Learning Mongolian

I'm not sure how, but I'm finding the Mongolian language to be rather simple to pick up. Dan and Tina were quickly able to get the grammar, since they know Japanese fluently, and the grammar is the same. Most people have had a particular problem with pronunciation. This, I have found to be the easiest part.

I should mention, that some of the staff have been taking Mongolian lessons for the past 3 weeks, for 1.5 hours each Thursday. The teacher is the Mongolian language teacher for the school. We felt it appropriate to give 1000 tugrug ($0.85) per person, per lesson. The school was trying to force Ganaa into doing it for free, so we just pay her under the table.

The other day, Ganaa was talking to some of the T.A.s and told them that my pronunciation is very clean and surprisingly good. Considering the closest languages to Mongolian are Hungarian and Finnish (both of which were highly influenced by Chinngis Khaan's Westward advancement), I don't know how I'm understanding it so well.

I have also learned the whole alphabet now, and it is pretty common to see/hear me just reading random Mongolian words. I often check with the nearest Mongolian (usually one I know) to check that I have pronounced it correctly. About 98% of the time, I'm told that it was just right. It helps that the language is mostly phonetic. I also practice my spelling. I often spell the names of my students on the board while the class is settling back down after lunch. There are a few things that should be mentioned about the Mongolian alphabet. First, it is NOT the Cyrillic alphabet, only based on it. The Cyrillic alphabet has 33 letters, Mongolian has 35. Second, some of the letters are extremely hard to write, so they Mongolians have a lazy way of writing them. Third, some letters have no sound. Fourth, the letters that look the same as those in English don't always get pronounced like their English counterparts. The differences and similarities are something like this:

Mongolian letter Pronunciation
Aa A (like in cat)
Бб B
Bв V
Гг G (like in gear)
Дд D looks like a triangle in handwriting
Ee Ye (like in yellow)
Ёё Yaw
Жж J (like in jury)
Зз Dz (the emphasis is on the z, so that the d is almost inaudible)
just saying Z is acceptable it seems
Ии I (like in in) also can be E (like in green)
Йй This is "hagusee" - and technically sounds like I as well, but it changes
the sound of whatever vowel it follows (it always follows a vowel)
Kk K
Лл Lsh (the SH is very slight, and said like someone with a lisp would
say it)
Mм M
Hн N
Oo Aw (like in claw)
Өө (supposed to look like an O/o with a horizontal line through it)
O (like in Go, but with a slightly longer O)
Пп P
Pр R (with a slight SH at the end, like in Л)
Cc S
Tт T
Уy This is a combination between O and oo
YY Oo (like in bruise)
Фф F
Xx Kh - this is more of an H than a K, the K part is like you have a wad of
phlegm you need to clear out of your throat, but it is done very
quickly
Цц Ts - mostly an S, but tongued like you would if playing a trumpet
This is the hardest sound to make
Чч Ch (like in change)
Шш Sh
Щщ Shch
Ъ This letter has no sound - it's kind of like a space... I don't get it
Ыы E (like in green) - I haven't figured out the difference
Ь Also, no sound - more of a change in intonation
Ээ E (like in beg)
Юю You (like in you)
Яя Yah (said emphatically)

Just thought You would like to know.