯ, o, u/ and the corresponding front vowels /e, i, ø, y/.[11]

Classification

Although Salar is an Oghuz language, it also received influence from other non-Oghuz Turkic languages like Chagatai,[12] Northwestern Turkic and Southeastern Turkic.[13]

Chinese and Tibetan influence

In Qinghai Province, the Salar language has a notable influence from Chinese and Tibetan.[14] Although of Turkic origin, major linguistic structures have been absorbed from Chinese. Around 20% of the vocabulary is of Chinese origin and 10% is also of Tibetan origin. Yet the official Communist Chinese government policy deliberately covers up these influences in academic and linguistics studies, trying to emphasize the Turkic element and completely ignoring the Chinese in the Salar language.[15] The Salar language has taken loans and influence from neighboring varieties of Chinese.[16] Vice versa, the neighboring variants of the Chinese language have also adopted loan words from the Salar language.[16]

In Qinghai Province, most Salar people speak both Qinghai Mandarin (Chinese) and Salar. Rural Salars can speak Salar more fluently while urban Salars often assimilate more into the Chinese-speaking Hui Muslim population.[17]

Dialects

The Qing Empire deported some Salars who belonged to the Jahriyya Sufi order to the Ili valley which is in modern-day Xinjiang. Today, a community of about four thousand Salars speaking a distinct dialect of Salar still live in Ili. Salar migrants from Amdo (Qinghai) came to settle the region as religious exiles, migrants, and as soldiers enlisted in the Chinese army to fight rebels in Ili, often following the Hui.[18] The distinctive dialect of the Ili Salar differs from the other Salar dialects because the neighboring Kazakh and Uyghur languages in Ili influenced it.[19] The Ili Salar population numbers around 4,000 people.[20] There have been instances of misunderstanding between speakers of Ili Salar and Qinghai Salar due to the divergence of the dialects.[21] The differences between the two dialect result in a "clear isogloss".[22]

Grammar

For the verb "to do" Salar uses "ät".[23] (compare Turkish et)

The participle miš is used by Salar.[24][25] (compare Turkish -mış)

In Ili Salar, the i and y high front vowels, when placed after an initial glides are spirantized with j transforming into ʝ.[26] Qinghai and Ili Salar have mostly the same consonantal development.[27]

Writing system

Salars mostly use Chinese for written purposes while using Salar language for spoken purposes.[28][29][30]

Salar hasn't had an official script, but it has sometimes been written down using the Arabic script.[31] Some Salar call for a Latin script and some Salar who dislike the Latin script desire to use Chinese characters instead.[32] This lack of an official script has led most Salar to use the Chinese writing system.[33] China offered the Salar an official writing system quite similar to the Uyghur Yengi Yezik, but it was rejected for similar reasons as Yengi Yezik was rejected in Xinjiang.

Young Salar have also started to use a Salar script based on the orthography for Turkic languages. It is quiet popular by Salars for writing Salar down on the internet. There are two main variants that are used, TB30 and TB31. Arabic script is also still popular among the Salar. The Arabic script has historical precedent among the Salar; centuries-old documents in the Salar language were written in the Arabic script when discovered.[34]

Grigory Potanin used the Cyrillic alphabet to record a glossary of Salar,[35][36][37] Western Yugur language and Eastern Yugur language[38][39][40][41] in his 1893 Russian language book The Tangut-Tibetan Borderlands of China and Central Mongolia with assistance from Vasily Radlov.[42]

William Woodville Rockhill wrote a glossary of Salar in his 1894 book Diary of a Journey through Mongolia and Tibet in 1891 and 1892 using the Latin alphabet based on the Wade–Giles romanization system used for Chinese.[42][43][44]

TB30

Aa Bb Cc Çç Dd Ee Ff Gg
Ğğ Hh İi Iı Kk Ll Mm Nn Ññ
Oo Öö Pp Qq Rr Ss Şş Tt
Uu Üü Yy Vv Zz

