Suggested Readings on Mongolia - Dictionaries

by Christopher Kaplonski and Oliver Corff

In the original SROM, I intentionally left out dictionaries. As an 'appendix' to the list, here are a few. I am only including those that I have personal experience with. This, like SROM, is not intended to be complete. I have found that a good Russian-English dictionary helps, even if you don't know Russian. I've occasionally come across Russian terms not found in any other dictionary.

Oliver Corff (OC):

With regard to the phenomenon that many of those engaged or interested in Mongol studies already speak one or the other Asian language I added some dictionaries in Russian, Chinese and Japanese to this list. While many of those dictionaries are out of print they do form in fact what may be called a standard stock at many unversity libraries. I did not include some of the older well known dictionaries (like the one by I. J. Schmidt) since these dictionaries are either not so helpful when it comes to master one's first steps in Mongolian or they are not really available any more.

• Cäwäl, Ya.: Mongol Xälniï Towq Taïlbar Tol'. Ulaanbaatar 1966. This Mongolian-Mongolian dictionary has been out of print for a while but it can be considered the only Mongolian reference on contemporary Cyrillic Mongolian. It features about 30,000 entries and gives equivalents in Classical script. My only objection to it is that it does not have an index to the Classical forms. The vocabulary is explained exhaustively. Some definitions need slight corrections (the socio-political approach to compiling dictionary definitions has changed slightly with time) but this should not be an obstacle to the serious student of the Mongolian language. Cäwäl's son, C. Shagdarsürän, has finished preparing a new edition of this dictionary at the moment (August 1996) but it is not clear when this will appear. (OC)
• Hangin, John: A concise English-Mongolian dictionary. Bloomington: Indiana University, 1970. Unfortunately, I believe this is the only English-Mongolian dictionary around. (At least that you can get your hands on easily.) I say unfortunately because I've found that many of the words used are not those in curent usage in Mongolia. It's best to check a Mongolian-English dictionary to make sure it's the right word. About 10,000 words. There is also a version of this that gives the words in Mongol bicig. (CK)
• Legrand, Jacques, Tsegmidijn Sükhbaatar: Dictionnaire Mongol-Françla;ais. L'Asiathèque, 1992. This is a small handy pocket volume with around 10000 to 12000 entries (as far as I remember). Its major feature is a glyph index which allows easy searching for words with ambiguous reading in the Classical script. (OC)
• Lessing, F.: Mongolian-English dictionary. Bloomington: Indiana Univ., 1973. Unfortunately, out of print. A classic, if a bit cumbersome to use. The main entries are in script, but there's a Cyrillic index as well. Very good (a must, in fact) for working with things like Buddhist texts. Tends to have older words that Hangin doesn't have. The original version (from UC Berkeley) is even better -- the Indiana version is reduced in size -- very difficult on the eyes. (CK)
• Luwsandändäw, A: Mongol-Oros Tol'. Moskwa 1957. This Mongol- Russian dictionary is the forerunner of all Modern (Cyrillic) Mongolian dictionaries. It is a base for Cäwäl and many of the later dictionary compilers of various languages. It is an extremely suitable source for sociology, politics, economy and related fields. (OC)
• A modern Mongolian-English dictionary. Bloomington: Indiana University, 1986. A good solid Cyrillic Mongolian dictionary. Has over 25,000 key words. This tends to be my first reference. Fairly contemporary -- I think it's the most up to date. Still in print. Contact the Mongolia Society. (CK)
• Öbür mongGol-un yäkä surGaGuli-yin mongGol kälä bicig sudulxu tasuG nayiraGulba: mongGol kitad toli. Öbür mongGol 1977. The Mongol-Chinese dictionary compiled by Inner Mongol University has been long out of print but can be found in all major libraries. In my eyes it is a *must* for those who have a knowledge of Chinese since its Mongol vocabulary is very rich and contains both classical and religious vocabulary (e.g. Sanskrit zodiac names used in Mongolian) as well as modern Chinese loans. It offers also an insight into the regional differences between the major dialect forms which can be most conveniently veryfied by the plant and animal names. (OC)
• Ozawa Shigeo: Gendai Mongorugo Jiten. Orqin Ueiïn Mongol-Yapon Xälniï Towq Tol'. Tokyo 1984. This Mongolian- Japanese dictionary was compiled by one of the leading Japanese authorities in Mongolian studies, Sh. Ozawa. It is based on Cäwäl's and Luwsandändäw's dictionaries, offers about 25,000 key words (with a total of 50,000 entries as this dictionary contains many derived words, phrases and examples) and has many features missing in most of the other dictionaries. Ozawa indicates the stem-suffix boundary of verbs, the origin of loans and last but not least at all includes also a tiny (ca. 6,000 entries) Japanese-Mongol glossary in the appendix. He also gives transliterated Classical script equivalents for most of the words but here some differences with other dictionaries can occasionally be observed. This is in fact no objection against this dictionary since there is nothing like an orthographic standard for Classical Mongolian. (OC)
• Rasidungrub: suruGci-yin mongGol kälän-u toli. Öbür mongGol 1988. This Learner's Dictionary of the Mongol Language is in a way comparable to Cäwäl's oeuvre: it is a Mongolian dictionary with definitions in Mongolian. It encompasses however only about half of that vocabulary as it includes around 16,000 entries. Many items are fairly modern as e.g. even the word "video" is included (together with a sketch of a portable video recorder). The dictionary is more useful to those who have already a certain mastering of the Classical script since it does not regularly provide pronounciation information. It's small physial size and sketches make it a useful travel companion. (OC)
• Tömörtogoo, D.: Modern Mongolian-English-Japanese dictionary. Tokyo: Kaimei Shoin, 1979. A pretty good dictionary based largely on Lessing. In 1993, it was reprinted (ie, photocopied) in Ulaanbaatar. It has some things Hangin doesn't have, (and vice versa). (CK)
• Tsedendamba, Ts.: Mongolian-Russian-English Dictionary. Ulaanbaatar, 1986 I doubt this one is to be found outside of Mongolia and a few special collections. If you can find it, it's useful. Although only about 5,000 words, it has a lot of political and economic terms. I used to find all sorts of useful phrases in it. Unfortunately, last I heard, my copy of it was in some aïl in the Gow'. (CK)
• Vietze, Hans-Peter, with Z. Damdinsuren, G. Luwsan and G. Nagy: Deutsch-Mongolisches Wörterbuch. Leipzig, 1981. This German-Mongol dictionary was one of the first modern dictionaries with Mongolian as target language. It is based on Damdinsürän's and Luwsandändäw's Russian-Mongol Dictionary and Cäwäl's Mongol Xälniï Towq Taïlbar Tol' and contains around 35,000 key words. Special attention was paid to including vocabulary typical for Mongolia as well as new coinages. It offers also detailed explanations of grammar both in German and Mongol making it suitable for German and Mongol users alike. (OC)
• Vietze, Hans-Peter, with K. Koppe, G. Nagy and T. Daschzeden: Mongolisch-Deutsches Wörterbuch. Leipzig 1988. This dictionary is composed of various sources: half of its entries were gained by using the database for Vietze's Deutsch-Mongolisches Wörterbuch, the other half was gleaned from Luwsandändäw, Cäwäl, Tömörtogoo and Sch. Zeweg/Schubert. It contains around 50,000 entries and is useful for a wide range of modern texts. It lacks however etymologic information. (OC)