mongolische

Mongolic languages, known in German as mongolische Sprachen, form a distinct language family spoken across Mongolia, Inner Mongolia (China), and parts of Russia, with several smaller communities in Central Asia. The family includes Mongolian (the major language of Mongolia), Buryat, Kalmyk, Oirat, Dagur, and Dongxiang, as well as Moghol of Afghanistan, now nearly extinct. These languages are historically connected through common phonology, grammar, and lexicon.

Classification is debated. Most linguists treat Mongolic as a separate family, though its relationship to other East Asian language groups—such as Turkic, Tungusic, or Koreanic—in broader macro-family proposals is contested. The mainstream view places Mongolic as its own branch with internal diversification.

Linguistic features include agglutinative morphology with extensive suffixation, subject–object–verb word order, and vowel harmony in several languages. The consonant and vowel inventories vary by branch, and the languages typically express tense, aspect, mood, evidentiality, and case through a system of suffixes. Dialects differ considerably in phonology and lexicon.

Writing systems vary by language and region. The traditional Mongolian script is vertical and derived from Uyghur script. In Mongolia, Mongolian Cyrillic is widely used, while in Inner Mongolia the traditional script remains common. Kalmyk and Buryat Cyrillic are prevalent in Russia; Dongxiang uses an Arabic-based script. Some languages preserve historic scripts or have revival movements.

Geographic distribution and speakers: Mongolian and Khalkha are among the most populous, with hundreds of thousands of speakers in Russia (Buryatia, Kalmykia) and smaller communities in China and Central Asia. The Mongolic family also includes several endangered languages with varying vitality.