Pinyin-based Latin alphabet

A romanization of the Mengda dialect of Salar based on Pinyin has been developed, created by a Salar, Ma Quanlin, who lives in Xunhua.[45] Like Pinyin, which is used to romanize Mandarin Chinese, this Salar romanization is divided into categories of consonants and vowels.[45] Letters that occur both in Pinyin and romanization of Mengda Salar share the same sound values.[45]

consonants
PinyinIPAEnglish approximationExplanation
b[p]spitunaspirated p, as in spit
p[pʰ]paystrongly aspirated p, as in pit
m[m]mayas in English mummy
f[f]fairas in English fun
d[t]stopunaspirated t, as in stop
t[tʰ]takestrongly aspirated t, as in top
n[n]nayas in English nit
l[l]layas in English love
l/ð/thoseas in English the
g[k]skillunaspirated k, as in skill
g̲/ɣ/no equivalent in English"thicker and deeper" version of g
k[kʰ]kaystrongly aspirated k, as in kill
h[x]lochroughly like the Scots ch. English h as in hay or hot is an acceptable approximation.
j[tɕ]hatchNo equivalent in English. Like q, but unaspirated. Not the s in Asia, despite the common English pronunciation of "Beijing".
q[tɕʰ]cheekNo equivalent in English. Like cheek, with the lips spread wide with ee. Curl the tip of the tongue downwards to stick it at the back of the teeth and strongly aspirate.
x[ɕ]sheNo equivalent in English. Like she, with the lips spread and the tip of your tongue curled downwards and stuck to the back of teeth when you say ee.
zh[tʂ]junkRather like ch (a sound between choke, joke, true, and drew, tongue tip curled more upwards). Voiced in a toneless syllable.
ch[tʂʰ]churchas in chin, but with the tongue curled upwards; very similar to nurture in American English, but strongly aspirated.
sh[ʂ]shirtas in shoe, but with the tongue curled upwards; very similar to marsh in American English
r[ʐ], [ɻ]raySimilar to the English z in azure and r in reduce, but with the tongue curled upwards, like a cross between English "r" and French "j". In Cyrillised Chinese the sound is rendered with the letter "ж".
z[ts]readsunaspirated c, similar to something between suds and cats; as in suds in a toneless syllable
c[tsʰ]hatslike the English ts in cats, but strongly aspirated, very similar to the Czech and Polish c.
s[s]sayas in sun
y[j], [ɥ]yeaas in yes. Before a u, pronounce it with rounded lips.*
w[w]wayas in water.*
v[v]vitaminas in very.

Vowels
PinyinIPAForm with zero initialExplanation
a[ɑ]aas in "father"
o[ɔ](n/a)Approximately as in "office" in British accent; the lips are much more rounded.
e[ɯ̯ʌ], [ə]ea diphthong consisting first of a back, unrounded semivowel (which can be formed by first pronouncing "w" and then spreading the lips without changing the position of the tongue) followed by a vowel similar to English "duh". Many unstressed syllables in Chinese use the schwa [ə] (idea), and this is also written as e.
i[i]yilike English bee.
u[u]wulike English "oo"
ai[aɪ̯]ailike English "eye", but a bit lighter
ei[eɪ̯]eias in "hey"
ui[u̯eɪ̯]weias u + ei;
ao[ɑʊ̯]aoapproximately as in "cow"; the a is much more audible than the o
iu[i̯ɤʊ̯]youas i + ou
ie[i̯ɛ]yeas i + ê; but is very short; e (pronounced like ê) is pronounced longer and carries the main stress (similar to the initial sound ye in yet)
an[an]anas in "ban" in British English (a more open fronted a)
en[ən]enas in "taken"
in[in]yinas i + n
un[yn]yunas ü + n;
ang[ɑŋ]angas in German Angst (starts with the vowel sound in father and ends in the velar nasal; like song in some dialects of American English)
eng[əŋ]englike e in en above but with ng added to it at the back
ing[iŋ]yingas i + ng
ong[ʊŋ], [u̯əŋ]wengstarts with the vowel sound in book and ends with the velar nasal sound in sing; as u + eng in zero initial.

