One language behind two different scripts

Mongolian is used both in Mongolia and in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in China. The differences between Mongolian based on the Khalkha dialect in Mongolia, and Modern Written Mongolian used in China are conditional according to the different dialects they are based on. Although the two varieties of the Mongolian language are not significant different, there are still observable discrepancies in terms of phonetics, morphosyntax and lexicon. 

Different scripts are used to represent the Mongolian language. Traditional Mongolian script is derived from Uighur script (ultimately originating from the Aramaic script), which is still used by the Mongols in Inner Mongolia, China, however, the script itself has undergone some minor changes. In comparison, the Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet, known as Cyrillic Mongolian, has been used in Mongolia since 1941. Nowadays, Traditional Mongolian Script is used in Mongolia only on a restricted scale but is gaining in popularity. 

About the speaker

Dr Tana Wu is currently working as a lecturer at the School of Linguistic Sciences and Arts, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou city, China. She received her doctorate in Linguistics at the University of Auckland, New Zealand in 2019. She studied at Beijing International Studies University, China, and obtained a Master of Arts Degree, majoring in Linguistics. She is fluent in Mongolian, Mandarin and English with some knowledge of Japanese.