Manchu

About

NOTE: For the most updated version of this dictionary, please consult the following link: https://minibuleku.github.io/ Background - The following is an online dictionary created for Manchu (traditional script: ᠮᠠᠨᠵᡠ ᡤᡳᠰᡠᠨ), a Tungusic language spoken in China. At the time of this writing, the main editor of the dictionary, Jacob Kodner, is a third-year undergraduate student of linguistics at the University of California, Irvine. Self-taught and proficient in Mandarin, the editor touched base with Meng Rong Lu (孟荣路), from Chabchal County (察布查尔) via WeChat in April 2021. Meng Rong Lu, the primary linguistic correspondent for this project, is at the age of 43 years-old at the time of writing, and is a native speaker. He is also fluent in Mandarin Chinese—which was the language of communication between the collaborators. With respect to the Manchu language, the language is noted to be critically endangered by UNESCO, and there is an estimate of around 12 native speakers who are located in the Heilongjiang province of China (Meng Rong Lu, personal communication). A recent estimate puts the number of Manchu speakers in Xinjiang to be around 20,000 individuals. Those proficient in the language number around 500 individuals who are estimated to be at an average age of 75; those proficient in the script falls around 30 (Meng Rong Lu, personal communication). Due to the current status of Manchu, this dictionary was created with three objectives in mind for different audiences, which are outlined in (1)-(3) below: (1) For native speakers: to learn the written language (2) For non-native speakers: to learn the spoken and written language (3) For the academic community: to provide linguistic data for research purposes The specific structure of the dictionary’s entries—which are discussed in detail in the Methodology section—was created in order to address these objectives. For instance, the traditional Manchu script version of lexemes are provided to meet objective (1), and…

Grammar

Provisional Inventory Note: IPA transcriptions are based on the pronunciations of the primary linguistic correspondent. This inventory is therefore provisional, such that it is specific to this dictionary and is subject to change. ROMANIZATION IPA Vowels a /a/ ae /æ/ ai /aj/ aw /aw/ E /ə/ e /ɯ/ ei /ɯj/ ew /əɔ/ i /i/ o /ɔ/ oe /œ/ oi /oj/ u /u/ ui /uj/ w following consonant → /◌ʷ/ everywhere else → /w/ y following consonant → /◌ʲ/ everywhere else → /j/ ya /ja/ yaw /jaw/ ye /jə/ yew /jəw/ yo /jo/ yoe /jœ/ yu /jy/ ywa /ɥa/ Consonants b /b/ c preceding /i/ → /tɕ/ everywhere else → /ʈʂ/ d /d/ dz /ts/ f /f/ g /g/ G /ɢ/ h /χ/ j preceding /i/ → /dʒ/ everywhere else → /ɖʐ/ k /k/ l preceding consonant → /l/ everywhere else → /ɹ/ m /m/ n /n/ N /ŋ/ p /p/ q /q/ R /ʁ/ r /r/ s preceding /i/ → /ɕ/ everywhere else → /s/ t /t/ ts /tsʰ/ V /ɣ/ v /v/ x /x/ X /ʂ/ Z /ʐ/ z preceding /i/ → /ʑ/ everywhere else → /z/