Henan Oirat: a shrinking pool of unique linguistic features

Abstract

AbstractHenan Oirat is a severely endangered dialect of the Mongolian language spoken by only a handful of individuals in Henan Mongol Autonomous County (MAC), the southernmost of Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture’s (TAP) four counties. Over 90 % of Henan’s population is registered as belonging to the Mongol ethnic group, however the most widely used language in the county is Amdo Tibetan. The predecessors of the Henan Oirats were a part of Güüshi Khan’s Oirat Mongols, commonly referred to as Deed Mongols, who came to Qinghai in the seventeenth century. The investigation of the history and language of the Henan Oirats, however, is inseparable from the history and language of the numerous groups of Mongols who had lived in the region prior to Güüshi’s Oirats. I believe these groups could not have left the region before the Oirats’ arrival without leaving any traces. For this reason, I think it is essential to dwell a little upon the Mongol groups that have lived in Qinghai and to clarify the origin of the Henan Oirats.