Kalmyk-Oirat

Facts

  • Language: Kalmyk-Oirat
  • Alternate names: Kalmyk, West Mongolian, Xal‘mg keln, Kalmuk, Kalmuck, Kalmack, Qalmaq, kalmytskii jazyk, Khal:mag, Oirat, Volga Oirat, European Oirat, Western Mongolian, Weilate, Xinjiang Mongolian, Western Mongol, Oiratisch, Kalmückisch, Western Mongul, Xal'maq, Calmucki, Хальмг келн, калмыцкий язык
  • Language code: xal
  • Language family: Mongolic-Khitan, Mongolic, Eastern Mongolic, Khalkha-Buriat, Mongolian
  • Number of speakers: 323,857
  • Vulnerability: Vulnerable
  • Script: Cyrillic script, adopted in 1924, used in Russia and Mongolia. Mongolian script, Todo style, used in China.

More information:

    The modern literary language is mainly based on the Torgut dialect, though it incorporates a large number of concessions to Dörböt. Buddhist (Lamaist).

    Note that Spoken Oirat and Written Oirat (aka Clear script /Todo Bichig, which is based on Mongolic scripts and was designed by a Buddhist monk in 1648) are different. And "Kalmyk and Xinjiang Oirat are mutually intelligible to a great extent." (Elena Indjieva 2009:6)