Notes
  1. Salar at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  2. Concise Encyclopedia of Languages of the World. Contributors Keith Brown, Sarah Ogilvie (revised ed.). Elsevier. 2010. p. 1109. ISBN 978-0080877754. Retrieved 24 April 2014.CS1 maint: others (link)
  3. Olson, James Stuart (1998). An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of China. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 297. ISBN 978-0313288531. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  4. Roos, Marti (1998). "Preaspiration in Western Yugur monosyllables". In Johanson, Lars (ed.). The Mainz Meeting: Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Turkish Linguistics, August 3–6, 1994. Turcologica Series. Contributor Éva Ágnes Csató. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 28. ISBN 978-3447038645. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  5. Martí, Fèlix; et al. (2005). Words and worlds: world languages review (illustrated ed.). Multilingual Matters. p. 123. ISBN 978-1-85359-827-2. Retrieved 2011-06-03.
  6. Endangered Languages Project data for Salar.
  7. Ethnologue.com :report for language code:slr
  8. Erdal, Marcel; Nevskaya, Irina, eds. (2006). Exploring the Eastern Frontiers of Turkic. Volume 60 of Turcologica Series. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. xi. ISBN 978-3447053105. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  9. "China's Minority Peoples - The Salars". Cultural-china.com. Cultural China. 2007–2014. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  10. Dwyer (2007:96)
  11. Dwyer (2007:121)
  12. Turkic Languages, Volumes 1–2. Harrassowitz Verlag. 1998. pp. 50, 55, 62. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  13. Johanson, Lars; Csató, Éva, eds. (1998). The Turkic Languages. Volume 60 of Turcologica Series (illustrated, reprint ed.). Taylor & Francis. p. 400. ISBN 978-0415082006. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  14. Johanson, Lars; Utas, Bo, eds. (2000). Evidentials: Turkic, Iranian and Neighbouring Languages. Volume 24 of Empirical approaches to language typology. Walter de Gruyter. p. 58. ISBN 978-3110161588. ISSN 0933-761X. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  15. William Safran (1998). William Safran (ed.). Nationalism and ethnoregional identities in China. Volume 1 of Cass series—nationalism and ethnicity (illustrated ed.). Psychology Press. p. 72. ISBN 978-0-7146-4921-4. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
  16. Raymond Hickey (2010). Raymond Hickey (ed.). The Handbook of Language Contact (illustrated ed.). John Wiley and Sons. p. 664. ISBN 978-1-4051-7580-7. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
  17. Dwyer (2007:90)
  18. Dwyer (2007:79)
  19. Boeschoten, Hendrik; Rentzsch, Julian, eds. (2010). Turcology in Mainz. Volume 82 of Turcologica Series. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 279. ISBN 978-3447061131. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  20. Dwyer (2007:77)
  21. Dwyer (2007:82)
  22. Dwyer (2007:86)
  23. Hickey, Raymond, ed. (2010). The Handbook of Language Contact (illustrated ed.). John Wiley & Sons. p. 665. ISBN 978-1405175807. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  24. Göksel, Aslı; Kerslake, Celia, eds. (2000). Studies on Turkish and Turkic Languages: Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Turkish Linguistics, Lincoln College, Oxford, August 12–14, 1998. Volume 46 of Turcologica Series (illustrated ed.). Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 201. ISBN 978-3447042932. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  25. Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, Volume 42, Issue 1. Magyar Tudományos Akadémia. 1988. pp. 248, 259, 260. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  26. Dwyer (2007:116)
  27. Dwyer (2007:212)
  28. Guo, Rongxing (2012). Understanding the Chinese Economies. Academic Press. p. 39. ISBN 978-0123978264. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  29. "The Salar Nationality". cultural-china.com. Cultural China. 2007–2014. Archived from the original on 23 September 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2013.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  30. "China's Minority Peoples – The Salars". cultural-china.com. Cultural China. 2007–2014. Archived from the original on 22 May 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2013.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  31. Ainslie Thomas Embree, Robin Jeanne Lewis (1988). Ainslie Thomas Embree (ed.). Encyclopedia of Asian history, Volume 4 (2 ed.). Scribner. p. 154. ISBN 978-0-684-18901-7. Retrieved 2011-01-01.(Original from the University of Michigan)
  32. William Safran (1998). William Safran (ed.). Nationalism and ethnoregional identities in China. Volume 1 of Cass series—nationalism and ethnicity (illustrated ed.). Psychology Press. p. 77. ISBN 978-0-7146-4921-4. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
  33. Thammy Evans (2006). Great Wall of China: Beijing & Northern China (illustrated ed.). Bradt Travel Guides. p. 42. ISBN 978-1-84162-158-6. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
  34. Dwyer (2007:91)
  35. Grigoriĭ Nikolaevich Potanin (1893). Tangutsko-Tibetskai͡a okraina Kitai͡a i TSentralnai͡a Mongolii͡a. pp. 1–.
  36. Григорий Николаевич Потанин (1893). Тангутско-Тибетская окраина Китая и Центральная Монголія: путешествіе Г.Н. Потанина 1884–1886. Тип. А.С. Суворина. pp. 426–.
  37. Григорий Николаевич Потанин (1893). Тангутско-Тибетская окраина Китая и Центральная Монголія: путешествіе Г.Н. Потанина 1884–1886. Том 2. Тип. А.С. Суворина. pp. 426–.
  38. "Yugurology". Archived from the original on October 5, 2003.
  39. Grigoriĭ Nikolaevich Potanin (1893). Tangutsko-Tibetskai͡a okraina Kitai͡a i TSentralnai͡a Mongolii͡a.
  40. Григорий Николаевич Потанин (1893). Тангутско-Тибетская окраина Китая и Центральная Монголія: путешествіе Г.Н. Потанина 1884–1886. Том 2. Тип. А.С. Суворина.
  41. Григорий Николаевич Потанин (1893). Тангутско-Тибетская окраина Китая и Центральная Монголія: путешествіе Г.Н. Потанина 1884–1886. Тип. А.С. Суворина.
  42. https://web.archive.org/web/20120316172207/http://altaica.ru/LIBRARY/POPPE/poppe_salar.pdf
  43. William Woodville Rockhill (1894). Diary of a Journey Through Mongolia and Tibet in 1891 and 1892. Smithsonian Institution. pp. 373–376.
  44. Rockhill, W. W., 1892. "[letter from W. W. Rockhill]". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 598–602. JSTOR 25197112.
  45. MA Quanlin; MA Wanxiang & MA Zhicheng (December 1993). Kevin Stuart (ed.). "Salar Language Materials" (PDF). Sino-Platonic Papers. Number 43: 3. Retrieved September 30, 2012.

