Tuha language

Tuha
Uighur Uryangkhai, Khövsgöl Uryangkhay
Tuha
Pronunciation[tuʰha]
[tuˤha]
Native toMongolia
RegionTsagaan-Üür, Khövsgöl
Ethnicity600 Tuha (Urianghai)
Native speakers
<10 (2019)
Turkic
Dialects
  • Soyt
  • Arig Urianghai
  • Övör Širkheten
  • Görööčin Urianghai
Language codes
ISO 639-3None (mis)
Glottologtuha1234
ELPTuha
Khövsgöl Uryangkhay is classified as Critically Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

Tuha, also called Uighur Uryangkhai and Khövsgöl Uryangkhay, is a moribund variety of Tofa or an independent language spoken east of Lake Khövsgöl in northern Mongolia by less than 10 people. Even though it was taught in schools during the 1970s, during which it was investigated by the Mongolian linguist Luvsandorjiyn Bold, it is now nearly extinct.

Classification

Tuha is a member of the Sayan Turkic branch of Siberian Turkic. It has preserved archaic features lost elsewhere in Sayan Turkic. According to Juha Janhunen, it is best classified as a language for taxonomic purposes and language revitalization. According to Elisabetta Ragagnin, Tuha shares isoglosses with Tofa, Altai and Old Turkic.

It is believed that the Tuha originally were Soyots that separated from them around 400 years ago.[citation needed]

Phonology

Vowels

Tuha vowels
Front Central Back
Close i ɨ u
Mid e o
Open a

Consonants

The nasal palatal approximant [j̃] occurs in Tuha, as with all other Taiga Sayan languages. For example, the words añaq 'cup' (<Mongolian: аяга), ñaš 'tree' (<*ɨɣaš), mɨñaq~mɨyaq 'dung', ñaaq 'chin, jaw', ñeŋ 'anus', and yaa~ñaa 'new' have it.

Vocabulary

In the 1970s, Tuha took over 30% of its vocabulary from Mongolian. This can be seen from the word for böhkčinǝ ~ böhkčino 'wolf', which seems to come from the Mongolian word börte činō 'blue-grey wolf'. Tuha also has preserved the archaic features of Sayan Turkic that are not documented in the other Sayan Turkic languages.

Where Tuha has the word keeš- /keeǰir/ 'to say', in Tofa this word is far more limited in usage, and is used only relating to marriage arrangements (cf. Tofa heešken qɨs 'bride).

Notes

  1. ↑ [ɪ] is an allophone of [i].
  2. ↑ [ɑ], [ɔ] are allophones.
  3. ↑ [ʊ] is an allophone.
  4. ↑ [ɛ] is an allophone.
  5. ↑ May be pronounced as [a] in first syllables.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Elisabetta Ragagnin (2018). A Turcological gem: The Tuhan language of Northern Mongolia. Vol. 22. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 "A preliminary archive of language and cultural material from the Tuhan people of northern Mongolia | Endangered Languages Archive". www.elararchive.org. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  3. ↑ UNESCO Interactive Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger Archived 22 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  4. 1 2 Ragagnin, Elisabetta (2009). "A rediscovered low-land Tofan variety. Turkic Languages 13, 225-245". Turkic Languages.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Eriksson, Tom. On the Phonology and Morphology of the Taiga-Sayan Tuha Language. The 4th International Turkish Research Symposium.
  6. ↑ Peter Piispanen (2020). BLAŽEK, V. Altaic Languages–History of research, survey, classification, and a sketch of comparative grammar, in collaboration with M. SCHWARZ and O. SRBA. p. 271. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  7. ↑ Tom Eriksson; Juha Janhunen (2015). "On the Limnonyms Khövsgöl and Kosogol and their Ethnic Implications". Studia Etymologica Cracoviensia. 20: 90. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
  8. ↑ "Tuha". ELP. Retrieved 22 December 2025. During the Soviet era Tuha was taught in the village school and was investigated by Mongolian linguist Luvsandorjiyn Bold in the 1970s.
  9. ↑ "Did you know Tuha is critically endangered?". Endangered Languages. Retrieved 2024-12-04.
  10. ↑ Ragagnin, Elisabetta (2022). "Further notes on Mongolic elements in Uyghur-Uriankhay (Tuhan)". Türkçe ve Moğolca Çalışmaları Sempozyumu. Istanbul: 72.