A Mongolic loanword in Turkic and Korean

What is it about?

This study disproves the hypothesis that kala- 'to change, to replace' is a loanword of ultimately Korean origin that entered Mongolic over Tungusic in the 16th century CE by showing that it already existed as a loanword in Middle Kipchak in the 14th and 15th centuries CE. The verb in question appears as kala- and ala- in three Middle Kipchak texts. In light of this, the verb's origins are in Mongolic, from which it spread to Turkic and Tungusic languages. Because of the missing final vowel, the Middle Korean form is thought to have been borrowed from Middle Kitan.

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Photo by Tengis Galamez on Unsplash

Photo by Tengis Galamez on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This paper is important because it challenges the proposed borrowing direction of the verb kala- between Korean, Mongolic, and Manchu. It provides evidence that the Mongolic verb kala- ‘to change, to replace’ was a loanword in Middle Kipchak by the 14th century, suggesting that the borrowing likely occurred from Mongolic into Turkic, and potentially then into Tungusic, contradicting the idea that it entered Mongolic from Manchu in the 16th century. Additionally, the paper proposes a possible route for the Korean cognate via the Kitan language, highlighting potential linguistic connections between Turkic, Mongolic, Kitan, and Korean.