Language and Social Changes in Buryat Ethnic Group of Tsagaan Uur Soum, Khuvsgul Province, Mongolia

Author: Batkhishig Sangidorj, Dashdejid Sukhbaatar (National University of Mongolia)
Speaker: Batkhishig Sangidorj
Topic: Ethnographical Language Work
The GLOCAL CALA 2022 Poster Session

Abstract

“In August 2021, We conducted field research in Tsagaan Uur soum on the northern border of Khuvsgul province, Mongolia (this research has received funding from the project (P2020-3951) supported by the National University of Mongolia). The research examines the language, cultural and social changes of the local Buryat ethnic group and the effects of Mongolian history, social structure, migration, and settlement. The Buryats are considered as the majority ethnic group of Tsagaan Uur soum, although as a result of intermarriages with other ethnic groups such as Tuva, Darkhad, and Khalkha, and most Buryat families are now of mixed ethnicity. We met with Buryat families who only married within their ethnic group and discovered their history of ancestry, language, and cultural elements. Their language has become influenced by the language of Mongolia’s ethnic majority group Khalkhas and changed more compared to Buryats those in other places, but many of their cultural elements have preserved its Buryat heritage.

Keywords: Buryat ethnic group, History, Language, Cultural element, Religion, Shamanism, Buddhism, Endangered language