Sources
  • Hahn, R. F. 1988. Notes on the Origin and Development of the Salar Language, Acta Orientalia Hungarica XLII (2–3), 235–237.
  • Dwyer, A. 1996. Salar Phonology. Unpublished dissertation University of Washington.
  • Dwyer, A. M. 1998. The Turkic strata of Salar: An Oghuz in Chaghatay clothes? Turkic Languages 2, 49–83.[1][2][3]
  • Dwyer, Arienne M (2007). Salar: A Study in Inner Asian Language Contact Processes; Part 1: Phonology. Harrassowitz Verlag. ISBN 978-3-447-04091-4.

References
  1. Johanson, Lars; Utas, Bo, eds. (2000). Evidentials: Turkic, Iranian and Neighbouring Languages. Volume 24 of Empirical approaches to language typology. Walter de Gruyter. p. 59. ISBN 978-3110161588. ISSN 0933-761X. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  2. Yakup, Abdurishid (2005). The Turfan Dialect of Uyghur. Volume 63 of Turcologica Series (illustrated ed.). Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 479. ISBN 978-3447052337. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  3. Johanson, Lars; Utas, Bo, eds. (2000). Evidentials: Turkic, Iranian and Neighbouring Languages. Volume 24 of Empirical approaches to language typology. Walter de Gruyter. p. 59. ISBN 978-3110161588. ISSN 0933-761X. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
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